Week 9 QB projections • HOU Stats
QB Matt Schaub, Houston Texans
HT: 6-5, WT: 237, Born: 6-25-1981, College: Virginia, Drafted: Round 3
| Outlook • Career Statistics • Game Logs • Split Stats • Play-by-play • Latest News |
Click here for 2009 preseason info
Stats and Week 9 Projection
| WK | OPP | RES | CMP | ATT | PYD | Y/A | PTD | INT | RSH | YD | Y/R | TD | FPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | at CIN | W, 28-17 | 28 | 40 | 392 | 9.8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | -1 | -0.3 | 0 | 38 |
| 7 | vs SF | W, 24-21 | 20 | 30 | 264 | 8.8 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 1.8 | 0 | 24 |
| 8 | at BUF | W, 31-10 | 25 | 34 | 268 | 7.9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 1.0 | 0 | 10 |
| SEASON TOTAL | 188 | 283 | 2342 | 8.3 | 16 | 7 | 29 | 34 | 1.2 | 0 | 187 | ||
| 9 | at IND | PROJ | 23 | 33 | 248 | 7.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | 0.1 | 20 |
Week 9 Injury Status and Other News
He was not listed on Friday's official injury report. Opinion (from The Upgrade/Downgrade/Waiver Report): This was a rough game for Schaub, who came in with 16 touchdown passes in his first seven games. He moved the Texans quickly down the field on their first drive, but was picked off by the rookie Jairus Byrd in the red zone on a poorly thrown ball. On the second drive, the Texans went three and out and TE Owen Daniels was knocked out of the game with a torn ACL that will end his season. The third drive lasted just three plays and ended on a Steve Slaton fumble, which led to the RB's benching for the rest of the game. The fourth drive lasted only two plays because Schaub's pass went through Andre Johnson's hands and Byrd picked him off again. From that point forward, the Texans began to string together some longer drives, but they ended in field goals instead of touchdowns. It wasn't until the fourth quarter when the Texans put the game away based mostly on some strong running from Ryan Moats inside the red zone. Schaub finished the game with a respectable 268 passing yards, but he failed to throw a single touchdown for the first time since the season opener and he also threw two interceptions for the first time all year. The loss of Owen Daniels will take away one of the Texans best receiving targets and allow defenses to focus even more attention on slowing down Andre Johnson. Additionally, the change from Slaton to Ryan Moats seemed to spark the running game and might allow the team to rely a bit less on Schaub's arm going forward.Week 9 Matchup Info
at Indianapolis Colts (Tough matchup) - Matt Schaub is ripping up the league right now, with 108/154 for 1295 yards, eight TDs and four interceptions in his last four games - he's tied with Drew Brees and Brett Favre with 16 TDs this season, friends (188/283 for 2342 yards, 16 TDs and seven interceptions to date). Those numbers put him at fifth-best fantasy QB in points per game over the last four weeks and sixth-best fantasy QB in the land this year.Last week, against Buffalo, wasn't Schaub's shining moment of 2009, however - Schaub tossed 25/34 for 268 yards, but had zero TDs with two interceptions on the day. However, thanks to the emergence of Ryan Moats, the Texans still won easily 31-10. As usual, Andre Johnson (despite his bruised lung) led the team with 10 targets for 6/63/0, while little-known David Anderson was second on the team with three targets for 3/51/0. However, the entire passing offense took a major hit when Owen Daniels (40/519/5 receiving this year) was lost for the season due to a torn ACL in his knee. Joel Dreesen (25/225/2 receiving in his five-year career) will try to fill Daniels' big shoes this week.
Indianapolis brings one of the best pass defenses in the land to this dance - the team averages 180.1 net yards allowed per game (seventh in the NFL), with just three passing scores allowed in seven games (first in the NFL in this category). They have seven interceptions and 20 sacks generated so far (fifth in the NFL in the latter category). Last week, Alex Smith was held to the season average (19/32 for 182 net yards, one TD and one interception thrown) -Marc Bulger bumbled to 14/26 for 117 net yards, zero TDs and two interceptions vs. Indianapolis two weeks ago.
Houston's high-flying passing attack lost a key contributor last week, and will be making adjustments on the fly. They'll have to do all this in Lucas Oil Stadium's howling throng, with one of the league's best pass defenses pressuring Schaub (although Houston's line has only allowed 14 sacks this year, tied for 11th in the NFL - David Carr can only wish he'd had such protection as the Texans' starter). This looks like a tough matchup to us.
Game Summaries
Week 1 vs NYJ - Schaub had a day he would rather soon forget, but he didn't really play badly. He had two or three errant passes, but mostly he was just ill-prepared for the variety of relentless blitzes Rex Ryan threw at him all day. Schaub seemed to take a hit on every second or third dropback. The few times Schaub did have time to look downfield, there was nothing open for him, surely due mainly to Darrelle Revis, who was blanketing Andre Johnson. Schaub probably missed his favorite secondary target, Kevin Walter, who missed the game with a hamstring injury. Schaub still hung in to make tough throws into small windows, although the pressure seemed to affect to his mindset late in the game. Schaub's only interception came when he just had to get rid of the ball downfield to avoid a crushing sack. Chalk this one up to a great game plan by Rex Ryan more than a failure by Schaub.Week 2 at TEN - Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was fantastic, twice rallying the Texans back from deficits to ultimately win the game in Nashville. Schaub completed 25 of 39 passes for 357 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Texans offensive line held off the Titans pass-rush effectively, giving Schaub plenty of time to throw regardless of down and distance. Schaub completed passes to six different players and had five completions of more then 20 yards each, highlighted by a 72 yard touchdown to receiver Andre Johnson. Schaub was effective at all points in the game and had only one or two throws that looked to be poor. His passes were crisp and it was evident that both Schaub and the Texans offense as a whole gained confidence as the game wore on. Schaub absolutely shredded the Titans defense, regularly frustrating Courtland Finnegan and Michael Griffin on passes outside the hash marks. Just as interestingly, Schaub was able to find open receivers all over the field despite the fact that the Titans were only rushing 4 players on most snaps and that the Texans running game was essentially non-existent.
Week 3 vs JAX - Matt Schaub was again very effective for the second week in a row. Schaub had touchdown passes of 8, 1, and 18 yards and finished the day with 300 yards passing (26/35). Schaub spread the ball effectively and showed great poise in the pocket all game. He had one interception. His longest completion was for 25 yards to Andre Johnson but Schaub finished the game with 6 completions of 18 yards or more.
Week 4 vs OAK - Texans' quarterback Matt Schaub had a deceptively effective game against the Raiders. Despite only completing 11 of 22 passes, Schaub made a number of clutch throws to put the Texans in scoring position. The Texans finally found a successful running game meaning that Schaub didn't need to throw nearly as much as usual, particularly in the 2nd half. He had 224 yards passing (more then 10 yards-per-attempt) and completed three passes for more then 40 yards. Schaub just missed another long 15 yard completion on a ball to Owen Daniels that was bobbled and should have been caught. Furthermore, his lone interception was on a deep ball to the endzone towards the end of the first half and another long completion was disrupted by pass-interference on the defense. Schaub (and the Texans as a whole) were not particularly effective on third down passing situations but did manage to convert 7 passing first downs. Schaub displayed excellent touch on most of the balls he threw but was forced to "throw it away" more then normal as the Texans worked to control the clock and minimize mistakes. Schaub also might have had better numbers if not for a pass interference call on a deep pass to Andre Johnson, a defensive holding call on another pass to Johnson, and a roughing the passer call on another incompletion.
Week 5 at ARI - Sunday's game against the Cardinals was a tale of two halves for Schaub. In the first half, Schaub was under constant pressure and forced to throw on the move a significant amount of the time. On the first snap of the game, Schaub fumbled the snap, perhaps an omen of things to come. Left tackle Eric Winston had a bevy of problems keeping the blitz at bay which led to Schaub being flushed from the pocket to the right side on a regular basis. In the event that Schaub did complete a throw, it was often for minimal gain. In short, both Schaub and the Texans offense looked woefully out of sync in the first half. The second half was a different story all together. Schaub began getting time in the pocket and as a result found a number of receivers wide open all over the field. He completed 14 passes of more then 10 yards (11 in the second half). Schaub was most successful on comeback and crossing routes between 10 and 20 yards downfield. On one drive in the 4th quarter, Schaub took the Texans from their own 24 to a touchdown on the back of 7 passes in an 8 play drive that took only four minutes off the clock. Schaub's lone mistake in the second half was a big one: he delivered a pass intended for Kevin Walter on a short out pattern to the right side of the field as the Texans looked to tie the game, but the pass was intercepted by Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie and returned for a touchdown. Up until the pick, Schaub had completed 11 straight passes. Schaub had one more crack at a comeback and navigated the Texans to a first and goal situation from the 6 yard line. He quickly completed a screen pass to running back Steve Slaton who was stopped just short of the goalline. The Texans elected to run the ball on 2nd and 4th down (Schaub threw an incompletion on 3rd down) and were stopped both times, essentially ending the game.
Week 6 at CIN - Though he was sacked twice, Schaub frequently had plenty of time to throw and took advantage. The Texans used misdirection and a variety of traditional and bubble screens to get Andre Johnson and Steve Slaton open for big plays and runs after the catch. Schaub also found Owen Daniels open frequently underneath. Schaub's only bad pass, an overthrown ball over the middle, was picked off.
Week 7 vs SF - Schaub had another effective game against San Francisco, passing for 264 yards on 66% passing to go with a touchdown and no interceptions. Schaub was sacked twice appeared pressured more then he was against Arizona two weeks ago and Cincinnati last week. That said, he most often was able to escape from the pocket and avoid losing yardage when the 49ers defense was applying pressure (he dinished with 9 yards on 5 carries, none of which were designed runs). Even when favorite-target Andre Johnson left with an injury, Schaub continued buzzing the ball all over the field, this time keying in on tight end Owen Daniels. Schaub was particularly effective passing the ball between the hash-marks to his receivers on fly patterns and crossing routes. To date, he has been one of the league's best passers and appears to be growing more and more comfortable spreading the ball around the field.
Week 8 at BUF - Schaub led a sputtering Houston offense on the teams first 4 drives (2 INT's, a fumble, and a punt). The INT's were a result of a tough Bills pass-rush and a tipped ball by Andre Johnson. Schaub did not really settle into any kind of groove until midway through the second quarter. He found his groove in large part thanks to the newfound ground game giving him extra time in the pocket. From that point forward, Schaub ran the offense efficiently up and down the field, and led the Texans on 6 straight scoring drives to finish the game. For the most part, Schaub chose to work on the Buffalo defense underneath the zone coverage looks he was faced with all game. Due to the emergence of Ryan Moats in the red zone Schaub did not tally a TD pass in week 8, however look for him to move forward with strong outings in the coming weeks. This was a rare balanced attack by the Houston offense.
