Did Jared Allen Cheap Shot Matt Schaub?

An MRI this afternoon confirmed that Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has an injured MCL. Jay Glazer of FoxSports.com is reporting that it is an MCL tear, and Schaub will be out for at least four weeks and perhaps will be put on IR. Coach Gary Kubiak didn't get into any detail in his presser but suggests Schaub will be out 2 to 4 weeks.

Backup Sage ~~Rosenchappa~~ Rosenfels will get the start, and he is likely to put up big numbers (and perhaps big interceptions) in Schaub's absence. Kubiak hasn't decided who Rosenfels' backup will be--either practice squader rookie Alex Brink or some guy they work out tomorrow.

The play that got Schaub limping didn't receive a flag, but it looked like it should have. Vikings DE Jared Allen dove directly into Schaub's knee, without being blocked into it. The above video shows a couple of different angles of this.

Teams have learned that the best way to deal with the Texans passing attack is to take physical shots at Schaub when they can find them, like the Titans did to Schaub both of their games last year, or like what the Charger's Drayton Florence did last year.

It's certainly worth the risk of a 15 yard penalty to take out Schaub's knee. Hard to say if Allen gets a fine. Allen's low hits into Schaub haven't got much publicity if you check out the google news searches as of right this moment.

The video is also an illustration of how the Texans' offensive line is not really designed to be a one-dimensional, pass-mostly team. The Texans only ran the ball 16 times, and the smallish line trying to continuously pass block is no match for physical defensive lines, especially in loud road conditions. It also demonstrates the perils to quarterbacks of on-the- job training for rookie left tackles such as Texans Duane Brown. [Correction: The clueless burnt left tackle in question was Ephraim Salaam]

So cheap hit or not? What say you?

Reader Comments (Page 2 of 4)

11-04-2008 @ 8:34AM

JR mcCain said...

I have never wished any ill on any football player. Until now!
Mr. Allen's hit was as dirty as I have ever seen. Not to mention he tried to do it earlier in the same manner.
I have no doubt, that, most NFL players have seen it and would agree. If this is the case, Mr. Allen better grow eyes in the back of his head. You reap what you sow.....and I will smile as you get taken out in the same way. Mr. Allen, you might want to make sure you have another job lined up as you roll up the handi-cap ramp in your wheelchair.

11-04-2008 @ 8:45AM

carol said...

In a word, yes, it was a cheap shot and if Schaub's name had been Manning or Brady, the refs would have called it.

11-04-2008 @ 9:33AM

bigfatdrunk said...

First, way to keep it classy, Jeff. If I were you, I'd be threatened by Steph, as well, which is why all you've got are ad hominen attacks.

My take (NSFW in an adult language way): http://www.atexansblog.com/2008/11/03/teh-schaub-injured-time-for-the-rosenchoppa/

Two things that stick out to me that make this specifically cheap. First, the ball was out well before the hit. Allen lunged directly at Schaub's knee, never trying to use his hands to make the tackle. Secondly, this was the second time Allen had tried to roll up on Schaub's leg during a play. Allen was out to injure Schaub.

Football is not a dirty game, but it's a tough game. What Allen did goes beyond the pale and deserves serious retribution.

11-04-2008 @ 9:34AM

ellis383 said...

The slo-mo replay seems pretty conclusive as to Mr. Allen's intentions. I for one hope Mr. Goodell seriously evaluates this situation. Mr. Allen clearly dives into a player's knee, well after the ball has been thrown; there has to be repercussions for that type of play. The only way you defend that hit is by ignoring the NFL rules in place, ignoring the facts and just pounding on your keyboard hoping that your noise distracts from the real issue. I hope Schaub gets healthy quickly as the Texans desperately need to figure out if we have our QB of the future on the roster.....I hope we do as I don't want to go through six more years of watching the games with the only wish that "I just hope we look like a real NFL team today." Sigh.

11-04-2008 @ 11:24AM

nale said...

ellis383, The replay is not conclusive of intentions and does not show Mr. Allen clearly dive into a player's knee. Allen crawled and dove at Schaud but wasn't aiming at the knee. Allen was off balance stumbling towards the ground as he tried to reach the quarterback. The hit look bad and the Schaud got hurt because the defense player in front of Schaud pushed him back into Allen. If that player hadn't pushed Schaud back Allen would not have hit Schaud's knee. It was the combination to the two hit that caused the injury.
No an intentional dirty play to me.

NitroHonda said...

Flagrant hit or not, Schaub needs to bounce on up from those sort of hits.I didn't really see any malice on Allen's end there. I just saw a man who did his job. Should he have been penalized? Probably but anything is going to look worse than it is when one puts it in slow motion.

If anything, Ephriam and Brisel need to be chewed out to the maximum in practice all week. It appeared that they stopped blocking before the ball even left Schaub's hands, especially Salaam. That's the problem with Schaub being injured more than anything else, our linemen giving one big push then backing off. Jared Allen was not the sole person who nicked Schaub. Just take a gander at Williams having a hand in pushing Schaub into Allen. We've simply gotten too used to getting rid of the ball so quickly in a negative way (Carr days).

Either way, I fully expect Matt Schaub to bounce back up from that hit, flagrant or not. Fully expect it. If Carr can asbsorb all the punishment he did... why can't Matt Schaub? I don't get it.

11-04-2008 @ 9:38AM

tres said...

Seems to me that he was headed in that direction with no intent. His team mate assisted by shoving Shaub towards Allen thus causing contact

11-04-2008 @ 9:41AM

Stephanie Stradley said...

Nitrohonda-

Matt Schaub took a direct hit to the side of his knee from the helmet of a 270 lb DE who lunged directly into the knee. The knee joint is not meant to go sideways.

Some reports say he has a torn MCL. A torn MCL makes your knee not stable.

Schaub tried to play through this and should have been pulled right away because he wasn't effective and was clearly seriously hurt. At the half, they pulled him because the knee swelled up on him.

Ask Tom Brady or Kyle Orton what they think of your opinion on this subject. You can't strengthan you knees enough to deal with a direct helmet blow to the side of your knee.

Yeah, the Texans line should have blocked better, but Allen doesn't need to be diving at guys knees in violation of NFL rules.

Thanks all for reading and commenting,
Steph

11-04-2008 @ 11:07AM

I think it's unfair to place Brady (Kyle Orton? Eh) into the discussion here. Brady got up time after time over the seasons. This is football. Injuries are bound to happen. I know that. The difference between the two is recurrance (not sure if this is the correct word or spelling? What I mean is that it happens again and again).

When Tom Brady gets nailed, I just know he's getting up. When someone gives Matt Schaub a shove, my heart stops everytime. See... when Brady went down, the world stopped and went... ooooohhh Tom Brady got nailed. When Schaub goes down, it feels like people start screaming for blame on someone else.

Maybe most people don't agree with me but I shouldn't have my heart lumped in my throat everytime my QB gets touched. He has to bounce up from hits like that. Last year it was his shoulder and now it's his knee. 'What's going to break next' is all I keep thinking about and that's just unfair to me as a Houston Texans fan.

I still don't think the play was as flagrant as some may be trying to make it out to be. If anything... Williams pushed Schaub into Allen. Shoot, it's just football and football happens! Flagrant or not, I wish Matt Schaub would go limp and roll with the punches better when he's getting hit. QBs have to take huge hits consistently. No matter what and the hit that takes them out of the game better be a hit that makes a "Greatest Hits" video somewhere.

11-04-2008 @ 11:06AM

James said...

I think it was dirty only because it had to happen two or three times before Schaub had to leave. Once and it's debateable. Several times and Allen just looks like a dirty SOB. That's our fault too, nobody on this team has the...fortitude, if you will...to stand back up, turn around and lay their hat on someone else's ass. Brisiel tried but not really.

Anyway you slice it the play was against the rules. Maybe Allen didn't see Schaub throw it, but it was probably because he was looking for his knees.

da Bull said...

I watched the play and replay live and it did look quite as bad. Now looking at the replay it's very obvious Allen made a "spearing" motion directed at the knee area. Also, the tackle hit Schaub high after the play was over.

Schaub is reportedly out for 4 weeks how about Allen being out for 8 (2x). I know it won't happen, but, this isn't the first time this guy has been a bad actor.

11-04-2008 @ 10:43AM

grungedave said...

NitroHonda has got to be kidding.
maybe we should let Jared Allen cheapshot him, too - and then let Nitro report back on how quickly he bounced back?

11-04-2008 @ 1:22PM

I never claimed to be an NFL QB making 8 million dollars a year which is what Matt Schaub has claimed. When I see Brett Favre constantly getting highlight-worthy [b]crunched[/b] yet he pops back up crunch after crunch... it makes me think about Matt Schaub and the hits that keep putting him out of commission.

Let's have a real discussion about this though.

Let's try and clarify where I'm coming from. I don't want the discussion to stray from what I'm trying to broach.

Should there have been a flag on the play? ABSOLUTELY. Do I think Jared Allen deserves a fine? Sure. Goodell has given them out for far less infractions. Do I think Jared Allen intentionally hurt Matt Schaub? Well, sure. He's a DE. His job is to kill the QB. Do I think he intentionally threw up a dirty hit in order to accomplish that? Not really. What I do think is that Matt Schaub sure keeps getting knocked out of commission.

I've never really known Jared Allen to be a dirty player so it's kind of hard for me to be jumping on the 'intentional dirty play hit' from Jared Allen. If we're talking about Haynesworth, I may have a different opinion on the matter. History should be the telling sign here. Maybe I don't know enough about Jared Allen. That I will admit to but I simply don't believe he's earned a reputation as a dirty player.

Sorry you guys don't really agree with me but hey! It's always great to hear from other people on the matter. I'm learning from all of you who put forth an effort into making this a worthy discussion.

11-04-2008 @ 10:48AM

Ravi said...

Yes. It was a cheap shot. I screamed and yelled for a flag, but i guess sounds don't carry well from houston to minnesota.

11-04-2008 @ 10:55AM

gtexan said...

No doubt in my mind that was a cheap shot. Jared Allen proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he is a dirty player. You don't dive at someones knees when they are being pushed from above without knowing what you're doing. He should be fined for sure

11-04-2008 @ 11:49AM

Dave said...

People called the Haynesworth hit on Schaub last year dirty and I didn't feel like it was when I watched it again, he hit Schaub immediately after he threw the ball and it was basically a body slam.
This was Jared Allen lunging after Matt Schaub's knee, plain and simple. This was a dirty hit and our organization is going to pay for it. The league better make sure the Vikings do too.

DB said...

Thanks for posting this story, TC! It seems that teams don't get the calls if they are bottom dwellers and have unknown QBs. Many of the top named QBs get flags if a defender barely touches them after the pass has left their hands. But, we have continually seen our QBs take some cheap shots and neither the officials do anything about it nor does our nice-guy offensive line step up to defend our QB. It is pitiful.

11-04-2008 @ 11:46AM

cdollaz said...

Definitely a cheap shot. Also, the word is "impeded", not "inpeded."

11-04-2008 @ 12:18PM

John said...

Jared Allen is know around Kansas City as an jack***, he is a thug and should be suspended, he is no different than Haynesworth. This is obviously a dirty hit.

Matt said...

That play was dirty. You can tell by the way he lowers his shoulder instead of keeping his head up and trying to grab Schaub's torso. He could also angled his head/shoulder to the side of Schaubs legs as he was going down and wrapped up his ankles/shins/legs with his arms.

And yes there was another play where Allen attempted to roll into Schaub's knee.