Honestly, the Texans have some of the worst fans in the world. That's why Wade Phillips had to be specific in his press conference Wednesday saying "The true Texans fans will support Matt". There's no lie behind Texans fans being in despair. When Matt Schaub threw a Pick-6 against Seattle, after the game, a fan purchased a jersey and burned it in the parking lot. When Matt was injured against St. Louis, the fans booed him off the field and threw ice at him while on the bench. Another "fan" showed up to terrorize Schaub at his home.
I wonder how those fans feel today.
In a press conference, Wade Phillips made two huge announcements. The first being that running back Ben Tate is now out for the remainder of the season. The second being that with Case Keenum having a thumb injury, he will be inactive, and that Matt Schaub will be the starter for Houston this Sunday against the Denver Broncos. At hearing this, many fans took off right away declaring this game as an automatic loss, and saying T.J Yates should start instead. It should be said that T.J should get a chance, but not this week. This game has a lot on the line for Denver, and who better to ruin it for Peyton Manning than Mr. Schaub?
Everyone hates Matt for the obvious reason; he threw four interceptions returned for touchdown in four consecutive games, which is an NFL record. But everyone seems to forget that Matt was the one who led the Texans back from a 28-7 hole against San Diego and charged the Texans back against the Titans the following week in overtime. Also, in coming off the bench for Case Keenum, Matt came close to beating Oakland and Jacksonville. The job could just not be finished, but in retrospect, Matt put the Texans in better position to win those games than Case Keenum ever could.
On the T.J Yates argument... Well, there's a reason he isn't part of the thought process right now. After Schaub was hurt against the Rams, T.J Yates came in to throw two interceptions, with one being returned for a touchdown. When Yates was the quarterback for Houston in the "Next Man Up" season, Yates went 2-3 as a starter, throwing 3 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. But to give credit where credit is due, Yates pulled the comeback against Cincinnati to launch the Texans to the playoffs, and won the Texans first ever playoff game against Cincinnati as well, before falling to Baltimore the next week. Keep in mind, Matt Schaub led the Texans to a 7-3 record before anyone knew who T.J Yates was. And how about last season, when Matt led the Texans to a 12-4 record, the best in Texans history? Against Jacksonville in 2012, Matt put up the second most yards in a single game in NFL history with 521 yards! Looking back at it, Matt is a two time Pro Bowler and led the league in passing in 2009.
But let's look back to last season against Denver. Matt threw four touchdowns to four different recievers. Including a 60 yard bomb to Andre Johnson, and a 52 yard strike to Kevin Walter. The Matt Schaub led Texans beat the Peyton Manning led Broncos 31-25 in Mile High Stadium. This time around, it will be in Reliant Stadium, which may not be a good thing either. When Matt filled in for Case Keenum against the Raiders, the crowd booed loud enough to make the Texans need to go to a silent snap count. Lets be real here, the city of Houston HATES Matt Schaub.
When Gary Kubiak was fired as Texans coach, Bob McNair, the Texans owner declared that Keenum was the starter the rest of the way. With Keenum now injured, Matt is on his final stand. But before you go, take a look at the article image. Do you see the C on the chest of Matt Schaub? That means he's a captain. The team has total total confidence in him. So before you go blasting Matt again like a bunch of raveging dogs, make sure you know who you're messing with. This will be the biggest game in the life of Matt Schaub, so make sure you don't miss it, because the Denver Broncos should consider themselves on upset alert.
Matt Schaub has nothing left to lose. He's already lost his job as starting quarterback, and he wants it back. That's the type of guy any team should be scared of. He will do whatever he can to regain the trust of the fans, and possibly turn some heads around the league should the Texans cut him after the season. Matt Schaub and the Texans have nowhere to go but up.