People do not want to accept that Matt Leinart is a mediocre quarterback. Maybe, it's the Heisman. Maybe, it's the Hollywood good looks. Maybe, it's the scruffy bad boy turned serious student of the game storyline.

For whatever the reasons, Leinart takes the reigns of the 7-3 Houston Texans in Jacksonville Sunday afternoon with more believers than doubters.

Never mind that he got waived by the Arizona Cardinals team that drafted him with the 10th overall pick, that he was let go for nothing by a franchise with every reason to keep him. Never mind that Leinart already might be certified as a near Ryan Leaf-level bust if Texans coach Gary Kubiak hadn't fallen in love with his potential and stashed him on a team where he wouldn't be noticed unless disaster struck.

Never mind that Leinart's career record as an NFL starter is 7-10 with 14 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. People still want to praise him, even as they disparage Vince Young, who has only gone 31-17 as an NFL starting quarterback.

In Leinart, they believe.

Hooters included. Yes, the breast and chicken wings emporium is all on board the Matt Leinart express. The Hooters in Stafford put up a message for Leinart on its sign almost as soon as it became apparent that quarterback Matt Schaub — the one player the Texans cannot afford to lose — was out for the season.

"HEY LEINART WE BELIEVE" the Hooters marquee blared, putting praise for the Texans' new quarterback above even the advertisement for "Dress Up Day."

OK, it's probably not the endorsement Leinart wants. After all, the LA party boy whose career nearly got derailed by silly pictures of him holding up a beer bong for a blonde coed, and other PG-13 hot tub action in the 2008 offseason, worked hard to build a new image in Houston. One that doesn't exactly jive with Hooters.

Leinart would prefer to be considered as boring as Matt Schaub.

That will never happen of course. Unfortunately, anyone expecting Leinart to be anywhere close to the quarterback Schaub is needs to take off the beer goggles. Because that's never happening either. Denial rules in Houston at the moment, and not just at Hooters.

It's as if no one can bear to accept the fact that Texans' season irrevocably changed when Albert Haynesworth crushed Schaub's foot at the bottom of that pile in Tampa Bay. The season was going too well — with legitimate visions of challenging the Ravens, Patriots and Steelers for the top seed in the AFC dancing in everyone's heads — to align it with any new reality.

Make no mistake, the game's changed for the Texans now.

If Kubiak can lead this team into the playoffs now, even if it's with a 9-7 record, he deserves a new contract. No questions asked.

Making the playoffs without Schaub for the last six games of the regular season would be a huge accomplishment. Yes, the Texans go into Jacksonville holding a two-game lead in a weak AFC South. Yes with Schaub, just the playoffs would have been a major letdown.

But this isn't with Schaub. A chess piece hasn't just been removed with the loss of the Texans' starting quarterback, the whole board's been flipped upside down. Everything's scattered.

Hut, Hut, doubt!

If you don't see a way in which a Leinart-led Houston team could go 2-4 in this closing stretch, you need a quick lesson in NFL history. This isn't even about the idea of the Texans being cursed (though with the run of injuries Kubiak's team has had this season, any roaming mind is bound to wonder). It's about realizing what going to a completely unproven backup quarterback means.

Taking Matt Schaub away from the Texans is not equivalent to removing Peyton Manning from the Colts or knocking Aaron Rodgers out of the Packers' lineup, but it's closer to that than most Houston fans, and the Texans themselves, want to admit.

Schaub is no Manning or Rodgers. But he's almost that important to his team. Arian Foster may be the most exciting player in the NFL, but he gets some of those big runs because teams know that Schaub will hurt them in the passing game. Houston's play-action game is going to change awfully quick if Leinart starts missing receivers.

Wade Phillips' Miracle Defense suddenly becomes less potent too if Leinart cannot lead the type of long drives Schaub did to keep Brian Cushing and company fresh.

Part of the denial (at least on the fans' part) centers on a reluctance to give Schaub credit. He's a much better quarterback than the sports radio callers want to believe. In something of a cruel twist, six weeks of Leinart may be what finally makes Houston appreciate Schaub.

Or maybe you think Hooters knows better.

Leinart could not ask for a better setup for his first Texans start. He's facing a Jaguars defense that's missing five starters. He's had the benefit of a bye week to prepare. If preseason Leinart shows, if the guy who excels at the four-yard pass is suddenly leading Kubiak's team, it's more than a problem.

"He won a Heisman for a reason," right tackle Eric Winston, the man who will protect the left-handed Leinart's blind side, says.

He was also released for a reason. It's been seven years since Matt Leinart won that Heisman, an eternity in sports.

"We can't put the whole game on Lefty," Kubiak says.

Nonetheless, the whole season now rests on Leinart being capable. Everyone wants to believe. Should you?

Maybe, you think that "friendly" Hooters girl is really into you too.