Patience is fleeting in today's world. Especially in the NFL.
But patience is something the Texans must have when it comes to the offense and the struggles of 2016.
Due to a flurry of additions last season on that side of the ball, 2017 should be a time those pieces start to harmonize. The Texans had new starters at quarterback, running back, right guard, center and receiver last year. Tom Savage is now the only new face out of that group of five, but he has the most experience in Bill O'Brien's offense.
"That's a lot of offensive firepower that we added to the football team last year," general manager Rick Smith said. "I maintain that it takes time for all of that to jell. One of the things that I'm excited about Tom is Tom's been here. Tom understands the offense, he's been around these players, he knows the players."
Savage came on in relief of Brock Osweiler last year in Week 15 and guided Houston to a comeback win over the Jaguars. The next week, Savage and the Texans clinched the AFC South with a victory on Christmas Eve over Cincinnati. He started the season finale at Tennessee but exited in the first half with a concussion. Smith is confident Savage's smarts and skills will pay dividends with the new pieces added to the Texans last year.
"I think another year in this system with all of those new parts that we added last year and an additional year of experience in the offense, understanding what the play call is designed to do, understanding what the options are in those particular play calls, and then everyone seeing the play, the defense and the adjustments from the same set of eyes, I think that's important to our offensive philosophy and to our offensive execution," Smith said. "So, I think that we will be better because of that."
Savage and the Texans continue with offseason conditioning this week at NRG Stadium and the Houston Methodist Training Center.
