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QB Matt Schaub, Houston Texans

HT: 6-5, WT: 237, Born: 6-25-1981, College: Virginia, Drafted: Round 3

2009 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of September 7th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: L White (65), L Evans (66), Matt Schaub (67), R Rice (68), H Ward (69)
Position: D McNabb (50-QB8), M Ryan (62-QB9), Matt Schaub (67 - QB10), J Cutler (70-QB11), C Palmer (79-QB12)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of September 7th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: C Wells (70), M Ryan (71), Matt Schaub (72), C Cooley (73), G Olsen (74)
Position: J Cutler (66-QB9), M Ryan (71-QB10), Matt Schaub (72 - QB11), C Palmer (77-QB12), B Roethlisberger (94-QB13)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

 Click here to go to the Matt Schaub spotlight, our staff's most detailed analysis.

 Click here to go to the Matt Schaub faceoff, our staff's look at the pros and cons.

Best Case

When healthy, Matt Schaub, RB Steve Slaton, and WR Andre Johnson form one of the most dangerous trios in the league. Schaub threw for over 3,000 yards last season in just 10.5 games. He was the No. 5 fantasy QB in terms of points per game. With another year of starting experience under his belt, Schaub could reasonably be a Top 5 fantasy QB this season if he plays 16 games.

Worst Case

Schaub is not the safest pick. He missed five games with a shoulder injury and concussion in 2007 and another five with an intestinal illness and a knee injury in 2008. Moreover, his production depends not only on his own health but also on that of Andre Johnson and Steve Slaton. The Texans lack depth at the offensive skill positions, so an injury to any of its primary weapons will set the whole offense back quite a bit.

Outlook

If Schaub stays healthy, he'll be a fantasy starter. Andre Johnson has developed into a topnotch offensive weapon, and Schaub can make all the throws asked of him. Of the 10 games he played from start to finish last season, he threw for over 250 yards in eight of them and multiple touchdowns in five of them. Schaub would likely finish in the Top 7 or so range this year if he stays healthy, but concern about his durability will probably drop him just outside the Top 10 QBs in most fantasy drafts.

Relevant Articles

Why he is undervalued

Colin Dowling - Schaub's value (or lack thereof depending on your view) comes down to his ability to stay healthy. In recent seasons Schaub's time in the training room has made him a less then attractive choice on draft day. That said, even at QB11 Schaub offers great value. He was 5th in points per game played last season at the position. If Schaub stays healthy, he might challenge for a place among the top quarterbacks in the league. That's a gamble worth taking in the 7th round.

Latest News

Texans | Schaub throws for 311 yards Week 9 (Sun Nov 8, 05:48 PM) - The Associated Press reports Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub was 32-for-43 for 311 yards with a touchdown pass and two interceptions Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts.

Our View: Schaub did everything he had to to send this game to overtime, but Kris Brown missed a makeable field goal as time expired. The Texans started slow, but Schaub came on in the second half and put up very good numbers against one of the best pass defenses in the league.
link to story   

2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Schaub came out throwing short passes early and marched the Texans to midfield but a questionable decision by HC Gary Kubiak to go for it on fourth down energized the Heinz Field crowd and put his team in an early hole. Schaub was sacked twice on their second drive and following another touchdown by the Steelers, his team was now behind 14-0. During the first half Schaub was able to complete many of his short passes, but the speed of the rush and the solid tackling of the Steelers' defenders prevented any major yards after the catch. His first attempt in the second quarter to WR David Anderson on a shallow cross was intercepted on an athletic play by LB Lamar Woodley. Schaub was under heavy pressure from LB James Harrison on the play. Following that drive, his next series had the same result after his second interception of the game. Just before halftime the Houston Offense registered its lone score of the half after a short field was given to it following a Pittsburgh fumble. Even then, after starting in the red zone, three plays yielded a negative four yards and they had to settle for a field goal. The last gasp was a short drive that ended just before the half. Schaub opened the third quarter, now down 28-3, with a quick three and out missing Johnson on a key third down. The subsequent drive started out promisingly, but netted another punt after gaining the midfield stripe. By now the rout was on. The best drive in the game for Houston got started in the fourth quarter after a short punt and Schaub hit WR Kevin Walter and Johnson with intermediate gains. A rare deep ball to Johnson drew a pass interference penalty and put Houston in scoring range. Walter ended the drive with a fourteen yard TD catch. After another three and out, Schaub engineered the games' third and last score taking the team on a 75 yard, eleven play drive against mostly second team defenders. He found the end zone on a short scramble.

Week 3 - Matt Schaub was not able to guide the offense through the air for the majority of the first half. He missed on his first six attempts, and most of those passes were not catchable. His first interception was caused by his throwing the ball short to a receiver that was covered. His second interception was the result of a poor decision to force the ball to a double covered Andre Johnson while throwing off of his back foot. That pass was returned for the final score of the game. Schaub passes were generally not on target, which caused his receivers to have to reach and attempt to make tough catches. He was under pressure by the Titans front four most of the game and the Texans were able to counter that by having him throw the ball on designed roll out passes.

Week 4 - Schaub was very effective passing against an aggressive Jacksonville pass rush. He usually made the right decisions in terms of which passes to attempt and when to scramble, averaging just under five yards per scramble. Schaub took what the defense gave him, which was mostly short and intermediate passes, and capitalized on them. He displayed good poise in leading his team to score-tying drives several times, and as a result kept his team in the game until overtime. Schaub had good rapport with Owen Daniels, Steve Slaton and Kevin Walter, targeting them a combined 26 times out of the 40 total passes he threw.

Week 5 - Matt Schaub did not play after being hospitalized the night before with an intestinal infection.

Week 6 - Schaub had a rough start, throwing two early -- and costly -- interceptions. Both were off of throws to Andre Johnson, who he got in synch with eventually. Schaub-to-Johnson became the routine, but Schaub was also able to spread the ball around when Johnson was covered. Schaub showed up in the clutch engineering the game winning drive finishing it off with a QB keeper from the 4 yard line with three seconds left on the clock.

Week 7 - Matt Schaub continued his strong play of late as he completed 26 of 31 passes for 267 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He led three scoring drives in the first half, all of which totaled more than 70 yards, and the Texans took a big lead into half time. Both of his touchdown passes went to TE Owen Daniels from one and two yards out, the second of which proved to be the difference in the game. Schaub did have two fumbles and lost one, but Detroit was unable to turn it into any points.

Week 8 - Matt Schaub was in the zone against the Bengals struggling defense. He completed 24 of 28 passes for 280 yards and three scores. Schaub was in complete control of the offense and basically did whatever he wanted, when he wanted to in the passing game. Schaub connected with David Anderson from six yards out for his first score on a 91 yard drive and later added two touchdown passes of seven and 39 yards to WR Kevin Walter. He continued to look very comfortable in the pocket, made the right decision every time, and knows his bread is buttered with WR Andre Johnson, who he's been locked onto. Schaub did have -2 yards rushing on four rushes, but this was a superb outing for the Texans QB.

Week 9 - There was intense pressure on Matt Schaub and he took a hard hit in the late second quarter. He played the rest of the quarter, but was benched after half time. He wasn't horrible, but he didn't seem to move the team up and down the field very well. He also had two fumbles lost and an interception that was intended for Vonta Leach. It did not look horrible but Schaub was not impressive either.

Week 14 - Schaub saw his first action since week 9 after missing four games with a knee injury. He showed no signs of rust. Schaub was able to roll out and scramble without problems. He also showed that he could stand in the pocket and take a hit in order to deliver a pass. Schaub's 414 passing yards were a career high. Charles Woodson nearly intercepted a Schaub pass in the first half. Schaub was penalized for intentional grounding once in the game.

Week 15 - Coming off of a career game last week, Schaub played another excellent game. He was able to stand in the pocket and throw the ball away at the last minute despite being under pressure. He did not get rattled until late in the game despite absorbing three roughing the passer penalties. Schaub did make some questionable decisions that could have hurt the team as he chose to throw the ball away to the feet of a potential receiver on three occasions in order to avoid getting sacked. On the first attempt he was his with an intentional grounding penalty, but he was able to get away with it on the other instances as the official ruled that either the receiver was close enough to the ball or was behind the line of scrimmage. He only turned the ball over once, on a sack where he did not see the pass rusher coming and had the ball knocked away. The turnover was in Texans territory and led to the first points of the game.

Week 16 - Matt Schaub had a tough time coming up with the big plays the Texans needed to beat the Raiders on their home field. He finished 19 of 36 for 255 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception, and two rushes for ten yards on the ground. Schaub struggled to come up with any game changing plays, most notably to his favorite target WR Andre Johnson. The Raiders did a nice job containing Johnson while bringing pressure on Schaub, as they finished with three sacks for the game.

Week 17 - Schaub played with poise and confidence, and was very accurate when given a little time. He executed an offense that called for him to make a quick decision and pass the ball very well. Schaub and Johnson were in sync throughout the game, and Johnson received the lion's share of Schaub's passes and the two converted on all but two of them. Schaub not only was excellent in the short passing game, but also connected on all eight of his intermediate and deep passes, showing good touch and enough arm strength to get the ball to his receivers.