Falcon Points
With busy day of trades, O'Brien's transformation to villain is now complete
Aug 31, 2019, 11:37 am
Falcon Points
We all love super heroes and comic book movies. A hero fights for good, does his or her best to protect us from evil and those who would destroy our world. They keep the villains from eliminating all we love.
In reality, super heroes don't exist. But sadly, super villains do.
Bill O'Brien's transformation to the latter is now complete.
With Saturday's trade of Jadeveon Clowney to the Seahawks for basically a warm bucket of spit was the final step in his transformation from slightly above average coach to a Chip Kelly-type destroyer of worlds.
O'Brien basically sold Clowney off for a pair of fringe players and a third-round pick. The simple question is why? Why not just keep him this season, when you claim to be a contender? Especially considering the other moves the team made, this makes little sense.
O'Brien, the ultimate bully, allowed himself to be bullied into a bad trade because he was too stubborn to suck it up and realize for the now, they were better off keeping Clowney. If you were going to trade him, it should have been on your own terms. Or done months ago. But what happens when someone bullies a bully? He folds.
So the Texans give away an asset for next to nothing.
No offensive tackle to protect Deshaun Watson. Not even a running back. Not even a premium draft pick. O'Brien's rise to the top of the power structure has put the Texans in a precarious position. He has basically solid off assets for almost nothing, simply because he believes he knows better than anyone else.
A real super hero - or, even a GM - would have stepped in and stopped it. But O'Brien has consolidated all the power. In Dark Knight, we learn you die a hero or live long enough to be a villain. O'Brien should have been fired - or at least had his wings clipped - two years ago. Instead he has lived to be the villain.
There really is nothing positive to pull out of this trade, The Texans are not better. O'Brien dismantled Gary Kubiak's talented offensive line, letting Ben Jones and Brandon Brooks walk in free agency and dealing Duane Brown for nothing. He has yet to rebuild it and they have suffered ever since. Now he has given away a solid if slightly overrated defensive asset for nothing.
Why? Uncontrollable ego? Stubborness? The idea that he knows better than everyone else? That has not worked out very well so far. Short of winning a Super Bowl, which seems incredibly unlikely, O'Brien has once again set himself to look like the bad guy.
O'Brien finally landed the much-needed left tackle later in the day when he picked up stud Laremy Tunsil from Miami. But the price was incredibly high. Two first rounders, a second, Julien Davenport and Johnson Bademosi for Tunsil and receiver Kenny Stills. He also dealt Martinas Rankin for running back Carlos Hyde. While adding those two was a huge positive, the price just makes the Clowney trade look worse. Rankin becomes yet another failed third-round pick. They could have gotten a Tunsil like haul for Clowney before the draft and failed. And if they had never traded Brown, this isn't even necessary...so even the good moves make him look like a dictator. A coach who is playing GM (again, see Kelly) does not look ahead.
He might not be the villain we wanted. But he is the one we have.
And there are no heroes left in the world. We have to hope it all works out.
Coming off a dominant offensive performance, the Houston Astros return to the field Wednesday night looking to keep their momentum rolling against the Athletics. Cam Smith’s four-hit breakout powered a 13-3 rout on Tuesday, and now the Astros aim to take control of the series in Game 3 of the four-game set.
Houston, sitting atop the AL West at 42-31, will send left-hander Framber Valdez to the mound. Valdez has been in strong form all season, posting a 7-4 record with a 3.10 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 2025. He’ll be looking to build on Houston’s recent pitching success. The Astros have held opponents to a 2.60 ERA over their last 10 games while going 7-3 in that span and outscoring opponents by 24 runs.
The A’s will counter with veteran right-hander Luis Severino, who enters with a 2-6 record and a 4.47 ERA. While his season has been inconsistent, Severino still has the ability to miss bats and will look to keep an Astros lineup in check that’s hitting .271 over its last 10 contests.
The Athletics come in at 30-45 overall and 13-24 at home, and though they've dropped three of four to the Astros this season, the power potential is always there. The A’s have launched 92 home runs so far — seventh-most in the majors — with Tyler Soderstrom and Max Muncy continuing to anchor the offense. Soderstrom has already racked up 14 homers and 45 RBIs on the year, while Muncy has gone deep three times over his last 10 games.
Houston’s offense has been steadily rising, fueled by key performances from both veterans and emerging talent. Jeremy Peña continues to provide steady production with 15 doubles and nine homers on the year, while rookie Cam Smith has caught fire, going 14-for-40 with four doubles and two homers in his last 10 games.
The Astros are 33-13 this season when they out-hit their opponent, and they’ll look to follow that blueprint again Wednesday. First pitch is set for 10:05 p.m. EDT in West Sacramento, with Houston holding a 3-1 edge in the season series.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -162, Athletics +136; over/under is 9 runs
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