The Houston Texans made their second quarterback switch of the young season on Sunday.
Coach Bill O'Brien turned back to Week 1 starter Brian Hoyer after his team fell into a 42-0 hole late in the third quarter of a 48-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Ryan Mallett essentially left O'Brien with no other option.
The Texans' aerial "attack" featured no timing or run-after-catch element with Mallett at the helm. He waits for his receivers to flash open before winding up and attempting to throw the prolate spheroid through their torsos.
Mallett's playing style results in too many tight-window throws and deflected passes, not to mention a slew of scattershot misfires. If he was good enough to start 16 games, he would challenge Donovan McNabb's unofficial single-season record for most one-hop tosses to his intended receivers.
Less than two months ago, the entire country saw O'Brien go to the mat for his quarterbacks in a training-camp speech to his coaching staff.
"Nobody talks about the Houston Texans because nobody thinks we're gonna win," O'Brien said on HBO's Hard Knocks. "And the disrespect that they show our quarterbacks? I'm tired of that, too. Because both those kids can play. They just need a chance and one of them is going to get it. Enough is enough."
O'Brien has now yanked his quarterback in half of his team's games this season.
