Bill O’Brien Press Conference: Defining Insanity

I had to watch Bill O’Brien’s press conference today twice, because after he said “Tom Savage will start against Arizona”, all I heard was white noise for the next thirteen minutes. BOB, without a better QB option (on the roster), will continue to run the same pointless offense against the Arizona Cardinals this week. The only two distinct wrinkles I saw in the game against the Rams was starting D’Onta Foreman at running back and two reluctant attempts to run the wildcat with Braxton Miller.

When Bill O’Brien addressed the media today, there was an tone of doom and gloom in the questions. When the Texans went to halftime yesterday, I was pleased with the defensive play and the progress the Texans made moving the ball. Although the defense had let the Rams move the ball downfield, they were able to limit the opposition to three field goals. Then, when Tom Savage began to commit turnovers and struggle to move the ball downfield, the entire game collapsed into a blowout.

BOB stressed a couple things in his latest presser. First, finishing drives. In the five drives where the Texans were able to get into Rams’ territory, they only scored once. Interceptions, fumbles, sacks, and penalties killed all momentum throughout the game. If 31% of your possessions end in a turnover, you have little chance for a successful offense and a fresh defense.

Second, consistency, particularly running the football, was O’Brien’s big issue with his team’s performance in Los Angeles. For me, consistency in the secondary is much worse than in the backfield. The lack of complexity in the play calling, combined with simple mistakes, were a source of the Texans’ immediate downfall in the third quarter.

The head coach did mention the injuries to Will Fuller and others, but he did not give a timetable for their absence. It is expected that Fuller will miss the next game.

O’Brien was also asked about the honoring Andre Johnson on Sunday while inducting him as the first member of the Ring of Honor at NRG Stadium. Sunday will be proclaimed “Andre Johnson Day” in Houston.

“True professional. Worked very hard. Very smart. Very detailed guy. Team guy. Ya know players had a lot of respect for him,” O’Brien said about ‘Dre. We all know how much #80 meant to this franchise in some of its worst seasons, so it was nice to hear the coach honor the franchise’s first elite player.

Praise for Andre Johnson aside, it was more of the same from Bill O’Brien. Yesterday was a return to a boring vanilla offense that cannot score more than 10 points in a game. Hopefully the embarrassment does not continue against the Cardinals this week.