Case Keenum named starting QB for Sunday's Colts game

BATTLE RED... RED JERSEY... HOUSTON COUGAR... KEENUM... coincidence...? I THINK NOT!

I hope he does well. I hope ANY quarterback does well. I hope ALL Texans do well.

Illegally or defiantly? It's LEGAL to call audibles at any time. Quotable quote is quotable, nonetheless.

 

Every pass has multiple options. Shaub picked the shortest safest option as of late. Keenum picked the ones that were most open and most productive. Same coach, same offense different quarterback. Shaub looked good for a while and then the pressure hit him late last season and he never really recovered.

 

I'm finally starting to believe this line of thinking. Up until now, it was kind of a mystery because Kubiak would always fall on the sword for Schaub. So it was impossible to know who to really blame.

If Keenum plays well for the rest of the season, then we know the problem was more Schaub and less Kubiak all along.

 

I really have no idea whether what we saw last week is the "Case" gameplan by design or by necessity. We haven't seen Kubiak go empty backfield and spread like that since 2010. Is it because Case is best suited for that, or was it because that's how they wanted to attack KC, or was it because they HAD to do that since they had no running backs or tight ends?

And no matter the reason, was that a more wide open playbook, or a more narrow one? Was the playcalling under center more flexible or more rigid? I have no friggin' clue.

I think the offense we see Sunday night will be more reflective of the one we're going to see the rest of the year. I'm not sure it's going to be quite the same as KC, especially if Foster is healthy. But whatever it ends up being, I hope Case makes it look good.

 

feeling the same way. schaub just flat out stopped looking downfield... crazy to think that in 15 minutes of playing keenum completed the longest pass we've had all season.

 

They had gone empty backfield a ton this season... especially in the comeback games.

Hell, I think they've gone more empty backfield this season than the last two seasons combined... and its not always a good thing, because it usually is an indication that the team is losing.

Keenum has no fear right now... which is good. Its when QB's start questioning their decision making, and start thinking too much (after absorbing one too many hits, or throwing one too many picks), that they pass up on the "riskier" throws and settle for the short ones.

 

IIRC correctly, Gary said after the game that they ran out of shotgun/pistol simply to make Case more comfortable and give them the best chance to win.

I think it became even more extreme when we lost our RBs.

My guess is we'll still see mostly pistol/shotgun with more kinks thrown in. It's not like one start is going to make Case instantly comfortable enough to go under center. My hope is that the Schaub offense is gone forever. Between the Broncos with Elway, Griese, Plummer, and now us, it's been around too long and is too predictable.

 

Maybe on a drive or two, especially in the hurry-up, but otherwise I don't think this is true. 3 or 4 wide, yes. Empty backfield? Not so much. Sometimes Foster or Tate would motion out of the backfield, but that's a different setup. What we saw vs KC was straight up 4 or 5 wide for almost the entire second half.

Keenum appears to be playing for a job, instead of playing not to lose a job. That's not only a philosophical difference (Keenum loves to push the tempo and stretch defenses), but it's also a material difference. Schaub is sitting on a fat contract and trying to survive to see his non-guaranteed money, Keenum is trying to get his first paycheck ever. Major difference.

 

Except Kubiak is supposed to be a QB/offensive guru. It's his job to get the most out of his QB and the offense. If Schaub isn't doing well, it was on Kubiak to either help correct the problem or try someone else. From the outside, it seems he did neither until it was forced on him by injury. It's not like Schaub's problems were a 1 or 2 game phenomenon that he would just work himself through, so the coach's job is to address it. The blame for the offense's failing lies in part on Kubiak, regardless.

 

I agree in the sense that Kubiak is the reason the offense gradually got better and better and became an absolute steamroller until November of 2012. Since then, the offense has regressed for two reasons. 1) Kubiak's playcalling has been bad to terribad too often and 2) the players we have plugged into key roles have not performed and Kubiak has failed to recognize this and adjust).

Gary built an offensive juggernaut here, but his stubborness with the playbook and loyalty to his players are the reason it has fallen apart over the last 12 months. He deserves credit for building it, and equal blame for letting it disintegrate.

 

I had a dream today I was one of the wide receivers for the Texans, and we beat the Colts. I was a reserve (3rd string WR?), but Keenum threw 4 long azz TD's to Andre and 2 to Hopkins and we also scored a FG, and Keenum threw for a total of 500+ yards and we beat the Colts 45-10. I woke up with morning glory. Am I too excited for this Sunday night?!

 

Lets all start our glorious Sunday at Shotgun 30. I will toast to 500 yards via Keenum.

 

Yeah, I don't absolve Kubiak of any blame whatsoever. The buck obviously stops with him. Just saying those of us who point the finger at Kubiak for calling 3-yard passes on 3rd and 7 might need to point at Schaub instead.

 

I think it was a combination of things. The offense (since Wade came aboard) has been more willing to run the ball, punt, and play field position in games and let the defense help control the game. Then, after Schaub got hurt and the Texans lost the right side of their OL, the whole trajectory of the offense changed. It seemed that Matt was either coached or decided by himself to not try to stay in the pocket too long and take unnecessary hits. That, coupled with the string of PAINTs and some predictable route combinations has led us to where we are from an offensive standpoint.

I think the Texans were playing not to lose far too often (until they had to flip the script) and what we saw with Case in his first game out was a guy willing to stand in the pocket or extend plays to get things going further down the field. Hopefully, that continues, but my fear is that the lack of pass pro will come back to bite Case as well.

 

As two people who can have a rational, balanced discussion about Matt Schaub (not to disclude Major or ima or Nick, or others, who are also welcome to chime in) - when would you have ditched him?

IIRC, you and I both felt he deserved a chance to prove that his disastrous ending to the 2012 season was an anomaly - but how long would you have given him in 2013? And I'm asking with no definitive answer myself. I think the pick-6s were blown completely out of proportion by the fans – they weren’t good, but the only one that *really* hurt (and it hurt A LOT) was Seattle, which, I think, is the moment it went from a bad but manageable situation (win that game and you're 3-1) to a really, really toxic one, lit ablaze by the 49er meltdown. I think that was the moment Schaub was completely swallowed whole by the situation and officially entered the diminishing returns phase of his career. As much as he looked Skittles last year, we had too many non-Skittle moments this year to just dump the guy at the first sign of trouble. He was terrific in leading the comebacks against San Diego and Tennessee and in the first half against Seattle. There’s obviously a lot of entrenched feeling towards Schaub, people who have been calling for his job since the day they announced the trade – I just can’t completely buy that Kubiak was late on the trigger – maybe a week… but when was a more realistic time? Did the injury force his hand? Possibly – but I think it’s pretty obvious he had put Schaub on a short leash after San Fran.

But I disagree with any notion that Kubiak's playbook has suddenly become an issue. Granted, the sample size is small – but we *know*he didn’t make wholesale changes to his playbook in four days to accommodate a QB he didn’t even name the starter until Friday. And look how effective it – on the road, against a quality defense.

IMO, it’s not a coincidence that when Schaub was either hurt, or struggling, this offense sputtered. And when they had at least competent QB play, the offense looked progressively better. Upgrade the QB, and I think this team is OK.

 

So what happens if the Texans beat the Colts? Does this secure Keenum for next week? Or for the season? Or nothing?

 

After playing well and showing year-to-year improvement 2007-2011, I thought Schaub deserved his opportunity last year to take the team to the next level in 2012. I was disappointed he failed, and although the unfortunate timing of everything meant his window of opportunity to prove himself was far smaller than his peers, his faults appeared terminal and it was time to look to the future. I wanted the Texans to take a QB with a high draft pick or trade for one this off-season. If they felt the new QB was ready, I wanted them to start him, otherwise he would be groomed behind Schaub and we would endure one last "going through the motions" season with him.

That being said, if I took over as coach/GM of this team in August, I'd have benched him after the St. Louis game, whether or not he got hurt. But then again, I'm not a professional football coach who should know better than that.

It didn't "suddenly" become an issue. It has been an issue dating back to December 2011. It sputtered far too often past October last year, and has been downright terribad at times this year.

 

Oh, I 1,000% disagree. Maybe once they had built big leads - but in their first 22 games under Phillips (with Schaub healthy so I'm throwing out the final 6 games of '11), the Texans scored 30+ 11 times. Number of games they scored less than 20? Three, and they were 2-1 in those games. Overall, they averaged 28 points/game. (And were 18-4, btw.)

 

Schaub lost his mojo.

He is finished as a good NFL QB. I thought it was stupid when people were calling for his head a few years ago. Now its understandable.

 

They were stupid calling for his head after 2009 and 2010. Those people were even stupider hoping to dump Schaub's still-warm body in a ditch after 2011 because of a convenient injury excuse. Schaub deserved every opportunity he got here. The fact that it didn't work doesn't mean that the Texans would be better off as a franchise right now had they ditched him. Want to know how that works out for most franchises?