Man that*ssed me off. I was so excited at the chance of getting Mahones and when KC moved up and took him. I was crushed.
I can see your reasoning. I tended to be more critical of LSU players(I’m still slightly skeptical of Jayden Daniels), but I’ve seen nothing to dissuade me when it comes to mechanics. Also the SEC(geaux tigers) will rise again!
To be honest, they always say that stuff before the season starts. That being said, all we need is some improvement on offense to get to the Superbowl, and we might have done enough. Our defense is so awesome we just need our offense to make a little leap in the right direction. I can't wait for the season to start!
This is just a brief summary of plans for what we anticipated to have coming into the prior seasons as our RB1 and why we haven't ever failed to have begun with optimism. 2023 - We expected Damian Pierce to thrive after his breakout 2022 season. 2024 - We Traded for Mixon and hoped for a 1-2 RB punch which would be a great accent to the Great work of CJs phenominal rookie season. 2025 - We added Chubb to what we thought would be Mixon to renew the 1-2 RB punch which would accent the passing of CJ. 2026 - We have moved on from Mixon and Chubb hoping to have the RB combination which fits behind an improved OL based on physicality. Montgomery and Marks has the potential to replicate the Detroit Thunder and Lightning backfield with simply a role reversal emphasis relying on the Thunder rather than the Lightning. I hope we get what we've been after this year while recognizing the situation has remained a priority and was never ignored.
In 2023, Damian could not cope with new offense style and was MIA, new style did not have capable linemen so also MIA. Result. 31st in running and CJ ran for his life. In 2024, Mixon was good, for a while, then got hurt, linemen still not capable, Result, 31st in running. CJ ran for life and getting some concussions too. In 2025, Mixon just gone, Chubb not actually good, Rookie is rookie, linemen got worse. Result, 31st in running. More concussions and out 3 games. Seeing a pattern here. This, year, massive upgrade to line with known maulers and 2 rookies that hopefully, pan out like last year's rookie OT. Add a known mauler RB that should have some tread left. Going for "in your face" we are running, try to stop it, mentality. Then you have chance for truly workable play action and less 3rd and longs. I don't know, but I surely hope this year, will be the year it works. All the critics already know CJ needs a clean pocket, he is not a super improviser. Having one of the worst "pockets" in the league and a running game that was almost last in the league did not help. Fact that team got to post season and won 3 games in 3 years... I know, give defense all the credit as they deserve it. I know...
CJ is a bit more of the problem than you after saying. He still struggles to read defenses, too often he has no clue pressure is coming and where it's coming from... which leads him to scramble into sacks even when the pocket holds. He also struggles to get the ball out accurately and on time. A lot of that can't be easily fixed because it's due to CJ simply not being very bright. Hopefully he figures it out because he was the ONLY reason the Texans weren't in the super bowl last season.
Mixon was very good until the unpenalized hip-drop tackle (can't remember who but I'll just assume it was by the Bengals) pretty much wrecked his ankle/foot for good.
I don't know if you are a anti CJ or neutral one. But I do see your point. I did say he needs a clean pocket. And it is likely true that he is hearing footsteps that are not there. Let's hope what you said about him being "dumb", hey, you can say it nicely, I will not, is not true. Otherwise, it will pan out very quickly that even with an actually functional running game, a beefier line and 2nd year with a rookie OC, his 1st year was simply an illusion. I truly hope not. I think it is true that once other defense simply ignored the running game, it made it very difficult for CJ to do his job.
I think specifically CJ struggles due to fairly slow mental processing speed, I think the knowledge is there, it just doesn't translate to the field because he's frequently a split second behind where he needs to be and maybe a full second or two behind the QB's that are truly elite mentally. I went through a lot of the film from last season in his really bad games and I see him passing up the first window on WR's that is open hoping for something better in the second window and by the time the receiver gets to that window, he's either scrambling or getting hit. The O line ended up catching the blame, but it was the decision to hold on to the ball rather than taking what was there that was truly to blame more often than not. I think when he was a rookie, they kept things VERY simple for him and it made him much more decisive more quickly leading to much better results a lot of the time. After that they gave him a lot more to think about and teams started to realize that if they threw basically any wrinkles into their defense it would stun lock CJ making him far less effective. Hopefully something clicks for him this offseason because the Texans can only go so far as CJ lets them go. They aren't going to find a sufficiently better option at QB right now so it has to be him. However, if he comes out as bad as he was to end the season, the Texans need to bench him for Davis Mills, who sucks, but won't outright sabotage the team the way CJ does at his worst.
People keep ignoring that low score on the cognitive test at the combine. They keep forgetting about the residual damage from the two MAJOR concussions. CJ has always seemed "slow." Now he seems "slower." Most are ignoring these red flags. I am hoping for the best, but....
Well, there you go then, none of this PHD level read 3 levels offense with 50 wrinkles, Go back to basic, this is the QB you have today, really doesn't matter if his is "slower" or not elite. He is who he is, get simple, get running, call him a game manger, but get him comfortable with what he can do and if indeed he has "slowed" down mentally, then do what is needed to get the job done. That's up the OC and if they get in sync, then with assume improvement to running game, that will make life just a bit easier. Imagine TD instead of 20-yard FG because they couldn't run when it counts. Imagine not as much 3rd and long. Imagine running game, in top half of league instead of almost last. Can you imagine?
I hope you are right. This is the year. Last year was the year, maybe the "clearest" path ever. If CJ stumbles out of the gate, the team has to face reality and make a change. I think Mills could fill the bill as a so called game manager.
