The Texans had to do something dramatic at the quarterback position. It was the worst kept secret in the league that they had more than a wandering eye for a new signal-caller. Most folks assumed Jake Plummer would be the guy. Then we heard about overtures to Jeff Garcia and breaking bread with Patrick Ramsey. The Texans now have their man in Matt Schaub.
This moves represents a big risk, but upon further review, any move they made would be risky. Garcia would have cost a lot of cash for an NFL AARP member. Plummer is probably truly retired anyway. Ramsey has enough of a track record to determine that he is a backup at best. Sticking with Carr might necessitate riot police. Drafting anyone from a Quinn to a Kolb is hardly a lock. But Schaub has an appealing upside and enough game experience to indicate that he can do much more than hold a clipboard.
Sure the reported price to acquire Schaub is steep. But QBs in the NFL are like pitchers in baseball, valuable. And Schaub was a coveted commodity attracting interest from the Vikings and the Jets in recent years. In fact, it's hard to think of a backup with more buzz in the last few seasons.
Going to the backup-quarterback well conjures up acquisitions that have both failed and flourished:
The Good: Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Delhomme, Brett Favre
The Not So Good:Rob Johnson, Scott Mitchell
Fan reaction has been mixed so far. The bottom line is that we won't know what we have until we see it on the field. Some of the Atlanta players are unhappy. They have been around Schaub for a few years and think he's a starter. I had Wes Durham, the voice of the Falcons, on my show Wednesday and he said many Atlanta fans are upset because they thought Schaub is worth at least a top-five pick.
The thing that the coaches like about Schaub is that in limited action he's shown the ability to be accurate and has a thirst for the big play. How he performs when presented with a legitimate chance to start is anyone's guess. The Texans are guessing he's the answer at the most important position on the field.**
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