Houston Texans: Brock Osweiler’s drive is infectious

Every offseason, you can sense a palpable buzz in the air surrounding every team, and the fans start to feed off of the energy free agent signings or praise from the coaching staff bring. Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler is one of the biggest sources of hope around the league, and it isn’t just because he’s a huge upgrade over the likes of Brian Hoyer and Brandon Weeden.

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Earning more money per year than Matthew Stafford on his current contract, new Houston Texans starting signal-caller Brock Osweiler is on a mission to prove that he was mistreated by the Denver Broncos. It’s why he bolted despite being given a chance to compete with others after Peyton Manning‘s retirement, but it seems clear that he was bitter after being benched by Manning.

Yes, the Broncos were losing to the San Diego Chargers at the time of his removal- and Denver would go on to win the Super Bowl anyway- but Osweiler had a much higher QB rating, completion percentage, TD%, and yards per game average than the future Hall of Famer.

Now, Osweiler is here to prove that doubters and take the Texans to new heights. Even with their disastrous rotation of quarterbacks in 2015, the Texans claimed the AFC South title before Hoyer imploded against an elite Kansas City Chiefs pass defense in the Wild Card round.

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Osweiler is no star, but his only multiple-interception game came against the Chargers in Week 17. Moreover, the first interception of that game came off of a dropped pass, and the second came off of a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage..

An offense comprised of DeAndre Hopkins, Lamar Miller, Will Fuller, Braxton Miller, Jaelen Strong, and Tyler Ervin screams “potential”, and Osweiler is intent on giving the Texans an explosive offense to go with a defense that was third in yards per game allowed last season.

It takes a certain amount of physical tools to succeed at the quarterback position in the NFL, but the 6’8″, 240-pound Osweiler can only control one thing in his first offseason with the Texans; his comfort level with the current players, coaching staff, and the playbook. Bill O’Brien has a reputation for being something of a quarterback whisperer, which Christian Hackenberg’s reputation has benefited from, but the operating word is “whisperer” and not “conjurer”. While O’Brien can make Osweiler’s life easier, he can’t guarantee success for the 25-year-old.

Understanding this, Osweiler is out to create his own success, and he’s helped conquer the offseason by impressing in OTAs.

Because everyone who doesn’t drop a pass (seemingly the only thing the media evaluates at these practices) is considered an offseason standout, let’s take a look at some other snippets.

Here’s what the Texans offensive coordinator said about Osweiler, via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson:

"“We’ve spent a lot of time together. It’s a whole new vernacular. He knows he has to put the time in. Players see it, players respect it, coaches definitely respect it, too.”"

Displaying leadership and putting in the work are two important impressions for a quarterback to make in his first offseason with a team.

And yes, the players do notice it. ESPN NFL Nation’s Tania Ganguli relayed this quote from wide receiver Cecil Shorts III, a man hoping Osweiler can help him have a bounce-back season:

"“He was like a student from the jump.”"

The Texans say that they will be a run-first team, and while it is important to make sure Miller is the player featured in this offense, I have a feeling they will throw the ball more often than they are leading on. Fuller, Braxton Miller, Strong, and the tight ends remain unproven commodities, but with equally uncertain depth behind Lamar Miller in the backfield, Osweiler will be forced to prove that he can move the ball.

All he can do at this stage of the offseason is work his tail off, because he has a lot riding on this season personally. He wants to prove the Broncos wrong, he wants to prove the people criticizing his contract wrong, and he wants to take a team to the playoffs on his own without worrying about the incessant Manning talk.

Osweiler is past it, and the best way to move on is to immerse himself in his new team. I’d highly recommend reading the piece above by Ganguli, because the quarterback likens his situation with being at the first day in school. He sounds genuinely excited to be “the guy” and ready to accept the pressure that comes with the territory.

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Everyone, whether it’s the fans or the other players, feeds off this type of positive spirit, but we’ll have to see if Osweiler’s infectious initiative translates to prosperity on the field.