Who In the Hell is Next Man Up Now?

[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.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by Keith

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.

Apparently, Kubiak is reading this site and took our good advice. Happy to see Yates throwing the ball deep yesterday. Wish Andre had made that first catch. Anyway, I am content with Yates as the QB.

[Keith]

lol, yep, right down to the pregame speech. Kubes used the early betting line (where the Texans were 3-point dogs) to motivate his team throughout the week.

[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).

[chuck]

Originally Posted by Fonz the Boss

I don't believe any of that "trying to keep TJ upright" stuff from Kubiak.

Why not? At halftime he learned that Leinart would not return and realized that the next man up is Owen Daniels who last played quarterback in junior high. I have no trouble believing that Kubiak, with the lead, decided to have TJ hand the ball off and let the defense win the game. It was a little frustrating to watch but in retrospect Kubiak absolutely did the right and responsible thing.

[WMH]

@McClain_on_NFL Texans will work out Delhomme and Garcia Tues. Expected to sign one of them to back up Yates.

Also, the Fins apparently aren't in the Christmas spirit per LaCanfora. They are not expected to release Sage IF he passes a phyiscal.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d...headline_stack

[NBT]

Originally Posted by chuck

Why not? At halftime he learned that Leinart would not return and realized that the next man up is Owen Daniels who last played quarterback in junior high. I have no trouble believing that Kubiak, with the lead, decided to have TJ hand the ball off and let the defense win the game. It was a little frustrating to watch but in retrospect Kubiak absolutely did the right and responsible thing.

I have trouble with "the next man up is Owen Daniels" to QB if Yate goes down. I think Yates will handle the job OK, and anyway OD would be best suited where he is, a dangerous weapon at TE. Why not go to James Casey, assuming that FB Vickers would be back? Of course, if that were not possible, then I guess OD would have to be the Man. Dang all these injuries.

Of course GB had 15 on the IR last year and still won the SB. A good omen for us?