On what planet in ABC's Wide Wide Multiverse of Sports did you think that this bullshit needed to be posted as a thread when there's 5ish threads about Stroud already on the front page?
I would settle for an avg 2026 season. Fact is, do you believe the rookie yr was an aberration, or was the last 2 yrs an aberration? Anyways I let CJ walk if he wants 5/300 mil and go with Mills plus draft a QB high to replace CJ/Mills. Mills at 2-20 is much better than CJ at 5/300 IMHO.
The bulk of the yards were not at the end of the game lol, let's look at Playoff QB performances in wild card Caleb Williams 2 TO Drake Maye 2 TO Trevor 2 TO Purdy 2 TO Justin Herbert played like ****, Jalen Hurts played like **** CJ Stroud 3 TOs. So yeah he played worse but not actually that much worse than almost every QB.
Joe Burrow is the strongest historical parallel to C.J. Stroud's second season, facing a league-high sack total under a young offensive coordinator before cementing an elite career. Specific quarterbacks who overcame poor protection and inexperienced play-calling in their second year to achieve long-term success include: 1. Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals, 2021) The Match: Burrow's situation is nearly identical to Stroud's 2024 season. Bad O-Line: Burrow was sacked 51 times in his second year (most in the NFL), compared to Stroud's 52 sacks in 2024. Young OC: His offensive coordinator was Brian Callahan (age 37), and the play-caller was Head Coach Zac Taylor (age 38)—both young offensive minds similar to Stroud's OC Bobby Slowik (age ~37). The Outcome: Despite the battering, Burrow led the Bengals to the Super Bowl that very season and established himself as a perennial top-5 quarterback. Gotta love AI... I think CJ played like crap... but the kid is going thru his own ptsd... He took a beating last year on top of that he had a bad OC... Caley is also young and making mistakes, but at times he's done a great job. Caley did adjust early by having cj hit the quick 3 to 5 yard pass, which opened up the run game and also gave CJ confidence. Once Caley called that flea flicker CJ was not the same after that. Im not making excuses for CJ, he sucked; but he didn't give up.. Caley and CJ have to get better.. Caley has to understand that CJ is not Stafford and CJ has to play smarter and stop playing hero ball this isn't college. T_Man
All I keep thinking is how bad does our defense pound our offense in practice? Does the offense even get one first down? Does the defense let CJ win on a few plays just to make him feel better? CJ probably has PTSD from going against our own guys and it carries into the games.
The most encouraging thing, to me, about the game last night, is that I thought it might have been the best game Caley's called for us. Yes, CJ didn't play well (for three quarters, at least), but this team stayed in it. Caley needs to keep his momentum.
The OC was never qualified to have his first chance calling plays in the NFL be on this team… a team that just fired their last first-time play caller because there was a “sense of urgency”. (lets also ignore the patchwork O-line that is still featuring other team’s castoffs and is continuing to be a work in progress). Stroud has his faults… but on no universe has he been set up to succeed compared to other teams that know how important it is to not just protect your young QB but to have some experience in the room.
Mills cannot make plays like CJ. He is limited. If you have been a Texans fan from the beginning,you know the QB position has been the one that has been the toughest to solve. Watson seem to be that guy. We know what happened. CJ was basically beat up for season and a half. He couldn’t trust his Oline. The regression you see is a trust issue. His clock needs to slow down again. That is why the Texans offense has gotten better in the 4th quarter of games. CJ relaxes as the protection proves it will hold up. This is mainly mental. Caley has gotten better. Playcalling has gotten better. QBs do not grow on trees. Ask the Vikings, Browns, Cardinals, Raiders, Dolphins, Commanders (before Daniels), Bears (before Caleb), Titans, Colts, Jets,etc…what QB purgatory looks like. The Browns got antsy with Baker (whose number were actually good) and have paid for since. Stroud is 24. Has won more playoff games than Dak and is 1 behind Burrow. You can count the # of QBs with playoff wins in each of their first 3 years on 1 hand. You can see the talent and the ability. CJ is having to learn to re-trust his Oline and overcome the “ghost “ on the fly. The Texans know this. There is a reason Caley was not getting fired. Time in a system improves both the QB and OC. I look Drake Maye with a SuperBowl winning OC. i look at Caleb with the brilliant playcaller Ben Johnson. The coaching matters and scheme matters. CJ had the perfect storm of bad performing Oline, no run game, and rookie play caller. Mixon would have helped so much this year. So no, going with Mills would be idiotic because you wouldn’t win long term with him and would be back on the QB Carousel. Hoping to draft a QB is not a strategy to win NOW. The Bears have waited how long? Commanders? 40 years? Browns? 45 years? Jets? 25 years?
Not advocating for starting Mills, but there is nothing CJ can do that Mills can’t physically. Accuracy? Usually that’s Stroud. But in terms of arm strength, athleticism there’s virtually no difference outside of Mills being faster in a straight line
This thread is a downer after an absolute great game by the team but hell I`ll pipe in. Does he deserve the Max or even "market value", the short answer is No, but the next QB (insert name here) will get paid, whether he is deserving or not, was Tua worth the $$ he got, hell no and now the Fins will pay for that mistake for the next 2 years, but in this business the QB is the guy who gets paid IF you can show POTENTIAL and CJ has shown he can be that guy, he`s also shown he can lay a stinker like last night, a few high caliber throws, at times spot on accuracy but also the potential to throw a pick or lose a fumble which up to this point was a positive attribute He is asked to be a game manager and for the most part has done that, he is better than a Trent Dilfer but not as good as a Joe Burrow or Josh Allen, but they are the stars of those teams, and our D is the start of this team and by the looks of it we are going to have to PAY these guys on D and I am fine with that..................the problem comes is there is only so much $$ to pay everyone, so can we afford to pay CJ $40-50 per year and still have this caliber D and my opinion is NO, you cannot do that. Will CJ "accept" a much cheaper contract, No, and if I were him, I wouldn't do that either. I say let`s play this out, pick up his 4th and 5th year option and lets see what happens, but at this point I am not willing to give up that much Now, if CJ comes out and has a killer game next week and the week after, then we can revisit this and since I am a flaky fan, my opinion could change
I’ve never seen a QB either miss or overthrow wide open receivers the way CJ does. He makes great throws as well, but the easy ones WTF….
You haven’t watched much football have you? QBs do it all the time. CJ’s issues are his clock has been sped up. Goes back to trusting his Oline. It is the reason his accuracy has been off. Footwork is about being comfortable in the pocket.
Fans tend to over analyze what they look at the most. Sure, CJ played bad the first half but again, he finished well and the offense was moving the ball. And just like you mentioned, every other QB played just as poorly. Additionally, Herbert still hasnt won a playoff game. CJ has three playoff games in his first three yrs and fans still want the backup to start....Imagine if he played like Justin Herbert.
