It saddens me when an NFL general manager feels fit to show the entire nation that he does not know how to do his job. Seriously. That is the only way to describe what Texans GM Rick Smith did in his trade for Matt Schaub. Smith not only managed to misdiagnose his team's main problem in relation to the quarterback position, he also highly overpaid for the wrong solution. To clarify, the Texans are sending two 2nd round picks and the 8th overall selection in this year's draft for Schaub and the 10th pick. Yes, that Matt Schaub, the one that has only started two games in his career and lost both of them. The same one that would have been an unrestricted free agent next off-season. Yeah, that one. Essentially the Falcons just pulled the same trick on the Texans that tall untalented centers (Robert Swift anyone? Adonal Foyle? Jerome James?) have been pulling on NBA teams for years. Let them see as little as possible, get them talking as much as possible, and laugh as hard as possible all the way to the bank.
The first thing to dissect with this trade is how much exactly the Texans gave up to get Schaub. According to the NFL draft pick value chart used by most teams, the difference between the 8th and 10th overall picks in the draft is equivalent to a high 4th round pick, thus bringing the final tally for the unproven Schaub to two 2nd rounders and the equivalent of a 4th rounder. Also to take into consideration, the 2nd round pick the Texans are giving up is the 39th overall pick. Here is a quick list of some players taken around that position in the past few drafts, in the top third of the second round:
DeMeco Ryans
Reggie Brown
Ben Troupe
Tatum Bell
Julius Jones
Igor Olshansky
Eric Steinbach
Rashean Mathis
DeShaun Foster
See what I am getting at here? A team that drafts well should be able to get an eventual (or instant) starter out of a second round pick, especially a high 2nd rounder. Heaven knows that the Texans have more than just one hole to fill on their team. So why trade away two potential starters for an unproven commodity? Especially when you already have a proven one?
You read that correctly. I just called David Carr a proven commodity. Proven how you might ask? Well, when he has not been on his back he has done a pretty good job getting the ball to Andre Johnson. Sadly, Johnson is about the only reliable receiver the Texans have on their roster. Also sad, is that Carr has not had many times when he is not on his back. I mean seriously, the problem with the Texans offense was not David Carr. GMs across the NFL have been showing the importance of offensive linemen the last two off-seasons, showing it with their pocket books. Now that would have been a change of pace for the Texans. Spending money where the problem actually rests. Look at their offensive line last year. They started a rookie (Eric Winston), the oft injured Fred Weary, an aging Steve McKinney, the flat out bad Chester Pitts, and the perennial underachiever Ephraim Salaam. So maybe, just maybe, the Texans would have been smart to go after say, Eric Steinbach, Kris Dielman, Leonard Davis, or Derrick Dockery instead of giving a 30 year old Ahman Green a fat four year deal. Because maybe, just maybe, the problem with the running game in Houston is the same problem that is plaguing the passing game. No, not David Carr, the offensive line. Maybe Domanick Formerly Davis and Wali Lundy would have looked a lot better if they were not running behind a starting offensive line that wouldn't even be backups on some NFL teams.
As the tale often goes however, the Texans needed a fall guy, and they also needed a new hope. I mean, if the Texans get their fans hating David Carr enough and loving Matt Schaub enough, they will forget that the Texans passed on Vince Young. Right? And never mind that the team needs offensive line help, the best thing for the team to do with their free agency dollars was to get a 30 year old running back who missed 11 games just two seasons ago. Right? And forget that two 2nd round picks could have translated into some of that sorely needed O-line help, getting a backup QB from another team whose most glowing endorsement is "Well, he has played well in the pre-season" is a better move? Right? Wrong. All so terribly, terribly wrong. The Texans should have stuck with Carr, and focused instead upon getting O-line help in free agency as well as another viable passing target (Drew Bennett? Kevin Curtis?) instead of blowing their present cap space on Ahman Green and their future 2nd rounders on Matt Schaub. Here is to you Rick Smith, showing that there is indeed someone dumber than Charlie Casserly left to run the Texans.
