What the Texans are saying about the Patriots this week
Can former Bill Belichick disciple Bill O'Brien outwit his old mentor in Foxborough?
The Patriots scarcely survived Sunday’s bout with Miami, but with only four days in between, they must now turn their attention to Bill O’Brien’s Houston Texans.
The Texans come to Gillette Stadium with a revamped offense built around All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and after signing Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller and drafting Will Fuller and Braxton Miller. Houston’s highly regarded defense has allowed just 26 points so far, thanks to the finally-healthy Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, former Patriot Vince Wilfork, and reigning defensive player of the year J.J. Watt.
Here’s what the Texans are saying about the opposition before the game.
Bill O’Brien:
- on Bill Belichick: “I think he’ll go down as the best coach of all time in this league. He’s been to, I think it’s six Super Bowls as a head coach and won four of them. Unfortunately, I was on the staff that we lost the two. It’s very challenging. He’s been doing this a long time – 40-plus years in the NFL.”
- on Jacoby Brissett: “He has really good poise, very smart guy. He’s got good size; he’s like 235 pounds… I know one thing that stands out to me is Coach (Bill) Parcells has very good things, very complimentary of the kid, which to me says a lot.”
- on Jamie Collins, linebackers: “Jamie Collins is one of the best linebackers that we’ll play, same with [Dont’a] Hightower. Very physical, athletic… Their linebackers are good against the run and the pass.”
- on Rob Gronkowski: “I mean, where do you want me to start? He’s a 6-foot-7, 260-pound guy who’s an excellent athlete, has great hands, great catch radius, really excellent blocker, very instinctive player. Very, very tough matchup for any team in this league. He’s an excellent player.”
Bill O’Brien: ‘Malcolm Butler is one of the best cornerbacks in our league. He’s tough.’
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 20, 2016
Quarterback Brock Osweiler:
- on the Patriots: “It’s a huge challenge and like you said on a short week. Anytime you play the New England Patriots, you know it’s going to be a challenge. Then when you add in the factor that it’s on the road and it’s on a short week, it’s an extra big challenge… We’re facing an extremely talented football team that has won a ton of football games in the recent past.”
- on the defense: “I think the first thing that jumps out is, it’s a group that is really flying around… Everyone plays really fast. They’re flying to the ball. Every single guy is trying to get to the ball carrier every single play… If you don’t bring your A-game, they’re going to hit you in the mouth and make your day very difficult.”
- on Jimmy Garoppolo: “A lot of people say ‘oh you know playing backup quarterback that’s the best position in the world.’ Well, what they don’t understand is when we leave the building at five o’clock on a Wednesday or Thursday when practice wraps up, you still need to go home and study and prepare just like you’re the starter and usually you don’t get any reps on Sunday.”
Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins:
- on Malcolm Butler: “He’s played a lot of good football since two years ago. The guy’s made more plays than just that one play in the Super Bowl, that’s just the one that sticks out to a lot people. He’s a very smart football player, very talented.“
Cornerback Johnathan Joseph:
- on Julian Edelman: “He’s a complete receiver. He’s tough. He’s always had a good working relationship with the quarterbacks, they’ve both always been on the same page. He’s one of those guys that can really hurt you with the run after the catch.”
Outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus:
- on the Patriots: “The Patriots know how to get guys ready. Obviously they’ve shown that in [Jimmy] Garoppolo. Unfortunately, he went down. So, we’ll see what happens this week.”
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