This time, the good folks at Scouts, Inc. have seen fit to rank the QB situations around the NFL (Insider required).  In keeping with the general anti-Texans bias that so pervades this world that we live in, here's what they said about Houston:

25.  Houston Texans

"David Carr is gone and ex-Atlanta backup Matt Schaub is now the face of the franchise. Schaub is a guy that coach Gary Kubiak has a lot of faith in, and in limited playing time in Atlanta, he really flashed exciting physical skills. He has a big arm, is smart and has excellent intangibles and leadership skills. All he needs now is playing time, and his chance for success is very high. Sage Rosenfels will be the backup. While he lacks Schaub's arm strength, he is very accurate, calm under pressure and a solid No. 2 guy. The No. 3 job will likely go to Bradlee Van Pelt, who played for Kubiak in Denver."

While it's certainly nice to read that The Schaub's "chance for success is very high," how can anyone say that the Texans' QB situation is worse, top to bottom, than the Raiders?  Or the Lions?  Or the Jags?  Or the Falcons?

Matt Schaub is unproven.  We get it.  But I can't help but feel that the stock has fallen purely because of where he was traded.  Remember--this is a guy that the NFL was salivating over when he was holding a clipboard.  Now that he's finally got a chance to start, it seems like people are coming out of the woodwork to opine that he hasn't done anything in the NFL yet and isn't a sure thing.  Which, of course, is accurate.  But how does the guy go from "the next big thing" to "the next David Carr" BEFORE HE'S TAKEN A SINGLE SNAP IN THE INTERIM?

I'll tell you how.  It's because he's a Texan.  Thanks to the various "woe is Carr," "no offensive line," and/or the "shoulda picked Reggie Bush" angles (among others), the shine has faded on Matt Schaub's star simply because he's now taking the snaps at Reliant.  Not to go "us against the world" or anything, but that's absurd.  And I have complete faith that Matt Schaub will have his critics eating their tired words come January 2008.