It's very simple: the starting quarterback for the Texans will have one overriding trait, and according to Bill O'Brien, it starts with the letter "c".
"The most consistent guy," the Texans head coach said on Tuesday. "The guy that makes the most consistent, correct decisions, consistently completes the ball to the right guy, and gets us into the right play. The most consistent guy."
Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer have competed for the starting quarterback job through OTAs and one day of minicamp. Hoyer's started 17 games since entering the NFL in 2009, while Mallett started a pair of games last year for the Texans. The two have been under center over the last month about equal amounts of time.
"We mix and match those guys," O'Brien said. "When the ball is snapped and the decisions that they're making and how they're communicating and things like that. Like I said last week, both guys have really competed hard and done a good job this spring."
Regardless of who wins, O'Brien is confident the Texans are in a better spot offensively than they were this time last year.
"We feel very confident in both guys," O'Brien. "We really do. We have two good guys there that have really good knowledge of our system and that have both done a really good job."
For their part, Hoyer and Mallett have each stuck to the mantra of trying to "get better every day".
O'Brien emphasized last Friday that he has no timetable on making a decision on the starter at quarterback. The Texans will practice on Wednesday and Thursday at the Houston Methodist Training Center for their final two days of minicamp.
Take a look at photos from the Houston Texans' first day of veteran minicamp.
