Who In the Hell is Next Man Up Now?

[HPF Bob]

I think they need to stick with Yates until it's clear he can't cut it or gets injured. He's the best option we have at the moment and anyone else we get is going to be rusty and unfamiliar to the rest of the team, even Chopper.

We have a running game and we have a defense. We even got some great kick returns yesterday and a clutch kick from Rackers. There's 50 other players who need to suck it up and reach a higher level to give Yates the time to work his way into this.

Tom Brady was once a fifth-round rookie. So was Terrell Davis. Arian Foster was once a UDFA. They took advantage of the opportunities when they presented itself and Yates could too. He's got a talented cast around him and a defense that can make a lead hold up. Let's give Yates time to get up to speed and know the season is not lost.

Of course, I've been watching Tim Tebow the past four weeks and they manage to get it done with a lot poorer personnel than the Texans have. Our schedule isn't that tough the rest of the way and we have a two-game lead in the division. We've got a cushion heading to the finish line which may be just enough time to get Yates up to speed for the playoffs.

[WMH]

Do I think we will win another game besides Indy, I can't honestly say yes, despite the resurgence of our D. IMO, we've just become.......The Jacksonville Jaguars. Ok, maybe its not that bad since we actually have Dre, but its not too far from the truth. How did we run the ball in the 2nd half yesterday, or even the 1st half? This was against a team that was missing 5 starters from a 3-8 team. FIVE. Expect to see much of the same for the next 5 weeks, and we won't see another O this year, that is inept as Jax. Last part is a HUGE factor.

Another factor to consider is Time of Possession. If the O can't sustain drives, and the D is constantly on the field, how long can we really expect that to last? We have improved beyond what words I could type, and WAY beyond what I had hoped they would become, but if they are on the field for 40 minutes a game, we "could" be in big trouble.

Yates wasn't that great in college to begin with. Seen him play a couple of times, and wasn't real impressed. 5th rd. was a reach for him, but it gave Kubiak a late round toy to play with.

IMO, we are at the point where we are going to have to win 13-10, 17-13 games. I seriously doubt our O will be able to put up 24+ pts. Can we do that, sure. Guaranteed, not a chance.

Wish I was more optimistic, but I think we are screwed.

Beating Indy alone may get us the division crown, but that is about it.

[cadams]

jax always plays the texans well. always has. also, as i said, let's see how they do this weekend before deciding thier fate. maybe they are terrible with yates, but i think you are a bit quick to discount jax's defense. they were tackling well yesterday, and they have beaten both tenn and Baltimore this year. no doubt they are a terrible team, but those games show that they can get up for a game from time to time.

LZ was talking about the running issues this morning, and he said he went back and looked and jax wasn't doing anything unusual on defense (stacking the box, etc), the jax defensive line was just beating the o-line on most plays. which hasn't happened much this year. i think it is more likely that the running game will be 90% of what it was with schaub than like it was yesterday going forward.

like i said, i don't think they will be a big player in the playoffs, but you seem to be discounting the fact that the defense is going to keep the offense in games over the last part of the season, and i think saying they will most likley lose 3 of the next 4 is a bit pessimistic, though i completely understand why you would be.

[painekiller]

Not sure who it was on here that was calling Leinart the check down king, but they appeared to have called that correctly. Leinart was dumping the ball off on all but one play and AJ pushed off on that one and we went backwards.

Well once Yates came into the game, he was throwing downfield into coverage. He looked good until Kubiak pulled the plug on him due to no backup QB.(Owen Daniels was the emergency guy on Sunday).

Here is Michael Lombardi writing about what I was seeing on the field from NFL.Com

Can things get any worse for the Houston Texans? First they lose Mario Williams, their best defensive player, for the season. That was followed by their All-Pro wide receiver, Andre Johnson, missing six games with a hamstring injury. Starting quarterback Matt Schaub went on the shelf after Week 10 with a season-ending foot injury and after last weekend's bye, backup QB Matt Leinart comes in Sunday and promptly goes down with a reported broken collarbone.

But don't cry for the Texans just yet. After all, they still beat the Jaguars to improve to 8-3. Losing Leinart is not hard to overcome, especially in this offense, and they even might be better off without him.

Watching Leinart play in the first half, it was clear "the King of the Check Down" was back to his old ways. Leinart refuses to drive the ball down the field, always taking the quick outlet instead of standing tall in the pocket to the last second and making the tough throw. He is nervous in the pocket and treats the ball like a hot potato, wanting to get rid of it as soon as he can. He loves completion percentage more than yards, which might look good on a stat sheet, but never helps a team win. I don't care what the Texans said he looked like in practice last week. In practice, it is easier to throw the ball down the field, largely because there is no risk at being hit. Once hitting the quarterback is a part of the game, then the King is going to revert back to his check downs.

In two quarters against the Jags, Leinart was 10 of 13 for 57 yards. He averaged 4.3 yards in his 13 attempts, which is the same as what the Houston running game normally averages per carry. Take away the 20-yard touchdown throw, which hung in the air for days, and Leinart was 9 of 12 for 37 yards, which is slightly better than three yards per attempt. If Leinart was going to do nothing more than throw the check down, then how can this injury be deemed so costly?

When rookie T.J. Yates came into the game, my first reaction was -- now that is a NFL passer. Yates came off the bench with little or no practice time and led the team down the field for a field goal to close out the half. The game did not look too big for Yates, nor did he look nervous under center. He looked like a player with excellent talent who, after a week of getting all the coaching, could execute the game plan as well, if not better, than Leinart. Yates might not have as much experience as Leinart, but was Leinart's experience really going to help him or the Texans? I strongly doubt it.

The Texans are in a bad spot, don't get me wrong, but it's the same one they were in when Schaub first went down -- they must win with their defense, their run game and their special teams. Losing Leinart does not change things; in fact, it makes things clearer. With Leinart in the game, there would be a belief that he could handle certain things because he was a high pick and has started NFL games. In reality, as was the case Sunday, Leinart cannot handle or properly execute the whole Texans offense. Leinart would have provided false hope, which is not what the Texans need right now.

In head coach Gary Kubiak's QB-friendly offense, Yates will not be asked to carry the load, but just make a few throws down the field. Having been a four-year starter in college at North Carolina, in a pro-style system, Yates can handle the volume of offense each week and will not be overwhelmed. The burden of scoring will fall on the run game and the play-making ability of Andre Johnson, who will benefit more with Yates in the game. Trust me, today the Texans are no different offensively than they were last Monday. I'd argue they are better off.

It's a tough break for Leinart to get injured as he was trying to rebuild his career, and I do feel badly for him. Maybe he was going to prove my evaluation of him wrong by driving the ball down the field, standing tall in the pocket and making all the tough throws. Maybe he did change his style of play and he was just getting warmed up in the Jaguars game. But with this injury, we will never know.

Now Yates will be the man responsible to lead the Texans to their first playoff appearance. But as it was before the injury to Leinart, the Texans' playoff fortunes will continue to lie with their ability to run the ball and make plays with their defense. And I believe they can get it done. So today is not a day for Texans fans to cry; it is a day to just keep moving forward because good things still can happen.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by cadams

.......

LZ was talking about the running issues this morning, and he said he went back and looked and jax wasn't doing anything unusual on defense (stacking the box, etc), the jax defensive line was just beating the o-line on most plays. which hasn't happened much this year. i think it is more likely that the running game will be 90% of what it was with schaub than like it was yesterday going forward.

.......

Yep, terrible game yesterday from the o-line. Methinks they are reading their press clippings. I also thought they should've used Tate more and his more agressive north/south style of running rather than Arian's wait-for-daylight style... Arian had 10 carries for 3(!) yards in the 2nd half. You've got to tip your hat to the Jags defense for a job well done. Their defense currently ranks 14th against the run and 4th overall (yds/game).

Guarantee the o-line is well aware they sucked yesterday. They have shown to rebound pretty well after a stinker but it doesn't get any easier in the next two games. Atlanta (2nd) and Cincinnati (5th) are both very good against the run. The good news is that Carolina (28th), Indy (31st) and Tennessee (23rd) are a lot more vulnerable to the run which should keep the Texan offense from getting stonewalled.

Gonna have to make some intermediate and deep throws against Atlanta and Cincinnati to keep them honest.... Once the backup and 3rd string QB positions get sorted, I think Kube won't be so reluctant to let it fly a bit....

[barrett]

I was the one who had predicted doom for leinhart as a checkdown guy. This is not a caretakers offense and schaub was not game managing. With AJ out half the year he still had like 6 TDs of 50+ yards. We were a very scary passing team as proven by the fact that teams still didn't bring an extra guy up weeks 7-10 with AJ gone. NFL defenses fear the big play more than anything and schaub gave it to us, making our run game and OL look better.

Yates may be able to give us a downfield threat, but if he doesn't we are screwed. Leinhart certainly didn't. I'd like rosenfels most because he has proven he can move a less talented version of this team up and down the field. And I think we're good enough to overcome his turnovers (which Yates likely beings to the table as well). But don't overestimate how much of our offense Yates knows. He has not dressed yet and spends his week running the opponents stuff on the scout team. It is not promising right now in terms of playing past the first round.

[Roy P]

One of the things I like about Yates is that he kept playing well for Butch Davis with all of the investigations going on at UNC. I saw him play in San Antonio for the Tx vs. The Nation NFLPA) game and was impressed. It featured WR Denarius Moore and CB Gaitor (TB). Yates was the MVP if I recall. Anyway, I have faith that Kubiak can coach him up to be competent. My concern is teams loading the box vs. Our run and Kubiak being stubborn in trying to run anyway to protect Yates. If we keep the playcalling the same, then we can be successful.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Roy P

Anyway, I have faith that Kubiak can coach him up to be competent. My concern is teams loading the box vs. Our run and Kubiak being stubborn in trying to run anyway to protect Yates. If we keep the playcalling the same, then we can be successful.

This is my biggest fear, that Kubiak will keep the gameplan conservative against the Falcons to "protect" his QB, to "boost" his confidence, or some other hokum soundbite he's already preparing for postgame. Kubiak was right to be conservative in the second half against the Jags. The results speak for themselves.

The Falcons though have at least as good an offense as the Texans have seen since mid-October, plus they ain't too shabby at run defense, too.

So please, Kubes, please let Yates run the show. Play like you have nothing to lose. This is a home game against a non-conference opponent anyway. Give the guys the ol' "it's us against the world" speech pregame. Then live and die with your defense and a QB who many, including yours truly, thought outplayed Leinart in August anyway.

[NBT]

I'm behind T.J. Yates in this conversation. He came in with little prep, and threw the ball with a good tight spiral, and with good accuracy, and seemed to manage the game pretty well. The fact is that Kubes went ultra-conservative on him and did not allow him much chance to show his wares in the second half. I think, with a weeks worth of skull sessions with Kubiak under his belt, he will acquit himself well in the Atlanta game. The fact that he was a four year starter at N.C. bodes well for him also.

If the offensive line gets off their blocks better, the run game will help a lot too.

[Fonz the Boss]

I don't believe any of that "trying to keep TJ upright" stuff from Kubiak. At the end of the day you still have to go out and try to win the game and you don't do that from going 3 and out on almost every possession. Being 8-3 at this time is more than i could have asked for therefore making the postseason would still be a huge success. We will likely lose our first playoff game with Yates as our QB but it would still make the season a big success. There's still a decent chance we could finish the season 3-2 (11-5 overall).