HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610) -- When Romeo Crennel replaced Bill O’Brien as interim head coach after the Texans’ 0-4 start, his job was to rally the team and win as many games as possible.
Crennel, who at 73 is the oldest to coach an NFL game, may not be part of the Texans’ plans beyond 2020.
He is not responsible for what happens with the Texans after these last three games.
But there is something to be said for protecting an investment and looking after the future, even if you won’t be a part of it.
That’s where the discussion gets interesting as to how much the Texans should play stars like Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt in a season headed nowhere after being mathematically eliminated from postseason contention in Sunday’s 36-7 blowout loss to the Chicago Bears.
Watson left that game for one play in the third quarter, with the Texans already trailing 33-7. He was hit by Bears linebacker Roquan Smith with Houston marching near the goal line and laid on the ground long enough for backup quarterback A.J. McCarron to check into the game.
Crennel said after the game that Watson hit his funny bone, but wanted to finish the game. Watson said the same thing, and added he’s going to continue to play these final three games.
It’s worth considering whether that is the smartest play, given how much of the Texans’ future depends on Watson, and the minimal return on at best finishing 7-9 and missing the playoffs.
Maybe that’s the goal of 2020: win as many games as possible, even if that number is a measly 7.
But is the risk of struggling offensive line failing to protect Watson worth the reward of a three-game winning streak to end a lost season?
I asked Crennel on Monday about the bigger picture conversation on when to protect players when a game, or season, gets out of hand.
“When you’re trying to win games, when is a game out of reach?” Crennel responded. “Just like (Sunday), even though the score was 30 or 33-7, I never felt like it was out of reach if we could have gotten a score or we could have gotten something to get started that might help us get the game closer. So, I don’t know what number that is when you say it’s out of reach. I think there may be a time on the clock that says a game is out of reach and then at that time you might consider whether to take guys out or put other guys in. In my mind, that’s a difficult thing because you’re talking about trying to win.
“A lot of times when you start taking guys out and putting other guys in, then you’re telling your team that you’ve given up, that the game is over. Maybe the game is over, but in competitors’ minds and athletes’ minds, the game is not over because there’s always a chance. That’s the way we look at it and that’s the way we approach it.”
Nevermind the Texans calling eight run plays and four straight runs to start their first drive of the third quarter, when more than eight minutes ticked off the game clock.
That does not seem like a winning strategy.
Crennel’s answer is also void of context. Watson was hit six times and sacked three times against the Bears.
Crennel said himself the offensive line has been outplayed in the last two games against the Colts and Bears.
There is a legitimate question about how safe it is to put Watson out there, with another matchup against Indy coming up, if this is how the offensive line is going to play.
SportsRadio 610 host Clint Stoerner, also a former quarterback, suggested Texans CEO keep Watson off the field in these last three games.
“Cal McNair should shelve Deshaun Watson for the rest of the season,” Stoerner tweeted Sunday. “This year has been huge for his development, the next regime has seen enough & his supporting cast is depleted. The risk, at this point, is simply too high to keep trottin him out there.”
Maybe it sends a poor message to the locker room to favor players like Watson, Watt, or Laremy Tunsil and Zach Cunningham to protect the future. Maybe Watson is the only player on this list.
Either way, this season for all intents and purposes, is over.
McNair’s extreme optimism at 0-4, hoping for the unlikely scenario of making a playoff run, is no longer valid.
Once the Texans decided to give an uninspiring effort and embarrass themselves in Chicago, everything else became a business decision. Or at least it should have.
Shelving Deshaun Watson might be too brazen, but having what’s effectively a pitch count, or a plan for when the risk is no longer worth taking, is something the Texans need to jump on before their offensive line has to look the Colts in the eyes again.
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