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| Bill O'Brien has been the head coach of the Houston Texans since 2014. Photo by Darla S Tamulitis, La Vita Loca Photography Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved |
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved
HOUSTON, TEXAS (April 17, 2020) Houston Texans general manager Bill O'Brien did little to quell the ire still felt by Houston Texans fans over his trading of the league's best wideout DeAndre Hopkins with his pre-draft press conference on Thursday morning. O'Brien fielded questions only from credentialed media and did little to excite fans about how good the 2020 Houston Texans will be come the first game of 2020. Here are some of the questions and answers he provided.
Talking about the DeAndre Hopkins trade, O'Brien had this to say:
"We felt like after layers and layers of research, this was the best move for our team. We moved him because we felt like that was the best deal for our team relative to this year, next year, two years, three years down the road.”
So let's see. Randall Cobb and Brandin Cooks come to the Texans with a combined 97 catches for 1,411 yards and five touchdowns. Hopkins alone had 104 catches, 1165 yards and seven touchdowns. Oh and he played in 15 games, the same as Cobb and one more then Cooks.
Maybe Ryan Hardison put it best replying to Drew Dougherty on Twitter after he posted O'Brien saying
"We feel really good about where we are offensively. O-line is in good shape, TE group is strong, 4-6 WR will be battling. But we've got to go out there and produce."
Hardison's response:
"But what about 1-4 WR.. cuz he traded away our #1. Our #2 cant stay healthy. #3 isnt a #1 WR in this league and the 2 you picked up arent #2 WR anymore!"
What's your biggest concern coming into the draft was answered this way by O'Brien.
"I don’t know if I would call it a concern, I would say just making sure that your cell phone works. If a team is trying to call you or you’re trying to call a team, making sure you have the ability to contact another team or they have the ability to contact you."
Maybe he is looking to make another deal?
How about the health of receiver Brandin Cooks and running back David Johnson?
The Texans had David Johnson checked out and receive a physical from a doctor close to, and trusted by, Houston's medical staff and he passed with flying colors. O'Brien expects him to be a three down back.
As for Cooks, yes he has had concussion issues but he only missed two games going back to 2015 but O'Brien does not see that as an issue.
“Without getting into who did the physical on Brandin, it was a doctor that we felt really good about, that Dr. (Walter) Lowe had a personal friendship with. That’s kind of how it goes during this unique time when there’s no traveling and no things like that. That physical had to take place in L.A. and we were able to have a doctor out there that did a great job. We also spoke with other doctors relative to Brandin and his injuries, not to get into the details. We feel really good about where Brandin’s at relative to his health."
Let's take a look at the proclivity for Cooks to concuss again. He has has five concussions in six seasons. Probably likely to happen again.
Last year he did not reach the 1,000 yard receiving mark. If we are looking for Cooks to be the receiver he was in New Orleans, forget it. In 2019, only 21.4% of Brandin Cooks' receptions last season resulted in explosive completions, a rate that ranked 42nd among WRs with 25+ targets. Current Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills ranked ahead of him so don't expect great things from a receiver on his fourth team in four seasons and the lowest production of his career.
Bill O'Brien would have done better keeping his mouth shut despite the fact that one softball question after another was lobbed his direction and he refused to give any clear answers with exception of one difficult question, "Why was it necessary to bring up Aaron Hernandez in a conversation with DeAndre Hopkins?"...to which he had the clearest answer of the day....."No comment."
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