Texans HC Bill O'Brien Has Interesting Alternative to 4-Game Preseason
By Michael Luciano
Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien has joined the rest of the sensible world on the anti-preseason train, as he is the latest in a line of players and coaches to come out against the idea of the preseason in its' current four game format. Of course, these comments come the day after he lost starting running back Lamar Miller for the season with a torn ACL and MCL.
O'Brien has devised a happy medium for the TV money obsessed league and the fans at home. Shorten the preseason and televise the joint practices.
Bill O’Brien has a brilliant idea. He wants to broadcast joint practices live for everyone to see. Have those and then have just 2 preseason games. He believes, and I agree, fans would want to watch those joint practices.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) August 26, 2019
As odd as this idea sounds, this could be the perfect compromise. Given how rabidly Hard Knocks is consumed, there is obviously a market for fans trying to get a peek behind the curtain at the formative practices that can make or break a football team.
What's more, a televised practice will have a much lower energy level than a preseason game, which will in turn reduce the potential for catastrophic injuries to occur.
#Texans RB Lamar Miller does, in fact, have a torn ACL, source said. The MRI confirmed today. His season is over and Houston has a new starting RB.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 25, 2019
This may sound hard to hear, but it looks like O'Brien finally has a good idea. For the sake of Lamar Miller's ACL, the current preseason model simply needs to be adapted.