Ryan Mallett has been a busy, busy man since becoming a Houston Texan.
The former New England Patriots backup quarterback, whom the Texans traded for on Sunday, addressed the Houston media for the first time Wednesday. But before Mallett dove into life with the Texans, he asked for a moment to thank the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2011 draft.
“First, I’m thankful for the opportunity Mr. (Robert) Kraft and coach (Bill) Belichick to be a part of that organization, class A,” he said, via the Houston Chronicle. “Now I’m a Texan and ready to keep moving.”
Mallett spent the first three years of his career with the Pats, and although he isn’t feeling overwhelmed with the transition to a new team, it does mark the first time he’ll have to learn an offense that isn’t New England’s. Mallett described the past few days as a “whirlwind,” as he has been working tirelessly to learn Bill O’Brien’s system.
“I’m glad I’m not a rookie doing this because that would definitely be tough,” Mallett said. “So being my fourth year, I kind of understand the ins and outs of the league and how it works. It’s definitely helped me in that aspect.”
Fortunately for Mallett, though, the offense isn’t entirely foreign to him. During Mallet’s rookie season, O’Brien was the Patriots’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The 26-year-old is also familiar with George Godsey, who served as the tight ends coach in New England for the last three seasons, and is now in his first year as a quarterbacks coach for Houston.
“Godsey coached the tight ends, but I knew him. We were in the same room. He kind of taught me this offense. I know him pretty well. It definitely helps with the transition. I know what he’s thinking, for the most part, and when I don’t, I know I’ve got to ask.”
The familiarity with the two coaches has certainly helped Mallett ease into things with his new team, but there is something that won’t be changing — O’Brien’s expectations for him and the team.
“I knew what he expected out of his team,” Mallett said of O’Brien, via ESPN.com’s Tania Ganguli. “He wants to be good, he wants to be great, so that’s what we’re trying to do. That’s why we go to work every day and pay attention to details and try to get better as a team.”
Photo via Twitter/@HoustonTexans
