Culley: OC Kelly’s play calls are not the issue
Although the Texans are producing the NFL’s fewest points (14.9) and total yards (264.8) per game, coach David
Culley insisted “there’s not even a question” whether offensive coordinator Tim Kelly should continue calling plays.
Culley strongly defended Kelly, 35, who was one of the few holdovers from the 2020 coaching staff under former coach Bill O’Brien. Kelly’s attempts to manufacture production from the offense of a rebuilding franchise have mostly been futile, and they’ve been complicated by a crowded injured reserve that has claimed four key starters for large portions of the season.
Still, even since quarterback
Tyrod Taylor returned from his hamstring injury, the offensive stagnancy of the Texans (2-9) has been particularly costly in the last three games.
Leads built in the first half evaporate in second-half droughts. The Texans have averaged 4.3 points and 86 total yards in the second half in their last three games. They led the Jets 14-11 at halftime Sunday, and eventually lost 21-14 after gaining just 45 yards the rest of the game.
“It has nothing to do with the play call,” Culley said Monday. “It has something to do with us playing better and doing things the right way.”
Kelly is a relatively young play-caller. An offensive quality control coach on O’Brien’s inaugural 2014 staff, Kelly, who was elevated to offensive coordinator in 2019, didn’t start calling plays until last season.
The offense’s success in the Texans’ 4-12 season — mostly attributed to horrible defensive performances — was not expected to be sustainable once quarterback Deshaun Watson was sidelined by 22 lawsuits alleging sexual assault and harassment and first-year general manager
Nick Caserio began the rebuilding franchise’s roster overhaul.
But Kelly has so far been unable to find answers for the persistent problems that have constantly doomed the offense this season.
Kelly has attempted to construct a notably different offensive scheme, which adopted Culley’s run-oriented philosophy. The Texans have been unable to stimulate an inefficient run game that ranks last in the NFL with 3.2 yards per carry. They’ve lacked a threatening passing game with 5.4 yards per pass attempt, which ranks third-to-last in the league. They’ve stalled in the second half in three straight games.
“I’d just like to see our whole offense do better,” Culley said. “Me as a head coach do better in helping getting things the way it should be. But there’s no question about our play-calling. It’s the fact that we’re not doing what we need to do when the play’s being called.” Reid’s status unclear after benching
Culley said he was planning to meet with safety Justin Reid and will decide whether the team’s star defender will play against the Colts after he was benched for disciplinary reasons in a 21-14 loss to the Jets.
Culley declined to detail his conversation with Reid or what led him to discipline the safety. The first-time head coach used the same “that’s internal” rhetoric Sunday that he used when he made similar team decisions by benching starting linebacker
Zach Cunningham for the first quarter Week 2 against the Browns and sidelining Desmond King for the entire Week 8 game against the Rams. Former NFL safety Ryan
Clark, a studio analyst for ESPN, first reported that Reid was a healthy scratch because of a “disagreement” with the Texans coaching staff in a team meeting. Reid later confirmed Clark’s account with Fox 26, although he did not detail what the disagreement was specifically about.
“It wasn’t just a disagreement,” Culley said. “It had something to do with our rules and our standards.”
Reid is the first of those players to speak out against his discipline and question the decisions made by Texans leadership. It was a surprising and significant development because it revealed a disconnect between Reid, a core player who’s often named a weekly team captain, and a rebuilding franchise whose leadership is trying to establish a competitive culture.
Culley said he was “not at all” concerned that he’s had to discipline three starting defenders this season, and, on Sunday, three Texans players, including quarterback Taylor, supported Culley’s role as head coach in making team decisions.
“It’s not a distraction anymore,” Culley said Monday. “We took care of it. When those things happen, you take care of them and you move on. That’s what we’re doing in this situation.” Britt’s return could come against Colts Culley is hopeful center Justin Britt will be healthy enough to play against the Colts, which would be the veteran lineman’s first game action since he was placed on the injured reserve with a knee injury in late October.
Britt returned to practice on Thursday, when the franchise designated him for return, but Culley said he wasn’t yet ready to play against the Jets. Rookie
Jimmy Morrissey struggled in his third straight start in Britt’s place, and the Texans surrendered five sacks and seven tackles for loss in their 21-14 loss.
Britt, 30, signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Texans in March. He started in 54 games at center for the Seahawks in four seasons, switching to the position after initially playing right tackle in 2014 and left guard in 2015.
“We’ll see what happens when we go out there on Wednesday,” Culley said. “But we’re hoping to see what he does and see if we can get him back.”