Bill O'Brien deserves one more chance to prove he can run the offense for the Texans
Offensive Coordinator? No thanks. Let O'Brien keep calling plays
Jan 11, 2019, 7:19 am
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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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.