http://mmqb.si.com/2013/10/11/matt-schaub-interception-sage-rosenfels/ What’s Wrong With Matt? Can Matt Schaub pull himself out of the rut and save the Texans’ season (and maybe his job)? A veteran quarterback explains the mental toll of mistakes—how they can build on one another and ruin a player’s confidence Editor’s note: Quarterback Sage Rosenfels had an 11-year NFL career, mostly as a backup, including two years as a teammate of Matt Schaub’s in Houston. By Sage Rosenfels Recently, I’ve been asked by friends, current and former players, coaches, and even my son, “What’s wrong with Matt Schaub?” I struggle for an answer. I don’t think there is anything wrong with his mechanics. Watching from afar, it seems the offense Houston is running still uses the same battle-tested concepts I remember from my time with the team that head coach Gary Kubiak has used for years. The Texans still have a lot of talent on the team and have continued to run the ball well, throw for a lot of yards and play solid defense. So why the interceptions, and why the four straight games with a pick-6, the deadly interception run back for a touchdown? I spent the past few days trying to figure out why, at what seems to be the most inopportune times, Schaub has thrown interceptions, causing a team with Super Bowl aspirations to be in soul-searching mode—and, according to Kubiak, maybe even quarterback-searching mode. The only thing I can do is relate this to a situation I went through as a player and how it affected me. Rosenfels (18) was teammates with Schaub in 2007 and 2008. (Tom Olmscheid/AP) Sage Rosenfels (18) played alongside Matt Schaub in Houston in 2007 and ’08. (Tom Olmscheid/AP) It was Week 5 of the 2008 NFL season and we, the Texans, were winless at 0-3 (we had an early bye week that year). The previous season I had played the best football of my career as a backup to Schaub. I ended the year with a 4-1 record as a starter. Matt kept his starting job, and I was again relegated to the backup role, a position I always accepted, but not as graciously this time because I had played so well the year before. As we entered the game against the Peyton Manning-led Indianapolis Colts, I found out at the team breakfast that Schaub had come down with the flu in the middle of the night and there was a good chance I would be playing. I wasn’t officially told I would be the starter until about 90 minutes before kickoff. I was excited to get back out there and show I could turn our team’s fortunes around. I also knew there was a huge challenge in front of my team and me. But I hadn’t practiced with the first team since training camp. And so starting a game against a premier team with no practice reps is not an ideal situation. For the first 56 minutes of the game, I played the best game of my life. High school, college, NFL. Hands down. We built a 27-10 lead early in the fourth quarter. Manning led a touchdown drive to score with 4:04 to go, and the Colts onside-kicked. But we recovered. We ran two running plays to run off some clock as the Colts burned their first two timeouts. On 3rd-and-8 at the Indianapolis 39, we decided to run a bootleg to the left. I got to the edge and saw nothing but green grass in front of me. Run it, I thought. A Colts cornerback left the tight end he was covering and came up to make the tackle. Rather than playing it conservative, I made the split-second decision to try and dive over the cornerback and hopefully land near a first down. This is what I had always done in the past, so my instinct told me to go for it rather than slide. When you are a backup quarterback fighting every year for a roster spot, earning respect and turning heads by pushing the envelope is one of the reasons I had made it in the league to that point. What happened next changed everything. As I leaped over the defender, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis hit me while I was in midair and spun me around. I lost most of my senses and the ball before I hit the ground. Linebacker Gary Brackett returned the loose ball 68 yards for a touchdown. Now we led only 27-24. Shocked by what just happened, I got strip-sacked by Mathis on the next possession, and Manning took two plays to get the Colts in the end zone. Colts, 31-27. I got picked again on our last possession. My crown jewel moment? No. In only a few minutes, it became my worst nightmare. Mentally, getting beyond that game was nearly impossible. I was disappointed that I let my team down. I knew I missed a huge opportunity to possibly be the starter going forward. It was difficult to look my teammates, coaches and even support personnel in the eye. I knew how hard everyone worked to create a winning organization, and I carelessly threw it away. The moment and game burned deep into my conscience, and it was a challenge for me to focus about anything else. This game haunted me for months. I ended up having four more starts for the Texans that year and went 2-2, but my confidence was still shaken, as I battled day to day to get over what happened months before. I was more game-manager than playmaker. My play was tentative. I didn’t want to screw up again. I played overly conservative, which led to worse results. I couldn’t wait for the offseason so I could get away from football and regain my confidence. Fast forward to 2013. I am retired from playing, and I’m watching one of my old teams, the Houston Texans. They are playing a Super Bowl contender, Seattle, and have built a strong lead heading into the fourth quarter. With a few minutes left, Schaub gets called to run a bootleg on a key third down to possibly ice the game. He gets pressure, and instead of taking a sack or throwing it away he attempts to make a play and throws a lofted ball into traffic. It ends up going the other way for a touchdown. A week later he threw another pick-6 90 seconds into a huge game at San Francisco. Heartbreaking loss, again. On the news, fans were shown burning his jersey and booing him. There were calls for his benching despite having been the franchise quarterback for roughly six years and owning nearly every quarterback record in the team’s young history. Pro Bowls, passing records, playoff runs, and being a captain of the team are all disregarded by many fans because of some very untimely turnovers that might have cost the Texans some early-season wins. Whether the fans are right in asking for Schaub’s benching or if he gives the Texans the best chance to win is not the reason I am writing this article. My point is to give you an inside look at what might be going through a player’s head after a handful of devastating mistakes. These can overwhelm a player and cause more bad things to happen. It is a huge challenge to get out of that mental rut, but it is possible. I’m not sure what’s going on in Schaub’s head as he battles through a difficult stretch in his career. What I do know is the experience I went through and the challenge and perseverance it took to overcome it. Being that I played the best football of my NFL career in Houston under Gary Kubiak, I am rooting for the Texans to get back on track. Having played with Schaub for two years and knowing how mentally strong and dedicated he is to his team and his profession, I believe he will get his play turned around soon. But only one person, Matt himself, knows his confidence level after being mentally battered early this season. And the mental part of the game, the part no one sees, plays such a big part of success and failure in the NFL. I know. I’ve felt it.
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when you have no shot at the starter spot you try to manufacture something which is why I understood the RosenCopter moment The lack of TRUE competition at the QB spot everyyear for the life of this fanchise is appalling Rocket River
reading that, sounds like not giving him a chance to win the spot after going 4-1..all built up to RosenCopter and in sense....Kubes is the reason we are here now. Funny, 3rd and 8 ...bootleg, what 4 years ago...and we still doing the same thing on 3rd and long
These two paragraphs are the essence of Sage's column, and it's a very good one. Even if Matt is completely fine physically, which I doubt, he is NOT going to get past the Seattle moment in the next few weeks. He definitely won't this season and probably won't in Houston, period. Every pass Matt throws is delaying the inevitable for this franchise.
What other NFL teams have a TRUE QB competition? It makes no sense in terms of building/maintaining a competitive team, and less so under a salary cap. You don't undermine the most important position in football, nor waste additional resources on it.
Interesting article. It's amazing how 1 play can affect your entire career. I always liked Rosenfels. He played well for us but, like he said, he could never live down Rosen-copter. Very refreshing to hear a pro athlete actually admit that something shook his confidence.
I understand where Rosenfels is coming from but its a game you have been playing for most of your life. Its your job. You get paid the big bucks . How can you have a week to prepare for the niners game and come lay an egg. Its head scratching. After Kyle shannahan left, our play calling has sucked big time. We need someone else to call the plays because Kubiak isn't getting the job done. As for Matt Schaub, suck it up and put your big boy pants. You are a starting quarterback for the Houston Texans. If something is wrong with you mentally, tell the coaches to take you out of the starting role because you are hurting the team. Sorry but the truth hurts.
You don't get how it can psychologically affect you? Just because he's played for a long time doesn't mean he's ever dealt with the same situation. In that regard, it would be a new experience. It's like being in 5 relationships over 10 years, which all end because things didn't work out, but your 6th one ends because they cheated on you. New result = new feelings. Money and previous experience won't change that. He would have probably shook it off more easily, if fans didn't pile on him, but they did, so now he's in a deeper mental hole.
This phrase its why we suck: it seems the offense Houston is running still uses the same battle-tested concepts I remember from my time with the team that head coach Gary Kubiak has used for years. so Gary Kubiak hasnt change his gameplan, he is soo predictable, so the defenses already know what is he is going to run now, and can stop him very well.
Lance Zierlien has some good stuff breaking down the OLine on 2 plays in this video clip. But I want everyone to pay attention to Matt. The Texans are not only poorly blocking, but someone or a group of players are tipping plays on the real play action. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bmYSunaBWQg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Here is a following play of the Texans playing against 2 Deep coverage. Lance breaks this video as well. In my honest opinion. Why are the Texans running this play right now? And the routes of both WR are terrible. If you pause this video at the 1:03 mark, you will see the open space in the middle of the field. Matt is already in his stance... he has already tipped off the outside corner that the pass is coming in the general vicinity. This was just easy pickings. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/N1J7p8Y8OEc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> ^^^The variation I suggest to this play is to have Andre Johnson run towards the middle forcing one of the two safeties to either cover the inside route and let DeAndre Hopkins have 1-1 on the bottom right. Or if you are going to throw the short out route, have Keshawn just work on the outside and just run up the side lines. This is when Schaub has to keep the DB's honest and force them to cover the side lines. Just keep tossing the ball down the field and force the DBs to react on anticipating the side line throws and then switch up the pass to the short-intermediate routes. The Texans have to test downfield coverage. And forget about having to get the short yardage and look to get large chunks of yardage on initial drives.
Matt needs to see a sports psychologist. He can help him get over the mental stuff he's dealing with.
Man Sage Rosenfels was a BEAST against the Colts. He would've been the starter going foward had he won the game, but then Rosencopter happened and that .gif will live in infamy.
