When DeMeco was hired, one of the first things he said was that we are going to be a team that establishes the run. He said we have to be able to run the ball. So many problems could be solved with an improved offensive line. It’s hard for me to even judge the performance of our QB or even the calls the offensive coordinator makes because the offensive line is so inept. CJ doesn’t look like the same player he was in year one, I think because he’s taken so many hits. CJ now expects the line to fail, and I can’t blame him. The Texans need to go ALL IN this offseason to fix this offensive line once and for all. Even if it makes other areas of our team weaker, then so be it. But, we have to get the line fixed. We’ve seen what CJ can do when he has time to operate. We have also seen what happens when players go unblocked and CJ has to flee for his life. Just go all in on offense this offseason. Trades, free agents, draft picks. Just do it.
Of course, they were just all lying about it for months.... so that your cope can exist. I should have known.
I see some incremental progress with Caley and the offense. The short passing game has mitigated a lot of pressure CJ faces outside of third down. Each week they are getting better at incorporating their rookie skill position players, even if that only happened because the vets outside of Collins are ass. Caley just struggles to adjust on the fly since he is inexperienced. Once the defense throws a new wrinkle, or makes an adjustment, the offense is frequently cooked. They don't just stop scoring, they will go entire quarters without getting first downs. Caley has never called plays before and it shows. It's actually nuts the organization did this twice in a row. I think the conservatism of Caley's scheme is signaled from Ryans and necessity, to an extent. They won't can him after a year, even if McDaniels, or Stefanski are available given the blood oath of the John Carroll people in the organization (Caserio). I think I would make a move for one of these guys, but I don't see it happening.
CJ is not allowed to call audibles/change the play or protections at the line anymore? They took that control away from him?
Every great defensive team in NFL history has had more of a ball control offense. Part of what makes a defense great is that they're not on the field most of the game. I don't have a problem going conservative when up by 2 scores, but we do need to be able to convert in the red zone more often. And picking up a blitz every now and then would also be nice. Can you imagine if we didn't have an elite kicker?
I would think it's because QB is a complex position and we've seen an endless number of QBs that magically became better when put in a better situation. It's unrealistic to think a QB controls everything around him and wouldn't be better if he has a better O-Line, WR, running game, playcalling, etc. And that he wouldn't be worse without it. This is true of every position in football because its a team game. Davante Adams is a hell of a lot better when prime Rodgers or Stafford are throwing to him than when the random Vegas QB's were in between. Even coaches are the same - Belichick was a much better coach with Brady than without. In a short period of time - like a single season - it's hard to identify the cause of a player being good or bad. You have to see a player in different circumstances to really know the cause - sort of like we've seen with Darnold or Mayfield.
I hope that we can re-sign Trent Brown and Ed Ingram and then draft TWO stud offensive linemen and then we need to turn one of them into a center...or sign one.
I get what you're saying, but I dont like all of the excuses that are being made for CJ. Talent is better on this team than his rookie yr team.
I genuinely don't think people are making excuses for CJ - I'm not even sure why they would? Our opinions, evaluations, perspectives... excuses - none of them really matter; it's how the Texans see things that matters. But I do think there's value in attempting to extract ourselves from our biases to try and see the team more objectively. And there's simply no way anyone can - or should - dismiss all the very real, very viable circumstances around CJ Stroud's first three seasons, from the likely too-high bar he set to '23 to the strange, dysfunctional choices they've made subsequently. We *have* to evaluate him through that filter. And I don't think this this '25 team is better, offensively, than the '23 team. If we agree Nico is the best player on both teams, there is no one on this year's roster as good as Laremy Tunsil or Tank Dell. After that... it's mostly a wash. Now! The defense is obviously much better, and that does have an impact. But just in terms of talent, the '24 Texans were the best team of DeMeco's era. Unfortunately, the WRs couldn't stay healthy; the OL was awful; the OC seemed overwhelmed and CJ came back to earth.
When have you seen him change from a run to a pass or vice versa? All Ive seen him do is identify where the pressure is coming. To me what he does and what Phillip Rivers is doing is a vast difference. If Im wrong show me.
He'd have to be able to accurately read defenses to do those things. We don't see him change plays or even accurately identify where pressure is coming from because of his shortcomings, not because he isn't allowed to do so. The idea that it's all a big conspiracy and that everyone, including Stroud, was lying about his role in the offense is some next level cope.
when we watch old man rivers come in and diagnose a defense and produce with a noodle arm, you see where cj is lacking in recognition and in decisiveness. yes, the line sucks and yes the play calling is crazy bad but damn brother, get mad, make something happen...
The question isn’t “can we always see CJ flip a run to a pass on broadcast.” It is whether he has control, full ownership, that is something you said he didn't and another suggested were lies from everyone. The people actually involved have been very clear: CJ said this year’s offense allows him to ID, “take control,” “have the tools to put my guys in the best position,” call shots, switch protections, something he explicitly said did not exist the prior two seasons. Ryans said CJ wanted that ownership and that it’s been put on his plate. According to CJ, Caley installed a system built around QB communication and checks. Not seeing a dramatic run to pass flip on TV doesn’t mean he isn’t allowed. Most checks are subtle, protection-based, or option-based and teams don’t explain their audibles publicly. Expecting a dramatic pre-snap show or CJ to suddenly operate like Rivers, Manning, or Brady is a higher bar than I was setting. I was hoping for something closer to his rookie year. All this shielding him from critiques ironically makes CJ seem horrible. As Stroud said, via the team’s official transcript: "Taking control and being a little more pre-snap, having tools to put my guys in the best position. That is something that we really didn't work on these last two years… So, I will be able to put my swag on it, have fun with it. He is all about me taking full ownership, running the show, and that's what I want. So, it's really been really cool just to see that he's bought into me and he doesn't really know me well yet. He talked about today having blind trust and I have a lot of trust in him already. Just how he talks and how he presents in the room is really cool to see." >>>>Link<<<<
