Houston Texans: The Time Is Now To Start Ryan Mallett

I was dubbed a Ryan Fitzpatrick “hater” even before he took a snap. Sorry, Houston, I was just never a fan of the quarterback.

Well, to be fair I actually didn’t mind the signing, but that was because I really didn’t anticipate Fitzpatrick to be the starting QB this season. I bought into all the talk about the Texans potentially trading for the backup quarterback on the New England Patriots. The dots, the connections, everything; it just made too much sense. To my dismay, the talks never amounted to anything more than talks and the Texans dubbed Fitzpatrick the starter.

It wasn’t until the last day in August when the Texans finally acquired Ryan Mallett from the New England Patriots, wrapping up talks that started from as early as the 2014 NFL Draft.

Aug 15, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) throws a pass against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second half during the preseason game at Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 42-35. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Mallett was in the last year of his deal and the Patriots already selected Jimmy Garoppolo to back up Tom Brady. The Patriots didn’t need to waste a roster spot on a 3rd QB and Mallett was to be cut if not dealt before the season started, so the Texans finally made the move when they had the most leverage.

But it was too late for the Texans to want to start Mallett. Though he was a quarterback with the Patriots when Bill O’Brien was a quarterbacks coach in New England, Mallett didn’t have the first team reps nor the familiarity with the Texans offense to go out there and start less than 10 days later after being acquired.

So the Texans stuck with Fitzpatrick. O’Brien knew what he’d get from the bearded quarterback. Fitzpatrick wasn’t going to go out there and win you games, but he was expected to be a good game manager and make the right decisions in close games to secure victories.

And through six games this season, that’s about what Fitzpatrick has done. In the 3 Texans wins this season, the Texans defense has done the gist of the work, allowing just 6 points against the Redskins, 14 against the Raiders (all in garbage time), and 17 against the Bills (J.J. Watt pick-6).

In the 3 losses this season when the defense hasn’t been up to it’s best, Fitzpatrick hasn’t been able to manage a relatively talented offense and turn them loose. As a matter of fact, the Texans offense started terribly in the three losses with 0 points in the first half of both the Giants and Cowboys games and 0 points in the first quarter against the Colts, giving the Colts a 24-0 lead after one quarter.

Yes, the defense is too blame in some of those losses, but the offense which is supposed to be led by the quarterback, has to take some heat as well.

Now some of you will blame O’Brien’s playcalling for the lack of numbers through Fitzpatrick’s first six games, some will blame an inconsistent O-Line, and some may blame Arian Foster‘s injury for Fitz’s performance against the Giants. But I believe most of the blame should go on the quarterback.

Through six games there hasn’t been much that I’ve liked about Fitzpatrick. A 6/6 – TD/INT ratio is horrendous and his just over 200 passing yards per game makes Joe Flacco look like an elite quarterback. (Note: He’s not). Fitzpatrick made some promising throws this seasons, but several of his completions have been far from perfect and had he not had a good supporting cast of weapons, his numbers may look even worse.

Now I’m not saying Ryan Mallett will be a better quarterback. He may be way better, may be worse. I don’t know. However, I much rather see what we have with Mallett after watching six games of Fitzpatrick.

There’s not much sexy about Fitzpatrick. One thing I do admire is his fight. He’s always going out there on 3rd down and willing to scramble and sacrifice his body for a first down. After years of Matt Schaub, every Fitzpatrick rushing yard makes me smile. But that’s about it for me. Otherwise, Fitzpatrick is on-and-off with his short throws and his long ball leaves a lot to be desired.

Sep 28, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) during the game against the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Mallett, on the other hand, does have some ability. Brett Kollmann of BattleRedBlog did an excellent job watching tape of Mallett from the preseason and noted Mallett’s abilities. Go ahead and watch some of the GIF’s in the article and tell me you don’t like that.

Watch those deep ball throws. Now just imagine Fitzpatrick throwing it…PUKE. Now Mallet…AHHH! With WRs like Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins, two receivers with excellent abilities to make tough catches in coverage, having Mallett under center throwing those deep balls could be game changers.

Of course Mallett could be worse than Fitzpatrick. But honestly, how far do you think Fitzpatrick could take the Texans? They aren’t winning the Super Bowl with him, and if they somehow make the playoffs, it won’t be because of him and he won’t win you any games in January.

Will Mallett? Most likely not, but there is only one way to find out.

The Texans need to see what they have in Mallett. Best case scenario, Mallett comes out of the gates firing, the Texans get hot, make the playoffs, and maybe they feel confident enough in him to re-sign him in the offseason to be the team’s starting quarterback in 2015. It’s possible Mallett can have an impact similar to Nick Foles.