Loud and clear?
Texans need calm and clarity from O’Brien ahead of key stretch
In just two starts, Deshaun Watson has already given the Texans the type of quarterback that the franchise went 15 years living without.
Jadeveon Clowney is again dominating at an All-Pro level, while J.J. Watt is getting closer and closer to taking over games.
DeAndre Hopkins leads the NFL in targets (37) and is tied for third in receptions (21).
And the once-stagnant Texans put up 33 points in New England on Sunday before they gave away a heartbreaking win to bad dude Tom Brady.
So why does it feel like this season already has 9-7 written all over it (for the fourth straight year)? And why do the Texans’ next two games already feel so mission critical?
Marcus Mariota and the Titans on Sunday on Kirby Drive. Then Alex Smith, Kareem Hunt, Andy Reid and the Chiefs on “Sunday Night Football” back at NRG Stadium on Oct. 8.
Where will the Texans be after Week 5?
Potentially atop the AFC South at 3-2 and staring at a near-guaranteed victory in Week 6 by hosting the possibly still-winless Browns? Splitting against Tennessee and Kansas City, and needing rebuilding Cleveland just to draw even again? Or worst case: Falling to Mariota and Smith, and hitting 1-4 just as the 2017 season is finding a rhythm.
So much of it, as always, depends on what Bill O’Brien can get out of his 1-2 team and how much the fourthyear coach gets right in between the unforgiving lines.
The Texans didn’t show up in Week 1, started the wrong quarterback, coldly benched Tom Savage at halftime and were embarrassed by the Jaguars.
Then it was barely winning ugly in Cincinnati.
And then it was 301 passing yards and four quarters of rookie inspiration from Watson before O’Brien watched 10 potential game-tying seconds evaporate off the clock like a junior-varsity coach and his Texans received an F in Time Management 101.
Taking his time again
Three days later, we’re still waiting for a proper explanation that doesn’t intentionally avoid the question.
We’re obviously going to be waiting until the Texans win their first Super Bowl, because all O’Brien will say in Year 4 is the same variation of “it’s on me” he repeated his initial three years.
“I screwed that up. My mistake.”
“I answered that one yesterday.”
“I don’t think you guys really care what I say, just like I don’t really care what you say.”
Well, that last one was actually a little unique. But it’s also just another version of Frustrated O’Brien — an act we’ve become very used to since 2014.
Which is interesting, because what the 1-2 Texans require right now is calm and clarity. Clear communication. A defined identity. The removal of painful last-minute breakdowns and the understanding of what exactly is at stake through all four quarters.
The annual 9-7 Texans (2014-16, in case you lost count) find a way to drop the next two games, or confuse barely splitting them with real forward progress.
People were actually using the term “moral victory” after the brain freeze in New England, which tells you how low the bar can still be around here.
Bad high school teams have moral victories.
An NFL team that’s actually going to take the next step in 2017 and do something more than win a home wild-card game against a third-string quarterback? That team takes advantage of the present it’s been presented with and builds off the pieces that are already working.
After dealing with Hurricane Harvey before Week 1 and having just three days to prep Watson for his first start on “Thursday Night Football” on the road, the Texans don’t have to leave Houston again until Oct. 28. A bye week also separates a Week 6 home give-me against the Browns and Week 8 at Seattle. Which means that for the first time all season, O’Brien’s team won’t be bouncing all over the country (West Virginia, New Orleans, Dallas, Cincy … ) and Watson can finally lock in at his new football home.
“It’s an improvement league. It’s a progress league, so you have to get better from week to week,” O’Brien said. “That’s what the league’s all about. It’s a race to see who can get better the fastest. Not just as players, but the players and coaches combined. Who can get better the fastest?”
10 wins seems unlikely
For the Texans to reach 10 wins for the first time in the O’Brien era, they’ll have to win nine of their next 13 games.
The same ol’ Texans keep bouncing backward and forward into December, then grit out just enough to stumble into the playoffs.
A team making real progress — building a sleek but powerful offense around Watson’s rare athleticism; feeding off a defense that constantly attacks opposing QBs — makes its first stand of 2017 on Sunday against Mariota’s Titans.
O’Brien’s path should be clear.
Define the Texans’ new identity. End the communication breakdowns, so he doesn’t have to avoid explaining them.