those qbs are all better and can move enough to extend plays. if you blitz schaub the play is busted, he is the least mobile qb in league.
Lets say we rattle off 8 or 9 straight wins, and our defense and running game helps us to the conference championship. You wouldn't want that? You rather see the Texans stink up the rest of the year? If we get hot late in the season, anything can happen. I don't think Schuab will be the QB next season, unless we win a title.
i'm not questioning what the other QBs can do. geez. i only referring to the statements fans made about their QBs not being good enough to make the SuperBowl. you know, the fans of actual Super Bowl QBs BEFORE they were Super Bowl QBs. i know all of schaub's limitations and if i had to bet, i wouldn't bet on him taking us there. but in the NFL playoffs of one and done. stranger things have happened.
nor arguing with you, just frustrated. it has been clear to me for years that schaub cannot take us to a superbowl. NOT GONNA HAPPEN>
Andre and Keyshawn game-time decisions; Andre says he'll play. Dobbins didn't practice. Spoiler <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Andre Johnson says he will play against Rams.</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/388717763092422657">October 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Andre Johnson "I don't have a doubt in my mind about Matt (Schaub)."</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/388719331829219328">October 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Asked who emergency QB is now that Owen Daniels is out, Kubiak said, "Shane Lechler or me."</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/388724496460288000">October 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kubiak says a play caller always does what he can early in game to help "jump start" the QB and Sunday won't b any different.</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/388724884576022528">October 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kubiak "We need some good things to happen for him (Schaub). We need to get some breaks, too."</p>— John McClain (@McClain_on_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/statuses/388725214067957762">October 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Andre Johnson says he does not care if Cortland Finnegan plays or not. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Texans&src=hash">#Texans</a></p>— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) <a href="https://twitter.com/taniaganguli/statuses/388719310538948608">October 11, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Eli was a #1 overall pick. Flacco went in the first round. Draft positioning doesn't mean much in a vacuum, of course, but it does often speak to arm strength -- which is a big issue with this year's Schaub. Eli and Flacco were also 26 and 27 years old, respectively, in the initial seasons in which they won a Super Bowl. Were there a few idiot fans who said "they'll never win a Super Bowl?" Probably. But that doesn't make all "Player X won't win the Super Bowl" declarations equal. Schaub is 32, never had a great arm to begin with (that's why he was a third rounder), and appears to be mentally and physically eroding right in front of our eyes. I mean, his average attempt on play-action passes this year is 3.8 yards. There's an ENORMOUS gap between the 26-year-old, pre-championship versions of Eli Manning and Joe Flacco and the present Matt Schaub at 32.
You’re having an argument with yourself. No one –and yes, I’m speaking for everyone – wants the status quo. The status quo is a 6-to-8-win season and no playoffs with the window for this era slamming shut. Oh, come on, The Cat – sure, there’ve been 1 or 3 Hall of Famers inexplicably stuck on a bench. But I know you know darn well that the vast majority of NFL back-ups are NFL back-ups for a reason. And the Keenum circle-wank, teetering dangerously close to joining the VY circle-wank in terms of over-inflated fan disillusionment, needs to be properly curbed. If you (generally speaking) want to see him play, cool - I get it. But that he’s our only hope of reaching the Super Bowl?.... Puhleeze stop it. (Not directed at you, The Cat.) Again, I think you’re having an argument with yourself… no one thinks Schaub is irreplaceable. Having said that, Matt at his best (’09-’11, the first 12 games of ’12) is better than anything we currently have on our roster (IMO) and gives us our best chance to salvage this season. If he’s gone, then so is the 2013 season.
The status quo I'm referring to is trust in the overall Kubiak regime and believing that the decision makers here are good at what they do. I'm not saying Gary's entire tenure has been a disaster, but I think he's crossing a line with Matt that makes me question his objectivity. The NFL.com report last night gives me some hope, but I'm growing increasingly skeptical. You can call it a strawman argument if you wish, but the sense I get from a lot of Schaub's "supporters" (it's a relative term) is that they're willing to put faith in Kubiak and the idea that if the Texans had someone better, they'd be playing. I'm having a hard time doing that. I'm actually more intrigued by Yates than Keenum. I don't think he's a Hall of Famer -- as I said, the Brady/Warner examples were extremes. But I do think there's a shot Yates could be a viable, middle-of-the-road starting QB, and there are many examples of guys like that that were buried for a while behind entrenched "name" starters. Yates definitely has the size, fairly good arm strength and good enough mobility. His results as a rookie -- QB rating of 81, only 3 INTs in five regular season starts, game-winning drive in Cincinnati and three wins over playoff teams -- were fairly solid. And that's his rookie season -- a year in which he was a virtual practice squad guy for the first 10 weeks and barely getting any practice reps. Now, he's in his third season -- the year in which most QBs take their biggest leap forward. He was presented with competition all offseason and in camp in the form of a guy (Keenum) that 995 of the fanbase wanted to win the job. What did Yates do? It's preseason, of course, but he went out and posted a QB rating of 121 -- 70% completion rate, YPA of 8.3, 4 TD, 0 INT. On the biggest stage presented to him, against New Orleans and with at least a few starters playing in the third quarter, he was lights out. Yates has the physical attributes. He's been in the system for three years. Most of the guys in that locker room have been to war with him before, and in key situations, too. He has their respect. I'm not clamoring to throw a glorified UH or UT mascot out there for the sake of boosting fan morale. It's about replacing an aging, broken QB that has single-handedly cost his team games with a younger option with the physical and mental skills to potentially succeed. Even if we could get that version of Schaub back, which I highly doubt, it's not enough to win a Super Bowl. There's a reason the furthest any of those teams got was the second round. Maybe the 2011 group would've gotten farther, but that was with an almost perfect roster elsewhere. Now, the OL is a complete disaster in pass protection. The secondary is aging. The linebackers not named Cushing are poor in coverage. The kicker is completely unreliable on anything outside of 45. I do not see a reasonable path in which any version of Schaub can elevate this supporting cast to a Super Bowl, much less the aging, shell-shocked version we have at the moment (and what we're likely to have going forward). Do I think Yates can take this team to a Super Bowl? Probably not. Is his probable ceiling lower than the Schaub from 2009 until December 2012? Most likely. But that's not the main issue for me. It doesn't make a huge difference to me whether this team goes 5-11, 7-9 or 9-7. I don't want a late-2000s Astros approach of patching holes, competing for a Wild Card spot in a weak conference and hoping to get hot at the right time. I want to build a consistent contender, and when it comes to the most important position... it's time to evaluate other options when one guy clearly isn't it.
A loss this game might be the best thing for the team long term, to just put Schaub out of his misery. Otherwise it's only delaying the inevitable.
It's almost impossible to predict this game and the rest of the Texans season at this point. It could go in so many different ways. I am sure Schaub wishes this game wasn't at home. If he messes up it'll be very hard to overcome all the boos from your own team's fans. They could come even before an interception. It could be an over/under-throw, a sack, a three and out. I hope he's ready for it.
Not necessarily. It depends on how soon Kubiak swallows his pride or Grandpa Bob wakes up from his nap.
Quotes from Friday: Head Coach Gary Kubiak Spoiler (opening statement) “(Tim) Dobbins didn’t practice. Andre (Johnson) did practice and Keshawn (Martin) did practice. I think Andre and Keshawn are probably game-time decisions, but they both did practice.” (on WR Andre Johnson saying he’s going to play) “Did he? I like that. It must be game time.” (on what it is about WR Andre Johnson that he always does whatever it takes to play) “Yeah, he’s been that way ever since I’ve been with him. What’s Andre now? 10 years or something like that. He’s been playing a long time. You know if he can get there, he’s going to get there for you, as a coach and as a teammate. I know his leg has not felt good. He’s played really nicked up for us the last two weeks and probably not going to feel real good on Sunday. He always gives it up for his teammates.” (on WR Andre Johnson saying that he was dragging his leg when he looked at the film form last week) “Yeah, that concerns me and I think that’s our responsibility. If you feel like any player can’t protect themselves regardless of how bad they want to play for their team or something, I think you, as a coach, have got to step in. But he’s worked through this and found a way to work through it. If today’s an indicator, he should be able to do it again. We’ll see, but we owe Andre, from a respect standpoint as a coach, you have to, if he’s not able to do the things he’s capable of doing, we can’t put him in a bad situation and we won’t do that.” (on TE Owen Daniels being out and who will occupy the emergency QB spot on Sunday) “Shane Lechler or I might go in. How about that?” (on if he’s done anything to help with QB Matt Schaub’s confidence) “Are you asking if you go do a certain set of plays to get him going? I think you always look at things and say, ‘How can I jumpstart him? How can I do this? How can I do that?’ Still, it just gets down to playing the game and decision-making for a day. It’s not about the first 10 plays of the game; it’s about the three-and-a-half hours being consistent. He knows that. He’s had a good week. He’s practiced good and we need to go to play a good team football game. We have not been doing that. That’s our focus, but we’ve had good work this week and good focus in what we’re doing. I know they’re ready to go play.” (on if the offense has been too predictable) “I look at everything every week. Well, any time you’re not successful, there’s all kind of questions asked about what you’re doing and stuff. We’ve been four games out of five, that are certain type of football games, which gets us out of the element of what we want to be in. But I believe in what we’re doing. We’ve got a lot of young guys playing. We’ve got a first-year receiver who’s in his sixth game as a pro. I think our other receivers other than Andre (Johnson) have 54 catches in the National Football League history. So we’ve got a young group. As coaches too, you’ve got to be smart with that you’re doing with your guys and give them a fair chance. We’re always looking at what we do and doing everything we possibly can do to put our players in a position to be successful.” (on if any of the interceptions were because of the young receivers making mistakes) “No, I wasn’t saying that because of that. I’m talking about as far as how much you do, what you do scheme-wise, being fair to guys, not overloading them, letting them play. That’s what I’m talking about.” (on TE Ryan Griffin adjusting to more playing time) “Well, I think Ryan (Griffin) has kept up pretty good. He’s worked in that role throughout camp. It is different when you’re working and you’re the third. There’s been a difference this week. He’s fixing to play. The load gets a little bigger, everything gets a little tougher and it’s our job as coaches to make sure we don’t put him in a bad position. A lot of young guys having to contribute with what’s going on. It’s our job to at least get them in position when they know what the hell they’re doing so they can go compete and go fast.” (on if QB Matt Schaub is sliding more when the pocket collapses) “Well, I think he’s had to slide some because of some things going on. I can sit here and we could go through every interception, they’re all different. They’re three-step drops, five-step drops, first reads, second reads. I can’t sit here and say that there’s some specific pattern. If there was, I would say we’re sure as hell not going to do this anymore. It’s just a matter of focusing and keep going. We need some good things to happen for him too. I watch a lot of football. I was watching a game the other day on film in preparation for this and the exact same thing happened to a quarterback on a stick route getting the trap corner coming inside. The same thing that happened to Matt in San Francisco, but the corner dropped the ball. So sometimes a break might sure as hell help too. He’ll get some breaks if he keeps working the way he’s working. He’ll get some breaks.” (on if the team’s attitude has been upbeat) “Yeah, they’ve been upbeat. They’ve been a little angry too, which we need to be. We probably had as competitive of a practice as we’ve had yesterday. Went it at it in pads and got after each other. We need that. We need that competitive fire. We can’t wait until Sunday to find it. We’ve got to find it during the week. Like I just said, we’ve got a lot of young guys that need to contribute to this team and there’s no time to wait on them. A lot of them are getting forced into action quickly. They need to grow up very quickly.” TE Garrett Graham Spoiler (on how he feels about this game having started eight games in his career) “I feel good. I feel very confident in what I’m able to do. It’s kind of just like a normal week this week. Obviously, playing a little bit more and I’m looking forward to Sunday.” (on how much more playing time he’ll get this week) “I would say probably 15 to 20 more plays, maybe. We’ve obviously run a lot of two and three tight end sets, so I‘ve been able to be in there a lot. But obviously, with Owen (Daniels) out, it’s a shame, but I’ll probably be in there another 20 plays or so.” (on what he’s going to show people since he’s the starter) “I’m going to play hard every play, give 100 percent effort. I’m going to try to win versus man and make as many plays as I can. I’m going to try and get open for Matt (Schaub) and I’m looking forward to getting out there.” (on if he already has a lot of chemistry with QB Matt Schaub given that he plays a lot) “Yeah, definitely. We were out there today running a bunch of plays and making plays. It’s chemistry that’s been built over time. I feel like me and Matt have it, along with a lot of other guys on this team. I’m looking forward to making a bunch of plays.” (on if he feels like this week is a lot different than other weeks) “Not really. Obviously, I’m getting a lot more plays because Owen (Daniels) is out. I’m running a few more different routes that I haven’t ran before. Not all that much different.” (on if it’s been a difficult adjustment knowing he has a new set of routes) “Not really, it’s stuff I did during camp. Everybody would kind of play both positions and get used to running everything. It’s just something that I kind of have to get used to and being out there every play. It’ll be fun.” (on what he’s told TE Ryan Griffin now that he’s going to take his role as a backup) “He’s handling it very well. Ryan runs good routes. He can hold up on the line of scrimmage and just told him to do what he does. He’ll be prepared.” (on being in the last year of his contract and if this is chance to show that he can be a starter in this league) “I think so. I think anybody coming in the NFL and making a team wants to show that they can be a starter. So that’s something that I certainly want to do and show my teammates that I can do that.” WR Andre Johnson Spoiler (on how he’s doing physically) “I’m doing good. I went through practice, I felt well. I’m feeling fine.” (on if he expects to play on Sunday) “Yeah. I don’t see why not.” (on if the shin is the issue) “It’s still the same injury, but the other day I felt a little better than I felt last week. Hopefully, it’ll keep going that way.” (on if the injury limits him in any way) “At times. After watching the game last week, you can see I was dragging my leg when I was trying to run and stuff like that. But today, I went out there and practiced and I felt like I got my range of motion back and stuff a little bit. It’s the best I’ve felt so far since I’ve had the injury. I’ll be out there.” (on how he feels the team is responding and how important it is to respond on Sunday) “Everybody’s doing well. Like I said, you really can’t get caught up in what’s going on around, what’s being said outside of the building. As far as practicing and everything, everybody still has that same upbeat attitude, trying to do things to get everything on the right track. There’s nobody here hanging their heads or anything like that.” (on going about the treatment the same way or if it has changed) “This week, I did a little bit more biking and running in the pool and stuff like that. That was the only thing I did different than I did last week.” (on if he expects this injury to linger) “I don’t know. To be honest, I didn’t think it would be around this long, but it’s part of it. I had a lot of fluid on the shin and, with the muscle not being that big, it’s hard to absorb all of that fluid. That’s what is slowing down the healing process because I’ve had a lot of fluid there. Other than that, like I said, I felt fine today. I felt better than I’ve felt the past two weeks. Hopefully, it’ll keep healing.” (on if the injury is on the top of the shin) “No, it’s not on the top, but it’s right on the side of the muscle.” (on if the injury can be drained) “No, it’s nothing they can drain. We’ve already tried to explore that.” (on if he can take medication to help the injury) “You can try that. They give you anti-inflammatories and stuff like that. But after the Seattle game, my leg was pretty big. When I woke up the next morning, I was pretty surprised at how big it was. Like I said, this week though, it’s progressing in the right direction.” (on TE Owen Daniels being out and if he feels like he has to shoulder more of the load) “You just go out and play. You can’t replace a guy like that. He’s made a lot of plays for us over the years. It’s sad to see what happened to him. Everybody has to step their play up, not just me. Everybody has to step their play up all around the board and just pick up the slack for him.” (on if the offense has been predictable the last couple of weeks) “I don’t know. It’s something you think about after what teams have been doing to us over the past few weeks. I don’t know. Maybe it’s something they may have seen on film or something, but, like I said, this is a new week. Everything that has happened in the past is behind us and we’re just moving forward.” (on how QB Matt Schaub’s confidence has been this week) “I think he’s been fine. You just try to let him know that you’re behind him, you’ve got his back. The first day he came in after the game, you could tell he was kind of down. Everybody was with what had happened. Next day, he came in and same old Matt, upbeat attitude, working his butt off. Like I said, I don’t have a doubt in my mind that things will get changed around. He’ll be ready to go Sunday.” (on if he’s excited to go against Rams CB Cortland Finnegan on Sunday) “I really don’t care to be honest. If he plays, he plays. It doesn’t really matter.” (on if there’s anything more special going up against a guy like Rams CB Cortland Finnegan) “No, I just play. The things that happened in the past were just things he did. I don’t know, I guess he tried to provoke me or whatever. It got a little out of hand, but, other than that, I’m not worried about that. I don’t really care. That happened a few years ago, so I’m not really worried about it.” WR Keshawn Martin Spoiler (on his thoughts on playing Sunday considering Head Coach Gary Kubiak said he’s going to be a game-time decision) “Yeah, I feel good. I feel like I’m going to play this game. Just got out there back today and getting used to how it’s feeling. It’s a little sore, but I should be good for the game.” (on how he hurt himself) “It was a kick return. I just landed on it, got tackled on it. A couple of guys landed on me. It was unfortunate, but I should be able to pull through it.” (on if he’ll return everything and play offense if he plays this week or if there’s a chance he might do one or the other) “Yeah, I look forward to doing everything I was doing. Just getting back out there and getting into a groove.” (on what kind of guidance he receives about when to bring the ball out of the end zone) “Well, they have me six yards deep and they say, if I have to step back to catch it at all, to just take a knee. That’s what I do, just try to listen what they tell me.” (on if he was initially worried when he hurt this shoulder) “No, I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t worried at all. I knew it wasn’t collar bone or anything because I had one of those before and it didn’t feel anything like that. I knew it wasn’t as bad as that, so I knew I would be back.” (on if his range of motion is impacted at all) “No, it’s not. It’s still a little sore when I do flex it a little bit. It’s pretty good and I’m going to feel good before the game.” http://www.houstontexans.com/news/a...tober-11/af7fb774-d6e9-47be-970c-ca6b95db20ce
I think we will win this game but just barely......does not matter one bit as we cannot and will never beat the elite teams on the national stage with Schaub and Conserviaks' p***y play calling. And yea, a win here is just delaying the inevitable ...... *sigh*
I agree we will win, but it wont be close. The rams DO NOT have a run game. That will free up our Defensive lineman to get after the qb. Bradford is not a mobile qb, so watt will eat this weekend. As for our Offense, RUN THE BALL. Run right at there defense, and make them stop that. Big Day For schuab, and Grahem
I won't be able to get excited even if they beat the Rams. Last 3 games have just left such a bitter taste in my mouth.
Right now, I am in the camp that says we were more than likely going to lose one or two of the last three games. Three games sucks, but it's still not the end of the world. If there was ever a time for Schaub to revert to a Fifth Grade quarterback, it was during those games. I obviously don't think that he should be the long term option at quarterback anymore, but I do think that I've seen him play well enough as a quarterback that he could string together a few wins at the crucial moment to make some noise in the playoffs. In my opinion, it's almost a blessing in disguise that this has happened early in the season like this. Just like you want to peak going into the playoffs and during them, I guess if you're going to hit rock bottom, let's do it in the first half of the season, not at the end of the season like we have the last few years. I've said it over and over again to various friends of mine (Mostly Bills, Browns, Steelers, and Vikings fans, so....yeah...) that this team has enough talent that at some point, when they put it all together, and hit their stride, they will be tough. Everyone knows that. The question is will they be able to rebound and do that this season, or is everything lost? I think this is the game that will answer that question.
