He had good completion percentage but his accuracy downfield was considered a weak spot. It was in every scouting report. Remember the reports, whether we will choose to believe them or not, is that no other team had a first round grade on Watson.
Nope, I had positive comments after last week. But the truth is he can't throw the ball where it's supposed to go. Is this something that can be fixed? Do people normally draft inaccurate QBs because it's no big deal to fix?
If you were a more intelligent person, you'd see that I'm not saying "he sucks", I'm saying that his mechanics are broken and it's leading him to be an inaccurate passer....which was a knock on him all along that proved true. If only....
So a quick breakdown, first throw was inaccurate, behind the receiver, but he made a good catch anyway. 2nd throw was an accurate throw a few yards beyond the LOS, but the 4th string TE fumbled it (ruled incomplete) 3rd throw he stares down his pre-snap read checkdown and it gets deflected at the LOS 4th throw is an accurate 5 or 6 yard pass to his pre-snap read that gets a ton of YAC. Great play and great job reading the defense. 5th throw is an inaccurate throw on what would have been an easy TD with an accurate throw, just sailed it out of the end zone. 6th throw was terribly inaccurate to the point where it's not even clear who the intended receiver was, there was 2 sort of in that direction, but none in a spot where they could catch that throw. 7th throw was terribly inaccurate, he had an open receiver, but he threw the ball a couple yards to his left to where Ellington could only get his fingertips on the ball. 8th throw was thrown deep, pretty much thrown up for grabs but short and the WR makes a great play to prevent the interception. 9th throw.....I'm on the fence about, it wasn't a good throw, but I think the WR should have had it anyway. Should have been accurate enough but I'd prefer to have a better angle on it. 10th throw was a really good read of the defense, thrown a few yards beyond the LOS to the RB who then got like 60 yards of YAC. He had no accurate passes that were more than a few yards beyond the LOS. He did some good things running, and read the defense well on a few occasions, but the kid's mechanics lead to just no accuracy.
This was essentially the scouting report. If he tries to go beyond the first level with his throws he gets very hit or miss with his accuracy.
I sure hope that all this talk is just talk, and people haven't lost faith in Watson getting better so quickly. I really doubt the Texans drafted what they thought was an inaccurate passer, just because he won a college championship, thinking they could fix his mistakes. I'm thinking they thought he was good to begin with, and could make it in the NFL. Lots of people say he is progressing very quickly, which gives me hope. I just hope the accuracy will get better, and not be a consistent thing, because we don't even have a 1st or 2nd round pick next year. We better hope Savage stays healthy, because he might end up being much better than anyone expected. I honestly love how accurate he has been so far. Don't you guys realize that we won our division with a quarterback throwing so many interceptions last year you couldn't keep count? If we could get that far with Brock, the we should have a great season with Savage, especially with Watt back to make our defense even more powerful. Our quarterback is better, our running backs our better, and our defense is better. I'm not worrying about the quarterback situation until there is reason to. Why not just enjoy what we are seeing for a change. Both these guys will continue getting better with more experience.
You all missing the point. You know he can play, he has the skills to be a franchise QB. Not the most accurate passer and if the man has no other strengths he should even be drafted. But he does, and with time, and that's where people rush to judgement. He is not ready now and may not be this year but he has the skills, less accuracy, that can take him far in this league. But he is not completely bad even in accuracy. If he is nothing else he can make the short throws and he can buy time with his feet and if needed he can run a little. Meanwhile, enjoy the Savage show, it's been 4 years in the making. Let's hope he keeps up and not get hurt so Watson doesn't have to be rushed.
I don't think anyone is suggesting that he can't get better, just that it's going to take a LOT more time than his zealots were counting on. It's fairly easy to learn the proper footwork, it's a whole lot harder to keep doing it over and over again till the right footwork becomes second nature. I don't think there's any way it could happen quicker than at least several months. For me, the hope is that he spends all of this year learning and working on the flaws in his game from footwork, to proper progressions and comes out next season killing it.
Rick mentioned there were accuracy issues to fix. Both he and Obrien said they drafted him because he's a winner.
He had a sh***y second string players around him. What do you expect? He had no good protection from the O line, and his receivers were dropping good passes from Watson. What I like from Watson is he runs when it matters and doesn't panic, and can read the pressure well. If he played with the first team he'll play a lot better. I still think he should not start for the regular season until Week 8, or he should just wait for next year. He first needs to learn the NFL game from the bench. By Week 8 he will be ready to play. My most positive from the preseason game is Tom Savage is looking decent.
I didn't notice any drops. There were 3 short passes that were off target that the wr had to dive for. Got hands on it but did not reel in.
Yes. He led D1 QBs in INTs over last 2 seasons. And this... Tell us how you really feel. Accuracy is one of the more difficult issues to "fix" by the time a QB gets to NFL. Most times you are what you are. O'Brien didn't draft any of these guys in this class. O'Brien never even went and worked Watson out. Don't confuse "we" with "me". Rick gets all the credit for this draft class. Overstrides at times, but he demonstrated field vision issues in college and it looks like he's not seeing the field well here so far. But he's a rookie who would not have been a first round QB in next year's class, and many felt he wasn't a first rounder in 2017. Gonna take time to see what he becomes.
I agree completely. He was never a day one starter type prospect...some just convinced themselves of that similar to Skip Bayless. He's got potential, but rushing him into action would only serve to make it far less likely for him to ever reach his potential.
Do you all realize that with everything else he has going for him already, if he was an 'accurate' passer he would be taken number 1 and the Browns would be set for next 10 years. You all act like he should be accurate and be the leader, have the it factor, etc. He wouldn't be 3rd QB taken in a supposed week draft if he was all that and was accurate. Granted, that QB taken in 4th round up north last year makes everyone, including the Cowboys look stupid for passing him up 3 times and settled for him. But that is pure luck and different circumstances. I think he needs seasoning and a competent Savage is a good thing. Say Savage goes 8 games, go 6 and 2 but gets hurt, then it would be good time to insert future QB of Texans in. Hopefully by then Watson will be simply better than now, his 2nd limited game in preseason.
I've listened to a radio interview where O'Brien has clearly stated that he and Rick Smith work the draft together. He also stated that Rick wouldn't draft a player that O'Brien didn't want.
