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    Texans Outclass Cowboys

    Cowboys, Jerry Jones outclassed again: Texans big scoreboards aren't monstrosities that overshadow game

    Chris Baldwin
    Aug 17, 2013 | 6:04 am

    Everyone wants to tell you how big they are. And there's no doubt the brand-new, state-of-the-art scoreboards at Reliant Stadium are gigantic. It's undeniably cool to see that 320 life size J.J. Watts can fit on one of these end boards too (one cannot go wrong with using J.J. in demonstrations).

    Nevertheless the size and the scope of these 52-feet high and 277-feet wide video boards are not the most impressive thing about them.

    What really stands out is that they don't completely overshadow the game. In other words, they're nothing like the awful monstrosity that hangs over the center of the field in the place formerly known as Cowboys Stadium.

    The scoreboard in Jerry World is like a spoiled giant child stomping and screaming, demanding all the attention for itself.

    The Texans managed to somehow go both bigger and classier. That's hard to do.

    Anyone who's ever been to the Dallas Cowboys' stadium has experienced the phenomenon of inadvertently watching the scoreboard when you want to be watching the field. It happens to people in great seats, ones who should be pumped up to see NFL action live. The scoreboard in Jerry World is like a spoiled giant child stomping and screaming, demanding all the attention for itself.

    It almost detracts from the game.

    Thankfully, that's not the case with the new big boards at Reliant Stadium, which will make their debut this Saturday night in the Texans' preseason game with the Miami Dolphins. A preview demonstration of the two scoreboards shows off plenty of bells and whistles — including some four trillion color variations and the fact that it would take the world's fastest human (Usain Bolt) 8.14 seconds to sprint across one of the screens.

    But even with VIPs in the Club Level seats there just to see the mammoth boards, you never get the impression these scoreboards will overshadow the game.

    Scoreboard Sense Not Wars

    The presentation of stats will be much more compelling (forget the fantasy football nerds for a minute, how about an up-to-the-minute comparison of No. 2 quarterback battlers Case Keenum and T.J. Yates' numbers on this Saturday night?) The graphics are going to be much sharper, much more 2013 (who can forget the near comical original Tecmo Bowl crude cartoon of J.J. Watt the game operations crew had to use last season?)

    Replays and the promised inside locker room camera footage should be crystal clear and powerful.

    Jerry Jones forgot the people. And the punters.

    "They say a picture is worth a thousand words," Texans president Jamey Rootes says. "If so, then video is priceless."

    Yes, the new Reliant Stadium scoreboards will be a show, but they won't steal all the attention from the real show. You know, DeAndre Hopkins reaching up and over a cornerback to make a catch, Brian Cushing foaming at the mouth while tackling everything in sight, Arian Foster darting here, no there . . . that type of thing. The actual football. The game itself remains the real focus. That's really priceless.

    Amid all the talk of how BIG these video boards are — 5.28 million pixels! — Rootes invokes the old story of Walt Disney showing off Disneyland to a friend before the park ever opened. The friend couldn't have been more wowed, but Walt himself noted that it was "missing the people."

    "The people will make it," Rootes similarly says of the new scoreboards and the whole revamped Reliant Stadium experience in general.

    There's the real big difference between Jerry World and Reliant Stadium. Jerry Jones forgot the people. And the punters.

    You can't hep but think this goes back to Texans owner Bob McNair never needing it to be all about him and forever staying the course. One can question some of the moves the Texans have made over the years, but the franchise's overall vision has always been clear — and steady.

    Contrast that with the Cowboys of Jones always changing direction, foolishly firing Wade Phillips, anointing Jason Garrett as the golden boy, suddenly taking away Garett's play-calling duties . . . signing Tony Romo to a contract extension that's almost as mammothly ridiculous as that center scoreboard hanging over field and then questioning Romo's commitment almost even before the ink's dry on said contract. On and on it goes in Big D, forever a circus.

    The Texans managed to somehow go both bigger and classier. That's hard to do.

    It's all about the show for the Cowboys. Drama trumps win. Jerry's franchise craves attention with the same maniacal, all-consuming desire as Kim Kardashian. Of course, the Cowboys' scoreboard tries to overshadow the game. How could it not?

    The new Reliant Stadium video boards are somehow both larger and more subdued. If you're a Texans fan, it's just as easy to almost be more excited about top-notch food truck Bernie's The Burger Bus getting its own booth on the 100 level (another Rootes' coup) than the new scoreboards. Or the new zip line. The Texans let this stuff breathe.

    The Cowboys of Jerry Jones? They try to clobber everyone over the head with everything. You know there's a lingerie shop in the stadium now, right . . . right?! Sex and football! Sex and football!

    Bob McNair's franchise has managed to put in new cutting-edge $16.5 million scoreboards that don't demand that you always turn away from the game. Forget their size. That's the real neat trick.

    The new Reliant Stadium scoreboards are giant.

      
    Photo by © Michelle Watson CatchLightGroup.com
    The new Reliant Stadium scoreboards are giant.
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    O'Brien Talks Tough

    Tough new sheriff: Bill O'Brien sounds like the anti Kubiak, vows to be hard on Texans players

    Chris Baldwin
    Jan 3, 2014 | 1:43 pm
    Tough new sheriff: Bill O'Brien sounds like the anti Kubiak, vows to be hard on Texans players
    Photo by Rob Carr Getty Images
    Bill O'Brien admits he missed the NFL.

    Bill O'Brien certainly hasn't walked timidly into his new job as the head coach/franchise savior of the Houston Texans.

    With large posters of J.J. Watt and Andre Johnson flanking him on either side of an elaborate press conference stage, O'Brien didn't pay homage as much as he demanded a new standard.

    "To me it's about accountability," O'Brien said. "It's about demanding. It's about putting together a fast, physical football team."

    In other words, Mr. Nice Guy went out the window with former Texans coach Gary Kubiak. O'Brien mentioned "accountability" and "demanding" several times in his introductory press conference Friday afternoon at Reliant Stadium. And you can bet the chorus sounded like sweet music to Texans owner Bob McNair.

    CultureMap was the first news outlet anywhere to report that O'Brien was the Texans' top choice to be the team's new coach way back on Dec. 18. This was a McNair driven pick from the beginning and it is the 44-year-old O'Brien's toughness that drew the owner to the former Penn State coach and Bill Belichick assistant.

    "To me it's about accountability. It's about demanding."

    And McNair himself certainly talked tough on introduction day.

    "I'm ready to kick 2013 the hell out the door," McNair said. "Not acceptable. Not what we're going to do in the future."

    McNair went on to talk about O'Brien having shown he's willing to make the hard decisions — something he clearly felt was lacking as the Texans spiraled from Super Bowl schemers into a 2-14 death march in 2013.

    "Some coaches who have been players still think of themselves as players rather than the head of an organization," McNair said. "And have trouble making difficult decisions."

    Kubiak, of course, played quarterback for the Denver Broncos. As for an inability to make tough calls? Just look at how long Kubiak stuck with a flat-lined Matt Schaub and how he kept trying to go back to Schaub even after the Case Keenum call was made.

    O'Brien noted that "there are a lot of good football players on this team." He also declined to take any pressure off himself and describe this makeover of a team with the worst record in the NFL as a rebuilding job.

    "There are a lot of pieces in place here," he said. "It's all about hard work . . . Quick turnaround, rebuilding are labels. I'm not into all that."

    Tom Brady Tough?

    All in all, it's an impressive opening performance for a first-time NFL head coach. O'Brien knows how to command the stage. Texans general manager Rick Smith talked about the new coach's "charisma."

    O'Brien even makes sure to work in the obligatory Texas joke about the cowboy life.

    "Right after this, I'm going to go out and buy my first pair of cowboy boots," he said.

    It's already becoming clear there will be one cowboy in charge of these Texans. One who happens to be a hard-nosed Northeast guy who's probably still most famous for getting into a sideline screaming match with New England Patriots golden boy quarterback Tom Brady.

    "I'm ready to kick 2013 the hell out the door."

    O'Brien downplayed the incident, but it's clearly helped burnish his taskmaster image.

    "You know it's a competitive sports," O'Brien said. "Tom Brady's a great friend. These things happen. The thing that people don't understand is that 30 seconds after it was over, we were sitting together and going over pictures (of game action)."

    The Texans players are clearly intrigued by O'Brien. Veteran center Chris Myers sat amongst the press at the stadium and listened to the new head man.

    There will be a lot more change coming to the stadium. Smith hinted at as much when he noted how the Texans needed a coach who can guide young players.

    It's hard to imagine O'Brien tip toeing around that change. He plans to meet with all the remaining Texans coaches Saturday (as with any head coaching change, it's unlikely many of the current assistants will be kept by O'Brien). He'll tackle the quarterback question later, though it's clear Keenum is still in the picture.

    Almost every new NFL head coach sounds good on introduction day. Especially when the team brings out a marching band for the occasion. But O'Brien sounds tough and no nonsense.

    Just what Bob McNair wanted. This is his call. His makeover. His tough guy.

    Bill O'Brien will not call the Houston Texans a rebuilding team.

    Bill O'Brien presser
      
    Photo by Scott Halleran Getty Images
    Bill O'Brien will not call the Houston Texans a rebuilding team.
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