Take The Texans Prediction Challenge

[HPF Bob]

Before Jan. 15th, see if you can successfully predict all three:

1. Name the head coach of the Houston Texans for 2014.
2. Name the player the Texans choose in the first round of the 2014 draft.
3. Name the starting quarterback for the Texans season opener.

HC: Wade Phillips? Lovie Smith? Ken Whisenhunt? Rex Ryan?

#1 pick: Teddy Bridgewater? Jake Matthews? Jadaveon Clowney? Johnny Manziel?

Starting QB: Bridgewater? Manziel? Matt Schaub? Case Keenum? Jay Cutler?

Harder than it looks.

[Keith]

1. Vic Fangio
2. Derek Carr
3. David Carr

[BigBull]

1. Vic Fangio
2. Derek Carr
3. David Carr

I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. If this happened I think fans would loose their minds.

[BigBull]

1. Bill O'Brien
2. Marcus Mariota if he declares if not Teddy Bridgewater.
3. Case Keenum until the rookie is ready to start.

[BigBull]

1. Bill O'Brien
2. Marcus Mariota if he declares if not Teddy Bridgewater.
3. Case Keenum until the rookie is ready to start.

2. Teddy Brigdewater after tonight's game even if Mariota comes out.
Brigdewater's release is one of the quickest I've seen in years.

[barrett]

1. Vic Fangio
2. Derek Carr
3. David Carr

Bonus:

Marciano as ST coach
Frank Bush as DC
Matt Stevens at FS

[WMH]

1. Bill O'Brien
2. Anthony Barr
3. Michael Vick
- P/U Taj Boyd at the top of Rd. 2.

[HPF Bob]

I'd put more money on Dirty Sanchez being our next QB instead of Michale Vick.

[nunusguy]

(1) Ken Whisenhunt
(2) Jadevon Clowney
(3) Chase Daniel
****
Just forget about Bill "Cape Cod" O'Brien coming down to the Texas Gulf Coast.

[Joshua]

I don't know if O'Brien will be our next head coach but the notion that guys with aspirations of being a head coach in the NFL will limit themselves to their backyard is a head scratcher to say the least. There are only 32 NFL head coaching jobs and only about a half dozen open up in a given year. If someone has eyes on being an NFL coach, they aren't going to wait 10 years for one to open up in their home state. Trends in coaching are too fickle and a guy's sell-by date passes way to soon for such luxuries.

In my 30+ years of watching the NFL, I've never heard of that happening, ever. Unless you have some quote from him saying as much, I don't see O'Brien being the first.

[HPF Bob]

Bad timing but Gary Kubiak seemed to have turned down some offers before he accepted his first head coaching gig. He didn't cite geography though. He just felt he wasn't ready although "coming home" to Texas certainly appealed to him when he took the Texans job.

O'Brien does make me nervous though. We've seen the track record of other former Patriot assistant coaches (Weis, Crennel, Haley, McDaniels, etc.) and while the Penn State job certainly had unique challenges, it's not like he was going 10-1 and winning BCS bowls.

[barrett]

Bad timing but Gary Kubiak seemed to have turned down some offers before he accepted his first head coaching gig. He didn't cite geography though. He just felt he wasn't ready although "coming home" to Texas certainly appealed to him when he took the Texans job.

O'Brien does make me nervous though. We've seen the track record of other former Patriot assistant coaches (Weis, Crennel, Haley, McDaniels, etc.) and while the Penn State job certainly had unique challenges, it's not like he was going 10-1 and winning BCS bowls.

It is hard to replicate a Tom Brady offense without Tom Brady. But I still like O'Brien. I think it comes down to if he can work with Rick Smith. Many of the NE guys like to go full Bellachik even if they haven't earned the credibility yet (McDaniels in Denver). Word has surfaced that O'Brien had issues with the AD at Penn St. I don't want a guy whose first order of business is to tear everything down in the name of getting "his guys". That leads to Watt getting traded for pennies on the dollar like McDaniels did with Marshall and Cutler. I'd rather have someone with the confidence to make these guys into "his guys" and then replace people based on football and not on who they owe their job to. If O'Brien can be flexible and work with other people, I think he certainly has the mind to be a good HC. McDaniels does for that matter if he'll learn from what happened in Denver and be flexible.

[nunusguy]

Word is Schartz in Detroit just got added to the list of newly unemployed Head Coachs. OK, now that's a roster that I would think O'brien could really relate
to: stellar defense with a franchise QB who has the best WR in the league to throw to. That franchise will be major competition to the Texans for O'Brien's services IMO.

[chuck]

People have been talking about Cleveland and Cleveland certainly has some talent (but zero stability at the top) but I've always thought that Detroit is the only other organization that could possibly compete with Houston in terms of the attractiveness of the head coaching job. They have a very good team.

Houston has a patient owner. Although Mr Ford put up with Matt Millen for the better part of a decade so I suppose I'll have to acknowledge his unusual patience as well.

[HPF Bob]

Winters in Houston, winters in Detroit?
Winters in Houston, winters in Cleveland?

Is that really a hard choice?

[chuck]

Winters in Houston, winters in Detroit?
Winters in Houston, winters in Cleveland?

Is that really a hard choice?

Most people live indoors in homes that have heating. Also, if you're from the north then a cold winter wouldn't be that much of an issue.

I would be embarrassed to be so provincial.

[nunusguy]

Winters in Houston, winters in Detroit?
Winters in Houston, winters in Cleveland?

Is that really a hard choice?
O'Brien is a New England guy where they have every bit the winters that MoTown does. He's a "4 seasons" person, they love that cold-azz weather, whereas there's little doubt which climate an Art Briles would choose. I'm just saying most people have a "regional bias" depending on large part where they grew up and spent much of their lives, when it comes to their cultural and climate preferences.

[WMH]

@taniaganguli: On NFL Live, @mortreport said the #Texans deal with O'Brien is imminent and expects it to be done in the next 24 hours.

[WMH]

Starting QB: Bridgewater? Manziel? Matt Schaub? Case Keenum? Jay Cutler?

Cross Cutler off the list, he's re-upped with Chicago for the next 7 years.

McCown maybe?
Orton?
Vick?

We'll need a vet that's not named Schaub.

[BigBull]

1. Bill O'Brien
2. Marcus Mariota if he declares if not Teddy Bridgewater.
3. Case Keenum until the rookie is ready to start.

2. Teddy Brigdewater after tonight's game even if Mariota comes out.
Brigdewater's release is one of the quickest I've seen in years.

Well at least I got the head coach right.:p