Texans owner discredits criticism of QB Brock Osweiler
By mdelaney
Blame has been heaped on Houston Texans QB Brock Osweiler amid another underwhelming performance during a 21-13 loss to Green Bay. Texans owner Bob McNair wants to you to know that those criticisms aren’t justified.
When Denver’s vice president of football operations and general manager John Elway let then-backup quarterback Brock Osweiler walk unchained into free agency last season, it was noted as an unconventional. Why let a player who’d been groomed in the team’s culture and played a part in an improbable Super Bowl run months earlier leave the building?
What’s even more striking is when Osweiler was not only picked up for franchise-quarterback money at four years, $72M by the Houston Texans, but did so without being interviewed by his new head coach. Now that’s unconventional.
Back in the present day, Osweiler has bumbled his way through 13 of the 48 games he’s under contract for and hasn’t given Houston fans much hope. His seasonal body of work has average statistics like 2,509 yards through the air and a 74.2 passer rating. However, it’s cornered by red flags such as a terrible TD-INT ratio (14 TDs, 13 picks) and a completion percentage below 60-percent, which is alarming considering Osweiler rarely throws down the field.
Still, as statistical and visual evidence continues to mount a strong case against the decision to hire Osweiler, Texans owner Bob McNair is sticking by his guy.
“I thought he played great,” the Texans owner said of Osweiler, via the Houston Chronicle. “He played as well as his competitor did. If not for the passes that were dropped, his grade would have been higher than (Packers quarterback Aaron) Rodgers. Don’t be critical of him. He played well.”
It would’ve been a ringing endorsement for Osweiler if it didn’t involve an under-handed attack on the Texans receiving corps. You know, the same receiving corps who was trying to catch balls in snow flurries yesterday. Not to mention it’s the same receiving corps that also includes DeAndre Hopkins, the guy who shouldered a season-long quarterback carousel in Houston last year and emerged with 11 touchdowns and helped steer a playoff berth.
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Regardless of McNair’s position, the eyes don’t lie: Osweiler is out of his league. And his floundering play is drowning Houston’s postseason hopes as the Texans have lost three straight since coming off their bye.
Though one thing is certainly made clear from this whole ordeal: Elway knows quarterbacks. Maybe next time the Texans shouldn’t be so quick to jump on a franchise’s castaways, especially when it’s run by one of league’s all-time players at any position.