What To Do At QB?

by Tim on Jan 18, 2008 4:59 PM CST in News Comment 28 comments

Part III of the slightly interesting "What To Do..." series has us examining us the QB position of your Houston Texans. Let me open with this: After being subjected to five (5) years of this, I'm writing this entry with a sizable grin on my cherubic visage. The QBs currently on the roster of your Houston Texans are:

Matt "The" Schaub
Sage Rosenfels
Shane Boyd

Barring The Schaub doing his best Ben Roethlisberger impression in the next few months, I don't see the infusion of any new blood at the QB position anytime soon. The Texans acquired Matt Schaub to be their franchise QB, and there hasn't been any inclination that there's been any change in that outlook (nor should there be). Despite Sage's relative success filling in for the injured Schaub this season, any talk about a QB controversy remains premature. If Schaub's 2008 season sees him knocked out of more games than he finishes, then we can debate whether his alleged fragility should be more carefully scrutinized. Barring such a showing, it's Matt Schaub's world for the foreseeable future. As it should be.

What about all the noise about trading Sage for a draft pick? A pipe dream, I say. If you can think of a team that would part with a third rounder or better for Sage, let me know. Otherwise, it ain't worth it; as the Texans saw down the stretch this past season, a competent second-stringer at QB is at the very least a worthwhile luxury, if not a downright necessity. Unless a needy team breathlessly offers a second-rounder, Sage goes nowhere. And I'd be shocked if there was a GM so in love with Sage that he'd be willing to make an offer Smithiak can't refuse.

Seeing as how the Texans historically only carry two (2) QBs on the active roster, the third spot is generally relegated to the practice squad. Indeed, Shane Boyd was activated because of Schaub's injury; he (probably) doesn't figure into any sort of long-term plan. Given that dynamic, there's a better chance of Kent Graham coming back for a second tour of duty in Houston than the team looking to add anyone at QB this offseason.

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one last try on this

in this old article/comments I just read;

http://www.topix.net/forum/nfl/houston-texans/TRL6HT5SIFTIIVHFG#comments

Zabranski didn't sign with Houston, cause they wouldn't sign him to the active roster. He scored tops in the combine and had great speed and quickness. Get rid of Boyd and get a pick for Sage, and get us a QB that, if Schaub goes down, has the ability to move and confuse the opponent. This should be relatively cheap and easy. Plus this guy has proven himself under pressure.
If the guy has a down side, other than the 3 minutes they let him play, I'd like to hear it. I'll admit, I'm not one of the Sage should be the starter fans, although I respect their positon, he just doesn't cut it for me. I'll take your 3rd rounder for him.
1st pick should be an OLT. You fix the run and pass game, and save the Schaub his shoulders. This is this year, not last year, even though Schaub proved the O line wasn't as bad as they said, it still needs fixen..with one pick. The rest go to the best player available, hopefully all on defense, with one RB thrown in. I know everyone wants Db's, but it'll take more than one pick to fix the defense.

by 1Texan on Jan 18, 2008 7:33 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

1Texan

I wholeheartedly agree that if the Texans can pick up a third rounder for Sage, they should pull the trigger in a heartbeat. I just don't think Sage is going to command that kind of haul. Look at his career numbers. If you were a GM, would you give up a third-round pick for a 30 year old career back-up?

Prior to the hiring of Alex Gibbs, I was with you: Draft a LT at No. 18. Now, I'm not so sure. The OL has room for improvement, but do you burn a first-round pick on addressing it when the alleged "best" prospects are bigger roadgraders instead of the prototypical smaller, more agile OL that zone blocking typically incorporates? Isn't it entirely feasible that the Texans, with Gibbs' guidance, can find better fits for his system later in the draft (or even via the undrafted free agent market)?

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on Jan 18, 2008 9:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

UDFAs...?

In the mini-camps and in training camp, a team needs several (i.e. at least 4) QBs to work all the WRs without burning out your starting QB's arm. We're clearly set at QB1 and QB2, so I suppose we're suggesting Smithiak fills out the QB corps with the kind of street free agent gem(s) we've seen the last two seasons, and any other opening by UnDrafted Free Agent.

by knave64 on Jan 18, 2008 10:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Yup

That's precisely what I'm thinking. The team won't burn a draft pick on someone who really doesn't have a chance of making the roster and will be assigned to the practice squad, so it seems certain that Boyd or another street free agent will be QB3 and, for the purposes of training camp, QB4.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on Jan 19, 2008 9:32 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Minority Report

Sage Rosenfels is not the quarterback of the future.
Matt Schaub has NOT made the case, on the field, that he is.
We have made the investment in Schaub and his talent needs to be nurtured and developed.
Hedge your bets. Keep Rosenfels.

Trading Rosenfels at this point would be a huge mistake. A reliable back up that is able to win games is invaluable. You like 8-8 ? Without Rosenfels it would not have happened.

Schaub in the Red Zone is a pathetic 40%.
Schaub has given up 16 sacks.

Rosenfels in the Red Zone is 90%.
Rosenfels has given up 6 sacks.

Schaub is a work in progress - not a finished product. I hope he has all the upside people say he has. When his numbers get close to Rosenfels in the Red Zone he is on his way.

by TexasOutlaw on Jan 19, 2008 10:12 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Well, maybe.

"Matt Schaub has NOT made the case, on the field, that he is."

If that's true though, I don't think there were ten quarterbacks in the league last year who made a case for sticking around with their teams. As long as the Cleveland game was an anomaly, he's well on his way to turning into our franchise QB.

I'll concede, Rosenfels is definitely better at turning shit to gold. I think playing with the 2nd-team for most of his career prepared him well for the injury-fest that was the Texans' 2007 season. That said, Schaub is the kind of QB who gets exponentially better with more time in the pocket. Once we get a real left tackle and a running game, I think we're going to see a massive improvement from him.

by Nashmeister on Jan 19, 2008 11:25 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The Theme

Is not dump on Schaub. My appraisal has led to certain conclusions. I have never viewed Schaub as anything more than a rookie that maybe had a jump start. If you are appraising him as a veteran then the conclusions are worse.

Don't get lost in the "offensive line made me do it."

Rosenfels started in 5 games. Played in 9. Was sacked only six times.

Schaub is the franchise quarterback. And I have identified some of his problems as a "rookie". He has work to do in getting rid of the ball faster.

And he has work to do in the Red Zone. Team wise his 40% efficiency in the Red Zone makes 28 teams better.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/NFL+Statistics/Inside+the+Red+Zone/2007/16redzn.htm

And the point is keep Rosenfels. Develop Schaub. I don't care who is on the practice squad.

by TexasOutlaw on Jan 19, 2008 12:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

What Killed Schaub Last Year

I think losing Andre Johnson, Steve McKinney, and Ahman Green killed Schaub last year. There went the running game and your main passing option in short order. The ship floundered for a while until Ron Dayne was able to work off his summer eating binge in time for the last half of the season.

In any case:

Keep Schaub
Keep Rosenfels, unless someone hires Charlie Casserly, and you manage to get a 2nd rounder for him.
After training camp, trade Shane Boyd to the Astros for a dome dog and a beer
Keep looking for that undiscovered developmental QB

by kozanack on Jan 19, 2008 3:30 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

no no no

We can't trade Boyd to the Stros: he's not a "proven veteran," donchaknow.

Now, if we were to sign...say...Earl Campbell, we could probably get Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt for him from Wade. I mean, look how old Campbell is! He's a big name! He'll be a superstar for the Stros. Plus, he's only, what 6 months younger than Clemens...

by bigfatdrunk on Jan 19, 2008 7:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Big Earl

Maybe Roger could share some of his special lidocaine and B-6 injections with Earl. Then Earl could solve the Texans problem at RB. Schaub could hand the ball to Earl 25 times a game and mix in 10 or 12 passes. Bob McNair could serve Earl's hot links to the crowd. Everybody would be happy.

by kozanack on Jan 19, 2008 9:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

AARP entry!

I don't know who else is old enough to remember, but...

Back in Earl's rookie year, the offense was considered to be:

Earl to the left
Earl to the right
Earl up the middle
Punt

The only known modern day equivalent would be three consecutive short-side sweeps by Eric Metcalf when he was a Horn.

And, yes, I do remember Watergate. Why do you ask?

by bigfatdrunk on Jan 19, 2008 11:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

More Like This

Earl to the left
Earl to the right
Earl up the middle
TD!

Earl dominated everyone his rookie year, as Isiah Robertson can attest

by kozanack on Jan 20, 2008 12:00 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

rivals.com...

has us taking Malcolm Kelly???
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1144&CID=749667

Now, if that isn't a good enough reason to trade down, I don't know WTF is.

(OK, theoretically, he wouldn't be a bad pick, but he's a frickin' land thief!)

by bigfatdrunk on Jan 19, 2008 8:19 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I couldn't get past the pic

on the side of article of Penelope Cruz, which is a good thing, picking a receiver first...shit, let's band aid a bruise and let the torn arteries run free. So far most of those mocks I've read show us taking a RB (usually from Oregon) and a couple show CB's and OLT's first. Any of those and a couple three or four other positons on defense would come first I would hope. Is Huckabee's wife in the draft, she looks like a space eating NT as I read recently.

by 1Texan on Jan 19, 2008 9:12 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

awesome

When you return, you return with a vengeance.

No, "Mrs." Huckabee is not allowed to play in the NFL. It's got nothing to do with her being a "woman" or anything like that. The problem is that she tested positive for steroids, HGH, squirrel brains, coke, and the testicles (whole) of 14 interns.

Plus, she "made it rain" in a Golden Corral. There was chicken fried steak and raccoon kidneys everywhere. *sniff*

by bigfatdrunk on Jan 19, 2008 9:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

"Plus, she "made it rain" in a Golden Corral. There was chicken fried steak and raccoon kidneys everywhere."

This is the greatest thing I've read in 2008.

by MDC on Jan 20, 2008 10:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Land thief

that I went to HS with! By the way, it is just a Pipe Dream, but if any of you saw Josh Johnson play at East-West, wow, would love to see him with the Texans, but it will never happen. He is a great prospect, I think.

by Triple347 on Jan 19, 2008 9:28 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

RE: Trading Sage

Until Schaub proves he's physically durable, I wouldn't trade Sage after how well he played this year. Only if the package offered was OUTSTANDING and insane. A third rounder wouldn't be enough for me... now, if Schaub hadn't missed as many games, I'd definitely consider a third rounder.

by HoustonDiehards on Jan 20, 2008 1:35 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Egad

Really? You wouldn't part with Sage for a third-rounder? I'll readily admit that Sage is a monstrous reason why the Texans avoided their first losing season in franchise history, but you'd turn down acquiring a third-rounder if it meant bidding your 30 year old backup QB adieu?

Not being critical at all; just interested to hear what it would take to make you part with Sage.

Looking forward to a day when being a Texans fan doesn't mean that April is the highlight of my season...

by Tim on Jan 20, 2008 11:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm with you

I know we've talked about it before, but refusing a Sage-for-3rd offer is turning down serious value for a guy that you are hoping never, ever gets on the field. Not exactly smart business.

Besides, if Randy Moss is worth a third and we can get that for Sage, what the hell are we saying if we turn it down.

by MDC on Jan 21, 2008 9:11 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I would be saying..

... that Schaub hasn't proven himself.

He may not have have a "glass jaw" but then again he might.

I would be saying that with Shane Boyd at the helm for four or five games next year our season is shot.

You might say I am repeating myself. Because I am. Until we get to know Schaub better.. hedge your bets.

by TexasOutlaw on Jan 21, 2008 11:48 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

All true...

except we lack depth at a number of other key positions and, until we fill some of those, the odds of making the playoffs and doing anything therein with your backup QB are slim to none.

More importantly, if Schaub is indeed injury prone, is Sage the QB of the future? No. So what, we hold on to Sage only as long as we are also testing Schaub? Why not trade him for value an let Kubiak groom someone who is not already on the wrong side of 30?

by MDC on Jan 21, 2008 12:24 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Because..

If Schaub is down again I am confident our season is shot with the likes of Shane Boyd or whomever.

If Schaub is injury prone we will find out this year.

" We should hold on to Sage only as long as we are also testing Schaub ?"

Exactly.

Groom who ? Who do you have in mind that can come in and do the job that Rosenfels did last year ?

The odds of making the playoff with a back up are slim to none.

If Rosenfels is still on a roster minus one third round draft pick, and he has to step in for two or three games, we would have a better chance of making the playoffs.

So it is a value judgement. I am coming down on a less adventurous course of action. I don't think you gain as much as you risk by trading him this year.

We aren't going to agree on this.

by TexasOutlaw on Jan 21, 2008 2:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs