Monday, October 07, 2013

On the other hand, cheer up: You could be Matt Schaub.

I'd put this guy on suicide watch if it were me.

Solomon: Five things we learned in Texans’ loss to 49ers


The Texans left their heart in Houston, but played a game in San Francisco and got torched 34-3. This is one of those situations in which mental health professionals can make a lot of money in a short period of time.
Five things we learned from the embarrassing performance:
1. Quarterback Matt Schaub is in a bad place mentally.
Schaub deleted his Twitter account last week. If he is smart, this week he should erase any trace of him from Facebook. Hell, he probably needs to just go ahead and cancel his Randalls Club and Kroger Plus cards too. Hey Matt, send the family on vacation and get somebody else to do your grocery shopping for awhile. And whatever you do, don’t Google yourself. It is going to be ugly out there.
After a horrible week, for Schaub to come out and throw another touchdown to the wrong team on the first play had to be devastating. He looks like a dead man walking and is playing like one.
It is sad to watch.
2. Head coach Gary Kubiak is in a bad place mentally.
At halftime Kubiak told Michelle Tafoya of NBC that he has bigger worries with his team than Schaub. Um, the hell you do, Coach.
Before anybody else got a chance to make a play, Schaub had the team in a hole. How in the world do you not recognize that a quarterback who has set a dubious NFL record of having passes returned for touchdowns in four straight games is your biggest problem?
It isn’t fair to the other players for Schaub to not be on a short leash. Not an incompletion, or even an interception, but the type of interception that he threw to start the game, and almost threw several more times in the game, should have led to T.J. Yates warming up in the bullpen. Or as was suggested in Twitter, T.J. Ford, or T.J. Hooker, or even a lingerie department clerk at T.J. Maxx.
It has almost gotten to the point where the defense has as much chance of scoring off a Schaub throw as the Texans do.
3. General manager Rick Smith is in a bad place mentally.
The Texans’ brass laughed at anyone who suggested they might want to touch base with a kicker or two after Randy Bullock got off to a slow start. Well, he continues to struggle on any kick longer than a chip shot.
Smith laughed this past week when Brian Smith asked if Schaub might be getting close to earning a place on the bench.
Well, it’s no longer funny.
Surely the last thing Smith had in mind this season was that his starting quarterback, and eight-year veteran, would fall apart this early in the season. Had he thought that, he would have done more with the backup quarterback situation. Now he has to decide the best way to proceed with a talented team that is led by a quarterback who is apparently suffering from PTSD.
4. John Q. Texans Fan is a bad place mentally.
I can’t blame Texans fans for being disgusted by this one. Last week it was too soon to freak out. The Texans played well enough to earn a win against the Seahawks, but blew it late. Tonight, they might as well have stayed home. What a waste of fuel.
Many of you are like me and have this garbage eating up space on your DVR. Delete it now. That way you won’t be tempted to go back and watch it later. No need to torture yourself.
Some Texans is going to say “It’s us against the world,” in response to a question about fan angst, but don’t get mad at him. He is doing what he has to do to continue with the season. And, I know you don’t want to hear it, but there is plenty of football left.
I’m pretty sure it won’t all be bad football. But I’m not covering any bets on it.
5. The Texans, all of them, are in a bad place mentally.
You knew there might be trouble when a team decided to hold a players-only meeting a month into the season. I mean, you’re at the quarter pole and think something needs to be discussed?
What made it such a curious meeting was that there would not have been one had the Texans beaten Seattle last week. They would have won that game had Schaub not melted down in the simplest of situations and given the game away with a pick-six. So, basically, Schaub was the reason for the meeting. That put him in the awkward position of having to come out this week knowing that his teammates were worried the whole thing was about to fall apart. And He would be a fool not to believe that it is mostly his fault.
Yeah, yeah, point to everybody else you want to who made a mistake or two, but you can’t judge the team when it’s most important offensive player is doing such a horrible job that he is messing it up for everybody else.
Individuals are responsible for their play, but it is a team sport. Schaub is holding the team back. And his teammates know it.
Don’t talk to me about other problems. That’s like being concerned about gas mileage when you have a car that doesn’t start.

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