Offensive Coordinator? No thanks. Let O'Brien keep calling plays

Houstontexans.com

Bill O'Brien deserves another chance to call the plays for the Texans.

All you people who want an offensive coordinator in here just want change for the sake of change. You're not even sure if there is an upgrade there for the Texans. Grass isn't always greener on the other side and the play calls aren't always better with a different headset.

It isn't all his fault the offense has sputtered, there aren't better options, and it's bad for Deshaun Watson to hire a new play caller and offensive coordinator.

Did you watch the offensive line this season? Tell me what anyone would have done to fix the issues there. How anyone can be disappointed with the offensive line and simultaneously claim they want a new play caller is beyond me. The lack of consistent blocking alone, from the line to the tight ends and backs, torpedoes almost any argument against O'Brien. There isn't a lot of talent there and they had struggles early in the season caused by O'Brien and his staff but this has to be better before damning O'Brien.

Injuries is another way to spell inconsistency too. Will Fuller, Keke Coutee, Demaryius Thomas, and D'Onta Foreman all missed significant time this season. Watson spent a few weeks playing hurt. DeAndre Hopkins was on the injury report damn near all season. Oh an let's not forget the starting right tackle went down in the first game and the guards were rotating dealing with injuries. Even with all this, they were an average offense when it was all said and done.

There were 14 teams with a better offensive points per game statistic than the Houston Texans. Of those teams, six of the head coaches call the plays (Freddie Kitchens is the head coach now and called the plays for most the Browns offensive success). Atlanta fired Steve Sarkisian but nobody wants that experiment here. Todd Monken was in Tampa but lost play calling duties at one point to Dirk Koetter, who was hired by the Falcons to run their offense. Assume any of the other teams ahead won't let their play caller leave and that has just one option for the Texans, Mike McCarthy. He is sitting out looking for a head coaching job. So someone else who wasn't or hasn't called plays is going to be better than O'Brien?

The new face would be bad for Deshaun Watson too. A new play caller and offensive coordinator has to get used to Watson and his style but also the rest of the offense. Nobody knows the team like O'Brien and his offensive staff. Watson just stood up for his head coach, and play caller, last season. He frequently talks about his high approval for O'Brien's offense and how just a few bits of execution would have them being a little bit better. He's not wrong either. A few more plays here and there is a few more wins and maybe a bye.

This team is close to having a top offense. They need some luck with injuries and Brian Gaine needs to nail the draft and free agency to shore up the nagging issues. It is worth giving O'Brien one more shot. Synergy produced the best Texans season under O'Brien. Why go messing with it just yet? Plus, if O'Brien stinks they can turn the duties over to Sean Ryan, who was interviewed last offseason for coordinating jobs. Then, if he fails too, the Texans can look outside the organization.

Until then, how about a little patience?

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The Longhorns host Georgia on Saturday night. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.

The Longhorns rank No. 1 in total defense and scoring defense. They are top 10 in first downs allowed, tackles for loss and passing yards. Much of that is built against opponents starting former walk-on quarterbacks ( Michigan ) and freshmen ( Mississippi State and Oklahoma.)

But the level of quarterback play Texas will face, in both talent and experience, is about to get much better over the second half of the season.

Texas hosts No. 5 Georgia on Saturday night in the first matchup of top five teams in Austin since 2006, before playing the next week at Vanderbilt. Bulldogs senior Carson Beck was a preseason first team Associated Press All-America pick, and standout Vanderbilt transfer Diego Pavia has carried the Commodores to a surprising 4-2 start, including a historic win over then-No. 1 Alabama.

Quite simply, Texas hasn't defended this caliber of quarterback all season.

Beck is a player on the doorstep of the NFL, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.

“There's nothing in the throw game (Beck) can't do,” Sarkisian said. “He's played enough football now, too. It's kind of hard to confuse guys when they've played that much football.”

Texas (6-0, 2-0 SEC) has allowed just one team to pass for more than 200 yards this season. Beck passed for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions last week in a 41-31 win over Mississippi State. His 36 completions set a Georgia record.

Even when Beck struggled early in Georgia's loss to Alabama, he rallied the Bulldogs to a late fourth-quarter lead. He finished with 439 yards in the loss where Georgia's rally ended with an Alabama interception in the end zone in the final minute.

Sarkisian recruited Beck when the Texas coach was an assistant at Alabama. Beck had initially committed to the Crimson Tide before switching to Georgia.

Beck is 18-2 in his career as a starter, and 6-2 against top 20 opponents.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) will need another exceptional game from him Saturday. A second SEC loss could threaten any chance of playing for the SEC championship, and raise the alarms on the College Football Playoff as well.

Texas has all but overwhelmed opposing quarterbacks so far.

In last week's 34-3 thrashing of rival Oklahoma, the Longhorns sacked Sooners freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. five times, and held him to 27 yards on 20 carries. Texas allowed just 225 total yards.

Hawkins was the first Sooners freshman to start at quarterback against the Longhorns in the 120-year history of the rivalry and was quickly swallowed up by a relentless pass rush.

By the numbers, the Longhorns program is on pace for a historic season. Sarkisian has said his favorite stat is points allowed, which is not many.

Texas has surrendered only three touchdowns all season. Opponents have snatched four turnovers inside Texas territory, but none have produced points.

That ability to snuff momentum can drain an opponent, Sarkisian said.

“We're so composed as a defense,” Texas safety Michael Taaffe said. “We're so confident, that no matter what happens, everything is going to be alright.”

The only time Texas has trailed this season was a 3-0 early deficit against Oklahoma. Several Longhorns starters were still on the field when the Sooners' final drive stalled at the Texas 6-yard-line as the game ended.

The stars emerging for the Longhorns have been second-year linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and freshman edge rusher Colin Simmons.

Hill leads the team in total tackles (42), sacks (4 1/2) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). His sideline-to-sideline speed and move this season from the edge to the middle of the Texas defense has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns All-American Derrick Johnson 20 years ago.

Simmons has four sacks and 7 1/2 tackles for losses, second on the team in both categories.

“Size, speed,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in summing up the Texas defense.

“They’re the complete package on defense," Smart said. "The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our best teams here.”By any measure, from the official statistics to the informal eye test, top-ranked Texas' defense has been dominant.