There is NO WAY IN HELL CJ STROUD IS WORTH A MAX

If you don't think he's the answer, then we're basically ****ed. There's no one on the market that will move the needle and we can't get a difference maker from where we are likely to pick in the draft. Mills is not better than Stroud. That's an absurd take I will not entertain. Besides, before this game he did well avoiding turnovers. I'd like to see him throw more than 19-20 TD's a season and also not taking 15+ yard sacks. He can be a game manager and we still win the SB with this defense.

Edit: With all that said, if Burrow did ask for a trade, I'd be a willing suitor for him. You'd be a fool not to. However, our draft picks won't have as much value as some crappy team would have.

 

There was structure. And the line was somewhat established on the ends and decent enough talent on the interior. Slowick had schemes of going deep early mixed in with a heavy dose of forced runs (Shanahan mantras). But Stroud also showed some elusiveness, pocket awareness, and medium to deep ball accuracy that definitely warranted him legit MVP votes.

A lot of that goes away when the line regresses, the play-calls start to be predictable (and the defense is more than ready to disrupt)... all QB's (let alone 2nd year ones) will start getting some bad tendencies or skittish demeanors.

Add to it that there isn't a single SEASONED offensive mind on the club... who could probably have easily recognized this from any practice or game footage, instilled some proven tactics to combat... or flat-out point out the personnel issues that need addressing to mitigate this (namely, more talent on the O-line side).

All that being said, he was able to eventually help lead last year's playoff winning team and he's continued to not make the crtitcal turnover/mistakes (last WTF game not withstanding) to where they remain in every game with this stellar defense. If he gets through the OC learning curve, OL learning curve, and his own learning curve still relatively healthy/intact.... he's going to inevitably make the throws he needs to make with just the slightest bit of stability/experience in other phases (let alone talent acquisition or coaching additions... namely just more experience).

 

I'm still haunted by the J R Richards situation. I was like many others who blamed him for "phantom" arm problems and potentially a character issue.

Then we found out in a horrific way that there was an undetected life threatening medical condition which got lost in the aches and pains which all athletes endure as a normal part of their training and play.

So I just hope C J is receiving a better medical evaluation with this unusually poor performance than J R got.

 

Has anybody heard rumors about Mills? Just probability of the timing of personal issues and the recent birth of a child makes one suspect they are related. I understand the games played with availability in the playoffs, but sometimes situations arise which do not respect the playoffs.

Part 2 - I don't know which rookie was involved with the armed car-jacking, but the photo showed 23 which is Jaylen Reed who had just made it back before once again being injured.

Life does not take the playoffs off.

 

How are you crowning Dart after he played just a few games his rookie season? Did you also crown CJ after his rookie season? I like Dart but perhaps he should play more games first...

 

Bill Lazor has been on the staff since Stroud was a rookie.

 

Last year, defenses cracked his code, and it became harder for him to do the things he's good at. Plus, the team around him collapsed: the OL regressed, his playmakers all got hurt, and he didn't have an offensive brain trust in place to navigate him through all of that.

"If he continues to play at that level".... meaning you think there's a chance he'll fumble 5 times and throw an interception? FYI, for the season, CJ totaled 8 INT and 2 fumbles. So to have 6 in one game - I'm not a math person but I would imagine the odds of that happening are.... nearly incalculable.

And this idea he crapped the bed......... Do you think, maybe, it's a different game if they don't convert 10/15 third downs? They totaled 400+ yards. They had nine possessions, and reached the red zone on four of them. And I would argue the biggest play of the game was his 3rd and 15 absolute dime to Kirk. That was HUGE. It's 7-6; 3Q ending, and they're about to 3-and-out for the second consecutive drive.

But let's not focus on that play, or, really, any of his big, clutch throws because we want to be able to say "he crapped the bed."

 

I keep reading that CJ is not a top tier QB so we should get rid of him... I know the kid is not the best and he has long long long way to go, but he has a great upside and as an organization you can handle that.

But in this scenario and where the Texans are CJ doesn't have to be great, just has to be smart. The Texans have a once in a lifetime defense and if CJ can manage the clock to give the defense some rest and drive within FG range the Texans have a high probability of winning the game.

Here are teams that won the Superbowl with a GREAT Defense and a not so great offense..

Teams like the 2000 Ravens, 2002 Buccaneers, 2003 Patriots, 2008 Steelers, and 2015 Broncos exemplify Super Bowl winners with dominant defenses and mediocre offenses, proving strong defense can carry a team to a championship, often ranking in the top tier defensively while their offenses were mid-to-low tier, especially the 2002 Bucs and 2015 Broncos with notably poor offenses.
Key Examples:

• 2000 Baltimore Ravens: Top-ranked defense led by Ray Lewis, shutting down opponents, including a dominant Super Bowl XXXV performance.
• 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers: An historically great defense (led by Sapp, Brooks, Rice) that allowed just 3 points in Super Bowl XXXVII, with a low-ranked offense.
• 2003 New England Patriots: Another strong defensive unit, ranked highly, complementing a less-than-dominant offense.
• 2008 Pittsburgh Steelers: Had a top-2 defense but an offense ranked 18th in the league, yet still won the Super Bowl.
• 2015 Denver Broncos: Featured the #1 defense but one of the worst offenses in recent Super Bowl history, with a ranking as low as 25th.

T_Man

 

More accurate analogy to CJ, is if Jeremy Lin won playoff series 3 straight years with the Knicks before getting paid. Something the Knicks didn't do in 10 years. Then is paid after.

That's what CJ has done in NFL form.

Not saying CJ deserves highest contract. But if that was the "hypothetical Lin" accomplishment over multiple years, that would help Lin's case to deserve bigger money. Like it or not, it will get CJ paid, too

Spoiler: *NOTE*

Only reason Lin got bigger pay, was the notorious Morey chess playing "poison pill" contract. Front loaded specifically to get the Knicks from matching the offer, to free Lin out of restricted status. That kind of shenanigan probably won't happen with Stroud

 

Yeah he made a few plays, he also missed atleast 2 possible TD throws. He needs to find the consistency he had his rookie year. I'm not talking about greatness, I'm talking about throwing the ball more accurately more often. Monday nights accuracy wasn't good enough to win a SB IMHO, this doesn't even take into account the turnovers.

 

I'm not crowning Dart, he's got potential but he needs to stay healthy. I'm looking forward to seeing how he does under Harbaugh/Monken.

 

But saying you would take Dart over CJ when CJ had a much better and more healthy rookie year is questionable to say the least.. how do you know what he will look like in year 2 or 3? And why the assumption that he will get better where CJ regressed?

 

Has anyone seen CJ's recent interviews? Good grief, it is like he is in a deep depression. I get depressed listening to him. He is so bland—flat affect. Says a bunch of nothing. No emotion. No facial movement or expression. Doesn't seem engaged or excited. Check it out.

 

You are reaching. CJ has not changed his demeanor. He is always lowkey.

 

Very simply put, I would take Dart's potential over what I think CJ will become.

Dart isn't scared.

 

Most of those were two decades ago. The game has changed. That being said the field to get to the Super Bowl may be the weakest in 3 decades.