Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford and Colin Kaepernick, are all available for the taking next season. The smug independent, the gunslinger and the athlete posing as a quarterback are close to their lowest points with their current franchises. Usually the perfect recipe is a fresh start in a new environment. The Houston Texans, a franchise beyond starvation at the QB position would entertain any fee for one of these guys. But will it change anything besides a more identifiable name on the back of the jersey?
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Brian Hoyer is not the second coming of Joe Montana or Dan Marino. No human with any sort of regular sanity would confuse the two. There are no inspirational Nike commercials, no Subway ads and no mega blockbuster contracts written up anywhere for him. Hoyer has no arrests, no snarky or arrogant media rifts; he’s just a guy here to do a specific job for one of the league’s most puzzling minds in Head Coach Bill O’Brien.
As a stop gap solution for the Houston Texans, Hoyer’s thrown for 1,581 yards with 13 scores against three interceptions. Despite splitting time with the truant former Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett, and being a part of two embarrassing blowouts, those are still solid numbers given the situations. With captain “soft tissue issue” Arian Foster being lost for the season and not having a tight end that can; run, block or catch, Hoyer has done the absolute best he can with what he has.
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To bring in either of the three afore mentioned names above would require a brand new brainwash, a ton of time for chemistry development and buying into a new system all over again.
On the other hand; Cutler, Kaep and Stafford all come from infinitely more competitive divisions and these guys make a living on prime time football. To come to this cesspool of a division better known as the AFC South is equivalent to leaving the NFL for a company flag football tournament.
Ask yourself this question, which guy is better equipped mentally to lead, mentor and direct a future franchise QB? Hoyer might not have the talent or potential of these guys but he’s a pro’s pro. He cares about the little things, and aside from certain elite physical deficiencies, there’s not one coach that has a negative comment about his character. With a very real chance of going 2-6 over the next eight brutal games, the Texans will be set up in prime position to land their guy in the upcoming draft.
I’m sure eyes are rolling to no end at the idea of seeing Hoyer emerge from the smoke at NRG Stadium for another season, but look at the history of the others guys. Stafford is a sidearm-throwing playoff missing mastermind. Kaepernick looks as if he has completely forgot which ball is needed to play this sport and Cutler thinks that he can throw a football through a cheerio behind a cereal bowl. The Texans don’t have time to rebirth a veteran QB, they need to focus on the guy that’s here and put him in the best position possible to lead and prepare the future franchise prospect.
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The last and most important thing is that a quarterback has to willingly want to come to Houston. Who wants to come to a team with all backup running backs; brain dead tight ends, a makeshift offensive line and a corpse as an offensive coordinator? The direction of this team is much deeper than just QB, owner Bob McNair believes that being tied for first in a terrible division with a 3-5 record is OK, at least while it lasted. That “OK” mentality trickles down throughout the organization, and if that’s the mindset, then the Texans will always just be OK or worse.