Houston Texans: Making The Case For Ryan Mallett

Towards the end of July, NFL teams will be gearing up for their Training Camps and starting their preparations for the 2015 season. Across the league, coaching staffs are starting the process of making roster and depth chart decisions. Down in the heat of Texas, Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer are duking it out for the role as the Houston Texans starting quarterback.

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Both quarterbacks have at least a little bit of starting experience, both have been in the league for at least a few years, and both are hoping they can lead their team to new heights. The Texans, with a very talented defense, seem to need only offense efficiency and consistency to enable them to take the next step. The key to that is quarterback play.

While Brian Hoyer certainly has the most experience, and has had some amount of success in the past, Ryan Mallett has an excellent skill set and has yet to have a real chance to prove himself. If the Texans want to be successful and build on last season’s 9-7 mark, they need to help Mallett develop, and put him in a position to win some big games for them.

Last season in Cleveland, Hoyer completed 55% of his passes for 3326 yards 12 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. That was the first real chance he has had in his career to perform, and while it was passable, it certainly wasn’t anything special. Under Hoyer, the Browns were 7-6 in 2014, and he is 10-6 overall in 16 career starts.

While I will acknowledge that 16 starts isn’t enough to have absolute certainty about a player’s performance, a full season’s worth of starts seems sufficient to me to have a general idea as to what most players will play like. We have seen what Brian Hoyer has to offer, and this is average to below-average NFL quarterback play, a level simply not good enough to advance the Texans to the next level.

Ryan Mallett, on the other hand, has not yet really had a chance to prove himself as a starter. He’s been granted only two career starts, and one of them must be thrown out, as he played the game with a torn pectoral muscle, which he suffered in pre-game warmups, and which ended his season. Also, in Mallett’s two starts, the team was without star running back Arian Foster, a very key feature of their offense.

In his first start, Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns, Mallett played excellently against Football Outsider’s 8th ranked Browns defense, completing 20 of 30 passes for 211 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception, en-route to a 30-14 victory.

Mallet’s first start included some highlights such as a deep first-quarter pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins that went for 41 yards and displayed Mallett’s arm-strength and fearlessness. Later on the same drive he completed a touchdown pass to defensive end J.J. Watt, with an excellently thrown ball to the edge of the end-zone. He also threw a solid touchdown to tight end Garrett Graham in the second quarter. This play was nothing too exceptional, but still a good read for an efficient play which payed off with points.

This game also included Mallett’s second career interception, on a spectacular play by Cleveland cornerback Joe Haden, on a pass that could have just easily been a touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins, and an almost-interception by linebacker Paul Kruger, on another exceptional defensive play. These two key miscues showcase the exact reasons that people question Mallett’s ability: his struggle with accuracy and his failure to consistently identify coverage.

These problems, however, are quite common with young and inexperienced quarterbacks. Mallett has only attempted a total of 75 passes in his NFL career. He watched quarterback Tom Brady attempt almost that many in a single game only two seasons ago, when Mallett was Brady’s backup for the New England Patriots. Mallett hasn’t had anywhere close to the number of regular season game reps necessary to adjust to the speed, intensity, and complexity of the NFL.

In his two starts, Mallett has shown an amazing arm talent, something that he was praised for in his initial NFL.com Draft Profile from 2011. At 6’6″ 240lbs, Mallett has the size of a prototypical NFL pocket-passer. However, his Draft Profile also points out Mallett’s key flaws:

"“Flashes the ability to run through progressions but has lapses in judgment and can force throws when pressured. Accuracy is solid but needs to become more consistent.”"

While the fact that his strength and weaknesses are still seemingly the same four years later may point to an inability to develop his talent, I think it is simply indicative of his need to have real game experience in order to get better.

Some of the throws that worked in college, the last time he had a large amount of real-game experience, simply won’t work in the NFL where defenders are faster, bigger, and better. He’ll need to work on not throwing off of his back foot, and on placing the ball exactly where it should be rather than throwing it out for his receiver to go get. NFL defenses are also considerably more complex, with more hidden coverages and stunts. Only game experience can fully immerse Mallett in these defenses and help him to recognize these complexities.

Another huge factor in determining who will be the most successful starter in Houston, is an overall grasp of the playbook and how the offense works. Mallett should have a bit of a leg up on Hoyer in this department, having been with the Texans for a full season, with Hoyer just being signed this offseason. Texan’s head coach Bill O’Brien spoke to the importance of understanding the offense (per Deepi Sidhu, HoustonTexans.com):

"““I really think it’s important for these guys to be able to operate the offense at a high tempo,” O’Brien said. “We have a lot of different types of tempo, but to be in and out of the huddle or when it’s no huddle, changing the pace of practice and handling that on their own. Being able to communicate the play, get people lined up, change the cadence, get us into the right play and then complete the pass.”"

It’s clear that O’Brien highly values the mental aspect of the game, and I think that Mallett can use his experience in Houston’s offense to his advantage here. He should already be at a fairly high level of understanding with the offense, and can show that to his coaches in Training Camp this summer.

Nov 2, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett (15) during the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

No Texans fan wants to hear the suggestion that they should sit back and let their quarterback develop, giving him time to grow and a loose leash on which to run. Fans want to win and they want to win now, and I think this is reasonable given the overall talent that Houston has accumulated.

I believe that Ryan Mallett has the potential to be successful in this next season, if he is given the chance and allowed some room for growing pains.

Every snap Mallett takes won’t be perfect, and he may even have several fairly unimpressive games, but with real live-game reps he should be able to realize his potential, and fully utilize his impressive physical skill-set.

We’ve seen Brian Hoyer and what he has to offer the NFL, and Hoyer’s product fit better in Cleveland, where the Browns have had as many playoff appearances since 1989 (2) as the Texans have had since their creation in 2002.

Houston needs a quarterback who can take them to the next level and allow them to really compete. Hoyer’s experience as a starter has shown that he simply will not be able to do that.

Bill O’Brien has refused to set a timetable for his quarterback decision, saying in a recent media session it could be anywhere between next week and after the team’s first preseason game. He also went on to say that both players are playing extremely well, and either one could be the starter.

Hopefully Mallett will be able to distance himself from Hoyer over the next few months, and he will be given a chance to start. The team already in place around him would give Mallett an excellent chance to succeed, and if his overall game can match his arm ability, he should be able to win some great games for the Texans.

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