Rex Grossman Named No. 2 Texans QB; Matt Schaub Described as 'Day-to-Day'

Who says the fourth preseason game means nothing? Backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky (with large multi-year contract) looked inconsistent with poor touch in limited minutes against Tampa Bay. Third string quarterback, Rex Grossman (vet minimum, one year contract) threw two touchdown passes, and more importantly showed much more poise. On Tuesday, coach Gary Kubiak named Rex Grossman the number 2 quarterback for the Texans, for now.

Usually the backup quarterback competition isn't much of a big deal, but it is when their are concerns about the health of the starter. Matt Schaub injured his ankle in the game against the Vikings and is described as "progressing toward getting ready to go" and as being "day-to-day." He took half the snaps in practice.

I expect Schaub to play in the opener against the Jets because he has pushed himself through injuries before, but it will be interesting to see what his effectiveness is. In 2007, he came back from injuries too quickly and looked awful. Last season, he had a very productive game against the Packers on the road after coming back from his knee injury.

The Texans offense doesn't feature a running QB, but does depend on enough mobility to run bootlegs.

Grossman missed most of the preseason with a hamstring injury suffered during the first preseason game and missed a lot of reps. He says he likes the Texans system and working with the offensive weapons he has. When asked if he had a message to his critics from Chicago, he said, "I'd like for them to know I'm a Houston Texan and proud of it."

To be fair to Grossman, I've seen the local media ask him a ton of questions begging him to throw dirt on the Chicago offensive scheme and players, and he doesn't take the bait.