HOUSTON (AP) -Matt Schaub has thrown for at least 300 yards in four of his last five games and leads the NFL with 14 touchdown passes.
His progress this season has been encouraging, but the Texans believe his development is far from over. They think he can do much more.
“He’s got great command of what we’re doing,” coach Gary Kubiak said. “You look at how he handles the football team in pressure situations, it’s easy for him. So I just think it’s a bunch more starts under his belt, he’s got a lot of confidence. The more games you start in this league, the better you’re going to get and he’s showing signs of reaching a new level.”
Schaub, who is one touchdown shy of his career mark, thinks feeling more comfortable with his teammates has helped improve the passing game.
“We’ve been together now for a few years,” he said. “Things are starting to click and we are understanding our capabilities and what we can do when we play well.”
in Atlanta for his first three. The Texans think his progress was slowed his first two years because of sitting out 10 games with various injuries.
“It definitely hurt,” Kubiak said. “He could have had some more starts under his belt and some more time with Kyle (Shanahan) and myself, but he’s worked through that.”
The Texans have the third-most potent passing attack in the NFL behind Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. Along with leading the league in touchdown passes, Schaub is in the top five in passing yards a game and total passing yards. Despite putting up numbers on par with the NFL’s elite signal callers, he’s rarely mentioned as one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
“He’s always been a guy that you could depend on, but now you can really see that he’s taken it to that next level, to that upper echelon of quarterbacks,” offensive tackle Eric Winston said. “He’s really forcing people to take a hard look at him and say, ‘Where does this guy rank?”’
Wide receiver Andre Johnson thinks people are too tough on Schaub, but understands it’s difficult to praise the quarterback of a 3-3 team no matter what his statistics are.
“Matt takes a lot of criticism and sometimes people need to stop talking and they can look at the numbers, and I think they speak for themselves,” he said. “But at the same time, you want to win games, so that’s the thing we focus on around here.”
its Johnson for helping him understand the team and become comfortable in his role. Johnson was impressed with Schaub immediately when he called the day he was signed to begin building their relationship. A smart and seemingly obvious move, but one that has paid dividends for both players.
“Since the day he got here, we’ve just been communicating a lot,” said Johnson, who led the NFL in receiving last season. “We talk about everything we see on the field and things like that. I have a bond with him that I didn’t have with David (Carr) when he was here.”
Schaub wasn’t around for Houston’s terrible early seasons, but is aware of the struggles and it motivates him take the team to a new level.
“Just to know what all they went through and how hard they worked they’re like the ambassadors of the team,” Schaub said. “They’ve stuck it out through all the tough years and it’s time to show them some rewards for their hard work. So that’s what we’re trying to get done.”
Schaub fumbled 10 times last season, but has coughed up the ball just once this year. He’s looking to limit his interceptions after throwing five this season, including one the Cardinals returned for the go-ahead touchdown in their 28-21 win.
“The key is for his team to win and to protect the ball,” Kubiak said of Schaub’s improvement. “That’s ultimately how quarterbacks are judged. His numbers have been exceptional and he needs to continue to get better at protecting the ball and we’ll get his team to where they all want to go.”
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