Gary Kubiak: Matt Schaub will start vs. Rams

At his Monday press conference, Gary Kubiak seemed to leave the door open to starting T.J. Yates over Matt Schaub. But on Wednesday, he slammed the door shut. Schaub will start against the Rams on Sunday at noon against the St. Louis Rams. “It was a tough decision. Real tough,” Kubiak said. “But I feel like it’s the best thing for our football team this weekend and a lot of thought went into it, a lot of evaluation, lot of things going on. But I thought it was the best decision for this team going into this game.”

Schaub has come under fire in recent weeks for his play. He has thrown pick-6s in four consecutive games and has nine interceptions through five games. It’s the most a Texan has ever had through five games. If Schaub wasn’t the starter on Sunday, that job would have very likely belonged to backup quarterback Yates, who has been with the team for several years. He took over when Schaub was injured two years ago and even led the franchise to its first-ever playoff win.

But Kubiak decided to stick with Schaub. “Obviously, I talked to (Schaub) about my process and what I go through to look at things,” Kubiak said. “And just so he understands where I’m coming from. We just had a good meeting. I told him what we’re going to do and we’re moving forward.”

The day after the Texans’ embarrassing 34-3 loss to the 49ers, Kubiak expressed some worries about the mental state of his quarterback. Fans have been brutal to Schaub, who is just three interceptions away from his total from last season. Offensive coordinator Rick Dennison said Schaub has seemed “fine” in his meetings with him so far this week. But Kubiak understands confidence isn’t something gained by talking alone.

“First off, it’s only human when you’re going through what he’s going through,” Kubiak said. “You don’t just have a conversation and you’re OK. You’re OK when you’re playing and your team wins games. That’s when you’re OK. I understand that. I’m just trying to help him work through it, trying to do some things practice-wise that can help, and do everything I can from my perspective as a coach to help a player get through something like this. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

- Dave Zangaro, CSN Houston