Pocket Quality

[thunderkyss]

Has there been any discussion of the quality of the pocket Schaub has been throwing from? More times than not, he's had a pocket to throw from, but in your opinion.. was that a good pocket.. a poor pocket?

Do you find yourself getting upset because he can't step up in the pocket? or Have you been impressed with his ability to step up?

Do you think Brown is holding his own, and keeping sufficient space on Matt's left side?

Do you think Schuab has sufficient time to get through his progression?

Do you think it breaks down to often? To quick? Rarely if ever?

Is it even an area of concern for the Texans?

[Texan_Bill]

I think Brown is quietly having a pretty nice season considering this is only his second year. I think Schaub, while not the most mobile person, moves, slides and works well within the pocket. With that said, Schaub is on pace to be sacked 26 times this season (3 more than last year). When the pocket does break down, it can look pretty ugly at times.

[FirstTexansFan]

It seems to me that early in games, we tend to not give Matt the time, the pocket collapses to quickly, and he's hurried or sacked. But as the game progresses, we make the adjustments, and appears to get more time. But that's just my observation, not based on study of game film.

[gwallaia]

Quality receivers can also make a pocket more efficient. The Texan receivers typically run good routes and get open quicker.

[chicagotexan2]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Has there been any discussion of the quality of the pocket Schaub has been throwing from? More times than not, he's had a pocket to throw from, but in your opinion.. was that a good pocket.. a poor pocket?

Do you find yourself getting upset because he can't step up in the pocket? or Have you been impressed with his ability to step up?

Do you think Brown is holding his own, and keeping sufficient space on Matt's left side?

Do you think Schuab has sufficient time to get through his progression?

Do you think it breaks down to often? To quick? Rarely if ever?

Is it even an area of concern for the Texans?

The Oline has done a solid job pass blocking for Shaub in my opinion. To me it seems that the QB holds on to the ball too long and doesn't throw it away as much as he should. I also think is a poor passer when he is flushed out. My biggest concern has been the less than stellar run blocking. I like Brown. I think he still green and raw, but he is a good player.

[SAMURAITEXAN]

Originally Posted by Texan_Bill

I think Brown is quietly having a pretty nice season considering this is only his second year. I think Schaub, while not the most mobile person, moves, slides and works well within the pocket. With that said, Schaub is on pace to be sacked 26 times this season (3 more than last year). When the pocket does break down, it can look pretty ugly at times.

I agree with you. With addition of Brown's improvement from last year and Schaub getting comfortable in our system, Schaub seems to move(slides) better within the pocket. He avoids sack and obtain a little more time than he used to.

Go Texans!!!

[steelbtexan]

Originally Posted by chicagotexan2

The Oline has done a solid job pass blocking for Shaub in my opinion. To me it seems that the QB holds on to the ball too long and doesn't throw it away as much as he should. I also think is a poor passer when he is flushed out. My biggest concern has been the less than stellar run blocking. I like Brown. I think he still green and raw, but he is a good player.

So you're a Schaub fan?

You may not want to admit it but Schaub has carried this team.

If not for 2 C.Brown fumbles and a blocked FG this team would be 7-1.

What more do you want from Schaub?

[Hooston Texan]

As often as we throw, 26 sacks would not be a bad season total. It wouldn't put us into the elite pass-protection category (NO and Indy are incredible, but that's mostly due to the work of Brees and Manning), but it's a figure we can live with.

More than a few of our 13 sacks have been coverage sacks where Schaub held the ball for a long time, but those extended stays in the pocket can also lead to huge plays for the offense. So it's a trade-off we can afford to make IF Schaub continues to hold onto the ball when hit. Fumbling has been Matt's biggest problem (aside from staying healthy) the previous two years, but he's cleaned that issue up so far this season.

On the whole, I give our pass protection very good marks for the half-season. The pocket isn't going to be clean every play, but our guys have given Matt enough of one to make his reads and throws.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Hooston Texan

As often as we throw, 26 sacks would not be a bad season total.

26 sacks last year would have been 10th best with a number of teams like the Titans and Miami in there because they had a whole lot less passing attempts.

[Hooston Texan]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

26 sacks last year would have been 10th best with a number of teams like the Titans and Miami in there because they had a whole lot less passing attempts.

Adjusting the totals for numbers of dropbacks (pass attempts plus sacks), the Texans are the sixth-best team in the league in preventing sacks this year. They've had 296 plays where Schaub has either thrown the ball or been sacked. Of those plays, Schaub was sacked 4.39% of the time (13/296).

The top five are:
Indy: 1.86%
Tenn: 2.65%
New England: 2.74%
NYGiants: 3.62%
Atlanta: 3.72%

The only other teams under 5% are:
Baltimore: 4.53%
Denver: 4.54%
New Orleans: 4.56%--kinda surprised we're ahead of them
Arizona: 4.56%
Cincy: 4.62%

In last place are the Packers at 11.97%.

These numbers do not, of course, account for hurried throws under pressure, but Schaub's 66.4% completion percentage (#5 in the league) indicates that he's not been forced to just get rid of the ball any more often than other QBs.

By the numbers, the Texan OL is doing an excellent job keeping Matt upright.

[Cjeremy635]

Originally Posted by chicagotexan2

The Oline has done a solid job pass blocking for Shaub in my opinion. To me it seems that the QB holds on to the ball too long and doesn't throw it away as much as he should. I also think is a poor passer when he is flushed out. My biggest concern has been the less than stellar run blocking. I like Brown. I think he still green and raw, but he is a good player.

Maybe, but how much of that is on him? It could be a combination of that and the receivers not paying attention to what is going on back there and breaking out of their routes for him to get the ball to them when the play breaks down. I think it's a combination of the two, IMHO.

[eriadoc]

I think it's been a better pocket since Caldwell's second game. I think as he gets more playing time and improves, he's going to be a big boon to the line. I think the tackles are doing their jobs in running their guys deep. I don't think Schaub steps into the pocket when he should sometimes, and when he tries to escape to the right, he puts Winston in a bad spot. I think he's only tried to escape to the left a couple times this year.

Myers is still a liability against beefy DTs, and Studdard is still somewhat of a liability in pass pro. I think Studdard may get better.

[TexCanada]

Some of the sacks also come from Schaub hanging onto the ball too long. I think if there is one thing to criticize him on, that would be it. It appears that our O-line is having a very good season in the pass protection department.

[Cjeremy635]

All I know is we are a long way from the 70+ sack season and when people talk about us, isn't isn't for our porous O line.

[thunderkyss]

Interesting. I ran this same thread on HT.com, and got pretty much the same answer.

I know the numbers "look good" but more often than not, Matt is throwing out of a phone booth. There are times, when he has a huge, beautiful pocket, especially when the other team bites on the play action.

But Matt is hurried on most 5 & 7 step drops. He's doing a fine job playing that way though.... which is making me change what I think about Matt Schaub.

Someone mentioned earlier, & I totally agree Caldwell makes a world of difference. I think once we finish the Caldwell/White experiment, lock Caldwell in as the starter, Matt will begin to see the kind of protection Manning gets, Brees Gets.... etc.. when he begins to trust that kind of protection will be there, he's going to be very dangerous.

[barrett]

in my re-watch I wasn't as impressed with him as I have been the past two weeks. I think the tools are there though. He's inconsistent but that's to be expected. I can't get over what a 180 I've had about Studdard.