by definition, hyperbole is a gross exaggeration; which is exactly what you did there. Please don't infer what wasn't said. The man has no clue how to manage the clock. Has one of the worst challenge strategies I've ever seen; but when Deshaun Watson plays to potential and is making proper quick reads (something that is definitely a component in the system), the offense is pretty darn good. Last year I expected him to take a step forward that he did not take and much of that was on his shoulders, not necessarily that of his coach (as I pointed out and am happy to provide in depth statistics to support). Part of that, a big part, has to do with the availability of a speedy outside receiver who has an injury history. This year he added another speed threat to help offset that. But another big part of that is what I am concerned is the James Harden syndrome. He is by far the best QB in Texans history and has a very solid career ahead of him. I would want a kings ransom in return in addition to having a locked in QB in the draft you are ready and have the capability to acquire. Even with a contract pending, he would likely garner 2 firsts and a second (ok in O'B world a 1, future 2 and futur 3). It would provide the opportunity to reset the clock with the fundamental pieces in place. I wouldn't necessarily do it, but I can't tie up so much of my salary cap in another Warren Moon who has flashes of brilliance, but can't seem to put it together consecutively. He, much like his coach, has much to prove this year.
So trade him and go looking for OBriens next QB? God so this is a 14 year plan? Please excuse my lack of excitement. You're holding onto last year's stats, so can I use his first two years stats to make a point? Is that permissable, I love to analyze stats, show me where he's holding this team back. https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/charts/list/qb-grid/houston-texans/2017/week https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/charts/list/qb-grid/houston-texans/2018/week https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/charts/list/qb-grid/houston-texans/2019/week lets not forget this "revamped" offensive line that has taken 3 #1 draft picks to assemble and STILL has a habit of jumping off sides and playing below their investment, but like you I'm "hoping" that unit can also 'take the next step' .. plenty of things have to work together in football for succesful plays, drives and seasons to occur. OBrien introduced another speedy concussion risk to the WR corps (I know I know Cooks doesnt miss games) so I'll have to hope they can all last a complete season as a unit. On top of that the man OVERPAID for Randall Cobb and then had the audacity to say that he couldnt afford to pay the WR position 'that much' money when alluding to Hopkins demands and then ended up exhausting MORE MONEY at the position. You're right .. Watson is the best QB this franchise has had in 20 years, Im not ready to throw out the baby with the bath water and hope OBrien can find another one since its pretty evident he cannot especially when Watson was thrust upon him by Rick Smith according to some reports, and by the mans own actions when he felt that Tom Savage would be a better QB for that 2017 team - that changed pretty quick didnt it? Its cool you're cautiously optimistic and feel the QB could play better to garner better results, thats the most important position on the field. I just dont like to be overly critical of one guy without analyzing EVERYTHING that went into the failures of last year. If it wasnt for Watson heroics the team doesnt even get by Buffalo - what does that tell you? Appreciate the civil discourse, i'll avoid the loaded words and exaggerations because this is a good topic and should be expounded upon.
Let me clarify my position for the record. I had initially interjected regarding a comment that Deshaun won't make a superbowl because of Bill; to which I stated he needed to start pointing the finger within before outward. I may also not have been as clear as I could on two important factors: 1. Bill O'Brien. I'm not sold on him. However, I have seen three things from him that I like 1) his teams always play hard for him 2) his talent evaluation or the system he adheres to has seemed to produce results over the past few drafts after years of the team only hitting first round picks 3) He's a man with a vision and character (even if misguided) I'll also throw in that they are my team which makes me biased and want to see the positive side 2. Deshaun Watson. While I'm not sold on him, I'm a fan and love his upside. I wouldn't be trying to give him away and will be more than happy to support him through his career. I would just entertain offers. The changes to how the game is played have made finding quarterbacks arguably easier. I would only make a move in which I was guaranteed a return of someone I thought had comparable talent and upside to deshaun (via draft) and some additional draft capital. It would theoretically not be a rebuild but a retool with cap flexibility. And I say this because of the questionable decision making and accuracy he displays at times. As to the statistical analysis, in a season which was supposed a turning point toward consistency, Deshaun threw for below 60% completion in 3 games and below 65% for 6 games. He threw multi-interception games in four games and had 12 interceptions in 8 games last year. Yards per attempt fluctuation greatly and was highly dependent on his accuracy with games garnering low completion percentages generally averaging less than 6 years per attempt. While Mahomes had a similar set of struggles over the season with completion percentage, he didn't throw the picks and kept his yards per attempt up. He was also dealing with an injury during which his completion percentage suffered. I don't think it's a stretch or wild statement that Deshaun needs to improve in accuracy, reads, timing and limiting turnovers (did I mention he revived the warren moon fumbles trend - always hated t
I've heard about this "last 6-7 games of the season" argument about last year. Its valid - to a certain extent but if its ONLY Deshaun that we can analyze and be critical of without bringing up each specific game and drive summary to see where those breakdowns occur its not really a fair debate on my part. Yes Deshaun can get happy feet. Yes he has a tendency of looking for the homeruns and not lacking some patience. He's going into his 4th year. I know its really sexy to bring up Mahomes and Jackson and some of other young guys, but without allowing the inclusion of each of those guys coaches and systems it isnt an apples to apples. Each of those guys have tailor made systems for their skill set and have PHENOMENAL offensive coaches. Deshaun is being tasked with running a very complicated system. There are so many dang reads in this EP that OBrien trots out its why guys like Coutee end up flaming out. Just let them play man. But still Deshaun prevails where most other young QBs do not and that is in the mental aspect of the game and he KNOWS where the ball needs to go. Remember Mahomes saying he couldnt even read an NFL defense until year 2? I personally wish that Deshaun had a more modern offensive NFL coach who wasnt trying to surprise teams with his 1975 offensive scheme. This team wins, sometimes in spite of Bill OBrien, and sometimes in spite of Deshaun Watson and his mistakes. If they can find a way to put it all together at the same time the NFL is a curious place. You can really go all the way without throwing around any superlatives and I firmly believe that Deshaun is a QB who can win that big game since thats what he's been molded to do - he's been a winner at every single level. You cant teach that. Lets hope those WRs stay healthy and makes Deshaun "look" for the open guy instead of having his security blanket wearing #10 (shoot they may need to avoid using that number for anyone on the WRs this year to avoid his bad habit!). Im hoping to see quicker decisions, Im looking for throw aways and protecting his body, but remember too that Deshaun is a gunslinger and with that will ALWAYS come some "WTF" moments. I pray David Johnson can "AT LEAST" bring you what Carlos Hyde did last year (Im biting my tongue about that contract) and for me the biggest question mark of them all will be Anthony Weaver and his defense. I really dont know what to expect. Good post bro, I know alot of guys like you kinda on the fence about Deshaun. He's an awesome kid, we will never hear about him in any controversy and is a great guy to be the face of the franchise. I hope he can put alot of concerns to rest this year.
Bill O'Brien's history with evaluating RB talent and in fielding a solid running game limits my concerns for David Johnson. Add in that he was playing well early in the season in Phoenix and then got phased out. His early weeks he looked sharp. Add on top of that, the Rams receivers had the highest open rating in football (IIRC, may have been 2nd highest). Meaning the most yards of separation from a defender. Their struggling offense was quarterback related and not reciever related, and I expect Cooks to have a standard cooks season. If you believe in Deshaun, then you should be excited about the prospects on offense. I feel people have blinders on with the incredible hands Hopkins has. But his drop rate was historically bad last year and his separation (from the eye test) appeared to suffer. Will we miss it on 3rd downs? Indubitably there will be instances in which we will. I'm banking on the addition vertical scoring plays offsetting some 3rd down conversions required on long drives. To me, the defense is the biggest question. I have been done with Romeo. He's average and the talent was sub-average last year. I like the additions this year, but they don't get any real practice until week 1. Cohesion will be the concern. Another part of my confidence comes from our play through last season. That stacked up as a tough schedule and we still "underperformed" only winning 10 games. I sure didn't expect 10 wins coming into the season. Yes we were helped by the retirement of Luck and the injury to Mahomes, but there was solid improvement in many areas across the season and we even won a game with Deshaun really not playing well at all. I fully expect Deshaun to take a further step forward. If he doesn't, then we have real concerns.
Good post The EP system with a gunslinger at QB will never work. In fact gunslingers very rarely win Championship's. See: Favre only won 1 SB despite having them talent to win 2-3 more.
Inside the QB camp where Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson first met Aaron Reiss 3h ago Long before one began tossing no-looks and the other threw a touchdown after a kick to the eye, the men with the richest contracts in football met at a rental home in a Southern California suburb. But neither Patrick Mahomes nor Deshaun Watson got to sleep in the master bedroom. That belonged to then-Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs, another of the six college players who traveled to Dana Point, Calif., in May 2016 for quarterback guru Jordan Palmer’s first-ever “QB Summit.” Lodging had been assigned in an equitable way — by number of college starts — and Watson and Mahomes were both two years behind Dobbs in school, preparing to enter their junior seasons. It’d be a while before they became the new faces of the game who will play in a Thursday’s season opener in Kansas City. Palmer gave his camp its name because it represented both a gathering of the game’s next leaders and quarterbacks reaching their peak potential. The former couldn’t be truer, as this was the first time Mahomes and Watson spent significant time around each other. Watson thinks they attended a high school showcase or two together as well, but Mahomes doesn’t remember that, which is, if nothing else, a sign neither could have known their careers would become so entangled. Even Palmer’s loftiest of hopes couldn’t have included Watson and Mahomes becoming this good, this fast. “The only time their paths are going to cross is a monster regular season game, a monster playoff game, the Pro Bowl, when one is basing their giant contract off the other’s giant contract — and maybe at a private air strip in Vegas,” Palmer said. “That’s king **** right there.” When Watson arrived at the camp, he had already taken Clemson to a national championship game, which garnered extra respect from the other QBs. Luke Del Rio, who played for Florida at the time, could tell Watson was “different in a good way,” and he was excited when Palmer told him the Clemson quarterback would be in attendance. But when Palmer also told Del Rio about another attendee from Texas Tech, Del Rio had never heard of him. In fairness, Palmer had barely been aware of Mahomes before he got a text message from Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury, whom he did not know well, encouraging him to invite the raw gunslinger to California. After Palmer watched Mahomes’ highlights, featuring him running at full speed and uncorking balls with velocity and accuracy, he called Kingsbury and told him he was right. This kid was a freak. “If you would’ve told me one of these (six) guys is going to have a career where they’re the MVP and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, and the other is probably going to be winning Super Bowls, I definitely would’ve guessed Deshaun,” said Del Rio, now an offensive quality control coach with the Washington Football Team. “I definitely wouldn’t have guessed Pat. “After he became a success, everyone says they saw it coming. I sure didn’t. His mechanics were horrific. Not bad — horrific, like textbook not what to do. But he’s just so talented, and so freaky athletic, he’s changed the position. Deshaun has, too.” During each of those three days in California, the quarterbacks had two throwing sessions and two X’s and O’s reviews at a white board in the living room, with breaks in between to work with younger QBs as counselors at a camp and hang at the beach. “It was just a group of guys that were trying to get to the position we’re in right now and just kind of competing, having fun, getting to know each other from all over, and it was a great interaction,” Watson said. “… It’s cool to be able to see me and Pat kind of have the same situation, same kind of offseason training, (and) get to where we’re at.” Like NFL teams do when they interview prospects, Palmer asked each QB to stand in front of the group gathered in the living room and explain their college’s offense. The exercise provides a window into how much a QB has been taught. “Have they been exposed to a lot and aren’t that intelligent?” Palmer wondered. “Or are they really intelligent but haven’t been exposed to a lot?” More so than during the morning throwing sessions, this is where Watson shined. Palmer, who’s known Watson since he was a high schooler participating in the Elite 11 finals, said Watson is one of the smartest QBs he’s been around, with some of the best study habits, too. Mahomes and Jarrett Stidham, on the other hand, didn’t impress so much as provide comic relief. Stidham played at Baylor, which ran an Air Raid offense like Texas Tech’s. After about just four minutes at the white board, Stidham, now a Patriots backup, put the marker down. “That’s it,” he said, claiming the group now knew enough of the Air Raid to play in a game. “You drew like four plays,” Del Rio remembered someone saying. “That’s all we do,” Stidham replied, and the room burst into laughs. Recalling the story last week, Del Rio said: “The plays everyone else was spitting out, it must’ve sounded Greek.” Except when Palmer reviewed pro concepts, Mahomes quickly grasped them. “When you saw Mahomes, you knew he was really, really talented, but he was talented in an unrefined way,” said Quincy Avery, Watson’s longtime private coach, who ran the camp with Palmer. “The things they were asking him to do at Texas Tech — they weren’t asking him to do all those footworks things and all those things we were doing. He hadn’t had a private quarterback coach like Deshaun had. But you’re watching him like, this guy is really talented. If he cleans this stuff up, who knows how successful he’ll be?” The Chiefs felt confident enough in that outcome to bet big on it, moving up in the draft to select Mahomes 10th overall in 2017, two spots ahead of Watson. Many considered it a perfect situation. Mahomes plays for one of the greatest offensive minds ever in head coach Andy Reid, got to sit for a year behind Alex Smith and is now surrounded by the league’s best set of skill position players. The Texans believe they’ve put Watson in the best position to succeed, too, but following their much-criticized trade of All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins, that’s up for debate until this season unfolds. Either way, Watson never compares himself to anyone else – not even the man who’s been on the same trajectory as him since that camp in summer 2016, stands in his path to a Super Bowl and told him after one game last season, “we’re going to have these battles for a long time.” “Each one of us probably has different standards, different ways of how we approach the game,” Watson said about Mahomes, whom he considers a friend. “We all want to be legendary and champs, but there’s different standards and different situations that we’ve got to focus (on), so I can’t compare myself to Pat because (there are) some things that Pat does well that I need to work on. There’s some things I do well that Pat might need to work on.” It takes tremendous confidence for Watson to say there are some things he does better than Mahomes, who might go down as the best ever, but that’s part of what makes Watson elite in his own right. He also might be correct. Watson is the only player in NFL history to score at least 25 touchdown passes and 5 rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons. He’s well-deserving of the four-year, $160 million extension that’ll help make Texans-Chiefs a matchup between the NFL’s best-paid players ever. “Since the day he walked in here, he has been who we believed he would be when we first met him, and then some,” Texans head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien said. After Watson agreed to his megadeal on Saturday, he was overcome with emotion, crying at the thought of being entrusted as the face of the Texans. He phoned his mother as soon as he could to tell her the news, and she, like the rest of the football world, was already looking forward to his next meeting with Mahomes. “Congratulations,” she said, “but you’ve got a game to win Thursday.”
A former QB Clint Stoerner on 610AM radio broke down all the film from the all-22 for the first 3 games. He noted AT LEAST 10 plays where Deshaun made the wrong decision for the play, several of them for TDs. One in particular was this past weekend on a 3rd & 4. DJ hit the flat against a slower line backer which is where the play should have gone. The scheme set it up for him to be against a LB and it would have been an easy 1st down reception. They motioned someone pre snap to show that it was man and he had the clear matchup advantage. Deshaun never even looked that way and ended up taking a sack. This scheme, like every offensive scheme in the NFL opens players up for advantage matchups. Deshaun just isn't seeing them. On that radio show they had many listeners texting in (maybe some of you) asking why it looks so easy for Pat Mahomes in his offense. The instant answer was that Pat executes their scheme perfectly every time. He goes to the matchup advantage or the player that the play schemes open. Most of the time he knows it pre snap based off the defensive being run. Deshaun doesn't do this on a consistent basis. It's why the offense looked so good in the first half and didn't in the second half.
This is what worries me. We know he has good recall and memorization. He’s not dumb. Is the processing speed there? It usually gets better the longer you are in the league, I hope he hasn’t reached his potential in that department, it will severely limit his growth and ability to scheme (not that O’Brien could scheme to begin with) If that’s the case we do need a system like Roman runs, simpler and less reads.
Is anyone telling him this in the film room? If he's constantly missing that, who's bringing this to attention? Why isn't he seeing this in film? How often does he even go to the RBs? Or even mismatches?
Clint Stoerner see's "bad" and a guy like Steve Young see's "good" Shrug. Its all in the eye of the beholder. I wouldnt take too much stock into what anyone other than Seth Payne says at 610 being the flagship of the Texans those guys go to great lengths to toe the company line while Payne has been trying to get fired for a while now. This offense sucked before Watson showed up and it sucks after he showed up ... there is a constant, but nobody wants to talk about it - just keep expecting perfection from Watson while trying to play a defensive unit that seems to know what they are doing before each play. Maybe Deshaun is giving away the plays too somehow? Quick question who runs an offense similar to OBrien that people can try to compare to and find a QB who has run it properly?
Didn't he try to run the same offense he was "in charge of" as an OC the one year he was in New England? The article below is 4 years old so maybe things have changed with the arrival of Watson https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/01/21/tom-brady-patriots-charlie-weis-option-routes If this is the same system as it is today then I guess the best example of a QB that runs it properly would be the GOAT himself.
Anyone has this article? http://insider.espn.com/nfl/insider...e-biggest-weaknesses-all-32-2020-starting-qbs
Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans Biggest weakness: Taking too many sacks Much like Russell Wilson, Watson has a balancing act to play between holding the ball to create explosive plays and taking too many sacks. There's plenty of room to improve for Watson, who led the league with 61 sacks in 2018 and ranked sixth with 44 in 2019. While Watson has an MVP-caliber highlight reel, he must cut back on the negative plays and improve his ability to find the open receiver quickly rather than inviting pressure and, in turn, putting more pressure on the Texans' offensive line.
He's on pace for like a 69 sack season this year based on 13 sacks after 3 games. If only he had a reliable receiver that demands double coverage so that his deep threats would be more open down field.....
I agree. I also agree with what Randall Cobb said in his interview yesterday regarding the lack of hot routes/reads, concepts and the lack of offensive line productivity help that Watson needs to play quarterback to that elite potential. That's why I say Watson would be so much better with a team that's actually seriously contending to win a superbowl. Right now we have coaches and managers that have their head too far up their a$$ with their self righteous agendas combined with their it's my way or the highway attitudes. That holds our organization back from real success.
Isn't the whole offense predicted on the QB making reads at the LOS, making Mike calls, and adjusting routes (Rita/Linda)?! Is D4 just not seeing it pre-snap?
Can't remember which of you said Saints Qb was struggling due to not having his bread and butter guy in the line up. A couple of days ago I heard Boomer Esiason say the same thing about Brees w/o Michael Thomas. They had 4 years of chemistry. Nuke and Watson had 3. It's still unbelievable you would put your young franchise Qb in such a position. If Watson was 35 with all that experience behind him, it would be a different story. Then he could have voiced his opinion with the owner instead of a passive aggressive Drizzy song.
