Texans hope Schaub turns them around

[Wolf]

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/spor...em_around.html

Texans hope Schaub turns them around
By PAUL DOMOWITCH
pdomo@aol.com


HOUSTON - Smart decisions have been few and far between in the Houston Texans' 5 years of existence, which goes a long way in explaining why they're still in search of their first winning season.

This is a team that used its first pick in the 2002 expansion draft on a damaged-goods offensive tackle named Tony Boselli, whose considerable baggage included a career-threatening shoulder injury and a $9 million salary-cap tag. Boselli, a onetime Pro Bowl left tackle with Jacksonville, never played a down for the Texans.

This is a team that, in 2004, gave free-agent offensive tackle Todd Wade a $10 million signing bonus, only to cut him 2 years later. This is a team that, in 2005, traded second- and third-round picks to the Oakland Raiders for cornerback Phillip Buchanon. Buchanon, like Wade, was a bust who made just six starts in 2005. In 2006, he was with Tampa Bay

Before trading for Schaub, Kubiak talked to a number of coaching colleagues about the kid, including Bill Musgrave, who was Schaub's quarterback coach in Atlanta, former Falcons offensive line consultant Alex Gibbs, and Al Groh, Schaub's coach at the University of Virginia.

"The thing that stood out every time I talked to one of them was not so much that he can do this or he can do that," Kubiak said, "but the fact that the kid loved football. He's a winner. He's a leader. That's what you're looking for in this league. Your quarterback's got to be a guy who loves the game. Matt is the first one here and the last one to leave.

[Double Barrel]

He's doing and saying all the right things, so he's off to a good start. But we really won't know until the season starts and his decisions are for the record and analysis.

[V3rm0nt3r]

Not to be picky but you misspelled Schaub on the title.

[brakos82]

Misspeller!

[Wolf]

thanks, keyboard malfunction


I should have named it "Texans hope #8 turns them around"

[Hervoyel]

Thread title repaired.

[Honoring Earl 34]

It's way to early to tell ... besides I did'nt see the ex qb practice so I can't make a comparison .

We'll know pretty quick how he plays in a game ... that I have seen the ex do .

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by Elle

From those of you who have been there and seen him, albeit in a limited capacity, what do you think? Considering all the hate threads about a former QB, I had thought to see more positive commentary about Shaub.

I haven't been there and at the end of last season, I was in the ABC group. But. Honestly. Looking at some of the clips, that ball looks like it's coming out awfully low when Schaub throws it.

Am I looking at the clips wrong? Were the clips filmed at a bad angle?

[aj.]

I took advantage of a couple opportunities on Saturday to let some Texans and other media types know that we've heard enough of the L word already... not sure if it will do any good.

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by Elle

I thought for certain that we would have an eye on this guy to see what he can do, given what he was signed to do.

Earl, does the TC keep us from seeing him? I mean the general public? I am not real happy with waiting until the season begins. I'd like to know before pre-season whether or not he's got game.

I thought Schaub and Sage were both good . How does this translate into a game ... beats me .

What I did notice was their throwing to everybody but AJ . You can tell that they want more than one reciever .

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by Elle

aj, what do you mean by the L word?

I have a couple of ideas in my head and none of them feel good. Please do not tell me our wide outs are going to be trapping balls with questionable challenges made for....trapping. Is he going to connect or try and bounce things off the turf into someone's belly?

Who's the ___ of the club that's made for you and me Matt .

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by Elle

Ok. Are they sizing up options based on field advantage, player connects, etc? Or is this one huge experiment waiting to unfold half-way through the season?

I'm cool with 2 QBs and the WR they can hit based on our postion and scoring . Especially if we are in a deficit. But, I'd just like to know if the price tag on Shaub is still attached. I'll take my chances with Sage based on what I saw him do last year.

I would call Atlanta and ask if they are willing to give us a 1st and 2nd round pick to have him back ... nothing against Schaub ... but I'd take the picks because he's not Elway .

[Honoring Earl 34]

Originally Posted by Elle

I just asked Royal what he thought in another thread about this. I'm waiting on a reply because I say that if he hasn't snazzed everyone with immense talent at this point, we should take him back to Customer Service, keep Sage and hire Aaron Brooks for super cheap as a back up. Sounds stupid, maybe, but I think it could work, especailly if we got the picks back. Brooks has always needed a good QB coach. Isn't that what Kubes is supposed to be?

I think Schaub is at a slight disadvantage because he's new , has more pressure , and is learning Kubiak and his system .

I did'nt see Schaub throw long , so I can't tell arm strength . I'll be there Thursday , so we'll see .

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by Elle

Seriously? Low throws? What is our average height in WR? Doesn't do much good to hit these guys in the groin instead of the chest.

I'm not saying he's aiming low. I'm saying he's releasing low. That was the whole problem with getting balls knocked down the past few years.

If you can take a look at the Day 4 Highlights (not sure if you've got the bandwidth), it looks like Schaub releases the ball very low, like HWWNBN. I had heard he released the ball high and stood tall in the pocket. There are a couple of throws shown in that tape where his release looks very "shot-puttish" (including a pick).