Great Article over at BattleRedBlog: http://www.battleredblog.com/2014/3/6/5476912/the-bill-obrien-prototype-what-houstons-new-head-honcho-expects-from One quote from the article:
Great read. We shall see what unfolds. So we need an accurate, tough, smart, football-obsessed Quarterback... Hmmm, if only there was one in this draft.... :\
i won't be upset if we draft any of these players: Manziel, Teddy, or Clowney..If draft a guy that no one has graded in the top 10 (Anthony Bennett) im gonna just stop watching football for a while
I'd give Bridgewater a chance, but anyone other than Clowney, Mack, or MAYBE Bridgewater or Bortles and we're screwed. If Manziel is the pick, there's no reason to watch football for the next 4 years.
And OLB better than Brooks Reed. And slot WR better than Keyshawn Martin. Hell, they'll play RT better than Derek Newton.
Does anyone else feel like me that, for the first time in the history of the Texans franchise, we have a coach who is capable of winning a chess match against a majority of coaches in the NFL? It's refreshing, kinda like when Morey first came on as GM. You knew that we weren't good yet, but we had nowhere to go but up with a better decision-maker at the helm.
Give it time, the first time he does something that the masses don't agree with they'll crucify him. I predict that'll be when they pick Clowney in the first and wait to draft a QB in the second.
I agree, at least based on the press clippings. It would be nice to have a chess player for once. Texan's coaching has been at the marbles level since the beginning.
You can see the difference in the level of trust O'Brien wants to have in his QB vs. the level of trust Kubiak did. You can say that it was because of Schaub but I think it was all Kubiak and it didn't matter what QB was under center. O'Brien's offense depends on the QB reading the defense pre-snap and making adjustments. It's something that can't be done from the sideline, not the NFL. But Kubiak never let the QB have any freedom. The play was the play and that was it. If you could tell the play wasn't going to work based on what the defense showed, too bad, run it anyway. Case in point, the Richard Sherman Pick 6. Part of that was on Schaub, but part of that was also on Kubiak not allowing Schaub to adjust the play once he could see how the defense was playing. Kubiak was definitely only playing half the game. Calling good plays from the sideline is nice. But adjusting the play at the line to maximize success based on how the defense is playing is taking it to another level. Another level Kubiak wasn't interested in exploring. Checkers vs Chess.
Interestingly enough, if the true prerequisite for an O'Brien QB is intelligence; and I agree, Matt Schaub is a pretty smart guy. I found it interesting that you seem to say that Kubiak handcuffed Schaub, not allowing him to make live adjusts. I never actually realized that. It gives me more of a reason to want to give Schaub a year with OBrien and see what he can do. I want to invest in our o-line, and our defense; and let BOB fix the QB play.
It's clear O'Brien wants a gym rat/savant who can make quick smart decisions and throw accurately. Being big/tall/fast is secondary to those other qualities. On the surface that seems like Bridgewater, but we can't know from the outside.