Lovie Smith responds to Davis Mills' 'shock the world' comments

Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith routinely and repeatedly offered high praise for quarterback and 2021 third-round draft pick Davis Mills throughout the offseason months as many in the football community attempted to link the club with other options such as Jimmy Garoppolo. 

It appears Smith may have recently been reminded about his signal-caller's age and overall inexperience. 

For Peter King's latest "Football Morning in America" column, Mills remarked that the Texans are "ready to go out and shock the world" during the upcoming season. King clearly wasn't convinced. 

"The Texans have too many holes to shock the world," King wrote. "But there is a certainty about him that will make this season intriguing, even if the Texans go 4-13." 

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Smith found himself having to respond to Mills' comments while speaking with reporters on Wednesday. 

"Are we capable of winning this year? Your quarterback, yeah, I want him to have confidence," Smith explained. "That’s all he’s really saying is, 'Guys, we’ve been working hard. We think we’re a pretty good football team, and if we do well, you’re not picking us to win much.' I’d say no one here is. So it’s going to probably be a shock if that happens. I think it’s no more than that. You’re the quarterback, you really have a pulse on what you’re seeing each day. 

"We think we’re going to be, I think we’re going to be pretty good this year. If that happens, you can say that Lovie said we’re going to shock the world, because nobody is picking us. Isn’t that how it goes? If we do well, what’s the story? Is it going to be a shock to you if we do well? Yeah, I’ll answer it for you. Yeah. It’s no more than that." 

Mills very much remains an unproven commodity. While star Deshaun Watson sat through Mills' rookie season following an offseason trade request, the 23-year-old appeared in 13 games with 11 starts. Mills completed 66.8% of 394 passes for 2,664 yards with 16 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 35.5 total QBR. 

Moving forward, Smith may want to sit Mills down and discuss ways a CEO of an offense can express confidence in his teammates without generating the type of buzz that may serve as bulletin-board material for future opponents.