Smith on Texans QB change: “I wish we didn’t have to make it”

Friday, Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith finally admitted that the team was changing quarterbacks.

Meeting with the media Friday, Smith finally broke down and admitted what everyone already knew; the Texans were changing quarterbacks.

“Both guys have been told that Kyle Allen will start this week. Reasons why, I mean, it’s like that with all positions. There comes a time when you need to – you’re always looking for the best option that gives you the best chance to win. That’s where we are right now. We’ll need both guys, and as I said after the game and all week, there are a lot of other things that we have to do better. Protection has to be better, no matter who our quarterback is. Hopefully, that will be the case, and it will give us a better chance to win football games. That’s where we are.”

As far as what finally led to the decision to make Allen the starter or what Allen demonstrated to make them comfortable with the switch, Lovie was evasive:

“We’re not going over every little detail. We have named the starter. To become a starter, we feel like you give us the best chance to win. Everything the quarterback position has to do, protecting the football, decisions in the pocket, when to run, all those things come into play with that. That’s why we’re in this position now. I feel like when a guy is the starter, he should have an opportunity to show who he really is. A body of work. I feel like we have a body of work right now that leads us to go into this Miami game this way.”

Smith expressed this decision is not necessarily a long-term decision on Davis Mills:

“We really don’t think about it that way. What gives us the best chance against Miami? Short term. Everything is short-term with where we are. We’re trying to get a win and play better football. This decision is just based around that.”

Lovie did not divulge how well Mills took the demotion but also gave everyone an idea of what it was:

“We’ll keep all that to us. You have the starter right now. How would any competitor take it? He’s been playing, and of course, he’s not thrilled about it. Who would be?”

The Texans’ head coach explained this decision to switch quarterbacks is for this week only, and the team would reassess again following the Dolphins game:

“We take it day-by-day with everybody. Are we naming a lifetime starter? No, that’s not the case at all. This is what we think we need to do for this game. That’s how it is for every position. If we don’t think the option that we have that’s getting the most reps is giving us the best chance to win, maybe that’s the case for other positions this week, for that matter. I don’t plan to all of a sudden start announcing starters on Tuesday, Wednesday. We’re not going to do that. We’re going to go through the week just like we handled this situation. At the end of the week, we’ll let guys know exactly which direction we’ll go.”

As far as what the coach wants Davis Mills to work on in the meantime:

“There’s a lot of things. All of the above. There’s just not one sound bite that I can give you. ‘Davis needs to do this.’ ‘He’s not going to start this week because of that.’ It’s a body of work. There’s a lot of things that go into every position. So, that’s what it is. Your roles change throughout the course of a year. Throughout the course of a game, your role can change. We could need Davis (Mills) sooner than later, as far as that’s concerned.”

As far what Smith likes about what Allen can do, it is about more than just his preseason work:

“He has a body of work too. I’m talking about he’s played and started in the NFL, so we have that. It’s not like this will be the first time; he’s a rookie going in there for the first time. What we’ve seen from him here is that he’s been here the entire time. He’s had all of the instruction that all of our quarterbacks have had a chance. He was able to play a little bit in the preseason, and I’ve seen him. When you’re in the backup role, you go against the one defense each day. We’ve seen him there, and we feel pretty confident he can throw the ball. He’s mobile enough, and he deserves an opportunity.”

Smith admitted he did not want to have to make this change:

“I wish we didn’t have to make it. As far as disappointing, we’re all big boys in this business. I think what everybody is looking for is an opportunity. I want all of our players, if they’re starters, to feel like they’ve been given ample time to prove exactly who they are, given that great opportunity. I feel good about the opportunity we’ve given everyone. If we’ve made a change at any position, I think there’s a body of work that says we should.”