Brian Hoyer or Ryan Mallett?
The Texans still have a decision to make on their starting quarterback for 2015.
"They both have the quality of leadership; they both have the quality of intelligence," head coach Bill O'Brien said Thursday. "So, it's an even battle. And like I said, we'll make a decision at some point. We'll go with one guy to start the season. That other guy needs to be ready to play. We played four quarterbacks last year, so you just never know but we can only play one at a time. So, we'll pick one eventually and go with that guy."
O'Brien has not only watched their performance in practice, but also the demeanor of both Hoyer and Mallett. He praised both for their leadership skills in the locker room and the meeting rooms but he needs to see more. With an entire offseason of OTAs and training camp in the books, the quarterbacks will get a final shot during preseason action.
"If I had the body of knowledge right now, I would probably make the decision," O'Brien said. "I need to see a little bit more and I want to give Ryan a chance to start a game, and put some more thought into it. Then make a decision at some point whether it's next week or the week after. At some point, we'll make a decision."
After giving the Hoyer the nod to start last week against San Francisco, O'Brien will give Mallett a chance to do the same this week against Denver. Mallett completed 10-of-11 passes for 90 yards, while Hoyer was 2-for-4 but threw for 67 yards and a touchdown in Houston's 23-10 win over the 49ers.
Tom Savage, who played the entire second half, will also see action against the Broncos.
"I think that Tom Savage has really developed pretty well," O'Brien said. "In the end, with guys like Tom that are in their second year and younger quarterbacks, you really never know until they get a chance in a game. So, like the more reps you can get them in the preseason, the more you can really understand what they're all about. And we think that he's really improved, so we will definitely play him a good amount of the time on Saturday."
The Texans will host Denver on Saturday in their Week 2 preseason matchup with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on KTRK ABC-13 and SportsRadio 610.
View photos from the 49ers-Texans game at NRG Stadium on August 15th.
