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Slowik and the offense

steelbtexan said:
I guess it's all about expectations and I'm really disappointed in CJs play this year. You can't win a championship with that level of play.

BTW, Joey B's ol sucks too and he's had a great year.
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This Joey B:
- Been in the league twice as long as CJ
- Has had arguably the best WR in the NFL healthy ALL season
- Has an offensive minded HC who has been their HC for 5 years
- Has led his team to only 1 win vs a team with a winning record at the time they played

I love me some Joe Burrow but c'mon man...
 
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Earl34 said:
Good post. Sometimes, it seems we should just have a sticky showing posters how Stroud compares to other QBs at the same number of games played. For some reason, we forget he has only started 31 NFL games. We want him to perform at the same level as Burrows (68), Mahomes (112), Allen (108), and Lamar (93) without the experience, adversity, struggles and growing pains of these other QBs who have started 2-3 times as many games.
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That would be fine if people weren't calling Stroud a "generational qb" like 2 months into his rookie season.
 
steelbtexan said:
I guess it's all about expectations and I'm really disappointed in CJs play this year. You can't win a championship with that level of play.

BTW, Joey B's ol sucks too and he's had a great year.
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No argument here. Joey B is having a great season. I'm not sure how you compare his play with a bad OL with Stroud. Especially when he has Zac Taylor who learned the WCO from Mike Sherman and the Shanny/Kubiak scheme from Sean McVay and is one of the more creative HC/OC in the NFL on his sideline. When it comes to play calling and helping your QB, who would you take? Slowik or Taylor?
 
Earl34 said:
No argument here. Joey B is having a great season. I'm not sure how you compare his play with a bad OL with Stroud. Especially when he has Zac Taylor who learned the WCO from Mike Sherman and the Shanny/Kubiak scheme from Sean McVay and is one of the more creative HC/OC in the NFL on his sideline. When it comes to play calling and helping your QB, who would you take? Slowik or Taylor?
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You think a lot more of Taylor than most. The Bengals are most likely going to miss the because Taylor has no balls at the end of games and likes to throw deep shots on 3rd,4th and shorts
 
KoolAid Sipper said:
This Joey B:
- Been in the league twice as long as CJ
- Has had arguably the best WR in the NFL healthy ALL season
- Has an offensive minded HC who has been their HC for 5 years
- Has led his team to only 1 win vs a team with a winning record at the time they played

I love me some Joe Burrow but c'mon man...
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He's also producing when under extreme pressure.

Collins is about as good as Chase and what's things looked like since he's been back? He also had Dell until last game. It's not like Stroud hasn't had weapons.

The offensive minded Taylor has almost cost his team a playoff spot. You should checkout X to get a feel for what Bengals fans think of him. You would think his name is Zac Slowik.
 
KoolAid Sipper said:
His contract is up after the season so no need to be fired. But if we somehow win the WC game, DeMeco may offer him another year and chalk the struggles up to injuries 😢
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JB said:
Wishful thinking?
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Definitely sucks. Thought Bobby would have success here. Can’t be too mad at Bobby. A lot of the anger I had towards him should have been for Demeco. While I don’t think Demeco is on the hot seat after making the playoffs consecutively, he has made some mistakes outside the football field and it’s to be expected being a 2 year head coach. The same reason why I give stroud a pass this season. I saw what he was capable of last season. He has the potential to light up the league for a decade. The narrative about Cj being arrogant because of his off season world tour is kind of ridiculous. When you think of humbled nfl players, his name is one of the first to pop up.



I don’t want to say this. Kind of kept this to myself, sigh. Cj crying in the chiefs game wasn’t a good look. It’s not ideal seeing your leader/toughest position on the team crying funeral tears. Glad Joe Mixon talked to him but man I really didnt know how to feel about that. Yes, Tank is probably his best friend but still, you can’t let yourself get that weak during a battle or let your opponents and the league see you crying like that. You want to cry, cover your face and go grab a towel from the bench. Cjs still tough, nothings weak about the 2nd most sacked qb in the league. I get why he cried like that. I heard somewhere Tank might not play until 2026 so there’s that
 
I didn’t mind him crying in the moment per se…but…you’ve then got to quickly get your head screwed back on straight and put your big boy pants on and lead the team. I don’t think he did that. CJ’s strength is his humanity and how much he genuinely cares about people, from his teammates to the man on the street. He has empathy for miles which will serve him well post football.

But I think his biggest strength can be a weakness on the field. Que the military/war analogies. Your opponent will use every flaw and any perceived weakness against you and exploit it. Also, your teammates are looking at you -the QB - to lead and be “the man”. If the man can’t quickly shake a devastating blow to his best friend, neither will the team.

I hope this is a lesson that CJ can internalize and improve from. He can be great, but to get there he must use things like this as fuel and show strength and resilience and lead his charges like a real leader facing a real challenge. He can’t be a shrinking violet sobbing like a schoolgirl for any length of time. Get it out..quickly…refocus…and move on.
 
KarlK said:
That would be fine if people weren't calling Stroud a "generational qb" like 2 months into his rookie season.
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Generational QB is a silly term that’s made up by the media and fans. Before they even started an NFL game, they said the same thing about Andrew Luck and Trevor Lawrence. They said the same about Peyton Manning and then his rookie year he went out and led the NFL with 28 INTs.

My point is calling someone a generational QB is as meaningless as a dog barking at a flying bird. At some point, all QBs struggles. To think otherwise is setting yourself up for disappointment
 
Porky said:
I didn’t mind him crying in the moment per se…but…you’ve then got to quickly get your head screwed back on straight and put your big boy pants on and lead the team. I don’t think he did that. CJ’s strength is his humanity and how much he genuinely cares about people, from his teammates to the man on the street. He has empathy for miles which will serve him well post football.

But I think his biggest strength can be a weakness on the field. Que the military/war analogies. Your opponent will use every flaw and any perceived weakness against you and exploit it. Also, your teammates are looking at you -the QB - to lead and be “the man”. If the man can’t quickly shake a devastating blow to his best friend, neither will the team.

I hope this is a lesson that CJ can internalize and improve from. He can be great, but to get there he must use things like this as fuel and show strength and resilience and lead his charges like a real leader facing a real challenge. He can’t be a shrinking violet sobbing like a schoolgirl for any length of time. Get it out..quickly…refocus…and move on.
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Exactly.
 
Porky said:
I didn’t mind him crying in the moment per se…but…you’ve then got to quickly get your head screwed back on straight and put your big boy pants on and lead the team. I don’t think he did that. CJ’s strength is his humanity and how much he genuinely cares about people, from his teammates to the man on the street. He has empathy for miles which will serve him well post football.

But I think his biggest strength can be a weakness on the field. Que the military/war analogies. Your opponent will use every flaw and any perceived weakness against you and exploit it. Also, your teammates are looking at you -the QB - to lead and be “the man”. If the man can’t quickly shake a devastating blow to his best friend, neither will the team.

I hope this is a lesson that CJ can internalize and improve from. He can be great, but to get there he must use things like this as fuel and show strength and resilience and lead his charges like a real leader facing a real challenge. He can’t be a shrinking violet sobbing like a schoolgirl for any length of time. Get it out..quickly…refocus…and move on.
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Yep, you haven't seen Montana/Brady/Elway/Favre etc... crying on a football field. It's something that CJ can improve upon (Staying focused and controlling his emotions) but I have doubts this is ever going to happen. Hopefully the young man will grow up.
 
Earl34 said:
Generational QB is a silly term that’s made up by the media and fans. Before they even started an NFL game, they said the same thing about Andrew Luck and Trevor Lawrence. They said the same about Peyton Manning and then his rookie year he went out and led the NFL with 28 INTs.

My point is calling someone a generational QB is as meaningless as a dog barking at a flying bird. At some point, all QBs struggles. To think otherwise is setting yourself up for disappointment
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Agreed, but usually QB's get better from yr to yr.
 
DanielTx said:
Definitely sucks. Thought Bobby would have success here. Can’t be too mad at Bobby. A lot of the anger I had towards him should have been for Demeco. While I don’t think Demeco is on the hot seat after making the playoffs consecutively, he has made some mistakes outside the football field and it’s to be expected being a 2 year head coach. The same reason why I give stroud a pass this season. I saw what he was capable of last season. He has the potential to light up the league for a decade. The narrative about Cj being arrogant because of his off season world tour is kind of ridiculous. When you think of humbled nfl players, his name is one of the first to pop up.



I don’t want to say this. Kind of kept this to myself, sigh. Cj crying in the chiefs game wasn’t a good look. It’s not ideal seeing your leader/toughest position on the team crying funeral tears. Glad Joe Mixon talked to him but man I really didnt know how to feel about that. Yes, Tank is probably his best friend but still, you can’t let yourself get that weak during a battle or let your opponents and the league see you crying like that. You want to cry, cover your face and go grab a towel from the bench. Cjs still tough, nothings weak about the 2nd most sacked qb in the league. I get why he cried like that. I heard somewhere Tank might not play until 2026 so there’s that
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Demeco has made some mistakes- agreed

It's not about arrogance, it's about putting in the work. Truth is CJ was great last yr and he thought the game was easy. He's currently finding out that this isn't the case IMHO. Hopefully he learns from this and at least gets back to the level he was at last yr because you can win a SB with last yrs level of QB play. This yrs level of play not so much.

As far as the crying on the field, it's not only a bad look, it's a sign of weakness. Truly great QB's have different DNA in them than this.
 
steelbtexan said:
2. If Stroud had been able to complete a 3 yd pass there was nobody within 30 yds of Schultz.
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Haha! If Schultz caught that he was getting all of 10 or 15 yards (still good), that fella is as slow as the 7 year itch!
steelbtexan said:
Collins is about as good as Chase
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I love me some Nico, but I’d hit the brakes on this comparison. Chase is on a bit different level, right now that is. Glad you said “about as good” because Nico can be…
 
steelbtexan said:
Yep, you haven't seen Montana/Brady/Elway/Favre etc... crying on a football field. It's something that CJ can improve upon (Staying focused and controlling his emotions) but I have doubts this is ever going to happen. Hopefully the young man will grow up.
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Someone needs to tell Stroud keep a towel around and hide his tears or frustration like Brady. Oh. Never mind. Towels and Texans QB are also an issue.

 
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badboy said:
Do you agree that there was sufficient reasons to call Stroud generational his rookie year?
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Absolutely not. There was nothing "generational" whatsoever about him at any point last year. Just like there isn't for 99% of the qbs that have played in this league for 30 years. Generational means once every 30 years. CJ Stroud did not play, and never will play, qb at a level higher than anyone else has for the past 30 years. Telling yourself he did or will is setting him up for failure and setting yourself up for a huge dissapointment.
 
steelbtexan said:
He's also producing when under extreme pressure.

Collins is about as good as Chase and what's things looked like since he's been back? He also had Dell until last game. It's not like Stroud hasn't had weapons.

The offensive minded Taylor has almost cost his team a playoff spot. You should checkout X to get a feel for what Bengals fans think of him. You would think his name is Zac Slowik.
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Looks like Joey B is becoming your new favorite NFL QB. I will not tell Jimmy G.

All kidding aside, I was watching the throws from his last game. A couple of things that stands out. To compensate for the bad OL, the majority of his drop backs are 3 steps and the ball is gone. He throws a lot of 50/50 balls to the Chase and Higgins. Often times, his first read wins the matchup. He's very confident in his arm and will take chances into tight windows. He's more athletic than Stroud and is more willing to take off.

At the end of the day. The Texans and Bengals are running the same offense. They even have pass catching TEs who are terrible blockers and have comparable stats. They don't use as many tight formations. Even with Diggs and Nico. Their WRs are flat out better than the Texans. In fact, the Bengals offense reminds me of the 2020 Texans with a slightly better defense that hasn't blown 3-4 games.

 
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Texansballer74 said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1874224800584913201
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In his last seven games, Mixon has more than 60 yards...Twice.

All teams are playing the run game like that. Instead of flowing with the OL, the LBs are simply staying home and waiting for the cutback. Is it Mixon or coaching? You would think with the LBs and DEs staying home, a hard running, straight line runner like Pierce would get more carries to help the running game. Go figure.
 
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Earl34 said:
In his last seven games, Mixon has more than 60 yard...Twice.

All teams are playing the run game like that. Instead of flowing with the OL, the LBs are simply staying home and waiting for the cutback. Is it Mixon or coaching? You would think with the LBs and DEs staying home, a hard running, straight line runner like Pierce would get more carries to help the running game. Go figure.
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The play call seems to have Mixon bouncing it outside and that's where his early success was. Texans weren't running those heave outside zone plays then either. Mixon was cutting against the flow
 
Earl34 said:
Looks like Joey B is becoming your new favorite NFL QB. I will not tell Jimmy G.

All kidding aside, I was watching the throws from his last game. A couple of things that stands out. To compensate for the bad OL, the majority of his drop backs are 3 steps and the ball is gone. He throws a lot of 50/50 balls to the Chase and Higgins. Often times, his first read wins the matchup. He's very confident in his arm and will take chances into tight windows. He's more athletic than Stroud and is more willing to take off.

At the end of the day. The Texans and Bengals are running the same offense. They even have pass catching TEs who are terrible blockers and have comparable stats. They don't use as many tight formations. Even with Diggs and Nico. Their WRs are flat out better than the Texans. In fact, the Bengals offense reminds me of the 2020 Texans with a slightly better defense that hasn't blown 3-4 games.

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The biggest differences are Burrow/Stroud

1. Joey is a quicker decision maker
2. more 3 step drops, this is on Slowik
3. Burrow is much more willing to step up in the pocket take a shot and deliver a strike.
4. Both can run the ball about the same, but Burrow's more willing to run.
5 The WR'S are closer than you think, Chase/Hggins/Iosivas are better than Colllins/Diggs/Dell when all are healthy, but not by much. Higgins has missed many games over the last 2 yrs. So Cincy's WR'S aren't as good as they appear.
6. Coaching- go on X and see what their fans think about Taylor. He almost blew the Broncos game and has blown several games this yr. They want him gone and think he's been wasting Joey's career.
7. Most importantly Joey has a burning desire to win and has won big games. He's a leader of men and has been since college. CJ not so much, I've never seen Joey mope on the field, much less breakdown in tears when a teammate got hurt and remember 3 yrs ago Joey's best friend Chase got knocked out for the season. You didn't see Joey have a mental breakdown on the field.

In short we can only hope CJ develops some of Joey B's traits, because he's as physically gifted as Joey B, he's just immature as a player and apparently a person. Look at him when things dont go his way, he mopes and cries. Not the look of a leader IMHO. Can he learn to be a leader sure he can, but he needs to quit being a momma's boy and growup IMHO.
 
KarlK said:
Absolutely not. There was nothing "generational" whatsoever about him at any point last year. Just like there isn't for 99% of the qbs that have played in this league for 30 years. Generational means once every 30 years. CJ Stroud did not play, and never will play, qb at a level higher than anyone else has for the past 30 years. Telling yourself he did or will is setting him up for failure and setting yourself up for a huge dissapointment.
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I thought there was some records he set that had not been reached for many years.
 
JB said:
The play call seems to have Mixon bouncing it outside and that's where his early success was. Texans weren't running those heave outside zone plays then either. Mixon was cutting against the flow
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If we're running the system we think we're running the playcall has nothing to do with it. Mixon should be reading the blocks in front of him & decide where he's going.
 
JB said:
He's looking for a hole but there ain't any because the lineman are all pushing the defenders that way. No one is getting a backside block to create a cut back lane
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So it's execution, not the playcall.
 
Lucky said:
OK. But if you continue calling a play that your team can't execute...doesn't that indicate poor playcalling?
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Looks like our playbook has shrunk hella lot since the beginning of the season.

Still, I'm not saying playcalling isn't an issue. I'm saying in the system we think they are running the playcall does not dictate the RB bounce anything. He reads, he decides.
 
thunderkyss said:
Looks like our playbook has shrunk hella lot since the beginning of the season.

Still, I'm not saying playcalling isn't an issue. I'm saying in the system we think they are running the playcall does not dictate the RB bounce anything. He reads, he decides.
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I was actually thinking of the WR screens to Collins in the Chiefs game. I can see why Slowik initially called the play. One block and Collins could take it to the house. And the quick pass can really slow down the pass rush. But they couldn't get the block. 4 times they couldn't get the block. So stop calling the play. Similar to some of the running plays that call for slow linemen needing to cover ground on reach blocks. Yes that might be a good play. If you had to linemen that can make that block.
 
At this point nothing is working consistently. There is zero to hang your hat on. Early on, it was Mixon and the run game but even that was one or two explosive runs with a bunch of 1 and 2 yard gains. I brought that up, and most said that’s always how it goes. Really? Anyone watching other quality offenses knows that is BS.

So what does Bobby do? Can’t run screens of any kind, can’t run, the QB has shaky accuracy all the sudden, and you only have one (maybe now two) receivers that teams even care about.

While I think Bobby should go, you have to admit it’s a short menu. It’s like walking into Denny’s and they tell you there is only one cook who showed up, and he’s only making pancakes. Want something else? Go to Waffle House or IHOP.
 
Lucky said:
I was actually thinking of the WR screens to Collins in the Chiefs game. I can see why Slowik initially called the play. One block and Collins could take it to the house. And the quick pass can really slow down the pass rush. But they couldn't get the block. 4 times they couldn't get the block. So stop calling the play. Similar to some of the running plays that call for slow linemen needing to cover ground on reach blocks. Yes that might be a good play. If you had to linemen that can make that block.
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The way they kept calling that screen to Nico looked like they were desperately trying to get the ball in Nico's hands. As if Nico couldn't get open any other way.

We assume teams will pay special attention to Nico. But that normally looks like that play where he was covered underneath by a corner & on top by a safety, he got open, but it was a small window. Cj missed that window & the ball was intercepted.

Maybe Cj was gun shy & the OC was trying, desperately, to get the ball in Nico's hands. Maybe.
 
JB said:
He's looking for a hole but there ain't any because the lineman are all pushing the defenders that way. No one is getting a backside block to create a cut back lane
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This is where Howard/Schultz/Stover have failed.
 
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Texans OC Bobby Slowik said the Ravens game was the first game they “did nothing well” on offense.

He said he started with himself and asked did he do enough to prepare the team.

"It was the first game we didn't do anything well. That wasn't Houston Texans football. We're a better team than that. We're a better offense than that."
 
Texansballer74 said:
Texans OC Bobby Slowik said the Ravens game was the first game they “did nothing well” on offense.

He said he started with himself and asked did he do enough to prepare the team.

"It was the first game we didn't do anything well. That wasn't Houston Texans football. We're a better team than that. We're a better offense than that."
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Who said that Slowik did not know what was going on? He got this one right!
 
amazing80 said:
For me, it's not just the crying he did. It's been his body language all season. Moping on the sidelines, looking deflated on the field when he makes mistakes, and the crying thing. His entire demeanor has been deflated and depressed. No mental toughness.
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It’s like he thought at the beginning of the season that his “swag” attitude would carry the team and then he got punched in the mouth a few times.
 
CJ has definitely been humbled. He thought he was all that plus a bag of chips. Long run, this may end up being a good thing for his development. It came a little too easily last year. Now he knows what it will take to be great. And I think he wants to be great.
 
Texansballer74 said:
Texans OC Bobby Slowik said the Ravens game was the first game they “did nothing well” on offense.

He said he started with himself and asked did he do enough to prepare the team.

"It was the first game we didn't do anything well. That wasn't Houston Texans football. We're a better team than that. We're a better offense than that."
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Sigh. Slowik never mentions what they are doing to address the issues or if they have identified the root cause of the offensive struggles. He quotes stats and then some generic comments. I wish I could get an invite to one of these weekly press conferences. I have so many questions.
 
Earl34 said:
Sigh. Slowik never mentions what they are doing to address the issues or if they have identified the root cause of the offensive struggles. He quotes stats and then some generic comments. I wish I could get an invite to one of these weekly press conferences. I have so many questions.
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If you were him how transparent would you be?

That's basically why they all have coachspeak. I know we fans want to know, but it's really not any of our business. Were I Slowik the goal would be to handle the problems internally. I'd be open & transparent with my coaches & players, with DeMeco my boss & Nick & Cal if they ask.

But I'm not going to tell the media too much.
 
thunderkyss said:
If you were him how transparent would you be?

That's basically why they all have coachspeak. I know we fans want to know, but it's really not any of our business. Were I Slowik the goal would be to handle the problems internally. I'd be open & transparent with my coaches & players, with DeMeco my boss & Nick & Cal if they ask.

But I'm not going to tell the media too much.
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Listening to Demeco’s press conferences, it’s a case study in how to answer without saying anything. I don’t blame him for that. As for Slowik, even if he did answer without coachspeak, you probably wouldn’t understand it anyway.
 
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