(...continued...) How much of a drop off is there from Watson to Tom Savage? Obviously, there's an enormous difference between Watson and the quarterback he took over for after a dismal Week 1. Savage has yet to show any sign that he's likely to become a competent NFL quarterback. The former Pittsburgh and Rutgers passer failed to show pro-level accuracy as an amateur, and his 105 pro passes have produced a passer rating of 73.9, nearly 30 points worse than Watson's 103.0 mark. Furthermore, it's telling that the Texans drafted Savage in 2014 and yet repeatedly looked outside the organization to add Brock Osweiler and then Watson in lieu of giving Savage the starting job. The immediate impact in Vegas was significant. The line for Houston's Sunday game against the Colts at the Westgate Las Vegas sportsbook moved by 5.5 points, with the Texans 12.5-point favorites before the Watson injury and seven-point favorites after. Houston was 40-1 to win their first championship before the Watson injury, but they were dropped to 100-1 once news broke. Should the Texans sign another quarterback? They already have, at least as an emergency measure. Savage was the only other quarterback on the active roster, as Brandon Weeden was cut after training camp and caught on with the Titans. Bill O'Brien went back to his Penn State days and signed former Raider Matt McGloin, who played under O'Brien in State College during the 2012 season. McGloin posted a 75.3 passer rating over four years as a Raiders backup, throwing 11 picks on what amounts to about a half-season's worth of pass attempts. The name that will inevitably pop up in connection with this vacancy, of course, is Colin Kaepernick. If we lived in a world in which NFL owners were acting rationally, the Texans would have already signed Kaepernick to fill in. McGloin and Savage haven't been effective in any NFL system and don't have anything resembling the athleticism required to succeed in the offense O'Brien has installed with Watson, which has employed read-option concepts from Watson's playbook at Clemson. Those ideas require the quarterback to be a threat to run and the ability to throw downfield, both of which Kaepernick can do. Much has been made of Kaepernick's supposed inability to throw in the pocket, but his career passer rating in the pocket is 90.3, comfortably better than that of Savage (79.8) or McGloin (78.3). Watson also spent plenty of time bootlegging and scrambling out of the pocket. The rookie threw 45 passes outside of the pocket before going down, second-most in the league behind Russell Wilson. Two obstacles stand in the way of Kaepernick, who O'Brien called "a good football player" in March. One is Kaepernick's ongoing collusion lawsuit against the league. The other is the presence of owner Bob McNair, who inspired a near-mutiny within the Texans' locker room by referring to the league's players as "inmates" during a meeting with players in New York City. It's perhaps telling that Texans players essentially appointed left tackle Duane Brown as their representative in light of McNair's comments, only for Houston to subsequently deal Brown to the Seahawks at the trade deadline in lieu of giving their longtime left tackle a contract extension. Could McNair bring himself to sign Kaepernick? Would McNair attempt to sign Kaepernick in an attempt to repair his name? Would Kaepernick even be willing to play for an owner who made such an insensitive remark? We'll see in the weeks to come, but there's no football-related reason to play Savage, McGloin, or any other available quarterback over Kaepernick. Can the Texans still win the AFC South? Even with Watson, Houston's chances of claiming a third straight division title weren't great. The Texans were 3-4 and a game back of both the Jaguars and Titans in the AFC South, with the Jaguars holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over Houston after that blowout in Week 1. According to the Football Power Index, the Texans had just a 29.7 percent chance of making the playoffs and a 12.4 percent of winning their division. Those divisional titles have come with Brian Hoyer (who probably wouldn't have returned to Houston even if the Watson injury had come before he signed with the Patriots) and Osweiler as primary quarterbacks, so it's hardly as if the Texans have needed great quarterback play to succeed. The difference between those teams and this one, of course, is injuries on defense. The Texans are already without Watt and Whitney Mercilus, who are done for the year. Brian Cushing is suspended until Week 14, and replacement Dylan Cole is already out Sunday. Houston's defense has still impressed for stretches this season -- it ranks eighth in DVOA -- but it has played what amounts to nearly three games without Watt and Mercilus. With the two star edge rushers going down early against the Chiefs, the Houston defense allowed Alex Smith and the Kansas City offense to score 35 points. The Texans then held the lowly Browns to 14 points, but the Seahawks exploded for 34 more points on offense in their classic win over Houston on Sunday. O'Brien will likely slow down the pace with Savage in the lineup, hoping to win by running the ball and playing sound defense with the guys he has left. Anything is possible, but the Texans have lost two of their best players over the past week with Brown and Watson no longer in the lineup, which will dramatically impact their running game. Unless their defense takes a big leap forward from what we've seen against non-Browns competition, it's hard to find a path in which the Texans compete for the division title. Who does the Watson injury help? Obviously, while nobody wants to see a star quarterback get injured, Watson's absence could turn the AFC South into a battle between the Jaguars and Titans. The other team in line to benefit from a Watson injury is the Browns, which acquired Houston's 2018 first-round pick in the trade that netted the Browns Watson in the first place. Cleveland also holds Houston's second-round pick as part of the Osweiler salary dump. Those picks looked likely to come toward the second half of the first round, but with Savage replacing Watson, the Browns could luck their way into another top-10 pick.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...nary-start-interrupted-deshaun-watson-numbers TD passes at record pace Watson replaced an ineffective Tom Savage at halftime of the Texans' season opener, a 29-7 loss to the Jaguars. That was followed by a quiet statistical game against the Bengals in Week 2, but he did lead the Texans to their first win. Since then he has thrown 18 touchdown passes in his past five games, including five against the Kansas City Chiefs in a 42-34 loss on Oct. 8. The main benefactors have been DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller V, who share the NFL lead with seven touchdown catches apiece. Hopkins topped his 2016 season total of four by Week 5 and his 224 receiving yards in Week 8 against the Seahawks is a single-game high in the NFL. Fuller has just 13 catches on the season with seven going for TDs -- and he missed the first four games of the season with a broken collarbone. "We all make each other better," Hopkins said earlier this season. "[Watson] getting the ball where it needs to be. Just getting the ball to his playmakers. He makes the whole team better, not just me." Spoiler Setting the pace for all QBs Watson's start wasn't just good for a rookie -- he's leading the NFL in three major categories, including rushing yards. That kind of versatility has been fun for the Texans' coaching staff to utilize. "Having a guy with athleticism as well as somebody who can stand in the pocket [and] throw the ball down the field, somebody who's an intelligent player, instinctive player, certainly kind of opens things up for you, no question," quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan said. Spoiler Where Watson was at his best Watson, who is the first rookie quarterback to win AFC Offensive Player of the Month, thrived operating out of play-action, especially from Week 3 on, during which he has passed for 18 touchdowns and the Texans have averaged 30.7 points a game. O'Brien is learning weekly what the rookie can do. "He's got some pretty good insight, even though he's a young player," O'Brien said. "So, I don't think it's so much that he suggests plays, it's more about the plays that are -- you know, maybe there's four or five plays in the game that he has a suggestion about tweaking a little bit during the week, and it's usually a good one, which is pretty interesting. That's usually the case with really good players. They know what they're talking about." Spoiler So why weren't the Texans winning? Houston enters Sunday's game against the Colts 3-4, and 3-3 in Watson starts. For all the excitement Watson generated, NFL FPI gave the Texans a 31 percent chance of making the playoffs before he was injured. One of the big reasons is the play of their defense. The Texans have scored 30-plus points a league-high five times this season, but they've gone 2-3 in those games. They went 36-3 when scoring 30-plus points from 2002 to '16. The Texans have allowed 26.9 points per game this season, 29th in the NFL. That's almost 6.5 points more per game than they allowed last season (20.5). But much of that is because of injuries and offseason losses in free agency from the top-ranked defense in the NFL last season. Texans' Key Defensive Losses PLAYER 2017 STATUS NOTE DE J.J. Watt On IR Texans' all-time sack leader LB Whitney Mercilus On IR Led Texans in sacks last season LB Brian Cushing 10-game suspension 2nd on Texans in tackles last season CB A.J. Bouye Signed w/ Jaguars Led Texans in pass break-ups last season LB John Simon Signed w/ Colts 10.0 sacks from 2014-16 S Quintin Demps Signed w/ Bears Led Texans in interceptions last season
He'd already torn an ACL, so no surprise. His style and frame seem susceptible. Was fun while it lasted.
http://www.espn.com/blog/houston-te...p-not-that-easy-when-replacing-deshaun-watson ... Now, the Texans will rely on backup quarterback Tom Savage, who was replaced at halftime by Watson in his only start of the season. The Texans will go from the signal-caller tied for the NFL lead in passing touchdowns to a fourth-year quarterback who has never thrown a touchdown in the NFL. The Texans’ offense led by Watson is a far cry from the unit which finished last season with 15 passing touchdowns, and ranked 31st in the league in total touchdowns. This week, O’Brien talked about how Watson’s skillset has lent itself to many changes in the playbook and his mobility has allowed the coaching staff to get more creative with play calls. O’Brien took over play calling this offseason after the team parted ways with offensive coordinator George Godsey, and the head coach has had a lot of success so far with Watson. While the Texans’ offense won’t totally change, it will certainly be a challenge for O’Brien, especially making those adjustments just three days before Houston hosts the Colts. Last season, the Texans had an offense that struggled, averaging an NFL-low 1.4 offensive touchdowns per game with Savage and Brock Osweiler under center. Despite that, the Texans won the AFC South by relying on their running game and their defense, which finished the season No. 1 in yards allowed per game. But that formula is a lot more complicated this year. In 2017, the defense has dealt with major injuries, including Watt (broken leg), outside linebacker Mercilus (torn pectoral muscle) and defensive end Christian Covington (torn biceps). The unit has the 29th-ranked scoring defense, allowing an average of 26.9 points per game. That got the Texans to 3-4 with Watson under center, putting up more than 30 points per game in five of those contests. This year, the defense will not be able to hide any mistakes by Savage and it will be especially important that he doesn't turn the ball over. In Savage’s lone start, he was sacked six times in just one half. On Monday, the Texans traded left tackle Duane Brown, their best offensive lineman. Houston likely felt like they could trade Brown because they had a mobile quarterback in Watson. The offensive line is likely to get Chris Clark -- who started at left tackle for the Texans Weeks 2-6 -- back from a calf injury on Sunday. The offensive line has shown improvement since allowing 10 sacks in the season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but several of the linemen said Watson’s ability to scramble helped them have more success in pass protection. Earlier in the season, center Nick Martin pointed out that Watson’s elusiveness can bail out the offensive line. “He makes people miss,” Martin said. “You mess up, and all of a sudden your guy is there, and somehow, someway he gets out of it and makes a big play.” The Texans have seen what “next man up” looks like with Savage under center, and although his teammates believe in what he can do, going forward, Houston's offense will not look similar to the high-powered unit it has been in 2017.
You do know this makes zero sense, so my brain couldn't laugh. I once told a joke too, where I laughed, but everyone else said "That doesn't make sense; it's the complete opposite." good times. How does this make it a lot easier to kneel? And if you don't believe me, here's a medical journal study ... lulz Quantifying the problem of kneeling after arthroscopic ACL reconstruction Introduction the aims of this study was to investigate the post-operative incidence of anterior knee pain and quantify the problem of kneeling in patients who have underwent anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Did you actually think to yourself, "Should I make a joke about ACL surgery making it harder for Watson to kneel? Nah, I'm too mentally weak for that. Need to say it's easier to kneel, despite reality."
Zachary K Hubbard has spoken, although he left some things out watson was picked in round 1: pick 12.. or 11/2.. watson went down with an injury today on 11/2
Thanks for all of your hard work today J.R. I'll look at it this way.... I don't know if the Texans were going to make it to the playoffs this year anyway. We have a pretty tough schedule coming up,and 8-8 would not be out of the question for this team. That being said I'm glad this didn't happen the last game of the year where we will miss out on the start of MJ next year. Get well soon Deshaun Watson! Looking forward to seeing your beautiful grace, and you're off the charts athletic ability on the football field next season. PS please dismiss my like up above for the number crunching dip **** on the Internet.
This is unbelievable and now we all start to worry if he’s injury prone..... Texans will likely lose the rest of their games. O line and secondary are garbage and the D line is decimated. Savage is a statue gawd this could get seriously ugly.
What I don't get: If this guys has the formula why hasn't he gotten rich off of it? How is everybody in on the rigging of sports?
Had the same reaction when I saw his post, I was like how could he possibly kneel with a torn acl...I wasn't offended by it like some posters here but when you think about it logically it just doesn't make any sense, there is no way he could kneel.....am all for more levity but that was way too weak.
When you think about how ludicrous the joke, you understand how mean-spirited the attempt at levity. @Bobbythegreat wasn't trying to be funny, he was trying to turn the knife..
Dam this sucks so bad on so many levels... We cheer and celebrate for 12hours before bad news hits us like a ton of bricks. DW4 is out for the season with a torn ACL, I'm wondering if it's the same one he tore in college. God i hope this kid comes back even better next season and not have Griffinitis when he steps on that field. As a Houstonian i hate to say it but nothing surprises me anymore, we are literally a city that goes through more ups and downs than any other city in America, we have some of the worst luck but every now and than the sports gods bless us with royalties before they decide to take it away when they realize we are getting too comfortable and hyped. Only good thing that can come out of this besides Watson having the mentality and attitude to come back stronger and better is that IF Tom Savage can perform at even half the rate Watson was than we could easily use him as trade and flip him to CLE who is in dire need of a QB for picks. Smith and OB BETTER go into next season with the mindset of using every bit of their cap to sign OL and secondary, the draft picks can fill the backup rolls for debt. Boy i hope Rick and OB don't come into next season using all that cap space money to resign their own scrub player (Lam, Gilchrist, Savage, B.Miller, Blue, Moore, Su'a Filo, etc.).
It's a joke.....it doesn't have to make literal sense. Jesus, I can't believe the things I have to spell out to people on this board sometimes....not saying you are one of them, but the response to this has been so ridiculous it makes me glad that it was a simple joke and not an idiom. We've already seen how absolutely crazy people can get over those. Anyway, as to kneeling after knee injuries, trust me I know about that, my knees have been through quite a lot over the years and kneeling is basically something I can't do anymore, at least not for very long. The joke was going on a premise similar to a western where someone is told to kneel, they refuse and then they shoot one of their knees which drops them to the ground, you know similar to this
