Ryan Mallett's the backup at quarterback for the Texans.
Head coach Bill O'Brien said so on Wednesday after practice.
He was Mallett's offensive coordinator during the quarterback's rookie year in 2011, and said the fourth-year pro was mentally prepared upon arriving in Houston.
"The foundation of what he knows is very similar to what we had in the three years in New England," O'Brien said. "It's obvious since he's been here. Just the transition of Ryan coming in to this offense,
certainly we do things, some things a little bit differently than what they do based on our personnel based on what their personnel is, but the foundation of it is very similar, so he's been able to pick right up."
O'Brien was also asked how different Mallett is now, compared to when he was a rookie, and the head coach gave the following reasons.
1. "Three years older."
2. "I believe he's a guy that's worked hard"
3. "He understand the pro game better than he did obviously, when he was a rookie."
4. He's worked extremely hard and "You can tell on things like being in the weight room,"
5. "He's worked on his accuracy and,"
6. "He's definitely improved in his knowledge of our offense. That's obvious. He's a guy that just has to keep working, keep improving and like I said, he's our number two quarterback and it's good to have him here."
