Houston, we have a quarterback
Contributed by: John David Suayan, post-baccalaureate
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. Christmas in March? Huh? Well, if you’re a tried-and-true Texans fan, it came 291 days early.
March 3, the Texans lured quarterback Brock Osweiler from the 2016 Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.
In what will possibly go down as one of the gutsiest moves the team has ever made, Bob McNair and Rick Smith shelled out $72 million for the 25-year-old backup.
Osweiler is fresh from helping the Broncos reach the summit of Mount Lombardi for the third time in the team’s history. Blessed with a strong arm, he stepped in for a declining Peyton Manning for seven games last season and racked up five victories, ten touchdowns and six interceptions — his biggest game being against the big and bad New England Patriots.
With Manning now a retiree, Osweiler was supposed to be the guy in Denver. The quarterback-starved Texans had other ideas.
To say the Texans have acquired the closest thing they have to a decent signal-caller after years of futility at the position is an understatement.
Those of us who bleed Battle Red, Liberty White and Deep Steel Blue counted the number of sacks David Carr took. We scratched our heads wondering what possessed Sage Rosenfels to think he was a human helicopter. Our blood pressure rose to near-dangerous levels with every pick six by Matt Schaub. And Brian Hoyer? Persona non grata after the embarrassing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at home in the playoffs.
Osweiler looks to be the one who shuts the Texans’ revolving door of quarterbacks for good. I can’t speak for most fans, but this is the first time I’ve genuinely expressed excitement over someone new going under center for the Boyz on Kirby.
With Lamar Miller (another key acquisition) in the backfield and DeAndre Hopkins out in the open, Osweiler likely doesn’t have to assume a Messianic role with the offense. And just like in the Mile-High City, he will get to watch a potent, opportunistic defense – one led by the great J.J. Watt mind you – go to work.
Let’s not forget that his mentors with the Broncos were two of the greatest quarterbacks ever: Manning and Executive Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager John Elway. His coach with Houston, Bill O’Brien, once called plays for Tom Brady.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Osweiler’s exodus to America’s fourth largest city is not without its critics and skeptics. Seven games in a four-year career doesn’t reveal much, but for a franchise that tends to play it safe, landing Manning’s former understudy is a respectable risk.
While it’s too early and very foolhardy to declare the Texans the next Super Bowl winner, one thing’s for certain: Houston, we have a quarterback.
