The only thing that could possibly "concern" me at this point would be Schaub coming back to play QB for this team again. Other than that, I have no concerns at the moment.
Eh... first of all, Keenum is only a "rookie" in terms of playing time - he's been in the system, working with these coaches, for two years - so they should have a good feel for him already. Secondly, we need to stop putting him in the same group as top-rated QBs - not because he doesn't (potentially) belong but because the standards and expectations, not to mention contexts, are completely different for those guys. Other than Dalton (who was a second round pick), all the guys you mentioned were first round picks (three of them were first overall picks with Ryan going top 3). And other than Flacco, they all went to bad teams which buys them time and lowers the expectations, at least initially. The Texans are not a bad team. They cannot afford to go into next year with, "We think we might have possibly solved our QB situation. Maybe." He's either the guy, or he isn't, and I think they need to know by December 29 or they risk wasting this rapidly closing window. I recognize I might be alone with this opinion but I think the Texans are competent QB play away from being 3-4/4-3-ish, making this a still viable season. And with above-average QB play, 4-3/5-2-ish. They still have *a lot* of talent on this team; far too much to throw it away and start from scratch. You can win *a lot* of football games with the Texans' nucleus, assuming your QB doesn't permanently crawl into the fetal position. Again, this team was 22-10 the past two years with a QB a lot of people thought was good, not great. So, yeah - ordinarily, you hope to see some flashes and enough to build on with a young QB. I just think the Texans are too far down a road to build on maybe's and possibly's.
I really don't get the sense this is a team waiting to be a Super Bowl contender and the only thing holding it back is the QB position.
I already mentioned that. He, however, has been a PS guy for the majority of that time. The other guys came in as defacto starters working with the 1st string an entire offseason. I'm sure that makes a difference. If you expect a 90+ QB rating out of almost any 1st year starter, you're going to be disappointed. The only non-read-option guy in history to do that was Aaron Rodgers, and he waited 4 years to get the gig. 80+ is a good enough case for continued investment, regardless of the "window". If you're waiting for a 90+ guy to show up before you decide on a QB, that window you're talking about is going to be LONG shut by then.
particularly considering the alternative is to draft a QB who, history shows, is likely to give you no more than an 80+. i don't see a reasonable alternative where the Texans will end up with a QB that's much better than that next season.
Unless we can trade for a guy that has been riding the pine being groomed for 3+ years, I don't see it happening either. Speaking of which... Matt Schaub sat on the bench for 3 years in ATL then was traded here in 2007 and posted an 87 QB rating. Heh.
I'll willingly acknowledge, I wanted Schaub before the deal was even rumored. I saw that game he played against NE that year when Vick was hurt, and I saw him as a gigantic upgrade on David Carr...which he was.
Matt Schaub has been a great QB for the Texans. Anyone who can't admit that is seriously blinded by the last few games. I think there's a real Lidge effect at play here... I do think he's done as the Texans' QB, but anyone who says he sucked his whole time here is an idiot.
I'm not saying that trade wasn't worth it, because it was. But I think the circumstances of his arrival are funny given the conversation we're having. There's only one QB who seems to fall into this category at the moment: Kirk Cousins Kubiak and Shanny are buddies, so who knows. If Keenum falls flat, I would support a trade for Cousins.
Again, I normally don't. Maybe it'll be easier if we don't get caught up in semantics: bottom line, we need to know if he's the guy or not; we can't can't be sorta, kinda sure. Fair?
But if you sorta, kinda think Keenum might be the guy, then you pass drafting that QB and potentially waste another year if Keenum's wheels fly off next year after the league gets an offseason to dissect him. I mean, I'm hoping he's going to get 10 starts here; and if he does, they should know by December 29 if he's the guy or not. And yeah, OK - I'll back off definitive numbers - but I absolutely think Keenum (or Yates, if they were giving him this shot) has to be judged on a higher standard than Andrew Luck (who everyone knew was going to be great - and yeah, it *is* unfair to bring him into the conversation but I wasn't the one who brought him up). I think the stakes for the Texans are too high to land somewhere between yes and no on Keenum and go into 2014 unsure.
All I'm trying to do is get you to retract your 90+ QB rating expectation. Otherwise, yes, I completely agree that we need to know for sure by the end of the season. The worst thing would be not knowing and going into next year with a muddled QB picture. If Keenum doesn't definitely win the job, we need to invest heavily into our QB of the future and put all resources into him. Having Case wind up a capable career backup is not a bad fate at all. I hope Kubiak is wise enough to make this call now and end Schaub's tenure instead of stunting Keenum's audition.
I think Ryan Mallet is probably in that category, too. My undercover long shot offseason scenario: a top QB prospect emerges as the no-doubt top pick. Meanwhile, the Giants continue to implode, land the top pick, and make the shrewd but smart decision to invest in that guy and deal Eli, who lands here in Houston and salvages this era.
Ah, I forgot about Mallet. Although something tells me he's not Texan worthy. Spoiler Kubiak would probably end up murdering Eli with his bare hands before it was all over. Let's just say I don't like Eli. Never have. Never will. That shallow end of the Manning gene pool has failed upwards for most of his career. I think we'd be better off rebooting at QB than upgrading from a Corolla to a Camry.
Cool? Yeah, I mean... at the very least, I hope it's not lost that this is now his fourth season (out of 7) to be interrupted by injury. That, in the context of his meltdown last year, is ample enough fodder to never fully trust him again. I'm 1,000% behind taking Matt Schaub's tenure out behind the barn.
No way that happens. Eli is a NY legend. Two Super Bowl rings go a long way. That team has plenty of bigger problems besides Eli. When the team is good Eli has shown that he is capable of being elite.
