Every-Thing Sports
Time for Bill O'Brien to bleep or get off the pot
Dec 3, 2019, 6:55 am
Every-Thing Sports
Sunday night, the Texans did something not many truly thought was possible: they dominated the Patriots. I know the 28-22 final score and total yardage differential aren't indicative of domination, but the eye test told a different story. As I stated in my recap of the game, Tom Brady's frustration was visible early on. A ton of credit goes to head coachgeneral manager grand poobah of all things Texans, Bill O'Brien (more on his new title later). The players were so excited about the win and the roll O'Brien played, they gave him the game ball. It felt good to beat Bill Belichick, especially since he gave O'Brien a shot at the NFL level of coaching. This was a big win for this organization and the fans, but there's more to do.
Sure, beating the team that has owned you is a good look, but there's more to achieve. There are several reasons why I believe O'Brien is out of excuses. Here's why I think it's time for him to bleep or get off the pot:
News came down on Sunday that the Texans won't be hiring a general manager. This essentially means O'Brien is the Grand Poobah of the Texans. The only people who are more powerful are the McNairs, and they seem OK with giving O'Brien all the stroke he needs to do whatever he feels is necessary to build a winner here. With him as the GM and head coach, he only answers to the McNairs. Bill Parcells once famously stated "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries." O'Brien now has the card, cart, and is all alone in the store.
O'Brien calls the plays, but Watson executes them. Often times when the called play goes awry, Watson improvises and makes chicken salad out of chicken bleep. His ability to extend plays is uncanny. He's enough to cover up some poor play calls and/or accentuate the good ones. O'Brien has the most key piece any grand poobah needs to succeed in football. He even calls certain plays to cater to Watson's abilities. The story about O'Brien and his coaching staff asking Watson what he felt most comfortable running and implementing those plays in his rookie year shows that he has the ability to adapt to Watson. If O'Brien wants to have continued success, Watson will play a very large part.
Often times when things don't go well, people will blame others around them and absolve themselves of any responsibility. There is literally no one left for O'Brien to blame. He's now taken over the organization and holds all the keys to the kingdom. There's no Rick smith or Brian Gaine to get in his way of doing anything and everything he wants. Anybody with a seat at the table is probably too scared to say anything against him because O'Brien could have them removed. One of my favorite rappers growing up in New Orleans (B.G.) had an album in 1997 called "It's All On U" and this perfectly describes O'Brien's situation off Kirby.
After firing Gaine, O'Brien was the de facto GM. He went out and traded a motherload of draft picks for Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills. He also traded Jadeveon Clowney for some loosies, a case of quarter waters, a 3rd round draft pick. He then traded another pick for Gareon Conley, and later claimed Vernon Hargreaves off waivers. All these moves were made to fill holes the team has, and to clean up the messes that were made by previous personnel decisions, or lack thereof. The lack of draft capital over the next couple years makes it hard for anyone to come here and think he could turn things around quickly. He decided to go all in, now it's time to produce tangible results.
The win over the Patriots was nice, but let's see long term sustainable success. Winning the division six of the last nine years (if they hold on to win this year, which they should) is somewhat impressive, but the lack of deep playoff runs has been underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see the team in the position that they're in. However, I'm ready to see them advance beyond their current state of perennial playoff team and ascend into the realm of Super Bowl contender. The only way to do that is to consistently make AFC title games and Super Bowl appearances. That ascension rests squarely on the shoulders of O'Brien. It's time for him to lead this team to the Promised Land, or move along. Either bleep, or get off the pot.
The Houston Texans are searching for answers after ending the first half of their season with an embarrassing loss in prime time.
While there are plenty of things for the Texans (6-3) to clean up after Thursday night’s 21-13 loss to the Jets, the good news is that they still have a two-game lead in the AFC South.
“This isn’t the end, but it’s definitely a great wakeup call for us to tighten up the ship,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “This is now playoff football, it’s November-December, this is the chunk of our schedule, a lot of great teams we are playing on prime time and we’ve got to be able to find ways to win.”
Perhaps the most pressing issue for the Texans is their inability to protect Stroud. The second-year quarterback was sacked a season-high eight times Thursday night and he has been sacked 30 times this season, a total that ranks second in the NFL to Cleveland’s Deshaun Watson, who is out for the season.
“I’m not sure what’s happening upfront … but obviously we give up eight sacks, and every drop back or pass situation, it looks like we’re in scramble mode,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “So, it’s just not good enough and we can’t operate on time and we’ve got to get that fixed.”
Stroud said it’s “not easy” getting hit as many times as he has been this season but added that there are things he can do to avoid some of those hits.
“I know those guys that play up front are fighting and we’ve got to do a better job of just getting those guys better opportunities to block those guys,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that need to be fixed, ultimately. One thing I can do is just get the ball out faster, too.”
The Texans are also dealing with injuries to receivers Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins that have slowed their passing game. Diggs is out for the season with a knee injury, but Collins is eligible to return next week after missing four games with a hamstring injury.
Despite the problems, Stroud remains confident that the team can improve and get back on track to finish the season strong.
“It’s not the time to hang our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves,” Stroud said. “It’s time to answer the call and we have guys in that locker room that I believe in and trust in and I think we’ll be able to be a really good football team.”
Joe Mixon’s great start to the season has made the running game the strength of the team. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, has had at least 100 yards rushing and a touchdown in four straight games.
He's had 100 yards rushing in five of his six games this season. The only time he didn’t reach the mark was in Week 2 when he missed most of the second half with an ankle injury that kept him out the next three games.
“Joe has been great every game for us,” Ryans said. “I mean, every game Joe has touched the ball, he’s gotten over 100 yards … Joe’s relentless. He has that sense of urgency. We just need everybody else around him to play the same way."
As mentioned above, the Texans must find a way to protect Stroud better. Ryans said he’s going to consider everything to fix the problem, including personnel changes.
“It’s not good enough and we’ve got things (to) adjust,” Ryans said. “We’ve got to adjust. We’ve got to change things moving forward.”
WR Tank Dell had six receptions for a season-high 126 yards Thursday night for his first 100-yard game this season. He hasn't been as productive this year as he was a rookie when he had 709 yards receiving in 11 games. The Texans need him to continue to play well with Diggs out for the season.
K Ka’imi Fairbairn had missed only two field goals through the first eight games before missing two on Thursday night. He missed one from 56 yards in the second quarter and his 27-yard attempt in the fourth quarter hit the left upright for another miss.
DE Will Anderson didn’t play in the second half after injuring his ankle against the Jets. … LG Kenyon Green injured his left shoulder Thursday night. ... RB Dameon Pierce missed Thursday's game with a groin injury.
11 — Will Anderson, last year's AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, leads the NFL with 11 tackles for loss.
The Texans have time to regroup and try to clean up some of their issues before their next game on Nov. 10 when they host the Lions on “Sunday Night Football.”
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