[@EvanSilva] - "Good team with arrow pointing down = #Texans

Slaton had a solid year in 08, I'll give you that. And Tate has looked good at times. I don't discount some of the plug and play nature of the offense, ESPECIALLY if they can get their line back to what it was. Though I find that generally true with most teams. If you have a top line, all healthy, playing together, than plug in any decent running back and they'll have a more than decent year. But the point is that Arian is certainly a more special player than any RB they've ever had, and you can't just plug in any other player and get the same production.

But in any case, as you note, it's about Schaub. I think the team could have the best defense and special teams in the leauge, and homefield throughout the playoffs, but I'd still be surprised (as opposed to expecting it to happen) if Schaub leads the team to the Superbowl. That's just my view of Schaub at the moment... I tried to give him benefit of the doubt historically, but can't for now.

I'm all for a 2nd-4th round selection on a potentially highly undervalued QB...

Once is enough. I don't think James Casey is out there saying he's one of the best. We're certainly not arguing his worth to the team.

http://www.boston.com/sports/footba...-picked-off/7j4i1aa7UBu1SRWP2g2mpK/story.html

I'd have a little more faith if Schaub was 24, 25, 26... and I'm not saying he can't/won't lead the team to the promised land... just I'm not betting on him

 

We shall know much more about Schaub and his window by midseason...really

 

Generally agree. Fairly similar to my outlook on the 49ers in the 2011 season and for much of 2012. Even at home and with a great defense, I didn't expect Alex Smith to take his team to the Super Bowl. (I also didn't expect Joe Flacco to, but that's a different story. ) But at the same time, I also felt like the 49ers were very close and had a good foundation in place, so that whether it was Kaepernick or another QB down the line... there was an opportunity to get that team to the next level with its present foundation.

That's generally how I feel about the Texans. Maybe Schaub can surprise us, and I hope that happens. But if he's not the guy, I don't see the "arrow trending down" or an "overhaul" in the near future. If anything, I see a mostly flat line for 2-3 years, and another QB can take the wheel in 2014 or 2015 if need be. Silva's tone implies that the Texans are close to falling off the cliff, and that's just silly. Smith has done a pretty terrific job of building organizational depth at most key positions.

 

I respond with a combined question and answer:

 

Yes, I think generally the organization is on a path for sustained good play... but that's a wait and see thing still, and will rely on continued good drafting and solid FA signings... which they've seemed to have done... hopefully it will continue.

I'm just not sold on Schaub, and for all the Flacco comments, he's younger, he'd been to the playoffs regularly, and he's a dumb Denver Bronco play away from being a first round exit. He wasn't a first round exit, so its not super helpful to point to what-ifs. Could Schaub hit a hot streak at the right time... sure, that's what I'm holding out hope for.

 

Exactly, if not for a kyle williams fumble, Alex Smith would have led the 49ers to a superbowl, even this year Alex Smith was doing a good job, and the 49ers could still go to the superbowl with Alex Smith as the QB.

 

The Texans could go 0-16 and Kubiak would still keep his job. Schaub could be the next Sanchez and still keep his job, and they both have fat contracts. That's what pisses me off about Uncle Bob, he doesn't hold anyone accountable, ever.

 

it's all about matchups . look at flacco, he goes brain dead when he sees the texans pass rush. Henne on the other hand, picks our non existent pass rush apart like 1998 cunningham. Just avoid the pats and our chances are as good as any.

 

I have concerns; mainly two: Kubiak and Schaub. As long as they are here, it is hard to have unbridled enthusiasm. Redoing the OL on the fly last year was the greatest idea, and it sounds much the same this year. The FA signing is looking more and more like a bust. When they were looking down a paved highway to the SB, they somehow inexplicably lost focus. I still can't fathom how they could stubble at such a critical time. The Vikings game was just pathetic. Got to win me back as a fan. I am somewhat pessimistic. Nine or ten wins sounds about right.

 

The Vikings were a playoff team with the best running back in the game playing against a D who were missing a lot of their linebacking core.

 

Thats what was so frustrating about seeing the Texans lose the last 2 games. Win one of those and they would have had home field, had a bye, played the ravens in the divisional round and the winner of pats/broncos in the conference championship. If the broncos take out the pats the texans are playing a team they beat on the road at home.

 

Well he's definitely right about Schaub. I don't see him as a superbowl-caliber QB unless the defense absolutely dominates along with the run game flourishing. I'll hold on judging the run game one more season because last year may have just been a fluke with Fosters YPC. Kubes pretty much ran him to the ground with the excessive carries too. Hope the offense is nothing like it was last year or else we'll be the same team as last year... won't get past New England or Denver playing that style of offense.

 

Silva hates Schaub and thinks Ed Reed is done. To be fair, there are a lot of questions the Texans have to answer this season. Calling Schaub just a game-manager is an exaggeration, but he does need to prove that he's the guy to lead the Texans to at least the AFC Championship game. While i think he's serviceable enough to do that, i don't think he's ever gonna be the kind of QB that can put a team on his back, and make special plays to win a big game. So there's a legit question at QB.

As far as Reed, i will reserve judgement until i see him on the field in a Texans uniform. He may be old and declining, but i'm gonna give the benefit of the doubt to the greatest safety to ever play the game. Silva should too. The Sweringger pick is looking better and better though.

I'd be lying if i said that i wasn't worried about our "window" closing, but i also think that we have a lot of young talent to reload with. We won't have to go through an official "rebuilding" phase like a lot of other teams do. We've managed to stay young and talented, even in the midst of relying on some aging vets. Watt, Cush, J-Jo are all young and special; and i really like Mercullis and a lot of our rookies. If we can keep the o-line in tip-top shape, and we can actually get some pressure on opposing QBs this year, we should be in position to challenge for an AFC championship this year.

 

The niners had a Kaepernick, ready to step in. The seahawks had Wilson... my biggest concern isn't Schaub, but what do we do if/when Shaub isn't playing. I believe this is Schaub's last season on the contract, no?

 

Schaub signed an extension last year.

 

Winning 73% of the time - as the Texans have done the past two years with Kubiak and Schaub - doesn't fill you with any enthusiasm, huh? Wow. Just... wow.

I've been saying it a lot this offseason, but I'm not sure I've ever encountered a larger collection of unearned entitlement among a fan base. They've been to the playoffs twice in 11 years and we're already ho-humming 10+ win seasons and multiple playoff appearances? How very sad for far too many of you.

No kidding. Reed has been terrible - wait, what's that? The season hasn't started yet? Are you sure? It's three months away? Huh...

Really? Because it's fairly obvious what happened - the QB imploded and injuries severely hampered the defense. Further, they don't look like a good match-up with the Patriots, who they unfortunately had to play twice down the stretch. It's actually not that hard to fathom.

The Texans played playoff teams in six consecutive games – most teams don’t play that many in an entire season. When your QB isn’t right; when your most valuable defensive player is out and your third most valuable defensive player is nursing season-long injuries… you’re not going to beat good teams with much regularity. Again, doesn’t take too many lines to connect the dots here…

Back? That would imply you were once a fan; you've never given any indication you're anything other than a Chicken Little fan who loves to have the sky fall on them. You can’t even enjoy the city’s best professional football season, wins-wise, since 1979.

 

................

You can hate Matt Schaub all day, every day, and thrice on Sunday; you can jump up and down on his final six games last season and shout "ITOLDYASO!" as loud you want in regards to his capacity to win important playoff games; and you can certainly advocate actively seeking his heir apparent, if not outright replacement....................

But aside from the entitlement issue, the other glaring offseason developement is this retroactive "Schaub sucks" movement. You're comparing him to Tommy Maddox? Really?...

Really?






Seriously?

Matt Schaub is a very good QB. Again, he's given you a lot of fodder to question his credentials in terms of taking the next step... but there isn't a football person at any point in time who would need more than a nanosecond of time to choose Schaub over Maddox - and that would include Maddox himself, and every single memeber of his family.

Come on; we can be so much better than this.......

 

Besides these 2 teams last year, what other teams had (or currently have) a potential franchise QB in waiting on their roster?

Most teams are pretty much screwed if their starting QB goes down.