As the off season comes ahead for the Houston Texans, Rick Smith and Bill O’Brien have a big task at hand with the quarterback position. Do they rely on the same old same old and continue on with Brian Hoyer?
How about letting Tom Savage develop and see what he can bring to the table for the years to come? Maybe work the free agency and make some moves with players such as RG3? What about taking advantage of the draft and work with what’s available, and hoping that it turns out to be a major success? All these are potential moves that the Texans organization will have to make moving forward with the team to finally finish off the missing piece.
Everyone knows Brian Hoyer’s starting position is long gone in the city of Houston and now Tom Savage will get his opportunity that he’s been waiting for. Savage hasn’t really been put to the test for this team just yet but did get a chance in the 2014-2015 season finishing with 127 yards with just 10 completions out of 19 attempts, and 1 interception in the seasons closer against The Colts.
Savage unfortunately was on the IR the whole entire 2015-2016 season with a shoulder injury, which never gave him the shot to step up to the plate when needed this past season. The only downfall with Savage is his inexperience, and many feel Houston will have to wait and give him time to develop.
Although Savage has learned a lot this season observing the game play from Hoyer, Mallett, TJ Yates, and Brandon Weeden, Savage looks to take his knowledge to help better his game and not make the same mistakes they made. A lot of study with film and technique has been made for Savage, and he will finally get a chance to show was he has learned in this upcoming season.
With Robert Griffin the 3rd cutting ties with Washington, Houston has been a big potential landing spot for the ex Washington quarterback. A lot of ups and downs have been apart of Griffin’s career thus far in the league battling injuries, but many believe with a second chance, his declining career can yet be revived.
Griffin started his career with a bang finishing his rookie season on top with 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a post season run. Griffin also won Rookie of the Year and made a remarkable finish with one of the best rookie years in all of football’s history. From there Griffin put up similar numbers in the yards column, but touchdowns seemed to drop to 16, and interceptions raised to 12 in the 2013 season.
Many wonder what could be wrong with the quote on quote “star” and felt injuries from his risky play styles could have played a major part in it. In his final season of starting in 2014, Griffin finished with only 1,694 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions in only 9 games played due to injuries. From that point on Griffins career would go lopsided and drastically change in many ways.
Going into the 2015 season head coach Gruden made the decision to start Kirk Cousins, having Colt McCoy as his backup, leaving Griffin as the 3rd string. At this point Griffin had lost all his confidence already but still managed to handle one of the most difficult tasks in all of football. This truly was the biggest test for Griffin having to sit out every game and watch his “team” make ways with a new guy and had to find a way to deal with it in a mature manner.
Griffin may not have any confidence in him at the moment, but with the way Houston is struggling to find a quarterback, Griffin could easily bounce back and get back to his old ways. Griffin has the athletic ability. He has the play making skills, and has the drive that is needed to succeed in this league at a high level. All he is needing is trust to know he has the keys and is believed in to make big things happen once again.
Griffin has worked and pushed it like no other this past season in an all around aspect and has worked his way into a better pocket passer that he had been struggling with from the start. Griffin has also gotten smarter in the mental stand point, and is as healthy as ever to get his revival started. Houston, we may have an answer, but the dice must be rolled to find out.
With the coming of the 2016 NFL draft The Houston Texans will be on the clock and will be expected to make a move. Will the replacement of Arian Foster be taken with their first round pick, or will a potential franchise quarterback be drafted? A lot of talent will be in this years draft by the numbers, and Houston will have some options to choose from.
Paxton Lynch is a top prospect coming out for Houston who gives you an all around style quarterback, can fit any scheme, and who looks to have a good career in the league to come. Carson Wentz is a quarterback who’ll likely be available late on and is also a top prospect for Houston. Having the arm and legs that can cover ground, Wentz also has the heat with the throw, and accuracy behind it. The only problem Wentz faces is the fact that he played in FCS not FBS, and is questioned how well his success can be.
Regardless of who Houston was to get out of the two, they’d get similar attributes and abilities and looks to be a win win situation going with either or.