When he took the Chicago Bears to Super Bowl 41, Lovie Smith often issued a familiar refrain to defend his then-starting quarterback Rex Grossman. As Grossman struggled through ups and downs (more of the latter), Smith would usually say, without fail, “Rex is our quarterback” as an indicator the Bears would not be making a change. Smith did not deviate from this script, and it essentially became a meme for what was then arguably the NFL’s best team on paper.
Roughly 16 years later, Smith has evolved as head coach of the Houston Texans. Instead of sticking with one inconsistent QB, he will ride with Davis Mills. And Jeff Driskel. That’s right. After having Mills and Driskel play an even amount of snaps (33) in an almost-upset of the Dallas Cowboys, Smith will keep platooning his quarterbacks against the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday.
Good luck with that, sir.
Texans are expected to maintain two-quarterback system of Davis Mills and Jeff Driskel going forward after having success last Sunday against the Cowboys, according to league sources
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 13, 2022
Per a further report from the Houston Chronicle, Smith really seemed to appreciate what Mills and Driskel were able to accomplish in Dallas. The near-win couldn’t be that the Cowboys — definitely notorious for not being overhyped frontrunners — overlooked the one-win Texans, could it? It had to be, somehow, the pair of QBs barely combining for 200 yards passing and just one score while offering little groundbreaking with their legs. Why? Because Smith thinks the two-QB system keeps defenses on their toes:
“I thought it was effective,” Texans coach Lovie Smith said on Monday. “Two different flavors, and that’s always tough for a defense to prepare with what we were doing with them. As far as what we’re going to do this week going forward, we started evaluating and seeing what we need to do against another good division-leading Kansas City football team.”
If Smith actually believes this plan will work, I think I should make it clear that an old adage about having two-signal callers remains true and timeless. You know the one: “If you have two quarterbacks, you have none.” Because the overwhelming majority of normal (and good) teams generally want to keep the ball in the hands of their one, better quarterback instead of disrupting his rhythm and letting the other defense catch their breath.
Smith’s decision to keep running with Mills and Davis applies to that sentiment, but differently.
Usually, when a squad elects to platoon their QBs, at least one of the passers is clearly better and is just trying to win the job outright. In the case of these Texans, Mills is a former third-round pick now glorified game manager, while Driskel is on his fifth NFL team since being selected in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Therefore, if the Texans theoretically wanted to experiment and develop the two, I’m not sure why because there isn’t much brimming promise on hand.
The QB saying for the Texans and Smith should be more, “We don’t even have one quarterback, but we’re playing both anyway.”
With such a confounding plan continuing, at least the Texans — who currently own the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft — can take solace in knowing that Bryce Young will likely be on the way. Which isn’t to say Smith is tanking. For anyone unfamiliar, this is just how he coaches football.
When/if Young is wearing a Texans jersey, perhaps Smith will stay true to his roots, saying, “Bryce is our quarterback.” I have a feeling he’ll only have to say it once, at most.