What does Matt Schaub offer the Falcons now?

Matt Ryan is one of the most durable quarterbacks in football, which means we may never have to see new signing Matt Schaub. If we do, though, what can we expect?

Schaub's role

He's the obvious favorite to back up Matt Ryan. Schaub had some of his best years under Kyle Shanahan in Houston, so he's familiar with the offense Shanny likes to run. That familiarity should help him get up to speed quickly and beat out Sean Renfree, who has hung around for three years but hasn't made a strong impression on the coaching staff.

Schaub's performance

This is where things get dicey. Schaub was once a reliable starting quarterback in this NFL, the rare quarterback who rose above his third round draft status and delivered real value to a franchise. His performance started to trend downward in 2013, and between 2014 and 2015 with the Raiders and Ravens, he tossed way too many picks and generally looked like a shadow of himself.

This is a classic case of a coordinator taking a player he's familiar with and attempting to revive his career. As was the case with Rex Grossman and Kyle Shanahan, we can't guarantee this is going to work, and I think if Schaub has to fill in at all there's a decent chance he'll be a disaster. Let's hope I'm wrong.