Matt Schaub Cleared To Practice: I'm Back Baby!

Roughly eight months after injuring his foot during the Texans 37-9 win over Tampa Bay, Matt Schaub has been given the "green light" to practice when training camp begins. The Texans have said for a long time that they expected Schaub to be ready for training camp, but getting the official go-ahead from Dr. Robert Anderson who performed the surgery makes it official.

There should be a cool breeze rolling through town as all Texans fans breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their starting quarterback will be back under center this season. Schaub has been a favorite of talk show callers to pick on and downgrade what he's capable of doing, but the difference in the offense was clear during his absence. Arian Foster is capable of carrying the team on his shoulders at times, but the running lanes are a lot bigger when the defense has to respect and at times fear the passing game. In 10 games with Schaub the Texans went 7-3 last season and averaged 27.3 points per game. During the final six games of the season without Schaub, the Texans went 3-3 and averaged just 18 points per game; nearly a double digit difference. Is Schaub an elite quarterback, a perfect quarterback; of course not. However, he fits this offensive scheme very well and has put up some big numbers over the last five seasons. With Schaub under center, I believe the Texans are a Super Bowl favorite and probably would have made the big game last season. Without Schaub, the Texans would miss the playoffs against a tougher schedule this season and probably win seven, maybe eight games at most.

All eyes will be on Schaub during training camp, he has a lot of catching up to do after missing 8 games (including playoffs), and all of OTA's and mini-camp this off-season. Schaub will have a lot of motivation to play at his best this season to not only get the Texans deep into the playoffs, but also prove to the team that he's healthy and skilled enough to warrant a contract extension.

Did you get the reference in the headline? Never a bad time for a Seinfeld reference.