LANCE ZIERLEIN
LZ's Facts: Watson under pressure and O-line changes
Sep 19, 2018, 9:10 am
Deshaun Watson has not thrived under pressure. Zach Tarrant/Houstontexans.com
Fact: Teams who start the season 0-2 make the playoffs just 12.1% of the time and win the division just 5.6% of the time. Based on the way Jacksonville looked against New England, I feel like I can safely tell you that you can tear your “Texans win AFC South” ticket up.
LZ Says: That sounds like really bad news, but the good news is that in each of the last five seasons, there has been a team who started 0-2 and still made the playoffs including the Saints last season who finished 11-5.
Fact: After two games, Deshaun Watson is completing just 35% of his passes at 4.2 yards per attempt, and a 27.9 Passer Rating when pressured. Pretty terrible. When he’s not pressured, you ask? He completes 69.6% of his passes at 8.7 yards per attempt, and a 109.1
LZ Says: Watson’s response to pressure didn’t look good over the last two games and now we have data points confirming just how bad it was. It’s Watson’s job to have a pre-snap plan and post-snap poise to deal with pressure, but it’s also Bill O’Brien’s job to do a better job scheming around the fact that his offensive line doesn’t have the talent to hold up consistently - especially against blitzes. O’Brien is going to activate more RPO (run-pass option) looks, more play-actions, and passing on early downs. These could all help to slow down the opposing rush. Moving the pocket could help too.
Fact: The Houston Texans offensive line may need to be shuffled within the next couple of games if things don’t get better in pass protection quickly.
LZ Says: With Seantrel Henderson out for the year, there aren’t a ton of options at tackle that don’t involve Kendall Lamm and I know the fans don’t want to see that. However, if Martinas Rankin keeps struggling to handle speed rushers off the edge, we could see Davenport moved back to his more natural left side with Lamm plugged in on the right. I’m not saying I’m excited about it happening, I’m just saying it could happen. The same goes for Senio Kelemete at left guard. He’s really more of a solid NFL backup who has been thrust into the starting lineup. If he keeps playing up-and-down football, Greg Mancz could get the call to step in for Kelemete sooner than later.
Fact: The punt block debacle was a fundamental breakdown from the top to the bottom.
LZ Says: Let’s work our way from the bottom up in this one. The Texans asked a rookie, Natrell Jamerson, to fake a punt block and then peel back out to the gunner before the snap. Jamerson was late getting out to his responsibility and it lead to a touchdown for the Titans. He messed up. But now let’s work to the next level - Brad Seely, the special teams coach. How in the world do you show the same “fake punt block” look the week before and come back to it the very next week? Kevin Byard was asked about the fake punt touchdown throw and he even said that the Titans prepared for that look and were hoping to see it. Congrats, you got what you wanted. And ultimately, the buck stops on the head coach, Bill O’Brien, whether he likes it or not.
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Former major-leaguers are rising to prominent front office roles throughout MLB. Composite Getty Image.
Shortly after his playing career ended, Jerry Dipoto took in a game at Wrigley Field with former big league manager Jim Fregosi. After a particularly nasty strikeout by Eric Gagne, Dipoto laughed.
Fregosi promptly slapped Dipoto on the back of his head.
“He said, ‘I’m just going to remind you today. ... Don’t ever forget how hard that it is to play,’” Dipoto recalled. “And that’s what I think is the thing I remember most, and I think the benefit of the guys who have gone through it, is that they recognize that it is a really hard game.”
That lesson stayed with Dipoto as he made his way to his current job with the Seattle Mariners — and membership in an exclusive club. Dipoto is one of five former major leaguers serving as the top baseball executive for a big league franchise at the moment.
Dipoto, 56, has been the president of baseball operations for Seattle since Sept. 1, 2021. Like Dipoto, Chris Young, 45, was promoted from general manager to president of baseball operations for the Texas Rangers on Sept. 13. Craig Breslow was hired as the chief baseball officer for the Boston Red Sox on Oct. 25, 2023, and Chris Getz was promoted to GM of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 31, 2023.
Buster Posey, 37, joined the list when the former All-Star catcher was hired as president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants in September.
“There are a ton of incredibly successful executives who didn’t play baseball,” said Breslow, 44. “I don’t think it’s a prerequisite, but I do think it provides a level of credibility and empathy given I’ve kind of been on every side of a transaction, or every side of a conversation I’ve had to have with a player or coach. And credibility in terms of really being able to understand what players are thinking about, what they’re going through.”
Under Breslow's leadership, Boston used a complicated contract structure to add Alex Bregman in free agency. Bregman also was being pursued by the Cubs and Tigers before he agreed to a $120 million, three-year deal with the Red Sox.
San Francisco had been struggling to land a major free agent before shortstop Willy Adames agreed to a $182 million, seven-year contract with the Giants in December. Adames said Posey played a major role in his decision.
“My meeting with the team, it was me and him, basically. No agent. Nobody,” Adames said. “So we had a really, really good conversation, and I bought into his plan for this organization, for what he wants to build here in the near future.”
Breslow has a degree from Yale and Young graduated from Princeton, so the five players in charge of major league teams doesn't exactly represent some sort of counterrevolution when it comes to Ivy League grads in baseball.
But today's major-leaguers are increasingly savvy when it comes to the business side of the game, and they have firsthand experience with the data used by front offices as part of their decision-making process.
“Where we were a decade ago to where we are now, there's just so much opportunity to make better decisions nowadays based on the information that we have,” said Getz, 41. “But being well-versed in it now, you know having a former playing background is only going to position you, your résumé is just stronger.”
While that big league career is an asset in a variety of ways, it also creates a unique set of blind spots. Building out a front office that complements one another is key, Dipoto said.
“I learned to adapt along the way to things I didn’t know and to trust people who are smarter than I am to fill in those gaps,” he said, “and to recognize when I’m allowing my want to be a good teammate and my want to love the good teammate, sometimes, you have be able to discern when that doesn’t equal best player fit for this situation.”
There are several more people in position to join the club one day. Brandon Gomes helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series last year, serving as the team's GM under Andrew Friedman. Ryan Garko was promoted to assistant GM with the Detroit Tigers in May. Cole Figueroa is an assistant GM for the Rangers.
Kevin Reese and Tim Naehring work for longtime New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, and Josh Barfield is part of Getz's front office with the White Sox.
When it comes to his discussions with players interested in working in baseball operations, Breslow said the conversations provide an indication of the potential for success.
“It becomes pretty clear, generally who has the curiosity, who asks a lot of questions,” he said. "Who wants to learn why we make decisions not just what decisions are being made. Those are the people (that could make the transition).”