Schaub trade may be another big mistake for Texans

By Connor Byrne  |   Thursday, March 22, 2007  |  Comments( 16 )

Houston Texans
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There's no doubt that the Houston Texans' Wednesday trade to acquire former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Schaub was an intriguing move. However, one has to wonder if it was the right decision by the Texans, who haven't climbed out of the NFL's basement in the first five years of their existence.

Truthfully, Houston -- which has a horrendous 24-56 overall record -- overpaid for Schaub in more ways than one.

First of all, the franchise departed with its next pair of second-round picks (the Texans' second in this April's draft is basically a low first-rounder), and it also swapped first-round positions with the Falcons for this year, moving from the eighth overall pick to No. 10.

For a team that has an awful lot of building to do, mortgaging its future on an unproven player hardly seems like a wise decision.

Schaub -- a 2004 third-round pick who starred at the University of Virginia -- has started just two games in his pro career (both losses). In his most memorable game filling in for the much-maligned but highly electrifying Michael Vick in an October 2005 loss, Schaub torched a depleted New England secondary for 298 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Aside from that, though, the 25-year-old's career numbers are far from overwhelming (52.2 completion rate, six touchdowns, six interceptions and a 69.2 rating).

Other than essentially going all in to acquire the 6-foot-5, 237-pound Schaub, the Texans gave the three-year veteran an extreme amount of money. Houston signed Schaub to a six-year, $48 million accord that includes $20 million over the first three seasons of the deal. A contract that large is par for the course in today's NFL, but it's still a head-scratcher nonetheless -- especially considering Schaub hasn't proven much more than any other run-of-the-mill backup.

Upon acquiring Schaub, the Texans unsurprisingly handed him the offensive reins immediately. Of course, that honor previously belonged to five-year veteran David Carr, who was Houston's starting quarterback since the organization's inception.

Carr, whom the Texans drafted No. 1 overall in 2002, never panned out as a franchise-caliber signal caller (59 touchdowns, 65 interceptions), but would anyone have experienced success with an average-at-best running game and almost no blocking from the offensive line? The mobile, athletic Carr, in fact, has been sacked a whopping 249 times in his career, missing only four games in the process. Therefore, nobody can question the ex-Fresno State star's toughness or competitiveness. Despite that, the 27-year-old will undoubtedly be traded or released by Houston in the coming weeks.

Schaub, meanwhile, whom many have praised as a leader in waiting, had better be successful from Day One with the Texans. If he isn't, it'll just go down as another major mistake from a franchise that's had a dubious history from the beginning. Trading so much for Schaub could end up being worse than passing on Vince Young or Reggie Bush in last year's draft.

"It's an incredible opportunity for me to take the next step in my career," Schaub, who comes off as articulate and polite, said at his introductory press conference Thursday.

If Schaub doesn't take full advantage of that opportunity and realize his supposed potential, heads will roll in Houston (General Manager Rick Smith's and head coach Gary Kubiak's, to be exact).

Get more in-depth NFL analysis at RealFootball365.com.
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