Matt Schaub’s 2011 season officially ended as the Texans placed him on injured reserve today after he suffered an ill-timed foot injury two weeks against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Albert Haynesworth, who played his first game for the Bucs only a week after being abruptly cut by the New England Patriots, turned out to be the main cause for the Texans’ latest (and potentially worst) bad break. as he was the one who fell on Schaub’s foot on a quarterback sneak.
Haynesworth and Schaub have a mini-history of collisions that have left Schaub battered on the sideline. Big Al, who once starred on the AFC South rival Tennessee Titans (which seems so long ago in my 26-year-old mind), put the Texans QB out of commission twice in the five years Schaub has been in Houston.
Haynesworth made a point after Schaub injury to question his toughness, and continued that pattern when asked by The Tennessean about his latest damaging to the Pro Bowl quarterback:
“It was on the goal-line,’’ Haynesworth said. “He actually screamed like normal in the pile.”
How ironic is it that Haynesworth loves to poke fun at Matt Schaub the same way that the rest of America pokes fun at him? To Haynesworth, Schaub is a weak, injury-prone quarterback. To most, Fat Albert is a lazy, inconsistent, out-of-shape guy who hasn’t been productive in years. Hurting QBs on freak plays won’t change that reputation.