Schaub:FRANCHISE PLAYER

[Wolf]

http://www.themonitor.com/sports/sch...year_play.html

HOUSTON — There have been many ups and downs in Matt Schaub’s first year as a full-time starter, the latest setback being a dislocated shoulder that has kept him out of the last three games and will likely make him miss Sunday’s season finale.

However, the Houston Texans believe they’ve found their quarterback of the future and are encouraged by his development this year. Schaub was Michael Vick’s backup for three seasons in Atlanta before he was traded to the Texans.

“I think he’s done a lot of good things,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “He’s made a lot of progress every time he went out on the field.”

Schaub said Wednesday that his injured left shoulder will need to be surgically repaired in the offseason. The Texans put off the surgery until after the season in hopes he would be able to play again this year.

He was injured on a sack early in Houston’s loss to Tennessee Dec. 2. He missed another game recovering from a concussion earlier in the season and sat out significant time in two others after hard hits.

While Kubiak is pleased with Schaub’s growth this year, he is looking for much more from the 26-year-old next season.

“He’s got to become a great player fast. We can’t wait three or four years,” Kubiak said.

He has good instincts...but 2 things come to mind when I wonder about him.

1. The injuries...as a QB in the NFL you have to learn to take a hit. Defensive players are getting bigger and stronger every year, and even good offensive lines will allow the defense to get after the QB occasionally. In the little that I've seen I'm pretty concerned about Schaub and his injuries. Is he going to be one of those players who plays great when they are healthy?

2. The arm strength...I saw a lot of throws this year where it seems like he just couldn't get the ball there. He has proven he is accurate on the throws he makes...but what about those tough passes? There comes a time when all QB's have to prove they can make those. It is ultimately the difference in between the QB's that ride the bench and the QB's that lead their teams.

[Hervoyel]

Originally Posted by benefactor

He has good instincts...but 2 things come to mind when I wonder about him.

1. The injuries...as a QB in the NFL you have to learn to take a hit. Defensive players are getting bigger and stronger every year, and even good offensive lines will allow the defense to get after the QB occasionally. In the little that I've seen I'm pretty concerned about Schaub and his injuries. Is he going to be one of those players who plays great when they are healthy?

2. The arm strength...I saw a lot of throws this year where it seems like he just couldn't get the ball there. He has proven he is accurate on the throws he makes...but what about those tough passes? There comes a time when all QB's have to prove they can make those. It is ultimately the difference in between the QB's that ride the bench and the QB's that lead their teams.

My thoughts on those two things are as follows:

1. Where the injuries are concerned we'll know fairly quickly whether or not he's truly "fragile". People throwing that word around right now are, in my opinion just making themselves look like impatient fools. Anyone (and in fact most everyone) playing QB can have an injury riddled season. It happens all the time to players at every position. One year of being banged up does not make a player fragile.

If he makes it four games into next season and goes down again we have cause for concern, unless it's a clearly devastating type of hit that would injury anyone. The nature of the injuries must be taken into account. If he only plays in 8-10 games next year however we may have a "Chris Chandler" type problem. If we do though it won't take long to figure it out.

2. I saw those throws too but I didn't come away with a sense that he lacked arm strength. I came away with the impression that he failed to put enough on the ball to get it there. I say this because I also saw a number of throws this year where Schaub threw the ball like a bullet (The first quarter pass against Jacksonville where Schaub threw the ball down the field to I think Kevin Walter (might have been Owen Daniels however) right before running out of bounds comes to mind.

The man has a strong enough arm. I don't have any doubts about that. I think in his first season as a starter he simply had a few plays where he underestimated how much he needed to put on the ball to get it there. On several plays earlier in the season I saw him put too much on shorter passes and causing deflections. I think that these are just growing pains.

This is also something I think we'll be able to confirm pretty quickly next year (assuming he stays healthy and keeps playing). If I'm right then this should go away with more reps and more experience.

[Texan_Bill]

I am willing to give Schaub the benefit of the doubt this year, because they were some pretty good licks he took.... I just hope and pray he isn't.....

Remember this guy???




..... Chris "Chandelier" Chandler -or- Chris "Glass Jaw" Chandler if ya like.

[Joe Texan]

Schaub has a tendency to thorw the ball high and behind. If he can learn to bring the ball down and lead the reciever he will be lights out batrring the injury bug. If he continues to throw how he has been then hello interseptions.
I think he can learn to bring the ball down and I think he can do a lot better with better protection so the jury is still out. I am pulling for him but I am not dissapointed with Sage if he cannot get it done.

[Texan_Bill]

Let's also keep another thing in perspective when talking about Schaub - be it pro or con.... He has started ONLY 13 games in his career. So in essence, he's a veteran rookie..... huh? veteran rookie?!?!?

[cuppacoffee]

“He’s got to become a great player fast. We can’t wait three or four years,” Kubiak said.


Sounds like a real challenge. You can't become a great player fast sitting on the bench injured.

Who is the top qb in this years draft?

Who is the top 'sleeper qb' in this years draft?

[Double Barrel]

I like Schaub and look forward to next season when we can roll out an offense that hits the ground ready to roll with a 2nd year starting QB, a nice roster of WRs/TE, and hopefully a beefed up running game and consistent offensive line upgrades.

[Overalls]

We haven't had a consistent running game since DD/W went down 2 years ago. I thought AG was the answer at the begining of the season but now I want a legit 1st round worthy back in next years draft or for us to get a 1st round IHOP O-lineman. Either one should help Schaub take less hits. We already are way down in sacks from last year. Imagine what Schaub could do with a little more time and a real running game.

[Joe Texan]

right now he could throw it just above and right behind the recievers

[DerekLee1]

Originally Posted by benefactor

He has good instincts...but 2 things come to mind when I wonder about him.

1. The injuries.

2. The arm strength.

Both certainly fixable, and sure to be addressed, in the offseason with better training and conditioning. It was his first full season as a starter; now he knows what it will take. A solid offseason, and he'll be an elite next year.

[adam]

"We can't wait three or four years"

That's what I've been wanting to hear from Kubiak. At the very least, it's good to know that we have a coach with his head on straight.

[maddogmrb]

This isn't an; "I like Sage more than Schaub" post but, Schaub hasn't shown us ONE thing more than Sage has and to call him a "franchise" player ....... well I have to wonder what hallucenagen you are on. So far, he has shown to be an average QB at best, and Kubes has no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly. The stats aren't there, the winning isn't there, the toughness isn't there. IMO, Schaub has upside but, he has a long ways to go before we can put him in the "franchise" or "great" categories. At this point, I can't say he is any better than Sage and that makes both of them darn good "backup" QB's.

[Hervoyel]

Originally Posted by maddogmrb

This isn't an; "I like Sage more than Schaub" post but, Schaub hasn't shown us ONE thing more than Sage has and to call him a "franchise" player ....... well I have to wonder what hallucenagen you are on. So far, he has shown to be an average QB at best, and Kubes has no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly. The stats aren't there, the winning isn't there, the toughness isn't there. IMO, Schaub has upside but, he has a long ways to go before we can put him in the "franchise" or "great" categories. At this point, I can't say he is any better than Sage and that makes both of them darn good "backup" QB's.

ugh....

"kubes has no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly"

Apparently Kubiak believes that he does. Now you either buy into that or you don't and I'm not saying that you have to or that you're wrong if you disagree. I'm just saying that YOU see no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly.

Gary Kubiak has stated publicly that he believes otherwise.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

I'm just saying that YOU see no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly.

And he has been on this public campaign from day one about Schaub so no surprise. Just because you saddle a horse doesn't mean you have to ride him and yet some people feel compelled to do so.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

ugh....

"kubes has no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly"

Apparently Kubiak believes that he does. Now you either buy into that or you don't and I'm not saying that you have to or that you're wrong if you disagree. I'm just saying that YOU see no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly.

Gary Kubiak has stated publicly that he believes otherwise.

I respect both sides of the fence opinions on who may be our best future starting QB. However, to this point, I am not going to be ruling out Sage, each given equal opportunity. I think we'll at least know by the end of the 1st few games of next season.

As far as your statement, "Gary Kubiak has stated publicly that he believes otherwise."..........................seem to remember a similiar statement made publicly concerning the white glove wonder...........

[adam]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

ugh....

"kubes has no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly"

Apparently Kubiak believes that he does. Now you either buy into that or you don't and I'm not saying that you have to or that you're wrong if you disagree. I'm just saying that YOU see no basis to expect him to become "great" quickly.

Gary Kubiak has stated publicly that he believes otherwise.

The nature's Kubiak's statements seem to suggest that he needs Schaub to get his ass in gear by next season. The statement "we can't wait three or four years" would seem to suggest that Schaub left a lot of questions unanswered in the eyes of Kubiak. Coach Kubes' words would, to me, sounds like he may be questioning exactly how long the team will be able to count on Schaub to win games.

Now, make no mistake, I am all for Schaub getting his chance next year. Hopefully with better tools and a much improved offensive line and perhaps a defense that can put him back on the field. Despite a lot of flaws, he does have potential. At the very least, we should milk him for all he's worth given how much we paid for him. However, with all of that said, Kubiak is right...we don't have David Carr like time to waste on sub-standard players. I would say that if week five rolls around, and Schaub is not playing up to expectations, or if he is injured again, then I would say that job should go to Rosenfels, permanently.

[Hervoyel]

I felt Kubiak's statement regarding the team not having three or four years to wait came across as being for public consumption and so was more about reassuring fans that Matt Schaub will not be given a comical 5 years to produce as David Carr was. I didn't feel like he was in any way putting Matt on notice.

That's just me though. I don't believe that if Matt Schaub washes out Kubiak will survive the event but at the same time he's going to try his damndest to show that this was the right move. Schaub was Gary's choice and he's going to give him every opportunity to succeed. We all know this whether we think it's right or not. I don't think I've seen a single person cheering for Sage who hasn't been willing to admit that Schaub is going to get the start based on his salary and what we gave up for him.

The comments he made were just about Kubiak trying to settle down the potential QB controversy. He knows as well as we all do that if the team isn't winning next season then he's probably looking for work the year after and if the team isn't winning with Matt Schaub at the helm then he has pie on his face over the deal that brought him here.

Besides, Gary has to say something when they ask him questions about this stuff.

[Porky]

I am not going to parse his statement other than to say that he was already better in yr one than Carr was in any of his 5 years, and according to the Carr lovers on this board, it takes 5 yrs to get the right players around a QB and determine how good he is, so in my book Matt has 4 more years to prove himself.

4 More Years! 4 More Years!

[Insideop]

Originally Posted by Overalls

We haven't had a consistent running game since DD/W went down 2 years ago. I thought AG was the answer at the begining of the season but now I want a legit 1st round worthy back in next years draft or for us to get a 1st round IHOP O-lineman. Either one should help Schaub take less hits. We already are way down in sacks from last year. Imagine what Schaub could do with a little more time and a real running game.

These are the questions in next years draft. Do we draft a RB (Stewart/Mendenhall) in the 1st, or do we try to protect Schaub with a LT (Clady/Otah/Baker) in the 1st? Or do we just draft bpa, whether it's a defensive player or offensive player at that spot in the draft?

As of now I have no clue as to how Smith/Kubes will pick, but I think they will try whatever they can to get that 2nd rounder back or another 3rd rounder. That would probably help them decide which way to go in the 1st round a little. Unfortunately, any trade down to get extra picks will probably only happen on draft day. It's a long way off but hopefully the time will pass quickly. JMHO!