Now that Matt Schaub has been traded to the Texans, we have the opportunity to answer some lingering questions.  First of all, was the Texans offensive line as bad as its sack numbers made it seem or were those numbers due more to Carr’s ineptitude?  Since coming into the league as the first overall pick in 2002, he has been sacked 249 times including a record 76 as a rookie.  His sack numbers as a rookie can likely be attributed to both his inexperience in the NFL as well as the fact that since this was the first season for the expansion Texans, the offensive line had not yet had a chance to develop any cohesion.  Though the line has improved, Carr continued with his record sack pace, and was still sacked 41 times last year.  Inexplicably, after his first draft, Charlie Casserly, the Texans’ GM at the time, did not draft an offensive lineman in any round for the next three years, before finally deciding to use 2 third round picks in 2006 on offensive tackles.  Perhaps he thought the linemen just needed time together to gel.  To be fair, Casserly did initially try to build a decent line by taking Tony Boselli in the expansion draft, but Boselli, due to chronic shoulder problems, never played a down for the Texans. 

The Texans have now been in the league for 5 years, and have never won more than 7 games in a season, averaging about 5 wins each year.  This abysmal record can be traced to both offensive and defensive problems, and it would be easy to blame the offensive problems on an offensive line that cannot protect the quarterback.  After all, how could Carr be expected to play well when he is constantly harassed? Shouldn’t Carr bear some of the burden for this offensive ineptitude, though?  Apparently, the Texans think so.  They cut him outright after trading for Matt Schaub.  Now we’ll be able to see if those sack numbers are due to an offensive line that can’t block or a quarterback, who can’t get rid of the ball.  It will be very interesting to see what Schaub can do with the same blockers that Carr had.  It will be equally as interesting to see how Carr does with another team.  There is rumor that he may sign with the Raiders.  This would be damaging to both Carr and my hypothesis, because the Raiders’ offensive line is even worse than the Texans, so we still would not know how Carr could do with a decent line. 

That there was so much interest in Schaub at all is a mystery to me.  He has a career 52% completion percentage, and a QB rating of 69.2.  His entire reputation is built upon a single very good game against the Patriots in 2005.  For his career, he has 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, but 4 of those touchdowns came in that game against the Patriots.  Last year, he only threw 18 passes in spot duty.  He reminds me of Rob Johnson.  Johnson was also a backup quarterback, for the Jaguars behind Brunell during the mid 90’s when the Jags were a perennial power.  In his limited opportunities, he looked good enough for the Bills to give up a first round pick for him.  The Jaguars used that pick to get Fred Taylor, their oft injured star.   In his 4 years with the Bills, Johnson was also often injured, but when he could play, he gained the NFL record for most sacks per attempt, earning him the nickname “Robo-sack”.  He simply could not get rid of the ball leading to his sacks and injuries.  The Bills actually did make the playoffs while Johnson was there, but under the leadership of Doug Flutie.  After unsuccessful stints with the Buccaneers, Redskins, and Raiders, Johnson is now out of the NFL. 

I watched Schaub’s game against the Patriots in 2005, and he did look good, but judging a quarterback on just one game is dangerous.  Remember Tony Romo’s 5 touchdown game against the Buccaneers this past Thanksgiving?  All of America saw it, and it made him a star, but that star quickly faded.  It will be interesting to see how Schaub does now that he’s the starter in Houston.

This move got me thinking about other moves I’d like to see just to satisfy my curiosity. 

What if Manning played for the Patriots under Belichick and Brady played for the Colts.  This was actually suggested to me by an emailer from Boston.  It might finally help to answer the question of who is better.  Manning has the spectacular stats, but Brady has the championships.  Even though Manning got the monkey off his back this year with a good game in the Super Bowl and a great game in the AFC championship game against the Patriots, he has not played well in the playoffs.  What if Brady were facing Belichick’s defense in snowy Foxboro during the 2003 and 2004 AFC championship games?  I doubt that he would have had the meltdowns that Manning had in those games.  Imagine Brady throwing to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne rather than Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney.  In my opinion, Belichick would not have won 3 Super Bowls with Peyton Manning, and Dungy would have had at least 2 with Brady.

What if the Giants had taken Roethlisberger instead of trading for Manning?  In 2004, the Giants traded Philip Rivers and several picks, one of which became Shawne Merriman to the Chargers for Eli Manning.  They could have gotten Ben Roethlisberger without any trades.  Since then Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a 15-1 record one year and a Super Bowl victory the next.  Manning has struggled and at times looked lost in New York.  Roethlisberger came into a very good situation in Pittsburgh where there was a strong offensive line and running game as well as a dominating defense.  During the 2004 and 2005 seasons, he was not given credit for Pittsburgh’s success.  Instead, pundits called him a game manager; the Steelers success due to their running game and defense.  This opinion was based on his statistics which were not spectacular because he was not asked to throw often the Steelers’ offense.  In 2005, though, Roethlisberger carried his team, and was spectacular in the playoffs.  If he played for the Giants, would he have had the same success?  In many ways, the Giants are similar to Pittsburgh.  They also have a strong offensive line and running game, but they probably have better receivers.  I think Roethlisberger, whose true strength is his pocket sense and mobility, would have done much more with the Giants than Manning did.  Maybe he would not have taken them to the Super Bowl, but he would not have had the deer in the headlights look that I saw in Eli Manning this past season.

What if Belichick left the Patriots to coach an expansion team?  To me this would finally answer the question:  Is the Patriots’ success due to Belichick or Brady?  Did Brady make Belichick or did Belichick make Brady?  I’d like to see how Belichick would do with a second stint with the Browns.  His first was not very successful, and the current Browns are much worse than the team he inherited in 1991.  The Browns’ defense would probably improve, but without a QB like Brady, Belichick would not have nearly the success he’s had in Foxboro.  The Patriots on the other hand would probably continue to do well without Belichick.  The defense would suffer, but with Brady, they will continue to be contenders.

What if Randy Moss played in Atlanta?  This would answer the question of why Vick hasn’t been better.  Some point to his awful receivers and blame Vick’s lack of success on them, but Vick, himself, is very inconsistent.  I’d like to see how he would do with a star wideout, albeit and aging and troubled one, like Moss.  Teams could not double cover both Moss and Alge Crumpler and keep a spy on Vick, so a scary receiver like Moss could really open up the offense in Atlanta.