While quarterback competitions have not been a huge storyline for the NFL this preseason, they are for the Houston Texans. Just a year after drafting Tom Savage, Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett have stepped in to compete for the starting job. Hoyer got the nod Week 1 of the preseason and certainly showed some talent. Mallett will now step in for Week 2 looking to do the same thing. Head coach Bill O'Brien admitted that the competition between the two players is dead even.
Hoyer has the veteran card while Mallett has the strong arm and accuracy. The Texans are struggling to determine the best option for a starting quarterback as both Hoyer and Mallett demonstrate great things on the field. According to the Houston Chronicle, Hoyer might have the leg up in the race, but O'Brien will not come close to admitting that.
"They both have the quality of leadership; they both have the quality of intelligence," O'Brien said, via the team's official website. "So, it's an even battle. And like I said, we'll make a decision at some point. We'll go with one guy to start the season. That other guy needs to be ready to play. We played four quarterbacks last year, so you just never know but we can only play one at a time. So, we'll pick one eventually and go with that guy."
If the Texans can get their quarterback situation taken care of, their offense could be a real strength in the upcoming season. Despite losing Andre Johnson in free agency and Arian Foster to injury, Houston has a lot of confidence in their depth to be a real threat in 2015. Alfred Blue takes over the running back spot as a young player looking for an opportunity. Blue is already being viewed as a fantasy home run pick as he has exceled with Foster out. According to the Chronicle, the Texans are not interested in adding players like Ray Rice or Pierre Thomas anymore after seeing the success of Blue and backups like Chris Polk and Kenny Hilliard.
"They've made me the No. 1 guy so, I feel you've got to take that kind of role and just motivate the room and just push (teammates) at practice. It'll start slow sometimes - you don't want to be out there - but you've got to put your head down, get through practice and just try to get better each and every day," Blue said, via the Chronicle.
Confidence is high in the new tandem of Jaelen Strong and Cecil Shorts to compliment DeAndre Hopkins the new No.1 receiver for the team. Strong and Shorts both had touchdowns in their preseason debuts for the Texans. Each one came from different quarterbacks proving regardless of who is under center, both of these receivers will be quality threats.
