Will The Houston Texans Bench Brian Hoyer For Ryan Mallett After One Week?

I don't see any need to rehash exactly how bad Brian Hoyer was in his debut for the Houston Texans yesterday. I will, however, note that he got very little help from his offensive line (especially Jeff Adams, who was simply horrendous). Additionally, the interception Hoyer threw ON THE TEXANS' VERY FIRST OFFENSIVE SNAP OF THE REGULAR SEASON was so awful that my initial thought was that the intended receiver must have either run the wrong route or cut said route off; after the game, DeAndre Hopkins admitted that the abject failure of that play was his fault.

Nevertheless, that's no excuse. When Ryan Mallett took the field in relief of Hoyer in the fourth quarter, there was a loud cheer at NRG Stadium, and it wasn't unfair. In his limited time in the fourth quarter against Kansas City, Mallett looked fairly sharp. Granted, the Chiefs may have been playing more conservatively at that point in the game than they were earlier, but there's no denying that Mallett moved the ball with far more consistency than Hoyer did.

In his post-game session with the media, Bill O'Brien did not commit to Hoyer remaining as Houston's starting QB against Carolina this week:

"I just got off the field. [I have] no idea," O'Brien said. "We'll review the film and we will find out once we head into next week."

I won't ask whether Bill O'Brien should make a change at quarterback; judging from the amount of support Mallett had from the fan base this past offseason and how justifiable Hoyer made that support look yesterday, I reckon a poll question to that effect would produce a rout. No, what I want to know is whether you believe Bill O'Brien WILL make a change at QB after just one regular season game.

As horribly as Hoyer played, is there something to be said for giving him another shot this week? Is benching a player after one bad game a smart move? Specifically, is benching your starting quarterback after a single game a smart move? There is something to be said for not judging someone on their worst day, right? Would changing QBs after one game be a panicked reaction that sends a poor message to the rest of the team?

Think about all that, try to get inside the mind of Bill O'Brien, answer the poll question below, and then explain yourself in the Comments.

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