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CJ Stroud year 2

Yesterday CJ Stroud reminded me of that cop from Die Hard. Remember how he worked the desk because he shot a kid and didn’t want to work the streets anymore until he had too? Stroud looked like he was afraid to throw the ball because he may hurt someone like how Dell got hurt.

One is a movie and the other is real life. Stroud will have to move on in the offseason. Get therapy or something.
 
thunderkyss said:
Are you saying he doesn't need to get better, or that he needs to play better than he has this year?
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To use medical/health terminology, what im saying is the issues have been pretty much systemic in nature within the offense as a whole …. and been that way from day 1 this year. And that speaks to coaching rather than “localized” issues like sone here are trying to put it with CJ and his play. And just to drive it home, if you know even basic stuff about infections, you know that even otherwise healthy parts of your body (CJ) can become infected if the underlying causes are not treated/addressed. And we’ve more or less started to slowly see that with CJ as the season has gone on. Bad habits have developed that we didn’t see last year.

When CJ dropped that dime to Nico on the sideline in game 1 against the colts to win us that game, no one was scrutinizing his every pass for accuracy. When he dropped that 67 yard dime to Nico in the Buffalo game his accuracy wasn’t questioned. Even in the KC game, the TD pass to Dell. Was his toughness and leadership questioned when he was getting his ass kicked against GB? How about after last years jets game? Now, after 1 truly horrible game…by everyone…a game he himself says was the worst of his career on any level, you got supposedly knowledgeable fans here questioning the guy’s toughness, leadership and overall play. just so over the top horrible, reactionary takes after what has basically been 2 years of pretty stellar playmaking from only a 2nd year player.

Yes, he needs to play better. But so does every single player and coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball. So what are folks really saying here? He, Mixon and Nico are the only for sure guys on that side who we know can compete with the best.
 
Mr teX said:
Yes, he needs to play better.
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Thank you. That's all anybody is saying.

If you've got a QB you've got a chance. When your QB plays like he did yesterday nothing else matters. Andy Reid could be calling plays & we'd still be bching about the QB.

The team had issues, really bad at the beginning of the season, but I'll argue a week or two before the bye week to now, the OL has been giving this kid time to play & he's been making one poor decision after another. Yesterday was the first day he threw so many inaccurate passes one after another.

We're in the playoffs. This is the real "season." This is where this team can take the next step, but it's not going to happen if this kid, more than any other person in the organization, doesn't wake up.
 
He needs to understand that every time he gets the snap that the D is trying to break him and anyone with the ball. That is the nature of the game and the O injuries are not exclusive to Texans. Yes, I agree he needs to spend the off season developing a Marine mind set.
 
thunderkyss said:
Thank you. That's all anybody is saying.

If you've got a QB you've got a chance. When your QB plays like he did yesterday nothing else matters. Andy Reid could be calling plays & we'd still be bching about the QB.

The team had issues, really bad at the beginning of the season, but I'll argue a week or two before the bye week to now, the OL has been giving this kid time to play & he's been making one poor decision after another. Yesterday was the first day he threw so many inaccurate passes one after another.

We're in the playoffs. This is the real "season." This is where this team can take the next step, but it's not going to happen if this kid, more than any other person in the organization, doesn't wake up.
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C.J. Stroud on Texans fans booing: I understand, people are entitled to their opinion
By Michael David Smith
Published December 26, 2024 08:50 AM

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has not been as good in Year Two as he was in his rookie of the year season in 2023. And Houston fans are noticing.

Stroud and his teammates were getting booed by the home crowd on Christmas, and Stroud said after the game that he can’t say they were wrong.

“People are entitled to their opinions and they care about the game. Their emotions matter, so I understand,” Stroud said.

“This is not my first time and it probably won’t be my last. This is not something to internalize and point the finger at yourself but it is something that you can use to motivate you, to not want those moments anymore. I got plenty of football left in my career hopefully, God willing, and I know this is going to be a story I’ll tell one day that helps me in the long run. It’s part of life. You hit a lot of valleys and you have a lot of mountaintops. It’s a cliché, but there’s not sunny days if there aren’t days with rain. So, this is a rainy day, but at the end of the day, the sun will rise up tomorrow and we have another crack at this thing next week and keep rolling.”

Stroud is worse across the board this year: Lower completion percentage, lower yards per pass and a lower passer rating.

Fewer touchdowns and fewer first downs. More interceptions and more sacks. Stroud acknowledged he did not play well in the loss to the Ravens.

“I just kept missing. I wasn’t making throws,” Stroud said.

With the Texans locked into the No. 4 seed in the AFC, they have some time to regroup for the playoffs. When they need Stroud to be a whole lot better.
 
Mangler said:
While I still believe he’s our franchise QB, I am done defending Coleridge Bernard. I’m a homer but I sure as hell ain’t delusional.
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In order to be a franchise quarterback, you need to mentally tough. Not just for yourself but for your teammates. When things get difficult for the team you have to lead the way.

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times" - G. Michael Hopf. Yesterday after a miserable showing by the Texans run defense in the first quarter, the second quarter began with a 4-yard TFL by Anderson on Henry. The next play was a 6-yard TFL by Anderson. The Texans got the ball, ran 6 plays on offense with the short drive ending with a 13-yard sack on Stroud where he had someone open but opted to run backwards instead of creating a positive play.

I was asked on this board if I thought Stroud was mentally weak after I wrote about Stroud's two delay of penalty calls after Dell went out on Saturday. I was hesitant to answer because I wanted to see if he would bounce back against Baltimore. Now I feel comfortable enough to say Stroud is mentally weak. Not only that, but I am also starting to question his football IQ. In the first quarter on a first down play Baltimore stacked the box with 8 guys. Instead of audibling out of the designed run play, or at least calling a time out, he handed the ball off to Mixon for a loss on the play.

The ego, the mental weakness, the decision making, the football IQ, the inaccuracy...he's not it. He's not a franchise quarterback.
 
banned1976 said:
In order to be a franchise quarterback, you need to mentally tough. Not just for yourself but for your teammates. When things get difficult for the team you have to lead the way.

“Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times" - G. Michael Hopf. Yesterday after a miserable showing by the Texans run defense in the first quarter, the second quarter began with a 4-yard TFL by Anderson on Henry. The next play was a 6-yard TFL by Anderson. The Texans got the ball, ran 6 plays on offense with the short drive ending with a 13-yard sack on Stroud where he had someone open but opted to run backwards instead of creating a positive play.

I was asked on this board if I thought Stroud was mentally weak after I wrote about Stroud's two delay of penalty calls after Dell went out on Saturday. I was hesitant to answer because I wanted to see if he would bounce back against Baltimore. Now I feel comfortable enough to say Stroud is mentally weak. Not only that, but I am also starting to question his football IQ. In the first quarter on a first down play Baltimore stacked the box with 8 guys. Instead of audibling out of the designed run play, or at least calling a time out, he handed the ball off to Mixon for a loss on the play.

The ego, the mental weakness, the decision making, the football IQ, the inaccuracy...he's not it. He's not a franchise quarterback.
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I agree with all of this except I would add that he is not a franchise QB - yet. He can still be one. He just needs help - OL and OC. Coaching will help.

I honestly would bring a veteran who has played at a high level and won like Flacco as back up QB. Keenum is cool but he peaked in Minny.

Peyton Manning was criticized for a long time. He couldn’t win on the big stage.

I am not saying Stroud is the next Manning but we need to have the right people around Stroud just like Manning had to have.

Even Lamar Jackson went through these struggles of having WRs, having a RB, changing OCs.

Year before last Lamar was criticized for not being at the game injured supporting his players.

This criticism about his mental strength is not unusual. And it is justified.

We just need to see how this is going to play out before the rookie contract ends.

I just think seeing what Lamar went through, Peyton, Goff, Darnold and others we should rip the band aid off and get a new OC and OL coach. That will be most helpful to Stroud.

Also - can stroud audible out of plays? It was said by others he can’t because of the system.
 
The jury is definitely out on Stroud re: franchise QB. Right now, he is broken. But longer term, I think he can be and likely will be….given the right pieces and coaching.

Right now, he seems mentally worn down and weak. He is an emotional young man and wears his heart on his sleeve. That makes for a great human being, but not so great of a QB. I really think the Dell injury, which is bad…is impacting him. His head isn’t in it. I also know I wasn’t fully mature at his age. Some immaturity is also showing.

Unfortunately, even if that injury ended Dell’s playing career, the show must go on. If you choose this type of public-facing entertainment career, you have to take the good with the bad. Seeing that type of injury to your best friend is the bad. But you have to compartmentalize that situation, put it behind you and move on.

This offseason, he needs to first take some time and decompress. he needs to stop the podcasts and all of that, and lean into whatever the Texans have for a fix. Even if they roll out the SOS, he himself needs to rededicate himself to getting better and fixing his issues both physical and mental. Maybe some therapy would be of benefit. I really like CJ, and hope he can work it out.
 
thunderkyss said:
Thank you. That's all anybody is saying.

If you've got a QB you've got a chance. When your QB plays like he did yesterday nothing else matters. Andy Reid could be calling plays & we'd still be bching about the QB.

The team had issues, really bad at the beginning of the season, but I'll argue a week or two before the bye week to now, the OL has been giving this kid time to play & he's been making one poor decision after another. Yesterday was the first day he threw so many inaccurate passes one after another.

We're in the playoffs. This is the real "season." This is where this team can take the next step, but it's not going to happen if this kid, more than any other person in the organization, doesn't wake up.
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It can be argued that if any number of our keys guys don’t “wake up” we’re cooked. We’ve seen what our secondary looks like when it’s down 1 of our starting CB’s when we played GB…and we’ve seen what our already atrocious o-line looks like when you have 1 really really poor starter at the guard position; basically the same chance as with CJ not playing well.

So yes I know the popular sentiment amongst fans & pushed by the media is is that without a qb you have “no chance”, but that statement is really taken out of context. It’s really meant as without a PLAYMAKING QB you have no chance…. b/c as you know
We’ve seen several teams make deep runs in the playoffs sometimes all the way to the SB with what would be termed as a neutral qb.

At the end of the day, CJ as the qb is just 1 of several key guys that needs to perform for us to have a chance …. this being a Team game and all.
 
Mr teX said:
So yes I know the popular sentiment amongst fans & pushed by the media is is that without a qb you have “no chance”, but that statement is really taken out of context. It’s really meant as without a PLAYMAKING QB you have no chance…. b/c as you know
We’ve seen several teams make deep runs in the playoffs sometimes all the way to the SB with what would be termed as a neutral qb.

At the end of the day, CJ as the qb is just 1 of several key guys that needs to perform for us to have a chance …. this being a Team game and all.
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Cj makes everyone around him better & this team desperately needs that. We're not getting past the Wild Card without a QB (playmaking QB if you will). This ain't that team.

One bad Guard didn't slow him down last season. He made Noah Brown & Rober Woods look like legit downfield threats. He got Schultz laughing every time he cashes his paychecks.

As built this team ain't going anywhere without Cj. But if he can flip that switch I won't feel bad about booking that room in New Orleans in February.
 
banned1976 said:
In the first quarter on a first down play Baltimore stacked the box with 8 guys. Instead of audibling out of the designed run play, or at least calling a time out, he handed the ball off to Mixon for a loss on the play.
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That may have been a middle finger to Slowick…
The game started with two runs right up the centers butt and left him in a third and 12…or something outrageous like that.
I remember telling my son and wife, “watch, the ravens have a garbage secondary so we should be throwing the ball coming out, but I bet this OC calls two run plays up the middle!”
And wouldn’t you know it….

Not saying he is sabotaging his own team but damn….this OC is not helping him! Neither is the oline. And yes, I know he missed wide open shots, I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve some of the blame
 
austins23 said:
That may have been a middle finger to Slowick…
The game started with two runs right up the centers butt and left him in a third and 12…or something outrageous like that.
I remember telling my son and wife, “watch, the ravens have a garbage secondary so we should be throwing the ball coming out, but I bet this OC calls two run plays up the middle!”
And wouldn’t you know it….

Not saying he is sabotaging his own team but damn….this OC is not helping him! Neither is the oline. And yes, I know he missed wide open shots, I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve some of the blame
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Yep! The Ravens came into the game with the leagues best run defense and one of the worst run defenses so guess what Mr. Brilliant decided to do? I damned near threw up at that
 
Would you trade CJ even up for BY today: just joking, mostly ?
I've seen some video of Youngs recent play and no BS he looked better than ouy guy !
GD ! Talk about the world being turned upside down - BY outplaying CJ !
 
IDEXAN said:
Would you trade CJ even up for BY today: just joking, mostly ?
I've seen some video of Youngs recent play and no BS he looked better than ouy guy !
GD ! Talk about the world being turned upside down - BY outplaying CJ !
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They benched him earlier this season so he could sit back and watch. The game was too fast for him at that time. Since then he’s seeing the field better, the game has slowed down a bit for him. Result: he’s been playing a lot better.
 
Earl34 said:
I'm not trying to find an excuse and besides this post, I don't see any mentions of it. Let me go on record that I would not be surprised if after the season, something comes out about an injury to Stroud's hand or shoulder.
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I remember having this conversation about his throwing hand back at the beginning of the season. That would be good, at least we could expect him to get back to throwing accurate passes.

Running the wrong way... hurt hand doesn't change that. When he decides to leave the pocket he just needs to go. Get what he can, throw it away if he has to. Doing the curly shuffle in the middle of the field rarely works out.
 
Earl34 said:
I'm not trying to find an excuse and besides this post, I don't see any mentions of it. Let me go on record that I would not be surprised if after the season, something comes out about an injury to Stroud's hand or shoulder.
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Yup…
 
IDEXAN said:
Would you trade CJ even up for BY today: just joking, mostly ?
I've seen some video of Youngs recent play and no BS he looked better than ouy guy !
GD ! Talk about the world being turned upside down - BY outplaying CJ !
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Canales is a proven QB guru. Russell Wilson had his best years when Canales was his QB coach/passing game coordinator, he resurrected Geno Smith’s career then Baker Mayfield’s.

BY fits the prototype of QBs Canales has had success with… he had him take a seat and watch a vet. Canales knows how to get the most out of QBs.
 
Earl34 said:
I'm not trying to find an excuse and besides this post, I don't see any mentions of it. Let me go on record that I would not be surprised if after the season, something comes out about an injury to Stroud's hand or shoulder.
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I wouldn't be surprised either way. Doesn't matter. The results are what they are. And if he's injured to the point of hurting the team then he should sit.

I don't think he's been playing with an injury, though. He's had enough good performances sprinkled throughout the season for me to think he's been fighting something physical. I haven't noticed a problem with his velocity. His problems have been between the ears. His decision making and pre-snap reads have largely been atrocious. You've got to know to audible out of a run play when the box is stacked. He's missing easy reads.
 
Need to really find ways to build around CJ. Need better protection as really ones that can catch and the running game to relieve some stress off of CJ!
 
IDEXAN said:
Would you trade CJ even up for BY today: just joking, mostly ?
I've seen some video of Youngs recent play and no BS he looked better than ouy guy !
GD ! Talk about the world being turned upside down - BY outplaying CJ !
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Bryce has been “good” for like 7 games in his whole career, not to mention benched and had a historically awful rookie year last year. Cj has been good for an entire season and has been held back by wrs in and out of the lineup, a trash o line and oc, and probably an injury that’s undisclosed
 
zshawn10 said:
Bryce has been “good” for like 7 games in his whole career, not to mention benched and had a historically awful rookie year last year. Cj has been good for an entire season and has been held back by wrs in and out of the lineup, a trash o line and oc, and probably an injury that’s undisclosed
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My comment was mostly tounge in cheek, but not entirely.
Hell no I wouln't trade CJ for Young, but getting CJ back on a steady track of progress towards a succesful and long NFL career clearly should be this organizations top priority for the upcoming season.
 
TexansBull said:
You’re twisting his words and the intent of his message just because you don’t like his agent.
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There’s nothing to twist about mentioning himself that he had no energy. That’s a terrible thing for a “franchise QB” to say and is really no different from Anthony Richardson’s helmet tap. He played like he didn’t want to be there and pretty much said it.
 
djohn2oo8 said:
There’s nothing to twist about mentioning himself that he had no energy. That’s a terrible thing for a “franchise QB” to say and is really no different from Anthony Richardson’s helmet tap. He played like he didn’t want to be there and pretty much said it.
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While it's probably true that he was "bangedu p" & he said so in reply to a question about his poor performance, he also stated it was a bad excuse. I don't think Anthony Richardson ever conceded it was a bch thing to do, tapping out like that.
 
IDEXAN said:
Would you trade CJ even up for BY today: just joking, mostly ?
I've seen some video of Youngs recent play and no BS he looked better than ouy guy !
GD ! Talk about the world being turned upside down - BY outplaying CJ !
Click to expand...
Hopefully we're not repeating the last time QB's went 1-2 in 1993, that year NE took Bledsoe and Seattle took Mirer. Mirer had the better rookie season(though he didn't exactly light the world on fire like Stroud did) and looked like a future star and it looked like NE maybe took the wrong guy. Hopefully Stroud isn't another Mirer.
 
I do wonder how the looker room views Stroud being an emotional QB. Caleb Williams got blasted by a lot of fanbases for crying in college.
 
djohn2oo8 said:
I do wonder how the looker room views Stroud being an emotional QB. Caleb Williams got blasted by a lot of fanbases for crying in college.
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The fanbase and the locker room are of course two entirerly different entities/environments.
 
djohn2oo8 said:
Starting QB comes out and uses this excuse he is hurt and has no energy.
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djohn2oo8 said:
He still said it.He still let the Dell injury affect his mental. Not good traits.
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djohn2oo8 said:
There’s nothing to twist about mentioning himself that he had no energy. That’s a terrible thing for a “franchise QB” to say and is really no different from Anthony Richardson’s helmet tap. He played like he didn’t want to be there and pretty much said it.
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I forgot I told myself I shouldn’t engage with you. Every time you start out saying one thing, and when disproven then you move the goal posts to something else to convince yourself you were right.

You started out saying he was blaming his injury, which Stroud wasn’t, and then want to talk about him saying something about his energy.
 
TexansBull said:
I forgot I told myself I shouldn’t engage with you. Every time you start out saying one thing, and when disproven then you move the goal posts to something else to convince yourself you were right.

You started out saying he was blaming his injury, which Stroud wasn’t, and then want to talk about him saying something about his energy.
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I’m unsure if you can comprehend or not. Stroud mentioned in the same press conference regarding having no energy and coming out flat and being injured. Neither one should a leader of the team admit to. Stroud went on a world tour and ran his mouth all off season. About who he is better than. Don’t want to hear a damn excuse now.
 
Mr teX said:
To use medical/health terminology, what im saying is the issues have been pretty much systemic in nature within the offense as a whole …. and been that way from day 1 this year. And that speaks to coaching rather than “localized” issues like sone here are trying to put it with CJ and his play. And just to drive it home, if you know even basic stuff about infections, you know that even otherwise healthy parts of your body (CJ) can become infected if the underlying causes are not treated/addressed. And we’ve more or less started to slowly see that with CJ as the season has gone on. Bad habits have developed that we didn’t see last year.

When CJ dropped that dime to Nico on the sideline in game 1 against the colts to win us that game, no one was scrutinizing his every pass for accuracy. When he dropped that 67 yard dime to Nico in the Buffalo game his accuracy wasn’t questioned. Even in the KC game, the TD pass to Dell. Was his toughness and leadership questioned when he was getting his ass kicked against GB? How about after last years jets game? Now, after 1 truly horrible game…by everyone…a game he himself says was the worst of his career on any level, you got supposedly knowledgeable fans here questioning the guy’s toughness, leadership and overall play. just so over the top horrible, reactionary takes after what has basically been 2 years of pretty stellar playmaking from only a 2nd year player.

Yes, he needs to play better. But so does every single player and coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball. So what are folks really saying here? He, Mixon and Nico are the only for sure guys on that side who we know can compete with the best.
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Nope, what's being said is Stroud's not playing like the top 5-7 QB he was last yr. He's playing like a JAG this yr and that's not to say Slowik/Strausser/OL are without blame. Speaking of infection CJ was infected with cant hit the broad side of a barn disease.
 
steelbtexan said:
Nope, what's being said is Stroud's not playing like the top 5-7 QB he was last yr. He's playing like a JAG this yr and that's not to say Slowik/Strausser/OL are without blame. Speaking of infection CJ was infected with cant hit the broad side of a barn disease.
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I admit it's on S2roud, imo, that he's played so poorly for so long. But two things
  1. He hasn't been wildly inaccurate all season. This is one game.
  2. His numbers are still pretty good he's 9th in yards. 62% completions.
He's gotta stop making dumb decisions, stop hurting the team. If he's habitually making bad decisions it doesn't matter how talented he is.
 
steelbtexan said:
Nope, what's being said is Stroud's not playing like the top 5-7 QB he was last yr. He's playing like a JAG this yr and that's not to say Slowik/Strausser/OL are without blame. Speaking of infection CJ was infected with cant hit the broad side of a barn disease.
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Please. Slowik and Strausser ARE pretty much the main reasons to blame. But We’ve seen this situation play out with several good QBs over the years..most recently with Justin Herbert. 1st & 2nd years his numbers say he was a revelation but **** offensive coaching from Lynn/Staley and a trash o-line kept him beat up and the overall team underperforming … which basically killed any post season success he could’ve had 3 out of his 1st 4 seasons. People like you started to question whether he was really that good. So what do the Chargers do? They double down on their young stud qb by giving him a fat contract and they started to protect him. First by spending high draft capital the beef upfront 1st with with Slater next with Johnson in basically consecutive seasons…Joe Alt this past year. Next they fire Staley’s trash ass and bring in a competent HC in Harbaugh ….. who in turn brings in a competent OC in Greg Roman and wouldn’t you know it, they’re returning to the playoffs this year. although Herbert’s numbers are down from previous years, He is back to looking like the star qb he was circa 2020-21.

Coaching matters bubba.
 
Mr teX said:
Please. Slowik and Strausser ARE pretty much the main reasons to blame. But We’ve seen this situation play out with several good QBs over the years..most recently with Justin Herbert. 1st & 2nd years his numbers say he was a revelation but **** offensive coaching from Lynn/Staley and a trash o-line kept him beat up and the overall team underperforming … which basically killed any post season success he could’ve had 3 out of his 1st 4 seasons. People like you started to question whether he was really that good. So what do the Chargers do? They double down on their young stud qb by giving him a fat contract and they started to protect him. First by spending high draft capital the beef upfront 1st with with Slater next with Johnson in basically consecutive seasons…Joe Alt this past year. Next they fire Staley’s trash ass and bring in a competent HC in Harbaugh ….. who in turn brings in a competent OC in Greg Roman and wouldn’t you know it, they’re returning to the playoffs this year. although Herbert’s numbers are down from previous years, He is back to looking like the star qb he was circa 2020-21.

Coaching matters bubba.
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I guess these same coaches forgot how to coach in a yrs time.

What worries me is CJ is looking a lot like Carr out there this yr and hopefully they get new coaches in this off-season and you're proven right/I'm proven wrong. The Carr vibe, including his body language really worries me.
 
steelbtexan said:
I guess these same coaches forgot how to coach in a yrs time.

What worries me is CJ is looking a lot like Carr out there this yr and hopefully they get new coaches in this off-season and you're proven right/I'm proven wrong. The Carr vibe, including his body language really worries me.
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Well for 1, this is Slowik’s 1st real gig, so he like CJ is still learning. The difference however is CJ’s a 23 year old kid in only his 2nd year in the league …not only still learning how to be a QB on this level, but he’s also still learning how to be a pro too. Slowik on the other hand is pushing 40 and been in and around the league for 4-5 years already.

In reality both guys are working with a limb or 2 behind their backs..So while Slowik is hamstrung by what he feels comfortable calling b/c his o-line is trash and his WR depth is depleted and they can’t run the ball, CJ is more hamstrung simply b/c he has to deal with all the same shortcomings Slowik has to deal with but physically IN ADDITION to having to deal with Slowik’s trash as playcalling as well.
 
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