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Oct 13 2014 07:17pm
Watching 25-year-old Austin Davis, an undrafted 25-year-old quarterback who's only 6'2 and 221 pounds. He's playing out of his mind right now for the St. Louis Rams as a guy with zero experience since starting Week 2. Facing a really talented 49ers defense as well.

Makes me wonder if Ryan Mallett, who's only one year older and has legitimate NFL QB size at 6'6 and 250 pounds, couldn't spark our offense the same way Austin Davis is. What's the risk in seeing? Is Ryan Fitzpatrick playing that well? I'll trust Bill O'Brien's decision but as a fan it's definitely on my mind.

I would start Ryan Mallett at Pittsburgh next Monday Night. Let's introduce him to the NFL world. If Ryan Fitzpatrick starts, as expected, it's one of those "it is what it is" type of thoughts I have inside of my mind. Oh well, at least Jadeveon Clowney is returning. I want to see the Texans beat the Steelers and Titans on the road. Head into that tough Eagles game in Houston with a 5-3 record.

I believe the Texans will go into their bye week with a 6-3 record. We can beat the Steelers, Titans (both on road) and Eagles at home with Ryan Fitzpatrick starting. Because I believe our defense and run game will dominate. But long term wise Fitzpatrick isn't our guy. Ryan Mallett is in the prime of his career and can actually play four or five more years. Maybe longer.
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Oct 16 2014 04:35pm
Still four more days until the Texans travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on Monday Night Football. This is a must win game just to stop the bleeding. It would have been nice if we had came away with a win against the Cowboys or Colts, but you definitely can't lose three games in a row and expect to make the playoffs in a really good conference.

Because the Broncos and Chargers are so hot in the AFC West, that already takes away one of the two AFC wild-card spots. So we are pretty much trying to finish ahead of a handful of other teams for that last wild-card spot unless you think the Texans can overtake the Colts for the AFC South. We'd almost have to win out, including doing something we've never done before: Win at Indianapolis (0-12 all time).

So yeah, the game Monday Night at Pittsburgh is a must win if we have any chance to make the playoffs. At 4-3 we'll be no worse than one game out in the division and final wild-card spot. Hopefully tied if some of the teams we need to lose end up losing. With ten games left anything can happen but losing three games in a row would almost certainly be a big hill to climb.

In the mean time, the Rockets play the Golden State Warriors at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas on Sunday Night. The Rockets only play four more preseason games. Two of them will be nationally televised on TNT and NBA TV. At Miami on October 21 and against the Spurs on October 24.
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Oct 18 2014 03:56am
The Houston Cougars improved to 4-3 on the college football season with a 31-10 over the Temple Owls. Sophomore quarterback Greg Ward Jr. finished the game with an impressive 29-for-33 throwing with 268 passing yards (2 TDs, O INTs). The Cougars also ran the ball 49 times for 171 rushing yards. Ryan Jackson had 18 carries, Kenneth Farrow had 18 carries and Greg Ward Jr. was credited with 13 total rushes. They seemed to run the ball almost every other play in the second half once they had a two-score or three-score lead just to milk the clock.

It's been mainly about the Houston Cougars defense. Only giving up 17.9 points per game. 13th best in the country. Quite amazing out of 120 teams. That's been the backbone of the team fueled by a secondary which leads the country in interceptions. The Cougars defense has forced three or more turnovers in five games this season. Junior safety Trevon Stewart turned his first quarter interception against Temple into the second defensive scoring play for the Cougars this season as he ran the ball back for a 29-yard touchdown, the first of the game.

Despite the slow start the Houston Cougars are still 2-1 in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and remain on pace to become bowl eligible as long as they keep winning. This was a season filled with high expectations but after starting quarterback John O'Korn struggled and was benched the team had to rally behind Greg Ward Jr. and fight their way back into contention.
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Oct 21 2014 08:45am
I don't envision Ryan Fitzpatrick being the Texans starting quarterback in 2015. Is it Ryan Mallett? Is it Tom Savage? Is it some other free agent we may sign or a rookie we may draft in the upcoming off-season? These questions have to be answered moving forward.

With nine games left this season when is the right time to start Ryan Mallett? The team is 3-4 and the season is starting to slip away if they don't get some immediate consistency and quality play from the quarterback position. The offense needs some type of spark in the passing game.

It's frustrating having legitimate talent like Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins on the outside, or the tight ends we have, and we don't consistently use our talent level. I can only imagine Andre Johnson's frustrations, in particular, as I'm sure he would like to be traded before next week's trading deadline.

Moving forward, as in the immediate future, I just want to see Ryan Mallett and Jadeveon Clowney play. Preferably against the Titans on the road. This is a somewhat winnable game - probably the lightest opponent left on our schedule as I believe the Jaguars are greatly improving with Blake Bortles - so why not give them some confidence? We can beat the Titans with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Big Whoop!!!! He's not our future.

Bill O'Brian is a rookie head coach. He deserves a little bit of a learning curve. I'm willing to be patient for this season only but I expect to see some improvements as time goes on. There is no way this Texans team can continue to have back-to-back games of giving up 24 points in one quarter with multiple turnovers. That's not a winning formula. This three-game losing streak is frustrating but perhaps a win at Tennessee on Sunday can help turn things around.
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Oct 21 2014 10:48pm
Ryan Fitzpatrick did his job as a game manager (no turnovers) and the Texans were 2-0 to start the 2014 season. He has thrown seven interceptions and fumbled twice over the past five games and we are 1-4. Clearly he has not done his job as a game manager since the Giants game

We can blame the offensive line and all the other turnovers by Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins or Arian Foster, but Fitzpatrick hasn't done anything to spark any confidence in me. If Ryan Fitzpatrick makes a 3rd and 2 overtime completion we may have beaten the Cowboys. It's those type of plays we need a quarterback to step up and make a pass for three yards or more in a game-winning situation. I don't believe Fitzpatrick is capable of doing that which is a problem.

Who knows what Ryan Mallett can do? The poor kid hasn't had much of a chance to play for his entire NFL career. He's been learning behind Tom Brady and now Bill O'Brien for years. I'm pretty sure Ryan Mallett knows the Texans playbook by now. I saw O'Brien's press conference after the Steelers game last night and he pretty much said that very thing. Seems like it's just a matter of time now. If Fitzpatrick stinks it up at Tennessee, throws two or three interceptions in the first half, we'd probably see Ryan Mallett in the second half against the Titans. Maybe against the Eagles the following game. We have the bye week after that - two weeks to prepare would be an ideal time to ease Mallett in I guess. But I'd rather see him sooner rather than later.
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Oct 21 2014 11:01pm
We lost the past three games by one score even with all the mistakes. The team battled hard and played their guts out. We just need better quarterback play so we can have longer drives and less three-and-outs or turnovers. 7 INTs and 2 fumbles from the quarterback alone isn't going to get it done. It's not the only reason we are 1-4 in our last 5 games but that's the first thing that is hard to ignore. We can't expect to lean so heavily on Arian Foster or Alfred Blue for the entire game.

That strong running game we have should be setting up some play-action passes, which with Fitzpatrick's skill set, isn't even successful because he has a weak arm and isn't accurate. Some of his big yardage completions last night came against a prevent Steelers defense and DeAndre Hopkins and Andre Johnson had to literally dive a yard just to catch it. He's not even accurate. He even underthrew a tight end on a potential big play. He put up garbage stats last night because we had guys stepping up and making some tough catches.

The wrong Ryan continues to start games at quarterback for the 2014 Houston Texans.
My name is Ryan. Maybe I could take some snaps. I'd probably play better than Fitzpatrick (sarcasm).

It's time for Ryan Mallett to start so he can show what he can do for the first time in his career. With a 3-4 record it may be too late to make the playoffs, because the AFC is really good this year, but with nine games left that is plenty of time to see what Ryan Mallett can do. He becomes a free agent this off-season. The Texans need to know if he's worth re-signing. One thing is for certain: I highly doubt that Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the Texans starting quarterback in 2015.
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Oct 22 2014 09:34pm
I'm most disappointed with our 2014 rookie class. I had so much excitement over every selection coming into the season. Alfred Blue in the sixth round has been the most productive so far. Jay Prosch needs to stop lifting weights so much - he literally spends hours pumping iron like he's going to compete in a strongest man competition - and focus on becoming a complete fullback. Watch some old Daryl Johnston videos from the Dallas Cowboys or something. He wasn't the strongest or fastest player but he was one of the best fullbacks to ever play the game.

C.J. Fiedorowicz has two catches in six games? Really? He has a lot more penalties. Xavier Su'a-Filo hasn't impressed me much. Louis Nix III has been on IR and Jadeveon Clowney has been unlucky with that Week 1 meniscus tear. I could go one by one on every pick but it's just frustrating. Let's hope none of these guys have a sophomore slump in 2015. Their second years can't be any worse. And Tom Savage, ugh, don't get me started. He may pan out in the way distance future. I wouldn't bank on it given the Texans history of wasting so many draft picks. We have more strikeouts than home runs. Let's put it that way. I'm trying to be generous and nice about the situation.

Honestly, I lay all the blame on general manager Rick Smith. I admire the man as a person, great in the community, but when I look at every draft selection during his tenure, I'm seeing way too many misses year after year. Thank goodness he drafted J.J. Watt and signed Arian Foster as an undrafted free agent. Had he not he'd probably have been fired by now. Those two players are pretty much the only reason we're 3-4 and only lost by one score against the Cowboys, Colts and Steelers. We could very easily be 0-7 right now following our 2-14 season last year.
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Oct 23 2014 01:58am
Explain to me Ryan Fitzpatrick's seven interceptions and two fumbles over the last five games and the Texans 1-4 record? We went into this season knowing in order for us to win games he'd have to be a game manager and not turn the ball over. He did that the first two games when we were 2-0. It's like everybody has to play their best game for Ryan Fitzpatrick to look good and perform well. I've got news for you: That doesn't happen in the NFL.

Some players will struggle every game even on the best teams. We need a quarterback who can man up, overcome the mistakes and still lead this team to a victory with some big-time passes late in games. Fitzpatrick can't even throw a first down pass on a 3rd and 2 in overtime for crying out loud. A good quarterback will find a way to make that play. With a better quarterback we'd have beaten the Cowboys. And likely the Colts and Steelers as well. We'd be very much the team to beat in the AFC South and not some 3-4 losing team right now. And that is despite all of the other mistakes we make as a team.

The problem is Ryan Fitzpatrick is the one guy who can't fight back and overcome mistakes. He's not good enough. Arian Foster can make a mistake and make up for it. He was a big reason we took a 13-0 lead against the Steelers in the first place. He was the reason we came back to send the Cowboys game into overtime or made a game of it with the Colts. Fitzpatrick isn't helping us "almost win these games."
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Oct 23 2014 02:03am
Can Ryan Mallett make some great throws deep down the field? We don't know that for certain because he never plays. I believe once he plays he does have better arm strength than Fitzpatrick so he's more likely to become a big play quarterback and improve our passing game. I've seen Mallett in practices only. The ball comes out of his hands much better than it does Fitzpatrick. He has that "Drew Bledsoe and Warren Moon like zip on the ball" that Fitzpatrick doesn't have.

If we want to keep losing games then by all means keep starting Ryan Fitzpatrick. Maybe he'll earn us a top 10 pick in the 2015 draft so we can draft a quarterback. Somebody with more upside than Tom Savage. After starting the season 3-1, I was hopeful of making a playoff run. But now Fitzpatrick is showing why he's a turnover machine and we're 1-4 in our last five games.

The Redskins and Raiders are just bad football teams. It was a fluke 2-0 start I guess. And plus J.J. Watt played MVP like football in the three wins over the Redskins, Raiders and Bills. If not for Watt we'd probably be 0-7 right now. My excitement for the rest of this 2014 season is over. I just want to see Ryan Mallett play so we can determine what we have at quarterback moving forward. I don't expect Ryan Fitzpatrick to be on the Texans roster in 2015. I also want to see Jadeveon Clowney playing again.

The Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans game kicks offs Sunday at noontime. 1:00 PM Eastern on FOX. I just want to see a Texans win to end this tough three-game losing streak. A 4-4 record wouldn't be good but it would be back to .500. I'll take that for a team that is playing hard every game but is just coming up short because of inconsistent quarterback play and turnovers.
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Oct 23 2014 03:21pm
Rookie Zach Mettenberger, who started this season as a third-string quarterback, will start at quarterback for the Tennessee Titans against the Texans on Sunday. While Ryan Mallett, says he is ready to play and it's up to the coaches. The Titans are not a good team and I expect the Texans to beat them even with Ryan Fitzpatrick starting but what's that going to prove? It would just delay the inevitable. We'll be a 4-4 team that desperately needs a home win over the Eagles to fight our way back into the final wild card race.

Now what if Zach Mettenberger slices up our defense and beats us as a rookie? We'll be wondering why we didn't draft that guy? How about Austin Davis from the Rams? Apparently he "wowed" Brett Favre recently. The kid came out of nowhere but he needed a few guys ahead of him on the depth chart to be injured. Do we need Ryan Fitzpatrick to tear an ACL or something to jump start our future? I'm being sarcastic but seriously is Bill O'Brien going to allow our season to slowly go down the drain? We can win with any type of spark from the quarterback position. One of my friends said it best a few weeks ago, "Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't it".

Jadeveon Clowney said today, "I will start on Sunday at Tennessee." So stay tuned... Up to the, sigh, coaches...

Now if Ryan Mallett makes the start as well I'd be excited for the first time in a long time with this team. The Texans do have a bye week coming up soon. After the Titans and Eagles game. That would probably be the ideal time to make a quarterback change but I don't know if I can stomach Ryan Fitzpatrick for another two games. He's turning the ball over at an alarming rate.
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