The last time David Culley saw Tyrod Taylor was in 2017 with the Buffalo Bills when he was the quarterbacks coach.
Incidentally, this was also the last time that Taylor spent a full season as a team’s starting quarterback. The former 2015 Pro Bowler would spend the next season with the Cleveland Browns as rookie Baker Mayfield’s tune-up competition, and then 2019-20 with the Los Angeles Chargers in a similar capacity.
Taylor went 21-of-33 for 291 yards and two touchdowns in the Texans’ 37-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1. Culley got to see for a full four quarters just where Taylor has improved as a quarterback.
“He’s much better inside the pocket,” Culley said. “He is seeing things a lot better. I think being the first game, we moved him around a little bit. He was just a little bit off right there early. He is much better in his pocket presence.”
Another element that Culley noticed is the way that Taylor is able to “get the ball out better” than in 2017. The credit for the improvement goes to quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton, according to Culley.
Said Culley: “Pep has done a good job of making sure he’s on time and on rhythm. He’s just go to continue to do that.”
Hamilton was also Taylor’s quarterbacks coach in 2020 with the Chargers.