FALCON POINTS
All the reasons Deshaun Watson's situation is nothing like James Harden's
Jan 14, 2021, 11:02 am
There's still time smooth things over with Deshaun. Photo by Getty Images. Composite image by Brandon Strange
How Deshaun Watson holds the key to the next Texans head coach hire
In what might be a week filled with the most drama in recent Houston sports history, big things are afoot.
The Rockets sent James Harden packing in a blockbuster deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Short term, it will be painful, but in the longterm, the Rockets made the right move for their future. They got as far as they could with Harden, who is not going to get better at this stage of his career. Harden pouted his way out of Houston and acted like a petulant child. He got his wish, but the Rockets will be better for it down the road.
Of course, national media compared Harden's case to that of Deshaun Watson, who is not happy with the Texans - and he shouldn't be. As usual, that's a lazy, hot take narrative.
The situations could not be more different. Harden has had his way with the Rockets for years. They have brought in multiple stars to try to appease him and win a title, and none of them worked out. Harden is near the end of his dominance as a player, and time is running short for him to add a title to his resume. The deal made sense for both parties. Harden gets to try again with Kevin Durant, and the Rockets move on.
As great of a player as he was, Harden never saw that he was the problem. There's that old poker adage, put so well by Mike McD in Rounders - "If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker." Harden was the sucker at the table.
Deshaun Watson is not. He has not publicly said anything other than a cryptic tweet. He has not demanded a trade. Watson does have a right to be angry as the Texans have made one dumb move after another, and they clearly lied to him about having an input on the GM search. Andre Johnson's flame-throwing tweet only added to the drama.
SO of course rumors are already swirling about potential Watson trades. But unlike the Harden mess, Watson's can be fixed.
New GM Nick Caserio will have to smooth things over, but he has already made strides by requesting an interview with Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, Watson's reportedly preferred choice at head coach.
While the Texans could conceivably trade Watson - and you could make a pretty good case for doing it - this isn't in the same ballpark as Harden. It's not in Watson's DNA to not show up for camp and cause discord, which is the only way he could force a deal. The more likely scenario is he gets his voice heard in the coaching search, and that appeases him. It's on Caserio to make that happen. It also means it is time to part ways with Jesus Jack Easterby, who has become the city's latest sports villain. Johnson's tweet made sure of that.
Watson has every right to be miffed. He had to live with Bill O'Brien's dictatorial rule for three-plus years. His best weapon was traded away for peanuts. And the goofball owner, Cal McNair, lied to him about keeping him in the loop on hires. In short, the Texans have become a joke of an organization.
But that can be fixed. Caserio is a sharp guy, and he will figure out how to smooth this over. Getting the coaching hire right - with Watson's input - could easily change the narrative. The more Caserio and the new coach get out front, the less McNair and Easterby can screw up.
In the end, it should get worked out, and all of this will be meaningless. Sure, Watson could decide enough's enough and pout his way out of town like Harden. But that's a long shot. Harden's time had passed in Houston. Watson is still getting started. His best years are ahead of him.
But it's time for the Texans to stop stepping on their own cranks and get the right coach and players in house, and stop letting Easterby have any say whatsoever. McNair needs to have the right people in place and trust them to do their jobs. Hopefully Caserio is that guy, and we will find out when he hires a coach. If they ignore Watson again? Then you can compare it to Harden. But it's hard to see that happening. Then again, hardly anything surprises with the dysfunctional Texans these days.
Until then, the drama continues. But don't expect it to end the way Harden's tenure did.
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If you are a believer in the third time is a charm, go ahead and book the Texans for their first ever appearance in the AFC Championship game! Saturday is the Texans’ third crack at the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. Of course, the Texans had a third time is the charm opportunity at advancing beyond the division round back in 2016 and came nowhere close. Charm will have nothing to do with the outcome at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs have administered the Texans’ two most humiliating postseason defeats in franchise history. They came as the bookend postseason appearances of Bill O’Brien’s tenure as head coach. In 2015, the Texans won the worst division in the AFC (that sounds familiar) but as a division champ got to play host to the Wild Card 11-5 Chiefs. The visitors were three-point favorites. They won by 30. 30-0 to be more precise. Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a touchdown. It would have been in the Texans’ best interest to have forfeited right then and there. In what was not exactly a shocking development, Texans’ quarterback Brian Hoyer wasn’t up to the task, throwing for just 112 yards and four interceptions. On the Chiefs’ side third-year tight end Travis Kelce had eight receptions for 128 yards. Taylor Swift was not in attendance.
The second Texans-Chiefs playoff get together is the most incredible game in Texans’ history. The Texans showed up in Missouri fresh off the greatest comeback win in their history, having come from down 16-0 in the third quarter to best the Buffalo Bills in overtime. In what could safely be characterized as stunning, the Texans put up three first quarter touchdowns for a 21-0 lead. *Massive bonus points if you can name the three Texans who scored those TDs, answer below. A field goal made it 24-0 Texans with 10:54 left in the second quarter. In a collapse tough to pull off, the Texans would trail before halftime. The Chiefs scored four touchdowns in nine minutes and eleven seconds of game time, with that Kelce fellow scoring the last three of them. Some will recall O’Brien calling a fake punt from his own 31-yard line with the Texans up 24-7. Too soon? Justin Reid (now pursuing his third Super Bowl ring in three seasons as a Chief) was stopped short. An even more damning O’Brien moment came later in that game when he actually had to use a timeout to change his mind and go for it with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter, the Texans down 48-31, and facing fourth and four at the K.C. 42. That was a fire-able on the spot offense! Instead it took an 0-4 start to the 2020 season for O’Brien to be ousted. 51-31 Chiefs was the final score, and they went on to win the first of their three Super Bowl titles in the ongoing Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes era.
Back to the present
Those routs were then, this is now. For a 15-2 team the Chiefs seem vulnerable. Maximum credit to them for having won an NFL record 16 consecutive games decided by eight or fewer points, 11 of them this season including their 27-19 victory over the Texans December 21. Perhaps the two-time defending champions were often bored with the regular season and often did just enough to win. The Texans would have been tied with them late in the third quarter had Ka’imi Fairbairn not botched an extra point. On the other hand, it was the play that got them within 17-16 which resulted in Tank Dell’s catastrophic season-ending knee injury. Who besides Nico Collins will do something in the passing game Saturday? Last Saturday the Texans’ pass rush harassed and flustered Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert. Mahomes is a different breed. Four weeks ago the Texans sacked Mahomes just once and did not intercept him. That seemingly must change for the Texans to pull off what be a shocker for most people. Saturday’s high temperature forecast for Kansas City is 25 degrees. Not ideal for the Texans but better than if the game had been scheduled for Sunday when the high is supposed to be 16.
Still standing
Four Texans who dressed for the debacle five years ago will suit up against the Chiefs Saturday: Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard who were in their first season with the team, Fairbairn, and long snapper Jon Weeks. Granted he’s just a long snapper (important role but not physically taxing), but Weeks is in his 15th season with the Texans and has yet to miss a game-244 regular season games (with Saturday his 14th playoff game, also without a miss). Presuming he is back next season, Weeks (who turns 39 next month) can crack the top five list of most consecutive games played in NFL history by answering the bell in the first 12 regular season games.
*The Texans’ three early TDS in the 51-31 loss at KC: 1. Kenny Stills with a 54-yard reception 2. Lonnie Johnson with a 10-yard return of a blocked punt 3. Darren Fells with a four-yard grab
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
The Astros are always in season for discussion. Our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts drop Mondays: Click here to watch!