After a roller coaster season with the Houston Texans, Matt Schaub is now "the man" in Oakland. The Raiders acquired the veteran to help bring some stability to the team while the develop the player for the future. Head coach Dennis Allen is making no bones about it, Schaub is in charge. He is the starting quarterback no matter what media reports are saying and the veteran is loving the vote of confidence.
Schaub's tenure in Houston ended in rocky fashion. After throwing more interceptions than touchdown passes, fans grew angry and targeted the quarterback. He was given all the blame for Houston's 2013 failures and was blamed as the reason they had the No. 1 overall draft pick. However, the Raiders still believe that Schaub still has some of his best playing days in him and are giving him full control of the 2014 season.
"It's exciting. It's just like going to a new place and getting a fresh start. To come to an offense where the coach is looking to give you more freedom, and looking to give you more control of things," Schaub said, via Bay Area News Group. "I had that in some aspects in Houston, but there are things I'm being asked to do here that I didn't have control of in Houston. I would have loved to, but we just weren't in control of it. To now be in that position, and being the quarterback, that's such a great place to be because you can get everyone on the same page."
Allen continues to give Schaub all the praise in the world, even noting that it would take something extremely drastic for someone to start in his place. The Raiders have Matt McGloin and Derek Carr that could possibly take over the quarterback spot, but according to the head coach and general manager Reggie McKenzie, that will not happen for at least another year or even two.
Meanwhile, Schaub is loving his new teammates and getting acquainted with a new group of players. Many of those are veterans looking to make one more big push before calling it quiets. The Raiders signed aging players like Maurice Jones-Drew, Justin Tuck and Lamarr Woodley in the offseason, but Schaub is not concerned about age being an issue.
"Every day you go to work you have to be out to prove you can play at this level and you're the right guy at your position and the right guy to do the job," Schaub said. "You've got to have that edge or you'll take something for granted and before you know it it will be gone. We have such a small window to play this game in the overall scheme of life that you've got to cherish every moment and you've got to prove to the league, to the coaches, to the owners, to the GMs, that you're the guy for the job."
While Schaub takes over the role of starter, he will also be expected to mentor Carr for the future. The Raiders took the quarterback in the second round with the idea that he is a future franchise star, but not yet ready to start. The team expects Schaub to play a big part in that.
