The Houston system under coach Gary Kubiak restricted Schaub in terms of changing plays at the line of scrimmage. With the Raiders, Schaub will be free to get the Raiders out of a bad play based on the look he gets from a defense.
"You can get stale," Olson said. "I think we've tried our best to stimulate him, to motivate him to get back to the level of play he had shown in the past. He's taken the full reins of that."
Andre Ware, the former Heisman Trophy winner who serves as the Texans' radio color analyst, said in a recent interview on 95.7 The Game that being unable to audible in Kubiak's system is "like playing with one arm tied behind your back."
Said Schaub: "There are things I'm being asked to do here that I didn't have control of in Houston. I would have loved to, but we just weren't in control of it. To now be in that position, it's such a great place to be because you can get everybody on the same page."
Ware said Schaub appeared to lose his confidence last season in a Week 2 loss to Seattle and it "just kind of snowballed" to the point that "he just didn't have that zip in the middle portion of the season that he had in training camp."
Raiders quarterback Matt Schaub poses for a photograph at the Raiders’ headquarters in Alameda, Calif., Thursday, May 22, 2014. (Anda Chu/Bay Area
Raiders quarterback Matt Schaub poses for a photograph at the Raiders' headquarters in Alameda, Calif., Thursday, May 22, 2014. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group) ( ANDA CHU )
However, Ware fully expects Schaub to return to form.
"The best thing that could have happened for Matt is a change of scenery and a chance to hit the restart button," Ware said. "I think he'll flourish in Oakland."
In the meantime, Schaub has spent the first five weeks of the offseason program learning everything he can about his teammates so he can maximize his ability to lead.
"As a quarterback, you have to be somewhat of a psychologist," Schaub said. "Can I joke around in the huddle to keep this guy loose? Does this guy need a little fire lit under him?"
On a team with several veteran free agents that were essentially sent packing by their former employers, Schaub said, "I'm definitely in that group ... you've got to have that edge or you'll take something for granted and before you know it it will be gone.
"You've got to prove to the coaches, the owners, the G.M., that you're the guy for the job."