Longtime Houston radio listeners used to know me as VanderSchaub. I was always one of the quarterback's biggest supporters. I hope, when it's all said and done, that despite this train-wreck of a season, he gets credit for the good things he did for the franchise.
This year, his quarterback rating and trust with the fans and coaching staff had plummeted while pick-sixing his way out of the lineup.
It's hard to believe this is the same player who threw for 527 yards and five touchdowns against Jacksonville last season to tie an NFL record. He once threw for 414 yards in a win at Lambeau field. He racked up 497 passing yards in a victory at Washington in 2010 including a 34 yard game-tying touchdown to Andre Johnson on 4th and ten. And he's the same player who outdueled Peyton Manning in Denver last season with four touchdown passes.
If Schaub somehow gets the win this Sunday, he will have won three of his last four head to head match-ups with Manning. What a strange yet somehow fitting home finale it would be in this most bizarre season.
We haven't seen Schaub start a game in over two months. The last time he did, some fans cheered when he left the Rams game with an injury. He's played twice since then, nearly rallying the team to victories in relief. Nearly.
This historic 12 game losing streak started with catastrophic failures in the passing game and has branched out into a full ensemble effort. It's a long shot but maybe the man who was at the controls when loss number one occurred on a sunny September afternoon in Baltimore can be the one to engineer its end.
The damage is already done. Jobs have been lost and playoff hopes were crushed long ago. But perhaps for one day, the Texans can shine like we hoped they would and beat the best in the game.
