The Rams improved their station in the NFL ever so slightly Sunday. They managed not to lose to winless Jacksonville, so they moved toward the perimeter of the “worst team in the league” debate.
Meanwhile their next opponent, the Texans, took a 34-3 beating in San Francisco. Houston has lost three consecutive games after winning its first two, setting the stage for a pivotal "showdown" against the 2-3 Rams Sunday.
Texans quarterback Matt Schaub is reeling. Last week at least one overwrought fan burned a Schaub jersey in protest of his poor play. The Houston fire department should be on alert after Schaub's latest fiasco.
His first pass against the 49ers was picked off for a touchdown. This was his fourth consecutive game with a “pick six,” setting a NFL record.
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Schaub threw two other interceptions and nearly suffered more.
“It's a broken record right now. It looked the same,” Texas coach Gary Kubiak told reporters after the game. “Hopefully, that's rock bottom tonight.”
Schaub is 135 of 212 for 1,366 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions this season. His passer rating is 76.9.
By comparison, widely ridiculed Rams quarterback Sam Bradford is 126 for 216 for 1,135 yards, 10 touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating of 85.7.
Kubiak replaced Schaub with T.J. Yates to close out the game and created a stir with this remark: “I think it was time for [Yates] to get some reps. Obviously, Matt took some hits and made some mistakes. And I just told him I was going to put T.J. in the game -- and we're going to go from there and talk about it after the game or throughout the course of the week and see where we're at.”
Do we have quarterback controversy in Houston? We’re guessing the answer is not quite yet.
But Schaub will be hearing it from his own fans – as Bradford did at the Edward Jones Dome – if he struggles again Sunday.
“Obviously, it's tough right now,” Schaub said, according to ESPN.com. “After what we've been through tonight, going back to last weekend and even the week before. I am very confident in my ability and everyone in this locker room.”
Can the Rams take advantage of this situation by pressuring Schaub into mistakes? Stay tuned . . .
ELSEWHERE ON THE QUARTERBACK FRONT
Quarterback Eli Manning ran his season interception total to 12 as the once-might Giants stumbled to 0-5. As it turns out, playing quarterback on a bad team is way harder than playing the position on a good team. Who knew?
Big brother Peyton, meanwhile, threw just his first interception of the season for Denver. But the elder Manning also passed for 414 yards and four touchdowns to lead a SEC-style 51-48 victory over Dallas. Peyton even ran for a touchdown in that game.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was vintage Tony Romo Sunday. He passed for 506 yards and five TDs and still lost, thanks to a disastrous late interception. Such is a gunslinger’s life. The margin for error is tiny. The consequences are dire.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady saw his touchdown pass streak ended at 52 games during a dreary 13-6 loss to the Bengals. He was just 18 for 38 for 197 yards and he suffered four sacks. That was his worst game in like forever.
Banished Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman landed with the Vikings, where he could work into a starting role very, very quickly.
Oh, and David Carr apparently will work out for the Raiders. Apparently Jeff George changed his cell phone number.
QUIPS ‘R US
Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:
Bill Simmons, ESPN.com: “Have the Jaguars hit rock bottom yet? So far they've been the perfect storm of ‘present-day futility,’ ‘future hopelessness’ and ‘long-term irrelevance.’ When the 0-16 Lions bottomed out in 2008, at least their fans took solace in the Calvin Johnson era, Matt Millen's impending demise and a recognizable fan identity. Sure, that identity may have centered on decades of unhappiness and despair, with a few pleasurable Barry Sanders seasons mixed in, but still — that's an identity! How would you describe a Jaguars fan? What do they have to show for these past two decades other than the ‘We Hosted The Most Depressing Super Bowl Ever’ championship belt?”
Austin Murphy, SI.com: “With six minutes to play in the 49ers 34-3 dismantling of visiting Houston, a lone figure stood forlornly on the Texans' sideline. As the home team bled the clock, no one came over to talk to Matt Schaub, who stood off to himself, like a leper. Or worse, a kicker. Which is not to say no one would speak to him. From the stands behind the visitors bench, five rows up, a fleshy, balding fellow -- a Texans fan, it turned out -- shouted in Schaub's direction, his jowls quivering with outrage: ‘You better enjoy that money, Schaub, 'cause it's all you'll ever gonna make!’ Jowls was referring, of course, to the eyebrow-raising contract extension Schaub signed after just a single game last season. Even though Schaub has been described as a glorified game manager, the Texans brain trust saw enough in him to offer him a four-year deal worth almost $30 million guaranteed, and a maximum value of $62 million. Marry in haste, repent at leisure. It struck many as a bit odd that the Texans seemed in such a rush to lock Schaub up for the long term. This was a necessary step to take, to bring stability and consistency to a key position for a team it was thought ready to win a championship now. These days, the question is not so much whether Houston can get to the Super Bowl as it is, Can the Texans get back to .500.”
Mike Tanier, Sports on Earth: “Matt Schaub is a 32-year-old quarterback whose peak lasted from 2009 until roughly last year, when he began noticeably fading. He is on the decline, and that decline looks like it will be swift. Most quarterbacks have already declined by the time they are 32, so there is no real mystery about why he looks so bad lately. Texans fans need to make peace with the fact that the Schaub Era rapidly is running its course. It's not a cause for rebellion. It's just nature.”
Gregg Doyel, CBSSports.com: “If you didn't know better, you'd say the Patriots are a bad football team. But you do know better, because you know the Patriots came into Sunday as one of only five undefeated teams in the NFL. You know their head coach is Bill Belichick, their quarterback is Tom Brady and their record was 4-0. You know the Patriots aren't bad. But that's you. Me? I don't know a damn thing. So I trust my eyes, and my eyes saw a bad football team Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Hell, my eyes saw two bad football teams Sunday. The Bengals had a bad day, with a bad interception early and a terrible fumble late and a handful of stupid penalties at stupid times. And the Bengals beat the Patriots anyway. The score was 13-6, which is pretty much what this game deserved. The Bengals were bad, and the Patriots were worse.”
Ian O’Connor, ESPN.com: “The Giants' quarterback has already made a full career's worth of big throws, winning one more ring than his more talented brother, Peyton. But in good times and in bad, Eli has always come across as an unflappable figure, a Derek Jeter-Mariano Rivera kind of figure in a most volatile marketplace. Just as Jeter and Rivera were never rattled by the New York, New York pressures and noise around them, (Eli) Manning remained rock-solid in his approach. Until Sunday. Until all this losing turned him into Mark Sanchez.”
MEGAPHONE
“I've got a nice contract. I've been to Pro Bowls. I've made all-Pro. I want to win. Sometimes, the formula may go to me. But sometimes, whatever is best for the team, that's what we need to do. So I'm always gonna be frustrated when our offense isn't No. 1 in the league. I'm always gonna be frustrated when we're losing. So yeah, I'm frustrated. We just lost two in a row.”
Frustrated Bears receiver Brandon Marshall.
