Texans trade for Mallett

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by WMH

Actually it's a conditional 7th.

@ChronBrianSmith: Appears initial media reports of #Texans sending sixth-round pick were incorrect. #Texans give up conditional 2016 7th rounder for Mallett

Meh. They've made a bad situation mediocre. I'm not going to turn any cartwheels any time soon over any of our options. It didn't cost us much, so why not give it a whirl.

That's practically nothing. So this is a good deal, because I see no downside and almost nothing but upside, though it may turn out that he's not any better than what we had with Keenum. Time will tell, but in the HCs mind (and that's what it's all riding on here), he's a better option to Fitz than what we had before the trade.

[Arky]

Wow. Heard the rumors all summer but didn't see it coming.

Not quite sure what happened to Keenum. I think it is probably a confidence thing.... because of late, he just didn't resemble the loose and decisive 70% completion percentage slingin' guy that came out of U of H any more.

Mallet will have some cramming to do. Gotta think he's eventually going to be the #2 with Savage inactive on game days.

[chuck]

I'm right there with everyone else. I don't like Mallett but at least he knows the offense and has a big arm. Mayock loves him. I don't know what that means, though, really. And Case was terrible. So it's very possible that this makes the team better immediately, likely that it makes the team better a month or so in, and very unlikely that this makes the team worse.

I do really like the waiver signings so far.

[Roy P]

Having a guy who knows the offense in the QB meetings helps Savage learn the reads quicker and should help his progress. That's my theory.

[Blitzwood]

Originally Posted by Roy P

Having a guy who knows the offense in the QB meetings helps Savage learn the reads quicker and should help his progress. That's my theory.

True.
Hard to be disappointed if OB thinks it makes the team better.
Especially for the price.

[barrett]

Obviously this helps us at the backup position (at least in O'Brien's mind). But a team that ignored the QB position all summer and is expected to be mediocre at best does not make a trade for a better backup. This is at least partially in the hope that having Mallett here for a year unearths a (virtually) no cost long term answer at QB. Even if the chances of that are 1 in 100, I like the chance compared to the cost.

As for Keenum, he was just never that good. Slinging it around against East Carolina in a HS offense is just different than playing NFL QB.

I just hope we see enough of Mallett to definitively know what he is, and that we don't give him some kind of idiotic extension before we know (the unnecessary, early extension is a Texans hallmark).

[Arky]

Originally Posted by barrett

Obviously this helps us at the backup position (at least in O'Brien's mind). But a team that ignored the QB position all summer and is expected to be mediocre at best does not make a trade for a better backup. This is at least partially in the hope that having Mallett here for a year unearths a (virtually) no cost long term answer at QB. Even if the chances of that are 1 in 100, I like the chance compared to the cost.

As for Keenum, he was just never that good. Slinging it around against East Carolina in a HS offense is just different than playing NFL QB.

I just hope we see enough of Mallett to definitively know what he is, and that we don't give him some kind of idiotic extension before we know (the unnecessary, early extension is a Texans hallmark).

Depends on the QB. Plenty of pass-happy small school QB's have made the transition to the NFL. Certainly, Garoppolo (Eastern Illinois) looks promising.

One could see the price of Mallet going down when Garoppolo got drafted in the second round. The Texans, waiting for this to hit rock bottom, is the "penalty" that the Texans will pay getting him up to speed.....

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Arky

Depends on the QB. Plenty of pass-happy small school QB's have made the transition to the NFL. Certainly, Garoppolo (Eastern Illinois) looks promising.

One could see the price of Mallet going down when Garoppolo got drafted in the second round. The Texans, waiting for this to hit rock bottom, is the "penalty" that the Texans will pay getting him up to speed.....

I totally agree it depends on the QB. Small school QBs can succeed, big school guys can fail. Spread guys can succeed, pro style guys can fail. All of that is true. I'm not saying he CAN'T do it in the NFL because he's a small college spread guy. I'm saying he doesn't look like the same guy in the NFL because he is no longer at a small college running the spread.

If a small school guy succeeds in the NFL, it will be because he has the traits an NFL QB needs. Those are not necessarily the same traits that a QB needs to succeed at UH (or any other college). So the reason NFL Keenum doesn't resemble UH Keenum is because he is playing a game that is different on almost every level.

Just mentally, the ability to get to the line quick in college and let your OC call a play from the sideline and signal it to your offense after the OC reads the defense is much different than the ability to make a complicated play call in the huddle, go to the line, read the defense yourself, check the protection/audible/check with Me's/etc... and get it all done before the snap while the defense is constantly shifting presnap. So Keenum might have a great mental makeup for the college game but not have it mentally in the pros (probably why he gets buried by the blitz). Being confident and completing %70 in college does not mean you are capable of doing that in the NFL.

[painekiller]

The more I think about this trade the more I like. I think it improves the team today by giving them a better #2. If Mallett becomes the starter then it has a better QB and #2 QB

As for the the bust talk, the QB coach Godsey has been in NE working with the offense, so he has seen Mallett's progress since he was drafted.

At the draft was he worth the rumored 2nd round, not likely. And we replaced NE comp pick in 2016 had they kept him and not played him.