Leinart finally has the chance to prove he's still got it. (The Brit_2 via Creative Commons)

Why, you might ask? 

Because you have one of the most underappreciated quarterbacks in the league leading the team now.

That’s right; Matt Leinart was all the Texans needed anyway.

Before I get attacked, let me preface by saying this: I’m not saying Leinart is going to be a star; heck, he hasn’t done much to warrant that status yet. But I will say this: Matt Schaub was not going to get the Texans deep into the playoffs, injury or not.

Schaub has had two solid seasons behind center in his NFL career. In 2009 he threw 29 touchdowns and the next year he threw 24. He has a career record of 32-34, and if you count his college career, where he went 22-17, his overall record is 54-51. Not bad, but certainly nothing great. He has put up some solid numbers, but they’ve never led anywhere; the Texans have never been to the playoffs with him at the helm, and he tends to get hurt rather frequently. 

This is not to say that Schaub is a bad quarterback; as a Colts fan, I’ve seen him tear defenses apart. But he just doesn’t seem to be what the Texans need to get over the hump.

Now we get to the new player in the game: Leinart. 

For those who haven’t followed the Matt Leinart saga, he was drafted in 2006 at No. 10 overall. His rookie year, he started 11 games, went 4-7, and threw 11 touchdowns with 12 interceptions while completing about 57 percent of his passes.

For a rookie year, that’s not half bad (Peyton Manning, for instance, threw 28 interceptions as a rookie). The next year Leinart went 3-2 before succumbing to a collarbone injury, and since then, we haven’t heard a whole lot from him. 

It might seem crazy, then, as his professional career has been somewhat underwhelming to this point, to say what I’m about to say.

Matt Leinart is just what the Texans need.

During his career at USC, Leinart won two national championships (I don’t care what the BCS says, it counted), won a Heisman Trophy, and was a three-time All-American. He threw 99 touchdowns and only 23 interceptions, and in his career he completed about 65 percent of his passes. I know he had a lot of talent around him, and that obviously contributed to his success. But for me, here is the most telling statistic of all:

37-2.

That was Leinart’s record as a college quarterback. That is a staggering amount of success. 

Listen, I know that success in college football doesn’t necessarily correlate with NFL success, but in his career dating back to college, he’s won 44 out of 55. To win 80 percent of the games you have started since college is rather incredible. 

For those who still say, “Matt Leinart will never be any good,” perhaps you are right. But look at the playmakers he has at his disposal: Arian Foster, Ben Tate, Owen Daniels, Jacoby Jones, and Andre Johnson (when he plays).

More importantly, he has a solid defense. Schaub has had decent success with this unit, but he has never taken “the next step.” Who’s to say that Leinart can’t do as well, if not better, than Schaub? He’s started games in the NFL and has actually been pretty decent. Given the team he has and the opportunity to finally play without someone breathing over his shoulder (aka Kurt Warner), I think he could flourish. 

I could be totally wrong. We’ll see. But if the Matt Leinart that played so well at USC makes an appearance in Houston, the Texans could be a dangerous team.

Losers in college don’t stop losing in the pros. 

Who’s to say that a college winner can’t win on the biggest stage when given the chance?