An MRI this afternoon confirmed that Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has an injured MCL. Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com is reporting that it is an MCL tear, and Schaub will be out for at least four weeks and perhaps will be put on IR. Coach Gary Kubiak didn't get into any detail in his presser but suggests Schaub will be out 2 to 4 weeks.
Backup Sage RosenchappaRosenfels will get the start, and he is likely to put up big numbers (and perhaps big interceptions) in Schaub's absence. Kubiak hasn't decided who Rosenfels' backup will be--either practice squader rookie Alex Brink or some guy they work out tomorrow.
The play that got Schaub limping didn't receive a flag, but it looked like it should have. Vikings DE Jared Allen dove directly into Schaub's knee, without being blocked into it. The above video shows a couple of different angles of this.
Teams have learned that the best way to deal with the Texans passing attack is to take physical shots at Schaub when they can find them, like the Titans did to Schaub both of their games last year, or like what the Charger's Drayton Florence did last year.
It's certainly worth the risk of a 15 yard penalty to take out Schaub's knee. Hard to say if Allen gets a fine. Allen's low hits into Schaub haven't got much publicity if you check out the google news searches as of right this moment.
The video is also an illustration of how the Texans' offensive line is not really designed to be a one-dimensional, pass-mostly team. The Texans only ran the ball 16 times, and the smallish line trying to continuously pass block is no match for physical defensive lines, especially in loud road conditions. It also demonstrates the perils to quarterbacks of on-the- job training for rookie left tackles such as Texans Duane Brown.
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So cheap hit or not? What say you?
Did Jared Allen Cheap Shot Matt Schaub? originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
