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Keenum must adapt or he won't be a viable QB

By Brian T. Smith, Houston Chronicle

November 23, 2013 Updated: November 23, 2013 11:29pm Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff
Under the scrutiny of Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, right, Case Keenum (7) is trying to make the necessary adjustments to excel at quarterback.
Under the scrutiny of Texans offensive coordinator Rick Dennison,...

The awe has been replaced by an audition.

The Texans have six games left to prevent the most disappointing season in franchise history from becoming a total disaster.

Case Keenum has six games left to prove he should be the team's starting quarterback before and after the 2014 NFL draft, and when hope returns again at the start of next season.

Keenum's storybook rise was replaced by professional reality last Sunday during the Texans' numbing 28-23 home loss to the Oakland Raiders. The Texans' offense was worthless for nearly three quarters.

After passing his first three tests as the team's starting quarterback, Keenum failed in his fourth, suddenly replaced by a once-banished Matt Schaub in a reminder that not everyone in Houston believes Keenum merits even a short-term look as an NFL starter.

Since his gutsy Oct. 20 debut at then-undefeated Kansas City, Keenum's numbers have fallen off as the Texans' consecutive losses have stacked up, reaching a franchise-record eight heading into a noon matchup Sunday against the AFC South-rival Jacksonville Jaguars at Reliant Stadium.

The 6-1, 205-pound Keenum again will command the Texans' weakened offense.

Devoted University of Houston loyalists will continue to buzz about a 25-year-old who has gone from undrafted rookie to the most interesting athlete on the 2013 Texans in just five games. But the on-the-field aura that surrounds Keenum took a major hit a week ago, and everyone from coach Gary Kubiak to owner Bob McNair will be watching the next six games to determine whether the Texans have a true answer to the fall of Schaub or just a temporary late-season stand-in until draft day.


Career at a crossroads

Texans quarterback Case Keenum was benched last week in favor of former starter Matt Schaub. Keenum will take the field Sunday against Jacksonville at Reliant Stadium, but he must show clear improvement during his final six-game audition to have a chance of remaining as the team's starting quarterback next season:

Wk. Opp. Result Yds. TDs INT Cmp% Y/A Rtg.

7* at KC L 17-16 271 1 0 60 10.8 110.6

9 IND L 27-24 350 3 0 58.8 10.2 123.4

10 at ARI L 27-24 201 3 0 51.6 4.6 87.5

11 OAK L 28-23 170 1 1 54.1 7.0 73.3

Total 992 8 1 55.5** 7.8 99

*-NFL debut; **-70-of-126.

"I've got nothing to lose," said Keenum, who has completed 55.6 percent of his 126 attempts for 992 yards, eight touchdowns, one interception and a 99 passer rating. "That's been my mindset for a long time and it's the way I am - it's got me where I am now.

"That's how I play the game."

Intangibles evident

The Texans don't want Keenum to change.

His gunslinging, air-it-out mentality set NCAA records with the Cougars and has produced the Texans' two most thrilling offensive plays this season: a Brett Favre-like, 42-yard cross-field touchdown pass to tight end Garrett Graham against the Raiders and a 62-yard TD bomb delivered to Andre Johnson against Indianapolis on Nov. 3 on "Sunday Night Football."

But Texans quarterback coach Karl Dorrell does need for Keenum to adapt.

And a second-year athlete who's basically an NFL rookie must do it all in live motion on a weekly basis, with highly varied defenses and upcoming opponents such as New England, Denver and Indy eyeing playoff positioning and the beatable Texans.



"He has unique qualities," said Dorrell, who's in his second season with the Texans and served as UCLA's head coach from 2003-07. "He has those intangibles about finding people and seeing people late in coverage and extending plays and things like that.

"Those are things that we want to continue for him to be able to do. But, along the same way, understand the critical situations and the critical-situation plays about the decision (with) what you should do with the football."

After overseeing final practice preparations Friday, Dorrell walked into the Texans' locker room with Keenum by his side. Then the QB coach spent nearly 15 minutes breaking down his starter's repertoire. There's much to admire. There's much more to fix.

Lacking command

Kubiak pulled Keenum for multiple reasons last Sunday. Speeding up the Texans' rhythm-less offense and improving pass protection were the easy-to-digest answers given while the shock of Schaub's insertion still made waves.

What the Texans really saw was a wavering Keenum. His footwork was consistently off pace. His timing was erratic. His anticipation of blitz packages and understanding of layered schemes were almost nonexistent. He was not in command of the game or his position.

"He has to understand fundamental defense," Dorrell said. "How it works. When you get linebacker pressure, who compensates for certain things. And secondary pressure as well."

The three areas Keenum must show immediate improvement in are third-down passing, pocket awareness and his overall second-half execution.

Spiraling downward against a Raiders defense that ranks just 26th out of 32 teams in passer rating (98.1) and 25th in yards per game (253), Keenum was a measly 2-of-6 for 16 yards during the third quarter before Schaub took over. The Texans were just 2-of-16 overall on third-down conversions.

Keenum acknowledged his eyes became too big during back-to-back losses to Arizona and Oakland, as the Texans completed just 8-of-32 combined third-down attempts and their former third-string quarterback attempted to change winnable contests with a game-changing throw.

"It's taking the best available option and not waiting necessarily for the primary option. That's something that a young player has to understand," Dorrell said. "You've got to stay within the timing of our offense. And sometimes if you're waiting on the primary (receiver) and it's too long, you've got to get to your second guy or your third guy.

"And as an offense, we're just not in synch in doing those things."

Adapting Keenum-the-gunslinger to the highly organized confines of an NFL pocket is even more of a concern.

He struggled under center during his rookie year on the practice squad. Since Schaub became the backup, the Texans have kept their run-based attack intact and haven't changed their offensive system or play-calling. Shotgun and pistol formations have become more plentiful.

But Keenum must display discipline and comfort in the pocket - two of Schaub's best attributes before his decline - for the team to make a crucial move forward with No. 7.

"The biggest thing I've told him is, 'Let's just stay in the pocket when you're supposed to and you have the time do that. And we'll keep taking this thing a step further and a step further when you go through the season,' " Dorrell said. "Prematurely moving out of the pocket, he does it at times. And then at times when he needs to go, he doesn't go, because he doesn't see this pressure coming or things like that."

Encouraged, but …

Dorrell's critique always was underlined with belief. The Texans chose Keenum over former backup T.J. Yates for a reason. Kubiak decided to turn again to Keenum instead of Schaub this week for the same reason.

For all of Keenum's initial shortcomings and all he must prove during his audition, the organization is fully aware it has a potential franchise-changer at quarterback if everything clicks in time.

"We know we're close, and he's been a good part of the reason we've been close in a lot of these games," Dorrell said. "So, yes, we're encouraged by that. But all of us, our expectations of the season aren't quite what they are right now, and we're trying to get ourselves to feel good about some kind of process through the course of this season.

"It's important for us to make a big statement about our future and where we think we can be with our play if we do some really good things in this game, and that's what we're shooting for."

Jacksonville provides Keenum with the perfect setup. A one-win team that's the worst in the league. Another home game in a no-pressure contest. A final ramp up before the Patriots' Bill Belichick and the Broncos' Jack Del Rio arrive at Reliant Stadium with postseason-primed defenses that won't care whether Keenum is the Texans' 2014 starter or just a fill-in hometown favorite waiting to become another NFL backup.

"It's funny. When you play a young guy like that, it's interesting to me going through it for years ... the first wave of some really good stuff," Kubiak said. "And then it's like the more you get going, the more football they play, the more people watch them.

"Now the growth process really starts, and I think that's kind of going on with him right now." Brian T. Smith

Sports Columnist, Houston Chronicle