Cover 3, Week 7: Is Matt Schaub Down For The Count In Houston?

1. We thought the Texans would be legit Super Bowl contenders. However, a cut block to Brian Cushing’s knee may end his season while Arian Foster’s hamstring is throwing temper tantrums again. Case Keenum showed some promise against Kansas City. Is it too early to give up on Schaub and turn the offense over to Keenum permanently?

JAMES CARR: The Texans actually have an opportunity here. Usually a team with any sort of ambitions could be killed for tanking halfway through the season, but Texans fans already hate Matt Schaub. That, combined with their awful record leaves the door open to see what Keenum can do. Still, all is not lost in Houston. They've got a bye week to settle down, then they face the Colts at home, followed by Arizona, Oakland and Jacksonville. If they can gain a game on the Colts coming out of the bye and win the next three games, they're right back in this thing. Time to roll the dice.

DUNSON: The Houston Texans crisis might be more shocking than any in the league. However, unlike the Steelers and Giants' starters, Schaub gets woozy in the playoff altitude. Kubiak’s offense relies on bootlegs, rollouts and play action. That’s code for mobility that Schaub lacks. Let's take a peek at Kubiak's resume. He was a running back coach at Texas A&M, Steve Young's quarterbacks coach, then became John Elway and Jake Plummer coordinator and position  The upcoming NFL draft is going to be a first round quarterback pageant.  Texans need to discover what they have in Keenum before the season ends.

 

2. Steve Smith straight dogged Janoris Jenkins on the field and in the media after the Panthers win over St. Louis because Jenkins spouted off about Smith’s wife. Smith compared rubbing his 800th catch – a touchdown – in Jenkins’ face to rubbing your dog’s nose in the floor when he pees on it.  He might have a bit of a Napoleon complex, but is there a chippier player in the NFL than Carolina’s No. 89?

CARR: Steve Smith takes the cake on offense. He's got a DBs size and temperament. If he couldn't catch the ball so damn well he'd probably be neck-and-neck with Cortland Finnegan for the NFLs most antagonizing player. But he's not, since he has all that talent, and that's why he's got such a chip on his shoulder. He's the man.
 
DUNSON: DUNSON: Smith is an absolute bulldog. Sometimes bulldogs bit their owners. Jenkins got off easy. This is a man who once beat his own team’s cornerback so badly he had to get carted off the field. If he hadn’t been directed to football, Smith would probably be fighting Floyd Mayweather on Showtime for the light middleweight title. What's crazy is thtat he seems to thrive off the conflict. Ask Deangelo Hall. Jenkins better hope that's the last time he meets Smith. Smith might spend all night trying to find out where Jenkins lives.

 

3. Who is your Week 7 MVP?

CARR: Russell Wilson. He was unbelievable from outside the pocket on Thursday night. Change the channel at your own risk.
 
DUNSON: Dr. James Andrew used glue and nails to repair RGIII’s knee, but it took six weeks for RGIII to get his brain, arm and legs operating at the same frequency. All his synapses were firing from his throwing mechanics to his running form and as a result the Redskins posted the highest score of the weekend in a firefight with the Bears. That’s exactly what you need to see out of RGIII the week before they face the Broncos battered defense.
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