On the field, a central plotline of the middle episode of the five-part NFL Films/HBO series was coach Bill O’Brien’s decision to name Brian Hoyer over Ryan Mallett as the team’s starting quarterback.
Advertisement
“The whole competition pushed us to be better”, Hoyer said.
It humanizes them, and even as I go into these experiences tentative about separating what’s being put on for the camera and what is real, I just can’t help but like the Houston Texans. “You have to go out and earn it every day in this league”.
That’s the reaction most people thought he would have after learning Monday morning that the job he’s worked his whole career to get was given to someone else. “He’s got an opportunity here”. I don’t care who walks into our building.
Mallett threw for 400 yards and two touchdowns to two interceptions in the 2014 season.
The Steelers signed the four-time Pro Bowler to a one-year deal on Tuesday night, hopeful there’s enough game left in the 35-year-old’s still risky legs to provide the defending AFC North champions some insurance should something happen to Ben Roethlisberger.
“I’ve always kind of had that chip on my shoulder”, Hoyer said. Mallett, who started two games last season before a season-ending pectoral injury, thinks he’ll get a chance to play. “I thought I was consistent in my completion percentage every day”.
“You have to prepare every single week like you’re the starter”. Hoyer is a serviceable player who gives the Texans dependability at the position whereas Mallett was the upside play, and because of Hard Knocks we’ve gotten a very personal look at an actual quarterback battle whose outcome will ultimately decide whether the Texans can compete for a postseason bid right now or not. “You have to be ready to play at a moment’s notice”.
“No one can make Jack laugh the way that Bill does”, Colleen O’Brien said. “I’m sure that he doesn’t agree with the decision, but I can tell you that he’s a professional… and he’ll handle himself in such a way that we all expect from him”.
Advertisement
– The episode went over how both Mallett and Hoyer struggled in the Texans’ preseason matchup against the Denver Broncos.
