I'm done with Kubiak and Schaub. They need to go

[Keith]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I blame the play-calling more.

So the Texans run on 3rd and 9 before halftime, then have Schaub throw the pick 6 on 3rd and 4 in the 4th quarter to blow the lead. I am so confused by what the thought processes are here.

So yeah, I blame some of the playcalling on occasion, but Schaub has more than one option on every pass play called. That said, I think Schaub is a reflection of his head coach. It also seems Schaub should be allowed to audible more.

The problem with Schaub and Kubiak leaving is that it would seem to make Wade Phillips the de facto hire. Tough to see a scenario where McNair would bring in someone else and not promote Phillips. Not sure what we would have to go on to believe that Phillips would be a fantastic HC.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Keith

It also seems Schaub should be allowed to audible more.

Adam Wexler‏@awexler13m
Kubiak asked if Schaub had freedom to audible out of play called on 3rd & 4 (pick-6). He said no. Once it was called they just go. #Texans

The Texans have been criticized a lot recently for the four-year extension they gave Schaub last year on the eve of the 2012 season opener that totaled $69.7 million. Here's what I found while examining his contract:

The deal averages $15.5 million per year, with a $17.5 million signing bonus. It guarantees Schaub's base salary of $7.25 million this year. Between the signing bonus, this year's base, last year's base and a few workout bonuses, the Texans will have paid Schaub about $29.7 million of that contract by the end of this season.

If they decide Schaub isn't part of their future, they don't have to pay him one cent more. Schaub's 2014, 2015 and 2016 bases aren't guaranteed and in each of those seasons he has a roster bonus that pays him $1 million total if he's active for 16 games. That's $40 million the Texans would not be on the hook for if they didn't want to be.

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/pos...-out-this-year

So no more cash... but the dead money on the cap is still something to remember.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Keith

Adam Wexler‏@awexler13m
Kubiak asked if Schaub had freedom to audible out of play called on 3rd & 4 (pick-6). He said no. Once it was called they just go. #Texans


http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/pos...-out-this-year

So no more cash... but the dead money on the cap is still something to remember.

So if they cut Schaub then all they have to deal with is the remainder of the prorated bonus being accelerated to this year? So 17.5 over 5 years with 2 years accounted for already leaves %60 of the bonus unaccounted? Or almost $12 million in dead money? Now I am guessing there is a deadline (June 1?) that allows it to be spread over 2 seasons?

If we went much cheaper at QB it would be possible. Any rookie QB or a scrap heap guy (freeman), could be fit under the cap.

[barrett]

And let me just say the woman that ESPN took from the Chronicle is terrible. She is basically a Texans puff piece writer. Not one ounce of football analysis or anything close to critical. I went from checking the ESPN afc south blog everyday and complaining about what Kuharsky wrote to not checking or caring at all.

[chuck]

I get almost all of my Texans news from fan sites like this. Basically if by some miracle someone somewhere writes something about the Texans that isn't completely brain-dead it will get referenced. There is certainly no need to read with regularity the Chronicle or ESPN or any other similar lowest common denominator sort of site.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by chuck

I get almost all of my Texans news from fan sites like this. Basically if by some miracle someone somewhere writes something about the Texans that isn't completely brain-dead it will get referenced. There is certainly no need to read with regularity the Chronicle or ESPN or any other similar lowest common denominator sort of site.

Since we're on this subject, where in the world did network execs get the idea that HOF players make good analysts? Some of them have just stepped out of the clubhouse shower, put on a monkey suit and there they are in front of national cameras. You know how they do it...... four ex-jocks dressed in $1000 suits, standing in front the of camera spaced precisely 1 meter apart....eheh....

I'm not a fantasy football player but I swear I get better info listening to the geeky white (and black) guys on the fantasy football shows..... Sure beats listening to Michael Irvin mumble through an analysis....

[HPF Bob]

It's the "jockocracy" Howard Cosell used to rail about - sports color ananlyst is, he says, the one position in life where you can start at the very top of the profession with no qualifications and no training whatsoever other than to be a household name that has retired from the sport they are covering.

If Brett Favre wanted to be an NFL tv analyst, the four networks would be at his door in seconds vying to sign him and they'd put him on their top programs.

Then you toss in the female sideline reporters whose only qualification seems to be their looks and their ability to look firmly into the eyes of a head coach and ask them with a straight face about their feelings. The better ones can actually follow this up with a question about what the coach would like to see the team do better in the second half. I will say that at least the eye candy is better viewing than having Jim Gray or Tony Siragusa asking the same questions.

I still get a laugh out of Troy Aikman spending his first year in the booth with Moose Johnston as a second color analyst as if Aikman need to be protected from any blitzing questions from Joe Buck that might try to sack Troy for a loss.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by barrett

If we went much cheaper at QB it would be possible. Any rookie QB or a scrap heap guy (freeman), could be fit under the cap.

I'd be very curious what the 0-4 New York Giants would take in trade for Ryan Nassib. A 'top ranked' prospect to back up Eli Manning isn't expected to see the field anytime soon. So, I would think they merely drafted him to eventually trade him anyway. Cosell and Gruden like him too.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...eg-cosell-says

AND

http://www.syracuse.com/axeman/index...an_nassib.html

[popanot]

Originally Posted by Roy P

I'd be very curious what the 0-4 New York Giants would take in trade for Ryan Nassib. A 'top ranked' prospect to back up Eli Manning isn't expected to see the field anytime soon. So, I would think they merely drafted him to eventually trade him anyway. Cosell and Gruden like him too.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...eg-cosell-says

AND

http://www.syracuse.com/axeman/index...an_nassib.html

I'd send a #2 and Yates to WASH in a heartbeat for Cousins. Might even consider a #1. I think he'd be a perfect for Kubiak's system and I think he'd be a safer bet than any of the 2014 rookies coming in.

But yeah, Nassib's worth a look and maybe even Dysert as long as you can get them on the cheap. Crap, I'm almost thinking Weeden is worth a look for the short-term. Yikes!

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by popanot

But yeah, Nassib's worth a look

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WQSBJioY3Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcIL3iwGyMo

I'm wondering if Shanahan would part with Cousins since RG3 is such an injury risk. He's a pretty good insurance policy.

I'm really warming up to the Nassib trade idea. The Giants could use an extra pick in the draft it would appear, since starting 0-4, they should be in 'rebuilding mode' and eager to trade him. Can't see him moving Eli Manning to the bench, so in my mind, they drafted him with the intention of trading him later.

[Arky]

Came across this fair look at the Matt Schaub situation by Don Banks of SI:

Imagine how strange and downright novel it must feel to be Tony Romo about now, waking up each day as merely the second-most embattled NFL quarterback in Texas. He owes Houston's Matt Schaub for that one.

Watching Schaub's struggles in recent weeks, Bill Walsh's devastatingly succinct critique of Steve DeBerg, his first 49ers starting quarterback, keeps coming to mind: "He plays just good enough to get you beat.''

It's a cruel summation to render about anyone, especially a quarterback who has contributed significantly to the franchise's first two playoff berths in its history the past two seasons, but that's kind of where things stand with Schaub in his shaky Texans tenure at this juncture.

In his seventh season as Houston's full-time starter, he is no longer viewed as part of the solution, he is part of the problem. The main problem, judging by the sound and fury (and arson-related antics) coming from irate Houston fans and some in the media. And Schaub keeps getting the Texans beat with rookie-like mistakes, as he did again Sunday with that brutal pick-six to Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman in the final minutes of regulation.

If you're scoring at home, that makes three consecutive games in which Schaub has gifted his opponent with an interception return for a touchdown, a ghastly streak that has been matched by only three other quarterbacks in the past 20 years, according to research by the Elias Sports Bureau. That the Colts' Peyton Manning (in 2001) and the Broncos' John Elway (in 1994) are on that dubious list proves it's a passing slump that's survivable. At least if your last name is Manning or Elway, which pretty much exempts Schaub.

Schaub's glaring, game-turning miscue occurred much earlier in Week 3's Texans' loss at Baltimore, but it was just as ugly. With Houston dominating the game statistically despite scoring just six points on a pair of first-half field goals, Schaub threw a ghastly interception to Ravens inside linebacker Daryl Smith, who returned it 37 yards for a touchdown with 2:39 left in the first half, giving Baltimore a lead it would never relinquish in the 30-9 victory.

Those two picks have changed the tenor of the season in Houston for the time being, after the Texans rallied to gutty wins at San Diego and home against Tennessee in Weeks 1-2, getting off to a 2-0 for the second year in a row. With a month of the schedule gone, Houston (2-2) trails both Indianapolis and Tennessee (3-1) in the AFC South, and is in the midst of an ultra-challenging stretch that includes Sunday night's big-stage game at San Francisco, a Week 7 trip to turnaround-team-of-the-year Kansas City and a post-bye showdown against the visiting Colts in Week 9.

The Texans simply can't afford the kind of self-inflicted wounds Schaub keeps producing at this stage of their development. They're not an ascending AFC playoff wannabe any more, they're an established, two-time division champion trying to seize their Super Bowl window of opportunity. Right now. Did you see the look on J.J. Watt's bloodied face after the excruciating and inexcusable loss to the Seahawks? This is no time to preach patience and talk about learning from one's mistakes. The training wheels have long since come off for Schaub and the Texans.

Schaub is in his 10th NFL season and is supposed to be past the point of consistently making these kind of blunders. Houston's defense has given up just four touchdowns in the past three games, but Schaub has nearly matched that, serving up three all by himself. All told, Schaub has tossed at least one pick in Houston's past seven games, including the playoffs. The Texans are a decidedly mediocre 3-4 over that span, and after 2012's sparkling 11-1 start, Houston is just 4-6 in its past 10 games, including the postseason.

Schaub threw for 355 yards and a pair of touchdowns against Seattle's tough defense, completing 31-of-49 passes to eight receivers. But he also threw two interceptions, and Houston's three turnovers led to 13 Seahawks points in a game the Texans outgained Seattle 476-270. Schaub's record fell to 1-5 in his last six games against 2012 playoff teams, and the buzzards started circling.

The Texans fans who chose the rather sophomoric stunt of burning Schaub's jersey in the parking lot after the Seattle loss aren't what the veteran quarterback has to concern himself with. The trouble will come if his turnover struggles continue and his teammates or the coaching staff/front office start to view backup T.J. Yates or home-state fan favorite Case Keenum as a more viable QB option. We're not there now, but it's never a long way off in the NFL. Even for a guy like Schaub, who threw for 4,005 yards last season, with 22 touchdowns, a 64.3 completion percentage and a solid 90.7 passing rating.

Head coach Gary Kubiak and the Texans locker room sound solidly in Schaub's corner for now. But the Houston Chronicle report that Texans running back Arian Foster called a players-only meeting on Monday is a sure sign that all is not copacetic in Texans-land. As a result, Schaub will enter the primetime game against San Francisco with more pressure bearing down on his shoulder pads than he has ever experienced in his stint as a Texan. That's the reality of the situation, whether there's a decent reservoir of support for Schaub or not at the moment. He's one more damaging pick-six away from crisis territory.

Reading all the available tea leaves, I think it's all but over for Schaub in Houston and there won't be any way to put this genie completely back in the bottle. As many coaches and players believe, you're either getting better or you're getting worse in the NFL, and at best, Schaub's play has leveled off, putting him squarely among the ranks of quarterbacks who are good but far from elite. He has clearly helped Houston get to this point, but winning one playoff game and going out in the AFC divisional round two years running wasn't the goal the Texans were chasing. There were bigger dreams than that, but I'm convinced Schaub isn't the quarterback who's going to lead Houston those last few difficult rungs up the ladder. He was the right guy for a certain stage of the Texans' climb to relevance, but he hasn't raised his game as the stakes have increased.

Never a particularly demonstrative leader even when he was at his most successful, Schaub's body language and postgame demeanor seemed particularly defeated and downtrodden on Sunday. Understandable, of course, after that demoralizing turn of events. But that's when a quarterback needs to be his most defiant and resilient, and send the message to his coaches and teammates that his turnaround has already begun. At least mentally. Fiery isn't always good, but sometimes a dose of emotion is needed.

Schaub seemed at a total loss to explain or understand the game-changing mistakes that keep happening, and that makes it difficult to believe he knows how to fix the problem. Are there many who truly envision his best football being still to come in Houston? Chances seem better that it's in the past, but the Texans are a team that still must make the best of it with Schaub as their franchise quarterback in 2013. At least until they think they have no choice but to play Yates or Keenum.

According to a ProFootballTalk.com report on Monday, the Texans can escape from the four-year $69.7 million contract extension they awarded Schaub last September without great pain if they choose that path. The salary cap charges will be $3.5 million in 2014 if he's cut after June 1, and $7 million in 2015. But they also haven't guaranteed any of the $40 million he's still owed from the deal after 2013, and that's an important element of their out clause.

Schaub's play in the coming weeks will dictate which way his future unfolds in Houston. But the signs are beginning to look ominous. If the "just good enough to get you beat'' trend continues, his career as the Texans' No. 1 quarterback almost certainly won't.

[popanot]

So, Gary, your quote after the Seattle game regarding Schaub's pick-6 was something to the effect "It's on me. That was my fault. I have to put the kid in better position to make plays". So what's your excuse now? You're a frickin joke!

Schaub needs to go. And I don't give a crap if the season goes into the tank because of it. It's sickening to watch him play and sulk! If Kubiak is connected to Schaub, they both need to go. If Smith is connected to Kubiak, all three need to go! I'd add in the boob owner to that list but we all know it's impossible to get rid of him. It's amazing how devoid of balls this franchise has in its management structure. Anyone else would've benched the QB. Anyone else would've fired the POS ST's coach 4 years ago. This franchise continues to be 2 years too late in making adjustments and/or the right move to get on top.

I can see it now... The Texans will beat the pathetic Rams at home and the bozo's that run this franchise will say everything is OK and back on track.