For a guy who was once the franchise quarterback, to be benched would be hard enough to deal with.
To be booed for warming up has to take an emotional toll.
Deposed Texans quarterback Matt Schaub talked to reporters for three minutes Wednesday, cutting off the interview when questions mounted about the fan base — which showered negative feedback upon him when he replaced Case Keenum last week.
“I can’t control how people feel or how they react,” Schaub said, via Brian Smith of the Houston Chronicle. “They’re fans — that’s what they’re there for, good or bad. We just have to handle it and find a way to win.”
Teammates said the reception he got, even when playing well, was hard for him to accept.
“That’s not fun to come into, especially for him,” third-stringer T.J. Yates said. “He’s done so much around here. That hurt him. He’s not going to say it, but it’s going to affect anybody that’s in that situation.”
The bigger question will be answered this offseason, when the Texans decide how to proceed after giving him a $62 million contract extension in 2012. The fact they benched him for Keenum has made it reasonable to believe his stint in Houston will be measured by weeks, not years.
“I don’t know [where)] the future lies,” Schaub said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. . . .
“It’s been very hard. There is no question. We’re sitting here 2-8. It’s not anything that any of us anticipated. Our expectations and our standards are much higher.”
Part of that shortfall has to do with Schaub’s own play, which triggered the negative reaction to begin with.