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    New Case Keenum Hope

    Schaub makes Case Keenum look better, maybe even Nick Foles worthy: Young QB hasn't gotten a fair shot

    Chris Baldwin
    Dec 22, 2013 | 9:59 pm

    You know that excitement Case Keenum managed to infuse the Houston Texans with? That temporary sense of hope?

    It all may turn out to be one of the biggest miracles of this NFL season. For with Matt Schaub back behind center, the Texans show how lifeless their offense truly is. Schaub throws two fourth quarter interceptions, gets sacked on back-to-back plays to kill a critical third quarter possession. Peyton Manning powers through a near heroic effort from Wade Phillips' undermanned defense for the first three quarters — and hits the Texans with three fourth quarter touchdown passes.

    Denver Broncos 37, Houston Texans 13.

    This is life with Matt Schaub at quarterback. Dead team walking. Just waiting for the next big mistake.

    "It is a huge blow," Texans rookie safety D.J. Swearinger says of Schaub's first interception — a forced pass to DeAndre. Hopkins with Schaub on the run — and the defense allowing a quick Broncos score after. "Any time you turn it over and give up a score, it's like a dagger into your own team, a dagger into your spirit."

    Yes, these Texans are fragile — for good reason. Experience hasn't been kind to them.

    Foles went 1-5 as a starter his first year playing for the Eagles. Is that really much different from Keenum's twice-yanked 0-8 mark?

    It all makes what Case Keenum accomplished . . . yes, accomplished . . . as a first-year starting quarterback all the more impressive. No, he didn't win a game. But Joe Montana in his prime might have some difficulties winning a game with these Arian Foster-less, dispirited Texans.

    Tearing ligaments in his thumb and seeing Phillips turn back to Schaub rather than T.J. Yates for some still inexplicable reason may turn out to help Keenum in the long run. For Schaub's performance Sunday proves Keenum played much better in his time starting than a Houston media core that is eager to dismiss him is willing to admit.

    A 24-point loss to a Denver Broncos team experiencing some late-season issues of its own shows how little there is to work with for any quarterback.

    Yet, Keenum keeps the Texans in close game after close game for weeks. He stares down the specter of Bill Belichick and puts 30 points up against the New England Patriots, loses by one to Tom Brady in a shootout.

    Schaub cannot come close to doing that against Manning in a similar Reliant Stadium situation. Not even on a day when the Texans defense plays great for three quarters.

    Does this mean that Case Keenum is guaranteed to be a successful NFL starting quarterback? No. But it sure shows he deserves a chance.

    It's now clear this mini, twice-interrupted run this season isn't close to a fair barometer. Not with the state this Texans offense is in.

    Keenum's played well enough to be given the opportunity to compete for the starting quarterback job in training camp. Given the state of the Texans quarterback position, it'd be a huge mistake for the team to do anything but that. Whether general manager Rick Smith reaches and takes one of the hardly surefire quarterback talents with the No. 1 overall pick or waits until early in the second or third round to draft a QB, Keenum must be given equal opportunity with the new guy.

    Otherwise, the Texans risk throwing away a potential valuable asset without ever knowing how good Case Keenum can be for sure.

    Look at Nick Foles' jump in his second season starting in Philadelphia. Foles went 1-5 as a starter his first year playing for a bad Eagles team. Is that really much different from Keenum's twice-yanked 0-8 mark with a historically inept Texans team?

    Now, Foles cannot stop throwing touchdown passes — and winning under a new head coach. Is Keenum sure to make a similar improvement under the Texans new head coach? No, but he's got a shot to if he's given the chance. Keenum's talent and work ethic ensures that.

    "Any time you turn it over and give up a score, it's like a dagger into your own team, a dagger into your spirit."

    He spends this Sunday on the sidelines in a baseball cap and a windbreaker, his right thumb in a splint. Keenum's animated and into the game, discussing plays with Schaub between series, trying to help the guy who's helped him since he first signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent.

    Schaub's Reliant Stadium goodbye isn't storybook. It's just sad and fitting.

    "I think Matt’s a great player," veteran receiver Andre Johnson says. "If he’s not here, he’ll get another opportunity. Matt can start in this league. He’s done it for eight seasons. Sometimes a fresh start can be something beneficial."

    When Schaub trudges off the field, no one is seeking him out. Instead, lifeline Texans Andre Johnson and J.J. Watt make sure to pay their respects to Peyton Manning for his record-breaking 51 touchdown passes. Schaub joins that Manning receiving line too.

    "It has definitely crossed my mind," Schaub says of the likelihood of this being his last game in Houston. "I didn't want to think too far ahead, but you know I've played this game long enough. I know how things work.

    "So you know it definitely crossed my mind."

    The Anti Keenum?

    Schaub leads one impressive drive all day. A third quarter march punctuated by a touchdown strike to Keshawn Martin in the corner of the end zone.

    That's the kind of thing — one good drive — that got Keenum benched when Gary Kubiak still coached the team.

    Schaub completes less than 50 percent of his passes (18 of 37), a lower percentage than Keenum recorded in any of his eight starts. Maybe there are circumstances that make having a high completion percentage with this battered, beaten down Texans offense impossible for any quarterback.

    Schaub's Reliant Stadium goodbye isn't storybook. It's just sad and fitting.

    It turns out playing quarterback for a dead team with absolutely no running game and one dependable wide receiver is harder than many think.

    And Schaub does a much worse job of it than Case Keenum.

    Schaub throws a three-yard pass on third-and-10. He completely overthrows Johnson on a touchdown chance, flinging it out of bounds to leave the Greatest Texan Ever futilely extending his fingers.

    All before the end of the first quarter.

    When Schaub is sacked by Broncos defensive tackle Sylvester Williams, he drops to the ground before Williams can even hit him. Hey, he needs to be healthy for his new team next year.

    With six minutes left in the first half, the Texans are one for six on third down and Schaub's hearing his first real boos of the day. The rightful trigger? Schaub tentatively stepping a few steps forward in the pocket and flinging a no chance short pass sort of toward Johnson on a third-and-11 deep in Broncos territory.

    It's an eye opening exhibit. It shows just how bad these 2-13 Texans really are.

    "I'm not sure we put together one full game all year," defensive end J.J. Watt says.

    Truly evaluating a young quarterback amidst all this misery and ineptitude is impossible. It's amazing Case Keenum managed even stretches of brilliance. Every Matt Schaub pass makes him look more and more promising.

    Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson often struggled to connect.

     
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    O'Brien Talks Tough

    Tough new sheriff: Bill O'Brien sounds like the anti Kubiak, vows to be hard on Texans players

    Chris Baldwin
    Jan 3, 2014 | 1:43 pm
    Tough new sheriff: Bill O'Brien sounds like the anti Kubiak, vows to be hard on Texans players
    Photo by Rob Carr Getty Images
    Bill O'Brien admits he missed the NFL.

    Bill O'Brien certainly hasn't walked timidly into his new job as the head coach/franchise savior of the Houston Texans.

    With large posters of J.J. Watt and Andre Johnson flanking him on either side of an elaborate press conference stage, O'Brien didn't pay homage as much as he demanded a new standard.

    "To me it's about accountability," O'Brien said. "It's about demanding. It's about putting together a fast, physical football team."

    In other words, Mr. Nice Guy went out the window with former Texans coach Gary Kubiak. O'Brien mentioned "accountability" and "demanding" several times in his introductory press conference Friday afternoon at Reliant Stadium. And you can bet the chorus sounded like sweet music to Texans owner Bob McNair.

    CultureMap was the first news outlet anywhere to report that O'Brien was the Texans' top choice to be the team's new coach way back on Dec. 18. This was a McNair driven pick from the beginning and it is the 44-year-old O'Brien's toughness that drew the owner to the former Penn State coach and Bill Belichick assistant.

    "To me it's about accountability. It's about demanding."

    And McNair himself certainly talked tough on introduction day.

    "I'm ready to kick 2013 the hell out the door," McNair said. "Not acceptable. Not what we're going to do in the future."

    McNair went on to talk about O'Brien having shown he's willing to make the hard decisions — something he clearly felt was lacking as the Texans spiraled from Super Bowl schemers into a 2-14 death march in 2013.

    "Some coaches who have been players still think of themselves as players rather than the head of an organization," McNair said. "And have trouble making difficult decisions."

    Kubiak, of course, played quarterback for the Denver Broncos. As for an inability to make tough calls? Just look at how long Kubiak stuck with a flat-lined Matt Schaub and how he kept trying to go back to Schaub even after the Case Keenum call was made.

    O'Brien noted that "there are a lot of good football players on this team." He also declined to take any pressure off himself and describe this makeover of a team with the worst record in the NFL as a rebuilding job.

    "There are a lot of pieces in place here," he said. "It's all about hard work . . . Quick turnaround, rebuilding are labels. I'm not into all that."

    Tom Brady Tough?

    All in all, it's an impressive opening performance for a first-time NFL head coach. O'Brien knows how to command the stage. Texans general manager Rick Smith talked about the new coach's "charisma."

    O'Brien even makes sure to work in the obligatory Texas joke about the cowboy life.

    "Right after this, I'm going to go out and buy my first pair of cowboy boots," he said.

    It's already becoming clear there will be one cowboy in charge of these Texans. One who happens to be a hard-nosed Northeast guy who's probably still most famous for getting into a sideline screaming match with New England Patriots golden boy quarterback Tom Brady.

    "I'm ready to kick 2013 the hell out the door."

    O'Brien downplayed the incident, but it's clearly helped burnish his taskmaster image.

    "You know it's a competitive sports," O'Brien said. "Tom Brady's a great friend. These things happen. The thing that people don't understand is that 30 seconds after it was over, we were sitting together and going over pictures (of game action)."

    The Texans players are clearly intrigued by O'Brien. Veteran center Chris Myers sat amongst the press at the stadium and listened to the new head man.

    There will be a lot more change coming to the stadium. Smith hinted at as much when he noted how the Texans needed a coach who can guide young players.

    It's hard to imagine O'Brien tip toeing around that change. He plans to meet with all the remaining Texans coaches Saturday (as with any head coaching change, it's unlikely many of the current assistants will be kept by O'Brien). He'll tackle the quarterback question later, though it's clear Keenum is still in the picture.

    Almost every new NFL head coach sounds good on introduction day. Especially when the team brings out a marching band for the occasion. But O'Brien sounds tough and no nonsense.

    Just what Bob McNair wanted. This is his call. His makeover. His tough guy.

    Bill O'Brien will not call the Houston Texans a rebuilding team.

    Bill O'Brien presser
      
    Photo by Scott Halleran Getty Images
    Bill O'Brien will not call the Houston Texans a rebuilding team.
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