Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien doesn’t have to teach quarterback Deshaun Watson much when it comes to the improvement of his knowledge of the game.
“He loves football,” O’Brien told the media Wednesday. “He’s a football junkie, he’s in here all the time watching tape and texting us about plays and emailing us about plays. He loves it.”
It is precisely Watson’s ability to understand defenses and break them down that gives the Texans the inside edge and has also helped him produce 12 touchdowns and three interceptions while also managing zero sacks in the past two games, a feat not seen around Texans football since Weeks 1-2 of the 2014 season.
From what O’Brien has observed, it goes back to Watson’s constant film study.
“Look, I think that he does a great job of studying tape,” said O’Brien. “He’s got really good football intelligence. He’s a very football savvy, smart guy. He understands coverages and fronts and how the two work together. He understands personnel, so I think it’s film study.”
Of course, it also the instruction that Watson receives that helps him play at a high level for the 4-2 Texans, who are first place in the AFC South. Offensive coordinator Tim Kelly and quarterbacks coach Carl Smith provide Watson with the necessary instruction to help the third-year pro apply the raw knowledge he has gained from watching copious amounts of tape.
“I think Timmy and Carl, they do a great job of teaching him every day, first and second down, third down, red area, what to expect and then he studies on his own,” O’Brien said. “Then the experience that you have from playing and seeing all of the different looks, he stores that in his memory, relative to the next time that he sees a similar look or whatever it might be.
“I think most of that credit goes to Deshaun and his ability to prepare from week-to-week.”
Watson has a consequential game to prepare for as the Texans face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The match-up is the first of the season series between the top teams in the AFC South, and it gets as zero-sum as a mid-October battle can get with the winner taking first place in the division and the loser holding second.
