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Sports

Schaub could be blessing or bust 

The Texans' trade for former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Schaub seems one-sided right now. 

The Burn

Jong Lee

Houston and Atlanta agreed to swap draft positions in the 2007 draft, which means the Falcons now own the eighth overall selection and the Texans will pick 10th. The Texans also gave Atlanta their first second-round pick in this year's draft and a second-round selection in the 2008 draft -- all this for a quarterback who hasn't won an NFL game in his career.

Because of the swap in first-round picks, Texans fans can forget about seeing the team draft players such as former LSU safety LaRon Landry and Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson. Instead, fans could see Penn State offensive tackle Levi Brown or Michigan cornerback Leon Hall.

The swap isn't too bad for the Texans, who should still receive a starting-caliber player, but the loss of the two second-round picks doesn't sit well with me. The Texans could be missing out on two future stars (i.e. the next DeMeco Ryans) with the loss of those second-round picks, and will receive only a quarterback with less than 1,500 career passing yards.

Nevertheless, Schaub is a significant upgrade over Texans fifth-year starter David Carr. Carr's problem wasn't that he couldn't play, but that he couldn't lead. 

The first thing Schaub asked for when he got to the press conference Thursday was phone numbers for every player on the team -- offensive and defense. Carr, on the other hand, told reporters last season that faootball is just a game and said he has a life after he leaves the field. Carr's poor dedication and lack of leadership ultimately ended his career in Houston.

Schaub will get into the system with ease, playing in the West Coast offense as he did at Virginia. Schaub won't get the protection he'd like to have, but an upgrade such as Jordan Black at tackle will help keep the sack totals down.

Texans general manager Rick Smith is taking a huge gamble -- did he give up too much in the draft? We'll just have to wait and see how good Schaub turns out to be.

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