Houston Texans Report: Rick Smith fumbles yet another QB decision

The Houston Texans, according to a report, may have not necessarily been all “gung-ho” on Tom Savage being the starter, alluding to Deshaun Watson’s candidacy.

The Houston Texans report comes from SportsRadio 610’s Matt Hammond, who indicated that Bill O’Brien wanted Deshaun Watson starting from the get-go. This is not too surprising to hear but considering the way Tom Savage performed during the preseason. I didn’t envision that it would even be an option for Watson to start unless Savage injured himself during the game.

But Hammond’s report contradicts the level of thinking we all had with Savage under center. His information comes from source that’s aware of what’s going on the inside but not necessarily a member of the Houston Texans organization as far as he knows.

After Watson’s 15-for-25, 179-yard performance with no touchdowns/picks, O’Brien apparently wanted to name him the starter, according to Hammond’s source. But Rick Smith vetoed his decision, indicating that he should “give it time.”

Here’s also a tidbit that the source added about the situation:

"“(O’Brien) knew what he had a long time ago,” the source said, adding that “it wasn’t a matter of if, but when” Watson would get the nod."

That “when” was the second-half of Week 1 where Savage was being pummeled so badly, O’Brien had no choice but to turn to the first-round pick — selected 12th overall — in draft-day pick swap that created shock waves of attention to football’s faithful.

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Savage had seen enough of Calais Campbell and with the sixth sack committed against him, I think he had seen enough with poor protection from the offensive line. Although Watson wasn’t able to lead us back into the game, he showed promise that if given enough time, he’d likely would be able to win some games for us.

So he’s now 2-1 as a starter and there’s no doubt that every game we face, I at least think we’re not in a situation where we can’t beat the opponent that we’re facing.

So back to Rick Smith. Yes, I have to mention his full name to enlighten you on the “Smith” I’m talking about. This is “twice” where he missed on an opportunity to have excellent talent under center. Lest we not forget the ongoing rumor that Peyton Manning had considered playing for the Houston Texans when he was a free agent briefly in 2012 as the Andrew Luck-era was being ushered in.

But as you know, the Houston Texans were complacent with Matt Schaub, who had been playing well but to which I’d push aside for a quarterback of Manning’s caliber. Sure there were concerns about his neck injury but you remember how the rest of this story played out right? Manning appears in two Super Bowls — winning Super Bowl 50 — and it’s all history after that.

At least with this situation, our quarterback is still here and the decision can be easily walked back. But I’ll have to admit, I thought Savage should and was going to be the starter. I had envisioned that he’d perform well enough for him to be signed elsewhere and DW4 takes over in 2018.

But as we all know, life has an interesting way of providing excellent plot twists and this will be the defining one to remember for the 2017 season by far. We’ll be talking about this for a long time as well.

Next: FIVE Reasons why Deshuan Watson could great or a bust

So I’m not going to bellow my frustrations about Smith because that ship has sailed and I’m just glad the right guy is under center this time, helping us win football games.

We haven’t seen ANYTHING yet in terms of Watson’s full capabilities so fasten your seat belts, ladies and gents!

Go Texans.

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