This is a "The Democrats do it too!!" false equivalency. His detractors "yeah, but" him to death. Heck-fire - YOU, a non-detractor, are "yeah, but"ing him. You listed 4 QBs and their most recent five games being better: Brees, Brady, Eli and Romo. QB Ratings: Brees - 105.2 Brady - 105.9 Eli - 101.9 Romo - 115.5 Schaub? 105.5. He was 1 TO, 5 wins and his team has scored 32.4 points/game. "Yeah, but...." he played against bad teams. "Yeah, but...." those other guys posted their numbers in playoff games. "Yeah, but....", yeah, but....", "yeah, but...." He's playing at an elite level; there's no "yeah, but...." about it. (And holy crap, Tony Romo is playing at a REALLY elite level.)
I actually want ubigred to come back to balance you out now. Why do all opinions* have to be absolutes* round these parts??
Someone needs to do a poll. How would you rank Schaub? Elite Good Average Bad Horrible I bet less than 10% would rank him average or below.
We all relatively agree about elite QBs - Rodgers, Brady, Brees... Well, there's ample statistical data to support Matt Schaub being in the same conversation. He's a better QB than I think even a lot of his fans realize and right now, he's playing as well as he ever has. Would I trade any of the elite guys for him? No. They're better QBs. But I'm not going to sulk and pout and demand he met this ever-moving ambiguous target of excellence. He doesn’t stockpile #s like some of the other QBs – but, frankly, he has better weapons than most of those QBs. I’m not sure a single one of the elite QBs has a back as good as Ben Tate, let alone Arian Foster. So he doesn’t accumulate counting stats. But his team isn’t scoring any fewer points, they’re not winning any fewer games, and his efficiency is on par with the best of the best. I would have thought the precipitous offensive drop-off after he - not Johnson, not Foster – went down last year would have finally put this “debate” to bed. It’s endlessly silly. Anyone who thinks this team is being held back by Matt Schaub is, frankly, football-ignorant.
I stepped away because people are more concerned with the messenger rather than the message. I do not speak in absolutes. I NEVER said Matt Schaub sucks. I NEVER said Matt Schaub is an average QB. I simply said (many times) he is good, not great. I can also say that this thread seems to confirm that most people feel the way that I do. However, there are people who feel that Schaub is elite (on this very page).
I don't think you should be vilified for that statement (as crazy as it sounds). I do think others should critique your comment in a fair and just manner.
Wait - so is your opinion that QB rating is all that matters? The fact that those other QB's are throwing tons more TDs and yards and throwing many more passes - aka, carrying their offenses - against better defenses doesn't matter at all, meaning they are all similarly elite? You actually believe Schaub's performance to be the equal to Brees, who threw for 800 more yards and 4 times as many TDs in those 5 games without any semblance of a running game? No wonder this debate continues.
"Find something to do"....in other words trade him. If he's as good as some around here think then it shouldn't be too hard to find a team or 2 to take him and his salary off your hands. The NFL salary cap allows you to trade salary away, right? To my knowledge no one has figured out the space time continuum. To my knowledge GMs have figured out a way to trade players and their contracts to clear cap. Didn't we do that with Ryan's? We played it safe and I'm not even mad about it. But I won't act like there wasn't an opportunity to potentially land an elite QB (if healthy) this summer if we decided to be aggressive and take that risk. That's exactly what the Broncos did....and they traded their QB to do it.
Even if we traded Schaub after signing Peyton, that still most likely wouldn't have cleared enough space to get Peyton's contract under the cap. Peyton will be paid $18 million this year, Schaub I believe in his last year was going to get $7.15 million before the extension. As part of process that went into the Schaub contract extension, Texans had to restructure Johnathan Joseph's contract to get under the cap. How would we have fitted Peyton's contract? Waive Andre Johnson? Restructure the whole defense's contracts?
OTOH, Schaub probably has less of a receiving corp than any elite QB of the past years. Before you say that those elite QBs made those receiver who they are today, keep in mind that it's not so much that our receivers haven't developed. But rather the Texans have not really invested in receivers in drafts and FA. And one can certainly argue that Andre Johnson would not have reached his status as an elite receiver until he stopped receiving passes from David Carr.
It equalizes the conversation. Brees has thrown 35 more passes this year than Schaub - that’s the rough equivalent of a full game – almost a game and a half at Schaub’s current pace. So of course Brees, and the other QBs you listed (all of whom have more pass attempts this year than Schaub) are going to lead him in counting stats. But as you’ll read later, I couldn’t care less. And losing…. Every single QB you listed has now lost to an inferior team this year, one of your primary “yeah, buts…” with Schaub’s stretch. I couldn’t care less about him accumulating counting stats. If this were a pass-first offense, it might be somewhat concerning. But it’s not, and of the QBs you’ve listed, none have a running game anywhere near as good as Schaub’s so he’s not going to get as many opportunities to “lead” a team. Here’s what I *do* care about: In his previous six games, Schaub has one turnover. One. 360 minutes of football and he has one turnover. Brees has 4 in just two games already this year; Manning has 3. And Schaub’s completed 67% of his passes, including 70% this year. He’s been about as flawless as humanly possible. Meanwhile, the team is 6-0 and scoring 31.5 points a game. Their average margin of victory is 21.6. Oh, and by the way, 4 of those games were without Andre Johnson. Inferior teams? Brady couldn’t “lead” the Patriots to more than 18 points against the Arizona Cardinals while Romo and the Cowboys hung 7 on the Seahawks. Yes, the Texans have a world-class running game and an elite defense. I’m not arguing Schaub is the primary reason for this six-game stretch. But if Foster and Tate were both sidelined, there’s absolutely nothing to suggest that, with the way he’s playing, Schaub couldn’t “lead” the Texans. That he’s not being asked to because so much of the team is working shouldn’t diminish how well he’s playing. Brees currently has a QB rating of 71.6 and his team is 0-2. In fact, they’re on a three-game losing streak going to back to last year, during which Brees has thrown 6 INTs. And two of his opponents are a combined 21-47 the past two seasons so it’s not like he’s played one playoff-caliber team after another. And FYI – the Saints finished 6th in the NFL last year in rushing, a mere 20 fewer yards a game than the Texans, and totaled 163 yesterday in their loss to Carolina. If that’s not a semblance of a running game, I’m not sure what is. So, yeah… I’d absolutely put Schaub’s near-flawless stretch up against Brees’. But it’s comforting to know the “yeah, but”s continue unabated….
I'm as big a Shaub supporter as anyone, but he's just not in the category with Brees, Brady, and Rogers. There are three types of lies. Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.
He's not as good as those guys, and I said as much - but in his last six games, he's playing as well as any QB in football. You can "yeah, but" his performance to death but it's not going to diminish it in any way.
There is if that's not the discussion we're having. He's not as good as those guys - but he's playing as well as any of them currently. Two completely independent, legitimate POVs. What games? Tell me the stats I'm manipulating. His 16-game pace, based on his last 6 starts, is: 280/419 (66.8%); 3,581 YDS; 8.5 YPA; 16 TDs; 3 INTs; 103.1 QBR. His TD #s are pedestrian. But the team is scoring 31.5 points/game over that stretch. It’s his efficiency that should absolutely jump out and impress you. If he’s completing 67% of his passes and throwing 3 INTs over the course of a 16-game season, the Texans are going to win *a lot* of games, even if the running game devolves for whatever reason.
