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Week 11 Thingy - The Eyes Have It Heh Report™

This season had progressed in such a way so far, that yes there was a lot of good that went on, but it seemed like it was on the verge of just going really bad in any instant. Kind of like the picture - you see, things are great that this did not explode, but it may explode any second.

Heh

In this week's Heh Report™, I am pleased to have watched good quarterback play in the last game. I am cautiously optimistic about how well Ryan Mallett will continue to play the rest of the season. It is really easy to be wowed by him (even with HOBOQBesque statistics) when we know we are in quarterback purgatory. It is also hard to tell how much of the over-all good play of the offense was because of Mallett, or how well Mallett looked because of the over-all play of the offense. It is kind of like the thing of is the band a good band because of the star? (Paul McCartney, Sam Cooke , Lionel Richey, Phil Collins, Peter Frampton) Or is the star a star because of the good band? (Ringo Starr, Jermaine Jackson, Any of the Spice Girls) We have seen this go both ways so many times before. Let's ope it is more of a Joe Walsh thing - that whatever he is added to, it becomes better.

The Eye Test aka The "I" Test

What most of us know is what we saw with the eye test. There weren't any outstanding statistics. What we did see though, was a quarterback who ran the offense "the way it should be run." I put that last part in quotes as I really don't know how it should be run - but it looked good. Mallett seemed to do a lot of little things from the command side of the offense that kept things moving. Did he make mistakes? Sure he did. However, he more often than not made good reads and made good throws, and set up runs properly. There were a couple of runs I thought he made the wrong choice (wrong side or wrong formation) but obviously he did a good job, just look how well the team ran the ball.

Mallett appeared to make quick decisions and pre-snap reads that kept the chains moving for the most part. He was not perfect, but for most of the game I wasn't finding myself yelling at the TV to quit staring down guys or "just throw the damned ball!" So from the eye test Mallett looks like he could be a keeper. Let's all hope this isn't that lucky first start for a new quarterback.

Mallett is a System Quarterback.

This isn't meant so much to be fact, as it is an observation. In reality all Quarterbacks are system quarterbacks. Even the great ones. Have you seen P8ton in any other system other than the one he has run at both the Colts and Broncos? What about Brady? - We have seen Brady struggle when the players around him suffer poor performance. Are both of these guys great? I think so. Do they make the guys around them play better? I think so. Does Mallett fit in this category? I hope so, but we really do not know yet.

The most amazing thing about this past game was how well the team played over-all. Not just on offense, but in all phases (I know there were special teams glitches, and not just JJ Watt penalties). But as a whole, the team played amazingly well. So this brings to me a few questions:

  • Is everything starting to click for the players? - Like the Offensive line scheme, or the defensive schemes.
  • Do the coaches just really prepare well when they have an extra week? - We will find out in the next couple of weeks.
  • Did Mallett make the big difference? - We will see this over the remaining games of the season.

Now they have "tape" on Mallett

OK, I know no one uses tape any more - that would be just silly. We could say the same for "game film" but, whatever. Now teams at least have some game video to watch of Mallett. It probably won't help the Bengals as much as the next few teams, but we will see.

So, now with the "Heh" Stuff:

Random Cheerleader pic:

Heh

Clowney was back - and in pursuit of... part of the Factory of Sadness.

Heh³

Akeem Dent Getting a Sack

Heh²

Graham gets a touchdown - so for now I will suspend the milk carton.

I just thought this would make a great "Caption this Photo" contest photo

So.Many.Possibilities. Heh⁸

Of course a few pics of JJ Watt with a football...

...

...

For all of these - lots of Heh⁷

A pic for kdentify (or whoever else likes it)

Oh wait, I almost forgot another picture with JJ Watt and a football

Heh² I think he is attracted to that brown orb.

of course another random cheerleader picture

TexansCheerleaders-pink-uniforms.0.gif

Heh

What say you Texans fans?