The New #8

Watch the Houston Texans QB. Watch how the new #8 gets the ball out of his hands. Look at how the offense follows his example. Its a new feeling for the 2007 Houston Texans as they have a new quarterback in 6'5, 237lb Matt Schaub.

Coming out of Virginia University, he was predicted to be a late round selection, which he was as a 3rd round, #90 pick. The draft analysts felt he was a good short to immediate passer with good awareness. They didn't think his arm was strong enough or accurate enough on deep balls. Time will tell if all these things are true.

Things we know now are he is a excellent leader, very humble and deserves the chance to prove he is a starting QB. He has all the intangibles. When you watch him in games and training camp, you can tell he has a presence over the team that few have. When he is in the huddle, everyone is attentive and his teammates respect him more than they have any one else at that position in the franchises short history. He isn't cocky and all his passes are on time, either in stride or away from the defender. That's the way QB position is supposed to play. Plus, the offensive line seems to be having a lot more fun since they have a quarterback that knows how to avoid sacks by getting rid of the ball.

All the Texan receivers seem to be joyous. They all touch the ball and none have egos. At least not enough to T.O. a football team. I try not to compare Schaub to, the former #8 but its easier said than done. For this argument, we will just say Carr who, like he was never a Texan.

Most Texan fans are impressed what who is now behind center and have forgotten what it took to get him here. He is the quarterback chosen to lead this team to respectability and eventually the playoffs

Skip to Jail.

Not to long ago, he was manning the point for a team with aspirations of having a deep playoff push. Now he sits in a NY city jail for of all things, slashing a guys throat in a nightclub brawl. Yes, brawl. According to the Houston Chronicle, Skip was with a member of his entourage, which just sounds bad thanks to Pacman, and his friend got into a argument- altercation. With Skip being the team player that he is, he jumped in and slashed the guys throat. Tough way to go out when you know you are about to traded. Mind you this is his second arrest in the last month. His fisrt was arrest was for getting into a altercation with a parking lot attendant outside of a local Houston club. Why these celebrities just cant party at home. Its alot safer.

I find it hard to believe that anyone will want this point guard now, but with the way Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been making deals, i wouldn't be surprised to see Skip wearing stripes, i mean another teams colors. Truthfully, i don't think Skip is much of a trouble maker, but more of a victim of losing his focus. Where he is from, basketball is life. Since the Rockets have added all those point guards in Stevie Franchise, Mike "Who" Jones, and Aaron "the future" Brooks, Skip has become expendable and he knows it. It just seems as if he is forcing a release instead of allowing himself to be traded. He better be careful or the next team he plays for will have bars surrounding the court.

By Bye Stros

Its tough how fans forget what their teams have done for them. The Astros were once the toast of the town. The Rockets were annually 1st round knock out victims while the Texans where begging for victories, while the Astros were fresh of a World Series appearance. How times have changed. GM Tim Purpura and Manger Phil Garner were fired today relieving owner Drayton McClane of having to wash his hands with them in the summer. I say good riddance.

Purpura best moves were in 05 when he stuck with the youth of the minor leagues and refused to trade players he helped develop. That same loyalty was his downfall as he refused to trade players that were certainly under performing. His trade for Jason Jennings killed his relationship with the owner and his ability to not sign any of his top draft picks buried him. Their depth in the minor leagues was already terrible so imagine what the foreseeable future will be like now. Garner on the other hand was just stuck with a roster he ultimately could no longer handle. He always made decisions that made you wonder but when you have Clemens, Petitte, Berkman and Lidge, when he is doing well, you can afford to make mistake because stars sometimes erase those mistakes. The duo of Purpura and Scrap Iron deserved to be canned because you have a GM who cant provide the material and a coach who cant get the best of what he has. The Astros were not fundamentally sound nor defensive which is directly related to the coaches. I say farewell to the Stros for 07 and 08 till they are able to get it together. We will always have the Rockets to entertain us. Ahem, Go Texans. Yeah, is said it.

Not Your Ordinary Texans

It’s that time of the year. Basketball is far away and the 2007 NFL season is rapidly approaching. Thank god for 2 more weeks. Thanks to the local Astros, this has been a long, terrible summer. Thankfully the Houston Texans training camp and pre season has kept me occupied. I have been a die hard fan of this team since their inception. Might I add, im a real fan, unlike others who jump ship when the team doesn’t go the direction they want. A la Vince Young. Through the last 5 years, I have seen two different regimes, two different quarterbacks, some good and bad draft choices and some decisions that do make you scratch your head. Im hear to tell you, these are not my freshman year of college Texans. A few things i've seen and know.
1. Far from the Capers and Casserly era, our new GM and coach, Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak respectively, seem to know what they are doing regarding a football team. They have made smart decisions within the draft and free agency. Let me start by the notion of Mario Williams being a bust and undoubtedly the wrong choice. In a way I mostly agree that he was the wrong choice #1 overall, because VY would have raised the standards of the Texans a year sooner than what they are now. (Might I add, the standards are higher now than they have ever been). Mario is not or will not be a bust. Ill explain later. Kubiak and Co. have found street free agents and made them into potential starters and added depth. In the 2nd round of last year’s draft, we picked up the reigning defensive ROY in Demeco Ryans. 32 other teams passed on him which makes him an excellent choice. In the 5 round, we picked Owen Daniels whose production slipped towards the end of the season because of injuries. Daniels still almost produced 500 yard receiving. Two tackles were chosen in Eric Winston and Charles Spencer. Both started most of the season with Spencer suffering a career threaten injury. Winston will be a future pro bowler, mark my words. It’s too early to rank this class but early results show it as a top ten class that would make even Mack Brown proud.
2. Carr is gone. This in itself helps the Texans in many ways. He single handedly crippled the Texans. He held on to the ball too long and by watching Schaub in training camp, you can tell the new #8 adds more to this team than Carr ever could. Schaub gets the ball out and finds the open man. No more force feeding the ball to Andre Johnson and bad throws. I haven’t seen one bad throw by Schaub in preseason. Yes, I know it isn’t the regular season, but it is still impressive. His teammates respect him more and he has added a contagious swagger to the offense.
3. Better skill players. With the added dimension of 3rd round pick Jacoby Jones out of Lane College, our WR core is almost complete. We have speed, veterans and possesional type receivers. Kevin Walter may not be the best #2, but he runs great routes and doesn’t mind doing whatever it takes to help the team. Jones plays so many spots, it’s hard for opponents to defend him. Everyone has seen what he has done to our punt return game so watch out for him. (Great 3rd round choice Smith). Let’s not forget Ahman Green. He may not be in his prime but he is still a better back than anything we have ever had. He hits the hole hard and can block. He won’t be relied on to carry 20 plus times a game so people won’t have to be cautious of him being injured. That should make all those fantasy owners happy.
4. The offensive line can actually block. I don’t care much for Salaam at LT and he is our weak spot but as a unit since last year, you can see the difference in what they have become with Schaub under center. Winston is steady at RT and so is Chester Pitts at RG. At LG Fred Weary is pretty average but still good enough for our zone blocking scheme. With zone blocking its more of being a unit than individually being a great blocker.
5. The defense is ready to break through. We don’t have all the playmakers we need in the secondary but we are suffice for now. Dunta Robinson is becoming a household name alongside Faggins who is ok. Watch out for Jamar Fletcher. He can be scary good as a nickel corner. Our line backing crew is set with Morlon Greenwood and Danny ‘Hammer” Clark next to our reigning ROY. On paper, our Dline looks great but needs to play up to its potential. Amobi Okoye and Travis Johnson have shown flashes but aren’t there yet. Hopefully this is the season we see dominance with this line. With the moves I have seen made, im optimistic they will get it together. Mario Williams is not the key to this season. Whoever is on the other end spot is. Whether it is Babin or Orr, Mario has to have a disruptive speed rusher next to him for him to be overly effective. As a run stuffer, Mario is our top defensive man and is dominant with it. His problem is that he is not a pass rusher to the dismay of many. At NC State he had Manny Lawson racking up the sacks while Mario played the intimidator. His sacks came from team’s game planning on stopping Lawson and his speed. It may be a few seasons before we see the Mario Williams- Julius Peppers comparisons ever being similar. I don’t see it happening but it’s something to shoot for. He being the #1 pick was a reach, yes, but he is a good player now, so no reason not to expect more and better consistency with him. VY would have been the better pick but it’s not Mario’s fault where he was picked, so haters get over it.
Ill never become a Titans fan. My loyalty and Houstonian insurance wouldn’t allow it plus outside of Vince, they are the 05 Texans. Hate it or love it, a legacy is building. Prediction Texans 9-7.