With the Texans having lost two in a row and plenty of the team’s fans fearful of a one-and-done playoff appearance, the status of quarterback T.J. Yates is being questioned. But not by the guy whose opinion counts the most.
Coach Gary Kubiak said Friday that Yates won’t be yanked.
“Oh yeah, he’s done a lot of good things,” Kubiak said as to whether Yates, a rookie fifth-round pick out of North Carolina, will remain the starter, after inheriting the job in the wake of season-ending injuries to Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart.
“I think T.J. continues to do some good things,” Kubiak said a day after the team’s 19-16 loss to the Colts. “He did some good things last night. You complete 13 out of 16 throws in this league, you’re doing something right. The issue last night, we didn’t protect him very well and gave up four sacks in 16 throws. That’s about as poor as it gets, so we better address that first as we keep moving him forward. But I think he continues to get better and like I said, for where we’re heading here, he needs to continue to get better and we just got to trust him and move forward. But like I said, everybody’s got to do their job around him.”
Barring a dramatic change of heart, then, the Texans will roll with Yates -- even if it means getting bounced in the wild-card round.
The alternatives are Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme. At some point, it couldn’t hurt to give one or both of them a try, if and when the season seems to be circling the drain.