Texans owner Bob McNair is smart enough to know that there are precious few quarterbacks in this league, and that the best way to make up for a deficiency is building on a strength.
In Houston, he sees that as a clock-controlling run game and punishing defense, both of which should still be in the cards in 2015.
As for quarterbacks Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer ...
"Of course, Ryan Fitzpatrick had probably his best year under coach Bill O'Brien. Coach really gets it all out of the quarterbacks. It really is a good environment for quarterbacks," McNair told The Houston Chronicle when asked about the team's quarterback situation. "We'll try to make it up by having one of the best defenses, so we'll keep other teams from scoring many points. And we'll be able to run the ball and hopefully control the clock. And we'll continue to get better on special teams. So if we can do those three things, all we need is consistent play out of our quarterbacks -- they don't have to be superheroes."
McNair's thoughts, which are completely reasonable, bring two things to mind immediately:
- The Texans will be attempting to do something that hasn't been done since 2003 -- win a Super Bowl without a superstar quarterback (depending on how you feel about Russell Wilson, this might be a different argument).
- The training camp battle between Hoyer and Mallett will come down to who turns the ball over the least, which is good for Hoyer but possibly a drag for big-play wideouts like DeAndre Hopkins, who would thrive in a more vertical offense.
The Texans remain realistic but hopeful heading into 2015. Whether or not that hope is well-founded remains to be seen.
*The latest Around The NFL Podcast features the triumphant return of Dan Hanzus and discusses the biggest mysteries heading into training camp. *
