Houston Texans: Is Ryan Mallett The Answer?

And so it begins.

Bill O’Brien and the Houston Texans have decided to turn to Ryan Mallett to help them with their offensive woes through the first half of the season.

He stuck with Ryan Fitzpatrick as long as he possibly could to see if there would be some progression with his level of play but there hasn’t been.

It’s not all Fitz’s fault and I think he has worked as hard as he could to ensure that he could help the Texans win football games.

Sep 7, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) and wide receiver Andre Johnson (80) warm up before the game against the Washington Redskins at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Despite his impressive aptitude of the game of football, it’s his physical talent that limits him from maximizing his full potential.

Fitz doesn’t have a great arm, he does his damage by either making short throws eventually leading to short gains or using his immense athletic ability in his legs to get the yards that are needed if he sees that nothing is there.

It’s just that when he goes deep, there are problems usually leading him to likely turn the ball over.

I talked about what Fitz needed to work on last month but it seems that the same pattern is continuing leading O’Brien to make the decision he did as tough as it may have been for him.

He needed to efficient on offense, to not let impulse ruin his reads and not force something that’s not there.

The things he needed to do were certainly not evident against the Philadelphia Eagles two weeks ago.

The Texans were 5-of-13 in regard to third-down efficiency, he completed 48 percent of passes (13-for-27) for 203 yards and he has thrown 11 touchdowns to eight interceptions on the season.

This is far from what’s asked for out of an NFL quarterback so it’s quite obvious that it’s time for him to head for the pine.

Oct 9, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) reacts against the Indianapolis Colts at NRG Stadium. The Colts defeated the Texans 33-28. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

So in comes Mallett entering from the right to the center stage — we’re about to see what he can do.

Mallett, 26, a 2011 third-round draft pick selecting by the New England Patriots — 74th pick overall — out of the University of Arkansas has been languishing on the pine for nearly four seasons now.

In his career, he has appeared in five games in garbage duty, with only nine career pass attempts for -10 yards.

Yes, his body of work remains unfinished.

He and O’Brien go way back to the days of when O’Brien was the Pats’ offensive coordinator and I’m sure he had influence in deciding to draft him in the first place.

He had been deemed the successor to the great Tom Brady but things went terribly south this past off-season when the Pats decided to draft another quarterback.

The opportunity for O’Brien to get him once again became available early in the season after newly-minted draftee Jimmy Garopolo outplayed Mallett in training camp.

The Pats decided to deal him to the Texans for a 6th or 7th-round future draft pick, depending on how many snaps Mallett takes this season. If he takes more than 40 percent of the snaps this season — there’s a good chance of that — that determines how high the pick will be.

Aug 15, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) gets away from the tackle of Philadelphia Eagles linebacker

Marcus Smith

(90) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

Although there are some diamonds in the rough in those rounds, the Texans basically got Mallett for free. Not a bad deal huh?

Maybe. But Brady was a sixth-rounder though.

Since it’s understandable that he hasn’t seen much action in the past three seasons, the data from scouting profiles galore may ring true.

Here some attributes of Mallett:

Advantages:

Incredible arm strength

Exceptional height to see over the top for his reads

Quick release

Proficient at reading coverage

Can effectively run the play-action

Disadvantages:

He’s a pocket-passer

Limited athleticism and mobility

Does not respond well to defensive pressure when the pocket collapses

His footwork could use some improvement

His dark past possibly bringing up concerns about his character

His advantages are the reason why he’s starting under center right now. He has tremendous upside it will be interesting to see how he uses it.

However, the disadvantages are going to be what the Cleveland Browns will go after to see how well he responds on the football field this Sunday.

The Browns have 17 takeaways this season and are ranked 12th in the league in the pass rush. The Browns are a quality team that will not be a pushover.

They’re going to pressure Mallett and it’s up to him in regard to how he responds to it.

The Texans’ offensive line has been mediocre at best so there will be times where he’ll have to run to get himself out of trouble. We’re going to see if he has improved on that front.

Let’s hope he has also evolved as far as his concerns about his character going into the year he got drafted as well.

Although he has admitted to past drug use during his college to prospective NFL teams, he seemed buckle a bit under pressure when the media would press him about that same question.

Part of being an NFL quarterback is being able to handle and respond to the media in a effective and diplomatic manner — after all, they’re professionals right?

Oct 11, 2014; Fayetteville, AR, USA; Arkansas Razorback former quarterback Ryan Mallett watches from the sidelines during a game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Alabama defeated Arkansas 14-13. Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports

My best guess is that maturation has taken precedence as the years have gone by.

Playing under Bill Belichick will do that you — he seemed to embrace and understand the unofficial Patriot way in regard to conducting oneself on and off the field.

In addition, in a sense, Mallett for his whole career has been in search of an offense that fits him.

In his college career, he played one season under Lloyd Carr as a freshman at the University of Michigan but bolted when Rich Rodriguez took the helm eventually leading him to Arkansas under Bobby Petrino where he flourished in a pass-centric offense in his sophomore and junior seasons before declaring for the draft.

He left Michigan because Rodriguez’s offense is more focused on the run and Carr recommended that he hit the road as well.

And so he did — Mallett, in fact, went on to pass for about 7,500 yards, 62 touchdowns and a 60.3 completion percentage at Arkansas.