TEXANS QB HAS MADE ESCAPING TROUBLE ELEMENTARY AS HE CONTINUES TO MAKE MAGIC HAPPEN.
Watson: Houdini with a helmet on
Nov 6, 2019, 6:56 am
TEXANS QB HAS MADE ESCAPING TROUBLE ELEMENTARY AS HE CONTINUES TO MAKE MAGIC HAPPEN.
Deshaun Watson has matured right before our eyes as he continues to get better and better. He has continually overcome injury, survived his early years with the Bill O' Brien offense and the bad o-line that came with it and learned from each mistake he has made along the way. He knows when to stay in the pocket and go through his progressions and when to tuck it and run. His passing skills have always been good but they seemingly improve with every snap and the fact that he faces the music and the media when he plays poorly and then goes back to the lab to get better means his dedication to his craft lives up to the growing hype train that is rolling down the tracks. Houston and fans of the Texans everywhere need to appreciate what they get to witness every week when No. 4 gets behind center for their team and be thankful that after all those lean QB years with a revolving door of misfits and journeymen, you finally have your franchise quarterback.
I know it's hard to fathom, but in an indirect way, you have to thank Brock Osweiler for getting Watson to H-town. If Osweiler had remotely worked out after the team signed him to a huge free-agent deal, you would never have Watson in red, white and blue. Be thankful Rick Smith tried to right his wrong and no matter the price and how many draft picks were lost in the process, the moves he made to make drafting the Clemson QB a reality were worth every penny. The Chicago Bears surely have to be kicking themselves as they did what Smith and the Texans did, giving up a future first-round pick to get their franchise quarterback, but Mitch Trubisky is no Deshaun Watson or Patrick Mahomes for that matter. Both MVP candidate quarterbacks went later in the same draft and were passed over by the Bears who felt "Maseratii Mitch" was better. Thank goodness they did as Chiefs fans and Texans fans will always look back on those draft day dealings and feel thankful.
The early returns on the 2017 QB class gave all the accolades and the top billing to Mahomes and rightfully so. After sitting out his first year to learn the ropes, system and coaching staff, he took the league by storm and became a human highlight reel every Sunday. The season culminated with a tough loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game, but also with Mahomes winning the NFL MVP Award. Could you imagine if Watson had an innovative offensive mind like Andy Reid from the start? What if he had the Chiefs o-line? Can you imagine Watson operating with all the weapons Mahomes had and has at most every skill position? I say that to make the point that the media and most experts thought it was a no-brainer that Mahomes was the cream of the 2017 crop of QB's and forgot the fact that Houston was still putting pieces around their QB1 and once they did, he would continue to get better and better.
He also had to overcome the after-effects of an injury suffered in the midst of a season that almost surely was headed for rookie of the year as well as MVP consideration. As we look at the two quarterbacks now, it's more of a dead heat and toss-up than it was just a year ago and the future may very well dictate that Deshaun will be king of the hill when all is said and done. Regardless of how it all ends, be thankful you will be along for the ride, every step of the way, as he leads your team into battle for each and every game. As much as people scoffed at Dabo Sweeney when he proclaimed the whichever team drafted Watson, his college QB, was getting the Michael Jordan of football, he doesn't look too far off as we watch Watson's meteoric rise.
C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson found themselves in the same spot when they met in Week 2 last season.
Both quarterbacks were top-five draft picks, lost their season openers and seemed to be facing a steep learning curve.
Richardson won Round 1 in Houston, although he didn't finish the game.
Stroud took Round 2 in Indianapolis with the injured Richardson watching from the sideline as Texans clinched the AFC South title and Stroud locked up his runaway selection as NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
On Sunday, each QB begins his second pro season — with a lot still to prove.
“I’m excited. First official game back with my guys and my teammates,” said Richardson, who had season-ending shoulder surgery last October. "I want to win. So, whatever I’ve got to do to do that, I’m going to do it.”
Winning a season opener certainly would be a welcome change for a franchise that last started 1-0 in 2013. The 10-game winless streak is easily the NFL's longest active streak.
But that's just a start for Richardson.
He needs to improve his accuracy after completing a pedestrian 59.5% of his throws in 2023 and must demonstrate he can finish games. He missed 13 last season and only finished one of his four starts because of an assortment of injuries, including the concussion that knocked him out of that Week 2 matchup at Houston after he ran for two scores.
Stroud, meanwhile, is coming off one of the most successful rookie seasons in NFL history.
He became just the third player in a half-century to lead the league in yards passing per game (273.9) and touchdown-to-interception ratio (4.6 to 1), won a playoff game and made hist first Pro Bowl appearance.
How can he improve on a season like that? By showing last season was a building block — not a fluke. He has a stronger supporting cast, too, with Joe Mixon, a four-time 1,000-yard rusher, and Stefon Diggs, who has four straight 100-catch seasons, now in the mix.
The long journey begins Sunday in Indianapolis.
“I want to just start fast,” Stroud said. “It doesn't have to do with a certain game, just in general this season. Last year, we started off really slow and just kind of had to build our way back. It's not an easy thing to do, so I would say this year we want to start fast.”
Houston receiver Nico Collins had two of his biggest games last season against Indy — catching seven passes for 146 yards and one TD in the Week 2 matchup only to outperform those numbers with a 195-yard day that included a 75-yard TD catch in Week 18.
He could play an even bigger role this time with Indy's young secondary trying to match up not only with Collins but also Diggs, Mixon and tight end Dalton Schultz.
“Nico is a playmaker,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Every time I see him, he’s a true playmaker. So, you just have to get Nico the ball in any way, shape or fashion. Just find a way to get him the ball just to see how explosive and how dynamic he is.”
Injuries and a contract dispute prevented Jonathan Taylor from replicating the form he used to win the 2021 NFL rushing title. Starting against the Texans could be just what he needs.
In six games against Houston, Taylor has rushed for seven TDs and 135.2 yards per game — his highest average against any team he's faced multiple times. And in that rematch with Houston in Week 18, he finished with 30 carries for 188 yards, the NFL's highest single-game total all season.
Houston defensive end Will Anderson, last season’s AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, will play Sunday after recovering from an ankle injury that limited his training camp snaps.
The No. 3 overall pick in 2023 had 45 tackles, 10 for loss, and 7 1/2 sacks as a rookie. He expects to be even better this season.
“I’m way more comfortable,” he said. “Just going into Year 2 knowing the scheme better, knowing what to expect a little bit more and knowing what’s going to happen gives you more confidence.”
The Colts lost their 2023 sacks leader, Samson Ebukam, with a torn Achilles tendon during training. But they may have the perfect replacement.
Laiatu Latu was the first defensive player taken in April's draft, at No. 15 overall, and he's shown coaches that the moves he used to record 23 1/2 sacks over his last two college seasons can work in the NFL.
“We know that there’s going to be a learning curve there," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "We know there are going to be plays that we’re going to come in and say there were some good plays, and there were plays he wishes he had back — we understand that. But just his overall mentality and skill set, we’re very excited to see.”