Houston Texans Need a Quarterback, but Not Brett Favre

Brett Favre may have caught a lot of flack for his flip-flopping between retiring and unretiring.  However, he also has apparently permanently engraved his name on the list of quarterbacks that armchair GMs will go to immediately when there is an injured quarterback.

That is why they are armchair GMs and not real GMs.  The Texans absolutely should not go after Favre, because he doesn't bring what they want to the table. 

After Favre left Green Bay in 2008, he had 66 touchdowns and 48 interceptions.  That is 1.3 touchdowns for every interception that he threw.  That doesn't seem so bad at first, but upon further inspection, Favre was an MVP candidate who threw 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions.  Outside of that aberration, he threw only 33 other touchdowns and 41 interceptions.

The Texans are a very good team, a team with a great defense and a great running game.  Even with a rookie fifth-round draft pick starting, the Texans should win at least two, and maybe three, of their final five games this season. 

On the other hand, if they bring Favre in, it would take time for him to get in football shape, to learn the system and for his teammates to trust him.  The final part may be the hardest to achieve.

There is no reason for Texans players to think that Favre could come in and hit the ground running, and if the quarterback is limited like Yates was in the game against Jacksonville, it puts the team in a very tough situation.

At this point, the question is, can Yates prepare himself more quickly than Favre?  Considering where they are each coming from, the answer should be a resounding yes.  The Texans have already taken a look at the free agent quarterbacks that are available, and they signed Kellen Clemens, not Favre.  At this point, Clemens is certainly in better shape and is a week ahead of Favre in terms of learning the Texans offense and getting to know the players on the team.

It is too late for the Texans to sign their savior; they must find an answer from within, and whether that is T.J. Yates or Kellen Clemens remains to be seen, but whoever it is that leads the Texans into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history is probably on the team right now.