Freeman: Would you?

[Joshua]

This is getting pretty far afield from the thread topic, but me and a buddy ran down the league yesterday and tried to guess which teams would trade for Schaub if the Texans decided to put him on the trade block. Even as a Schaub pessimist, I was surprised at how few teams I could make a credible claim for trading for him. By my count, I don't think there are more than 3 or 4 teams who would do so.

AFC South (Indy - no; Tenn - maybe but I doubt it; Jacksonville - maybe but I think they would rather tank and draft one)

AFC North (Pitt - no; Balt. - no; Clev - maybe but I think they would rather tank and draft one; Cincy - no)

AFC East (NE - no; Miami - no; NYJ - maybe but I doubt it; Buff. - no)

AFC West (Denver - no; KC - no; Oak - maybe but I doubt it; SD - maybe but this looks like basically a push)

NFC East (Dallas - no; NYG - no; Philly - no; Wash. - no)

NFC West (SF - no; Sea. - no; Ariz. - maybe; St. Louis - no)

NFC North (GB - no; Chic. - no; Minn. - probably; Det. - no)

NFC South (NOLA - no; Atlanta - no; Carolina - no; Tampa - probably)

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Joshua

This is getting pretty far afield from the thread topic, but me and a buddy ran down the league yesterday and tried to guess which teams would trade for Schaub if the Texans decided to put him on the trade block. Even as a Schaub pessimist, I was surprised at how few teams I could make a credible claim for trading for him. By my count, I don't think there are more than 3 or 4 teams who would do so.

AFC South (Indy - no; Tenn - maybe but I doubt it; Jacksonville - maybe but I think they would rather tank and draft one)

AFC North (Pitt - no; Balt. - no; Clev - maybe but I think they would rather tank and draft one; Cincy - no)

AFC East (NE - no; Miami - no; NYJ - maybe but I doubt it; Buff. - no)

AFC West (Denver - no; KC - no; Oak - maybe but I doubt it; SD - maybe but this looks like basically a push)

NFC East (Dallas - no; NYG - no; Philly - no; Wash. - no)

NFC West (SF - no; Sea. - no; Ariz. - maybe; St. Louis - no)

NFC North (GB - no; Chic. - no; Minn. - probably; Det. - no)

NFC South (NOLA - no; Atlanta - no; Carolina - no; Tampa - probably)

GMs and HCs get judged first off wins and losses and 2nd off their ability to obtain and develop a QB. Occasionally you can miss 1 time, but missing twice generally gets you fired. Because of this the teams that would be interested are not necessarily the teams where he would be an upgrade.

An interested team would need to view him as an upgrade AND have a coach who is approaching the end of his deal and needs to win now rather than 2-3 years from now. Although even in that setting some coaches try to get a rookie QB in there to convince ownership they should be given more time and patience since they are developing a rookie QB and nobody knows how that will turn out (clearly what Schiano is doing).

Aside from those situations, you would need a team to really invest in Schuab as their guy of the future and I cannot see any NFL team giving up draft picks to do that, even if he is better than what half the teams in the league have. Far more likely is Schaub ends up cut if we ever replace him.

[HPF Bob]

I'm not saying Yates and Keenum would put the Texans over the top only that they cost us nothing in terms of lost draft choices to find out. Yates does have better mobility than Schaub and (it seems in limited exposure) a stronger passing arm. What Yates lacks is experience. Keenum, to me, is a harder sell even though I rooted for him at UH. But he does seem like a valuable backup and the Texans must agree because they chose to keep him rather than expose him to waivers.

[Nconroe]

My opinion is I would not try to make Josh Freeman our QB of future. His own team voted him out of team captain, so not a good leadership indicator.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

My opinion is I would not try to make Josh Freeman our QB of future. His own team voted him out of team captain, so not a good leadership indicator.

His own team voted him in 4 years in a row before the HC feuded with him. There were multiple articles that the HC had something to do with fixing that vote. The same HC is feuding with other veterans and the team is coming apart at the seams. Now the HC has gone to a rookie QB to try to lengthen the leash before he is fired.

I think passing on Freeman is fine, but I wouldn't pass on him for anything that occured with Schiano in the last 10 months.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I'm not saying Yates and Keenum would put the Texans over the top only that they cost us nothing in terms of lost draft choices to find out. Yates does have better mobility than Schaub and (it seems in limited exposure) a stronger passing arm. What Yates lacks is experience. Keenum, to me, is a harder sell even though I rooted for him at UH. But he does seem like a valuable backup and the Texans must agree because they chose to keep him rather than expose him to waivers.

I agree if Freeman cost us anything more than a 4th, and if he didn't come with a seriously reduced contract. Really, the interest would not be more than marginal, especially when we could go after signing him for free after the season (to a deal we create). I would love to sign him in the offseason to a Leinhart type deal if he doesn't get big offers to start and he is smart enough to know Kubiak can rebuild a guy in a backup role.

[cadams]

i wouldn't go after freeman. to me he seems like a younger schaub, though maybe with a few more physical tools. if he was out there on the free agent market and you needed a veteran backup, then i would be fine with that, but nothing more.

[HPF Bob]

Originally Posted by barrett

I agree if Freeman cost us anything more than a 4th, and if he didn't come with a seriously reduced contract. Really, the interest would not be more than marginal, especially when we could go after signing him for free after the season (to a deal we create). I would love to sign him in the offseason to a Leinhart type deal if he doesn't get big offers to start and he is smart enough to know Kubiak can rebuild a guy in a backup role.

If Kubiak felt strongly about him and he was sold on the idea that he would have to earn the job, I am okay with.this. I suspect, though, that he would find better offers.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

If Kubiak felt strongly about him and he was sold on the idea that he would have to earn the job, I am okay with.this. I suspect, though, that he would find better offers.

He might get more direct paths to a starting job or maybe a longer deal somewhere else, but if I am a young QB who was considered a franchise guy just a few years ago, I'd prefer a 1 year deal with a QB teacher who can restore my image and give me access to a higher level job with a longer term pay off.

Basically I would bet on myself and take a 1 year deal (especially since backup QB has almost no injury risk), and I would hope to take a much better job from Schaub at best, or rehab my image and have a better chance at a good job at worst. The guy is still only 25 and has the time that he doesn't have to panic. If he'd rather go compete for a cleveland type job, I wouldn't want him anyways.

[barrett]

And just for perspective, when the relationship soured between Freeman and Schiano it was around the midpoint of last season. Since then TB is 1-10, worst record in football. Before that point Freeman had 16 TDs and 3 INTs, and 8.6 YPA on the season. Combine that with a fantastic 2010 (25/6 TD/INT at 22 years old), all the measurables, and you see why a good QB coach would look at him and say, "I can get consistency out of that guy."

[chuck]

Originally Posted by barrett

... I'd prefer a 1 year deal with a QB teacher who can restore my image and give me access to a higher level job with a longer term pay off.

How effective is Kubiak as a quarterback coach? I've been in the vanguard at promoting this idea, but a little thought proves it to be little more than a myth.

Let's see whom he's tutored as Texans and what they've accomplished after their Texans tenure:

David Carr: No need to scratch at scar tissue here

Sage Rosenfels: No meaningful playing time post-Texans

Rex Grossman: Went to Washington and briefly started

Dan Orlovsky: Started a few games in Indy in 2011 including a win over the Texans, no success beyond that

Matt Leinart: Failed in Oakland and Buffalo, that should tell you something

Jake Delhomme: Nothing as a Texan, nothing post-Texans

Jeff Garcia: Nothing as a Texan, nothing post-Texans

Matt Schaub: I don't know if you could argue that he's better today than he was in 2007

Maybe Kubiak is a great quarterback coach but it certainly isn't reflected in the play of the quarterbacks he's coached with the Texans.