Dallas wins award for best drama, giving slight advantage to Houston
Jason Garrett or Bill O’Brien? Dak Prescott or Deshaun Watson?
Jerry Jones or Cal McNair? Dallas’ Cowboys or your Texans?
It started out as a fun radio question during the quiet days of summer. Which coach would you rather have: Garrett or O’Brien?
Then the Cowboys, as always, kept making daily national news. Then the Texans kept being the Texans. And now we’re a few days away from the all-important third preseason game of the 2019 campaign, and the Q’s are even more debatable.
Prescott or Watson?
Jones or McNair? Cowboys or Texans? Obviously, there are no right answers. But your reply is like a Rorschach test. What you see says more about you than it does the subject.
Since we’ve been discussing O’Brien lately, let’s start with Texas’ two NFL head coaches.
On paper, the scale easily tips toward Garrett. He’s 77-59, holds a .566 winning percentage, is entering his 10th season leading the Cowboys, and has reached at least 10 victories in three of the last five years. Dallas went 13-3 not that long ago under Garrett’s guidance, and he has doubled O’Brien in playoff victories.
The words “on paper” were the key to the above paragraph.
O’Brien outcoached Garrett in Week 5 on national TV last season. Garrett’s
conservative style handed the Texans their second victory of 2018 and could eventually capture his uneven tenure in the football-mad Metroplex. And while 75 percent of Texans like to believe O’Brien is on the hot seat, Garrett is literally coaching for his job this season, and his name is near the top of almost every most-likelyto-be-fired list.
Texans fans would go crazy — and I mean crazy — if O’Brien pulled off a 13-3 season. He holds a .525 winning percentage (42-38) since 2014 and is just two years removed from a disastrous 4-12 campaign. O’Brien has also made a name for himself by constantly going conservative at the wrong time, and the Texans’ front-office drama in recent seasons has been driven by the team’s coach.
It’s a hard choice with no easy answer. But in the spirit of this column, we have to pick one name. At this moment in time, I’m
taking the Texans’ fiery HC over the too-conservative Garrett.
The next one is easier, right?
Watson, Watson, Watson.
Except for the fact Prescott is 32-16 since igniting a new era in 2016, possesses a playoff win that Watson still lacks, and Dallas’ No. 4 has started all 48 regularseason games since he took over the Cowboys’ reality show.
Prescott also hasn’t thrown for 4,000 yards in a single season. Watson threw for 4,165 in 2018 while playing through multiple injuries and with a horrendous offensive line, earning a Pro Bowl selection in his first full season as a starter.
Watson has more upside and could end up as one of the NFL’s next great quarterbacks. I’m picking DW4 without blinking, giving the Texans a 2-0 edge in Dallas versus Houston. But Prescott is underrated entering his fourth season,
and he’s simply been a winner since taking over the Cowboys.
Owner/president/general manager. And you thought O’Brien is trying do it all with the Texans.
Jones is the biggest busybody and loudmouth in pro football. Like O’Brien, he’s often his own worst enemy. You could easily argue that the Cowboys will never win another world title as long as Cowboy Jerry is running everything. And who in the world publicly antagonizes Ezekiel Elliott when anyone who knows anything about the NFL knows Dallas isn’t doing anything big in 2019 without Zeke carrying the heavy load?
Jones’ “Zeke who?” was quickly topped by this instant classic:
“There is less pie left. Make no bones about it,” said Jones, after handing a contract extension to Jaylon Smith while Amari Cooper, Prescott and Elliott keep waiting.
But … we still have no
idea what McNair thinks about the Texans, O’Brien, the team’s vacant GM position, football or life in general. So as much as it pains me to type this, I’m taking the Hall of Famer with multiple rings, and the Cowboys are within 2-1. Now, the big one. Cowboys or Texans? Historically, it’s easy. The Cowboys (512-380-6) date to 1960 and were once America’s Team. They have won five Super Bowls and are 35-28 all-time in the postseason.
“Great history,” O’Brien said. “I think they’ve been to eight Super Bowls. I think they were the first organization to win three out of four years’ Super Bowls.”
Through 17 seasons, the two greatest accomplishments of the Texans (121-151) have been bringing an NFL team back to Houston and winning the AFC South. When they post a divisional round victory, it will be their first. Matt Schaub is their all-time passing leader. But in 2019, the choice between the two teams is much tougher.
Dallas has the best running back in the league (when he’s on the field). In DeAndre Hopkins, the Texans have the premier receiver in the NFL and he’s only touching his prime. The defenses are comparable, with both ranking in the top six in average points allowed last season. Both offenses are loaded with skill talent yet have struggled to consistently take advantage of that talent.
Knowing I might seriously regret this in a few months, I’m taking the Texans right now, mostly because of the Cowboys’ current drama show.
I also know we spend a ton of time talking about Texas’ two NFL teams, and neither is entering the 2019 season as a Super Bowl contender.