Schaub to Miss "Some Time"
 

Uh Oh.....

@TexansVoice: Kubiak: Matt Schaub has a significant foot injury that is being evaluated currently....will see specialists...will miss some time

@TexansVoice: Matt Leinart will start against Jacksonville

@NickScurfield: Kubiak on Schaub: "Gonna miss some time. We're going to do everything we can to get it evaluated correctly and see if we can get him back."

@evansilva: ESPN's Adam Schefter on #Texans QB Matt Schaub: "Earlier this morning, I was told that he has a Lisfranc injury."

Don't know the severity of the injury but it doesn't look good either way. If he needs surgery then he's done for the season. If he doesn't need surgery then we'll be lucky to get him for the playoffs. Again, don't know the severity of the injury but the fact that he played throughout the game still leaves me with some optimism.

Bum...Mer. Can we get up on Matt Leinart in the next two weeks?

Oy, 610 reporting more of the same from a Kubes press conference...

Wouldn't you know it? :rolleyes:

Realistically, it's next-man-up and Leinart's the man.... Only thing I see different will be the passing game - might be a little more dinkier and dunkier... My inner-optimist says this is not the end of the world.... Leinart is a quality backup, IMO....

This is why we can't have nice things!!!1

From the Chron:

We won't win important games with leinhart. This is disaster.

And then there's this.....

@adamschefter: Filed to ESPN: Texans quarterback Matt Schaub is out for the season with a lis franc injury. Matt Leinart from here on in.

ESPN crawl Breaking News: Matt Schaub out for season per Adam Schefter.

Gulp. Well, if Leinart's going to re-establish himself as a potential NFL starter now's his chance. Kubiak supposedly really wanted him back this summer, so we'll see.

It'll be interesting to see if they bring in a veteran to compete with Yates for the #2 spot, but the picking are pretty slim. Patrick Ramsey, who they had some interest in a few years ago? Craig Nall?

Leinart will do enough for our offense to limp into the playoffs. Then we'll get our butts handed to us in the first round by Baltimore or the Jets.... We're done

Obviously not good news. Kubiak on 610 would not confirm lizfranc injury or out for season. But Scgaub would be seeing specialists this next wk. And Leinart will start against Jacksonville.

If it is lizfranc this is a mid foot fracture. Severity depends on if bone shifted.

I had this in HS , wore a cast with heel and walked on it for 4 weeks then rehabbed two weeks so must have been a minor hairline fracturre.

I think Leinart can do ok, we will see soon enough.

We do have a good defense and good ground game and Andre coming back so trying to stay positive.

We need an exorcism.

Please, please, please don't take him to Yao's foot surgeon.

Roethlisberger leaves Houston with a boot on his foot and doesn't miss a week. Schaub leaves Tampa with less than that and he's done for the year.

Just shoot me.

A quick look at Wikipedia says non-surgery treatment is out six weeks. If screws are inserted, recovery time is 6-12 weeks. That tells me that there's a chance he could come back for the playoffs in a best-case scenario. Keep in mind, those estimations are for typical patients, not athletes.

If we can play well enough to win the division with our backup QB and get to the playoffs, then the season is a success and its the greatest year ever for the franchise. So if we can go .500 in the last 6 games and end up with 10 wins the division is ours, but don't think that will be easy but it is still doable with Lienert.
No you are right, the hope to end up with something like a 12-4 record and get a bye and eventually a shot at the big game in Indy in February is surely gone with Schaubs injury, but crap happens and there's nothing we can do about it.

Haynesworth's Curse
 

That bum Haynesworth always wanted to hurt Schaub. Now he’s got his wish.

And to add further insult, Roethlisberger broke his hand Sunday vs. the Bengals - not expected to miss any playing time.

Just shoot me.

If Alex Smith can win, why can't Leinart?

Kubes is considered a QB "guru" and he wanted him back. And don't bring up Carr, he said what he had to say as he was trying to get a job. He came into the season knowing his ass was on the line, and he chose to bring him back. He's got the bye week, and a scrimmage against Jax to get him ready.

And yes, I am scrounging for any sort of optimism I can find.......

I'm sittin here thinking how glad I am that we have two weeks for Kubs to work with Leinhart to get him ready for Jax. We will need to be able to run the ball, as well as pass, because Del Rio will have a defense that will eat up a one diminsional game. And we have to change up the way we are going to pass block because Leinhart is a lefthanded gunner. Winston beware.

maybe they fall apart, but anyone who thinks that they can't win 3-4 of their remaining games with leinart is not being realistic. schaub is important to this team, but they aren't going to turn into the manningless colts due to this. the defense is good, the running game is good, and they play jax, carolina, indy, and tenn in 4 of their remaining games. they should be able to win all 4 of those no manner who the qb is. the defense gave up a total of 28 points in the three games against the titans, colts and jags(and these points were on drives starting at the texans' 8 and 26). the defense is not going to all of the sudden cave, the o-line isn't going to all of the sudden forget how to block, and foster and tate aren't going to all of the sudden start sucking.

this is definitely a blow to hopes of an afc title, but they should still get to at least 10 wins unless leinart is absolutely awful.

How bad can Leinart be? The team doesn't need him to be Joe Montana, they need him to hand the ball off to whichever running back is standing back there and to throw passes over the middle to the tight end and to roll out and stretch the defense with a shot downfield every now and then. Don't fumble, don't throw stupid interceptions. That's it. It's not like Schaub was doing much more than what I've mentioned.

Although I am very concerned about Leinart's being left-handed. Did you know a left-handed quarterback puts a different spin on a pass? In fact it spins COMPLETELY OPPOSITE to what a right-handed quarterback throws!

A few other lefty QB who have done pretty well are Steve Young, kenny Stabler, Boomer Esiason, Mark Brunnell, and Michael Vick. Hope Leinert ends up being mentioned with those guys in future.

For what it's worth, Trent Dilfer brought up the very same point yesterday and added that everyone will have to adapt to a lefty quarterback, from the runners taking the handoffs to the linemen who have to protect the blindside.

So, yes, I expect more drops and more botched exchanges.

Handoffs happen with both hands, and they have nothing to do with what hand the QB throws with.

Leinart
 

Matt Leinart has drastically improved since he played with Arizona. Don’t be surprised if the Texans win a playoff game. He was smart to choose Houston over Seattle.

But handoffs happen like the snap exchange - instantaneously and without much thought because there are more important things the player has to focus on. Handoffs are like a dance and both partners have to have the timing down to the point that they can do it without thinking about it.

Supposedly, the Texans have been giving Leinart a healthy portion of reps in practice the past few weeks because Schaub was banged up so maybe this won't be an issue but if the exchanges become one more worry in the play execution, that could be a major problem.

So your concern is general familiarity rather than left handedness? I would hope an NFL team would be able to take care of a handoff. But if not we have 2 weeks of practice to worry about that.

.....And correct any mishaps on exchanges. Also for the WRs to get used to a left handed spiral on the ball. Two weeks should be plenty. And he is not exactly a stranger, he has been taking snaps all preseason, and during the week sometimes during practice. We should be ok in that regard.

I believe it was Owen Daniels that said that they've been catching balls from Leinart for more than a year now so it is not a concern.

I'm ambidextrous and can throw the football with both hands, I like to freak out people by throwing with alternate hands while playing catch. The spin is different, but it's not an issue. It's a mental thing. Now the ball will react differently with a left hander, but NFL receivers should have no issues with the change to a left hander.

The change of QB is a big deal, the change to a left hander is the lesser issue.

BTW I think Leinart will be OK in our offense.

My biggest initial concern about Lienart is that he's had virtually no exposure to "game speed" in 2 or 3 years (exhibition/preseason games don't count). And that's really disappointing because of the opportunities that Kubiak has had to put him in games this year where the victory was sewed-up early enough to get Leinart on the field with the first unit. Besides that's being "smart" to get your starting QB off of the field when there's no longer any doubt about the outcome of the contest.
And you can bet that we'll learn early in Leinarts first game with the Jags game about his ability to throw ball, because the Jags will load up the box with 8 or even 9 people to defense the run. OK yes that means Andre will have only one man on him, but Leinart still has to get the ball to Andre accurately under pressure.

What Do Matt Leinart’s Teammates Think of Him?
 

Check out this great article about Leinart and what his teammates think of him.

What would you expect them to say to the media?
Very few speak the truth, and almost all of their quotes are the same identical statements as when Arian, Mario, and Dre went down. We will see next Sunday whether or not Leinart can pull this off or not.

I am clinging on to hope that he can manage the O and not do anything stupid, but the logic isn't there. If he can't succeed with the weapons and the D he has, he's done.

We shall see.

I'm hoping that Leinart succeeds big time and makes his trade value go up to a 1st round or possible a multiple pick type of trade.

Kubiak has been in this situation before when he was the Offensive Coordinator for Denver. Bubby Brister in 1997 replaced John Elway for part of a game and started 5 games, The Broncos won all 5 games and later won the Super Bowl.

Granted Brister had started in the league with some success prior to this run, Leinart has not had success yet.

Again I will state that I like Leinart's chances and I hope we can trade him for a high draft pick after the season. I hear the Redskins are looking for a QB....

I agree that if Leinart fails in the next 6 games he is done as a possible starter in the league.

This Leinart's shot at redemption and no doubt he will hear the word "bust" around his name for the rest of his life. If he's not supremely motivated to play his best now, he never will be. Kubiak, for all the grief he gets, has crafted a no-excuse offense. He has the backs and the line to make yards on the ground. He has two solid downfield threats, good dump-off options and a play-action scheme that should guarantee open looks downfield if he can sell the play fakes.

IOW, if Leinart can't excel in this offense, he'll never excel as an NFL quarterback. He has to know that. This is his chance to jump-start his career and be the star he always assumed he was. If he lives up to his potential, we'll be fine. If not, we give Yates a chance.

So what would be a realistic expectation for the final 6 games?... 4-2? 3-3?

Tough to get a read on it due to a QB that hasn't played in 2.5 years, and is now in a new Offense. I think we will still be favored in 5 of our last 6 (all but Cincy), for whatever that is worth.

Realistic if Leinart plays average to above average, 6-0 is possible. IMO worse case would be 3-3.

So I am going 4-2 as my goal.

See I think the floor would have been 3 wins with Schaub, but with Leinert it might be the ceiling ? Hope you're right and I'm wrong.