One snap away.
Those three words are always floating somewhere in the mind of an NFL backup quarterback.
He must be ready at a moment's notice to enter the game. For Brandon Weeden this week, those three words will help in keeping him prepared.
"You gotta be ready," Weeden said on Wednesday. "You don't know when it's going to be. You don't know the circumstance of the game. You just gotta be ready at all times."
With Brian Hoyer out due to a concussion, T.J. Yates will start and Weeden will be the backup on Sunday
at Indianapolis. With three starts this season as a Dallas Cowboy, and 24 starts in his 4-year NFL career, Weeden has a bit of experience from which to draw. Even though he's in a new offense, he's learned quite a bit since joining the Texans on November 19.
"Yeah, he's made a lot of progress," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "I don't think it's easy. I think that coming from different systems, he's been in a couple different systems now, ours is totally different than the ones he's been in, so I think he's really studied hard."
Weeden elaborated on the difficulty in switching from the Dallas offense to O'Brien's.
"It's like learning Chinese, backwards," Weeden said. "They're complete opposite, terminology-wise. There's not one thing that's similar."
Despite that gulf of a difference, O'Brien said Weeden's been tireless in trying to learn the offense and has grown by leaps and bounds in that regard. And even though Weeden's learning the names of "run plays that were pass plays" in Dallas, he said he's aided by the constantly changing offense the Texans employ.
"You gotta dial in on what it is you're running that week," Weeden said. "That's the good thing about this system: it's a week-to-week offense."
Yates has been in Weeden's position, one snap away, many times in his career. He performed admirably back in 2011 when he entered the game for an injured Matt Leinart. Yates helped guide the Texans to a win on the road at Jacksonville that day. The 5th-year vet did it again this season when he subbed in for Hoyer on Monday Night Football at Cincinnati. He and the Texans left town with a victory.
Yates, Weeden and the Texans will practice again on Friday at the Houston Methodist Training Center. They'll fly to Indianapolis on Saturday, where they'll face the Colts on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT.
The Houston Texans roster in photos.
DL Mario Addison, #56 (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
QB, Kyle Allen, #3
RB, Darius Anderson, #30
DB, Grayland Arnold, #35
TE, Antony Auclair, #83
DL, Ross Blacklock, #90
DL, Thomas Booker, #96
OL, Justin Britt, #68
DB, Terrence Brooks, #8
TE, Pharaoh Brown, #85
RB, Rex Burkhead, #28
WR, Jalen Camp, #17
OL, A.J. Cann, #60
LB, Blake Cashman, #53
DL, Maliek Collins, #97
WR, Nico Collins, #12
WR, Chris Conley, #18
WR, Brandin Cooks, #13
TE, Darrell Daniels, #47 (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
WR, Davion Davis, #14
LB, Tae Davis, #19
OL, Austin Deculus, #76
WR, Phillip Dorsett, #4
QB, Jeff Driskel, #6
DL, Michael Dwumfour, #98
WR, Drew Estrada, #81
K, Ka'imi Fairbairn, #7
DB, Jacobi Francis, #38
RB, Royce Freeman, #26
OL, Carson Green, #62
DL, Jonathan Greenard, #52
WR, DaeSean Hamilton, #5
OL, Kenyon Green, #59
DL, Rasheem Green (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
LB, Kamu Grugier-Hill, #51
LB, Christian Harris, #48
DL, Demone Harris, #94
WR, Damon Hazelton, #86
OL, Charlie Heck, #67
LB, Neville Hewitt, #43
QB, Kevin Hogan, #16 (AP Photo/Stew Milne)
OL, Tytus Howard, #71
DL, Jerry Hughes, #55 (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
FB, Andy Janovich, #41
An image from the Aug. 21, 2021 Houston Texans preseason game 2 against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Texans won 20-14.
WR, Johnny Johnson III, #89
P, Cameron Johnston, #11
TE, Brevin Jordan, #9
DB, Desmond King II, #25
LB, Christian Kirksey, #58
DL, Roy Lopez, #91
RB, Marlon Mack, #2
DB, Tristin McCollum, #39
OL, Justin McCray, #64
WR, John Metchie III, #88
QB, Davis Mills, #10
WR, Chris Moore, #15
OL, Jimmy Morrissey, #79
DB, Eric Murray, #23
DB, Steven Nelson (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
DB, Steven Nelson, #21
DL, Adedayo Odeleye, #75
OL, Cedric Ogbuehi, #77
RB, Dare Ogunbowale, #33
DL, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, #45
DB, Jonathan Owens, #36
RB, Dameon Pierce, #31
LB, Kevin Pierre-Louis, #57
DB, Jalen Pitre, #42
FB, Paul Quessenberry, #45
OL, Scott Quessenberry, #54
TE, Teagan Quitoriano, #84
LB, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, #34 (AP Photo/Lon Horwedel)
DL, Derek Rivers, #95
OL, Max Scharping, #74
DB, Kendall Sheffield (AP Photo/Kevin Sabitus)
DB, Tremon Smith, #24
OL, Jordan Steckler, #70
DB, M.J. Stewart, #29
DB, Derek Stingley Jr., #24
DB, Tavierre Thomas, #37
OL, Laremy Tunsil, #78
LB, Garret Wallow, #32
WR, Connor Wedington (AP)
LS, Jon Weeks #46
DB, Isaac Yiadom, #20
