Matt Schaub talks aspects of the offense
Jul 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub (8) throws a pass during training camp at Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Headed into the preseason slate of the schedule, Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub spoke with the Houston media on a number of topics Monday, including how much time he’d play in the preseason opener this Friday.
The Texans travel to Minnesota on Aug. 9 to open the preseason schedule against the Vikings.
“I don’t know,” Schaub said of how much he’ll play Friday. “I can gauge it just based on what we’ve done in the past, but it’s up to the coach.
“We got to be ready to go out and play a football game. It’s going to be nice to end the week going against somebody different other than just hitting on ourselves and competing against ourselves, so we’re excited to move through this week and get ourselves ready to go play a game.”
Being Monday was the 10th day of training camp one of the competitions that has caught the attention of Schaub is the battle to be his backup, as T.J. Yates and Case Keenum, a rookie from Houston, are in a competitive situation to be the No. 2 QB.
Yates has been the backup QB for the Texans for parts of the past two seasons, as he filled in for an injured Schaub in ’11 winning a playoff game. For most of that season Yates was the No. 3 quarterback behind Schaub and Matt Leinart.
“We all compete with one another and it’s great for the group,” Schaub said. “They’re both working extremely hard, they’re in their (play) book, and they understand the offense: the reads, the progressions, and seeing the defense.
“It’s great to compete against our defense because from top to bottom (because) everyone is competing.”
As for the Texans’ offense the “surprise” of camp has been the progression of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, a rookie wide receiver from Clemson.
Being the 27th overall draft pick this past April, the pressure of being a first round selection hasn’t got to Hopkins this camp. Head coach Gary Kubiak and Schaub have nothing put praise for the rookie this offseason as Hopkins set to start opposite of veteran Andre Johnson in the season opener.
First though, Schaub wants to see how Hopkins plays in his first preseason game.
“Based on where he started when he first walked in the door, (DeAndre is) right on pace,” Schaub said. “He’s ahead of schedule, but it’s hard to gauge that until we get in a game.
“You can do it out here in practice when you get rep after rep, but when it comes to crunch time in a game, that’s when you really got to do it. We’ve just got to get to the first preseason game and see how far he has come and then progress from there.”
Schaub also wants to see the progression of second-year receiver Keshawn Martin in the preseason opener.
“I’m excited to see Keshawn get out there after his rookie year last year,” Schaub said. “He’s coming into year two and really understanding the offense, getting open, exploding through routes, and creating separation. I’m excited to get Keshawn out there and get some balls thrown his way.”
With some changes within the offense and the lack of practice time for starting running back Arian Foster, Schaub said building chemistry with the offense hasn’t been a problem.
“That’s our job, that’s what we’re here to do and it’s my job throwing to them and make sure those guys are working and understanding their routes,” Schaub said of the Texans’ chemistry on offense. I’m excited to get going because we’ve spent a lot of time working on that chemistry and that route timing.”
(Quotes provided by media.houstontexans.com)