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Welcome to Houston CJ Stroud

leebigeztx

Keep it Movin!
He’s a guy that thrives on passing the ball downfield. He has Peyton Manning syndrome in that it’s hard for him to be patient taking the underneath stuff. He wants chunk yardage. That’s what he was used to at Ohio State.

you look at the games he’s struggled in a bit, it’s been b/c he’s been forced to check it down. Him running around with the ball behind the LOS when we all wish he would just throw it away…..he’s looking for that big chunk yardage play.

Slowik at times has hamstrung him under the guise of protecting him by calling those dink and dunk pass plays and overcommitting to the run. at other times it’s been the defense forcing him to. & he has to learn to be a bit patient.

But what I think we saw last week was Slowik trusting him and letting him deal. I hope like hell he has finally earned Slowik’s trust and he cuts him loose permanently. You got a certified dog under center, let him eat.
Most young qbs have a hard time taking the easy money. A couple of years ago, teams played man under 2 deep vs Chiefs and forced Mahomes to do that. They had answers because Kelce was an alien. They need to pass the ball more on early downs even if it's incomplete. It's too late in the season to keep trying to be a running team. SF was a running team because their qbs are limited. You need to run the ball in 4 minute drill to keep them honest from time to time.
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
At a minimum we need to see more of those mesh route concepts that Brown scored on…more bunch formations for guys like Dell so that they can get free releases that allow them to create a little bit when out in space……instead of these damn jet sweeps.
 

OptimisticTexan

2023 / Rebuilding Block 3 / Go Texans
In the Panthers game…..DL got their push and then the front seven had their eyes on Stroud. They got their hands up while the OL just stood there and watched. Why didn’t the OL punch or drive once the DL disengaged and threw their hands into the air? Far too many passes were knocked down….reminded me of Bernie Kosar (6’-5”) getting his passes knocked down b/c of that ridiculous sidearm motion. Maybe Slowick should’ve adjusted and gave Stroud a moving pocket or a slightly deeper set in the shotgun. Just happy it seems to be a one game blip.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
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Part of it was Bowles inexplicably & uncharacteristically stopped blitzing him. Boomer Esiason sorta talked about this in the CBS post game wrap up. I mean It’s 1 thing to be fearful of getting beat over the top…they had lost Dean earlier in that game…..but Bowles went full turtle..and CJ took full advantage of that.
The way I saw it, Bowles stopped blitzing him because he kept getting beat. Figured he'd drop more into coverage & beat him that way. Just didn't work. But blitzing wasn't working either.
 

Earl34

Hall of Fame
At a minimum we need to see more of those mesh route concepts that Brown scored on…more bunch formations for guys like Dell so that they can get free releases that allow them to create a little bit when out in space……instead of these damn jet sweeps.
To your point. The 49ers and Dolphins are using this "cheat" motion that gives their WRs a free release at the defense. I would like to see Slowik doing something similar with Dell.

 

The Pencil Neck

Hall of Fame
So I joined that QB School Patreon from JT O'Sullivan.

Instead of it being select plays like on YT, it's pretty much every offensive play, sequentially through the game, being broken down to one degree or another, and taking into consideration down, distance, and time. Even the run plays. It was very informative to see his opinions on the OL play and also a few of the blocking schemes used.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
So I joined that QB School Patreon from JT O'Sullivan.

Instead of it being select plays like on YT, it's pretty much every offensive play, sequentially through the game, being broken down to one degree or another, and taking into consideration down, distance, and time. Even the run plays. It was very informative to see his opinions on the OL play and also a few of the blocking schemes used.
What did he say about the run plays and run blocking?
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
The way I saw it, Bowles stopped blitzing him because he kept getting beat. Figured he'd drop more into coverage & beat him that way. Just didn't work. But blitzing wasn't working either.
I think a big part of it was they’d lost dean early in the game on the TD pass to Nico. their back up guy zyon mccollum, CJ and the offense started picking on him late in the 2nd qtr & we’re having success; CJ had missed on a Dell deep shot to his side earlier in the game. So I guess Bowles’ adjustment was to have Winfield shading over the top to his side to help him out figuring their other starting cb Carlton Davis III could/would be able to hold his own against a journeyman in Brown and a rookie in Dell. He was wrong as the last 3 TD’s came off of Davis……Dell, Schultz, Dell. 2, I don’t believe Davis was fully healthy either…as of today he’s listed as questionable.

To Slowik’s credit, he made sure that that Winfield continuously had to shade over the top to help McCollum b/c Nico stayed lined up on his side …that’s kinda why he didn’t have a big game like the other guys. Think the only pass he threw Nico’s way the rest of the game was that jump ball fade in the end zone that Nico caught out of bounds….why? B/c there was no way the safety could help over the top there.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
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I think a big part of it was they’d lost dean early in the game on the TD pass to Nico. their back up guy zyon mccollum, CJ and the offense started picking on him late in the 2nd qtr & we’re having success; CJ had missed on a Dell deep shot to his side earlier in the game. So I guess Bowles’ adjustment was to have Winfield shading over the top to his side to help him out figuring their other starting cb Carlton Davis III could/would be able to hold his own against a journeyman in Brown and a rookie in Dell. He was wrong as the last 3 TD’s came off of Davis……Dell, Schultz, Dell. 2, I don’t believe Davis was fully healthy either…as of today he’s listed as questionable.
Right, I'm sure injuries to his secondary & Davis getting burnt frequently was the reason he stopped blitzing. Semantics.
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
Right, I'm sure injuries to his secondary & Davis getting burnt frequently was the reason he stopped blitzing. Semantics.
..Safeties are typically the guys who cover a potential void in a coverage scheme if/when a LB is sent on a blitz. So With him having Winfield basically committed to helping over the top, I just think he figured he was limited in what he could do from a blitz standpoint and opted to play in protective mode instead. Remember the Texans didn’t even take the lead until late in the 4th. Bucs were up for most of the game……..& we had no kicker…
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
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..Safeties are typically the guys who cover a potential void in a coverage scheme if/when a LB is sent on a blitz. So With him having Winfield basically committed to helping over the top, I just think he figured he was limited in what he could do from a blitz standpoint and opted to play in protective mode instead. Remember the Texans didn’t even take the lead until late in the 4th. Bucs were up for most of the game……..& we had no kicker…
You're right. Bowles completely ignored the fact that Cj was beating his blitz when he decided not to blitz him. Makes perfect sense.

CJ Stroud this year has a ridiculous 116.2 passer rating when blitzed. Last game he had a passer rating of 133 when blitzed. So far this year blitzing Stroud has been the best way to get picked apart. From what I remember most of the success against him has come by rushing 3 and dropping 8.
 

The Pencil Neck

Hall of Fame
Any thing in particular? Is it systemic? Any common issues from one play to the next? Is it personnel?
I didn't really note everything down that he was saying. But here are a few things:

1) He was really down on the interior of our line.
2) Dieter was using a hand signal to identify a certain pass protection and was probably giving away that we were going to pass in some instances.
3) Shaq Mason made one or two really big errors where he didn't fill his gap properly and that let LBs get in for TFLs.
4) He was really liking some of Fant's work and pointed out how much more athletic Fant was getting out to block on a screen than Tunsil was, and how much more successful Fant was at doing it. He said something to the effect of "This is a guy that wants to play some football."
5) There were some schematic things where we had no good options for our LG and C, including one where Dieter probably did what he was supposed to do, but in so doing, he let Vea come into the backfield untouched to gobble Singletary up.
6) There were a couple of times when we may have either shifted wrong, or we should have audibled to a pass.

Like I said, those were just the points I remember off the top of my head.

EDIT: Oh, and he was PISSED at the holding call on Fant where Fant threw that guy to the ground. He thought that was a great play.
 

DocBar

Hall of Fame
Contributor's Club
I hope he blitzes him. CJ Stroud this year has a ridiculous 116.2 passer rating when blitzed. Last game he had a passer rating of 133 when blitzed. So far this year blitzing Stroud has been the best way to get picked apart. From what I remember most of the success against him has come by rushing 3 and dropping 8.
Remember all of the pre draft posts about how much CJ struggled under pressure? :hmmm:
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
I didn't really note everything down that he was saying. But here are a few things:

1) He was really down on the interior of our line.
2) Dieter was using a hand signal to identify a certain pass protection and was probably giving away that we were going to pass in some instances.
3) Shaq Mason made one or two really big errors where he didn't fill his gap properly and that let LBs get in for TFLs.
4) He was really liking some of Fant's work and pointed out how much more athletic Fant was getting out to block on a screen than Tunsil was, and how much more successful Fant was at doing it. He said something to the effect of "This is a guy that wants to play some football."
5) There were some schematic things where we had no good options for our LG and C, including one where Dieter probably did what he was supposed to do, but in so doing, he let Vea come into the backfield untouched to gobble Singletary up.
6) There were a couple of times when we may have either shifted wrong, or we should have audibled to a pass.

Like I said, those were just the points I remember off the top of my head.

EDIT: Oh, and he was PISSED at the holding call on Fant where Fant threw that guy to the ground. He thought that was a great play.
Thanks
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
You're right. Bowles completely ignored the fact that Cj was beating his blitz when he decided not to blitz him. Makes perfect sense.
lol I’m sorry u don’t get that it had to be more to it than simply CJ beating his blitz for him to go against his whole NFL defensive identity as a blitzing aggressive DC. Yes CJ was beating his blitz, but he wasn’t killing it..if he were, we wouldn’t have been down for 3/4 of the game.
 

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
Staff member
Contributor's Club
lol I’m sorry u don’t get that it had to be more to it than simply CJ beating his blitz for him to go against his whole NFL defensive identity as a blitzing aggressive DC. Yes CJ was beating his blitz, but he wasn’t killing it..if he were, we wouldn’t have been down for 3/4 of the game.
well... he didn't start beating them until the 2nd half.

All your explanations of why the blitz wasn't working boiled down to the blitz wasn't working. Which lead to him going against his whole NFL defensive identity.
 

Texansballer74

The Marine
well... he didn't start beating them until the 2nd half.

All your explanations of why the blitz wasn't working boiled down to the blitz wasn't working. Which lead to him going against his whole NFL defensive identity.
Indeed he had to make the adjustments hoping his front four would get to him. Fortunately for us it still didn’t work.
 
@thunderkyss Here you go buddy.

NFL
C.J. Stroud is the NFL’s best rookie and a lesson for other franchises





From the moment he met C.J. Stroud, John Beck believed Stroud could thrive in the NFL. Stroud trained for the 2023 NFL draft at 3DQB, where Beck works as a coach. He saw in Stroud advanced quarterbacking intellect and an ability to summon his best performance at pivotal moments. But Beck had coached many quarterbacks as they prepared for the draft, and he understood success on draft night brought inherent risk. When the Houston Texans selected Stroud with the second pick, Beck still believed in the young quarterback but worried about his surroundings.



“Whenever I see a quarterback picked that high, you just wonder, what is the situation like that he’s going into?” Beck said. “Sometimes, it hurts these talented quarterbacks where they land, and it’s not the best situation for their development.”

It is impossible to determine where the line lies between Stroud’s innate excellence and Houston’s shrewd incubation. It has taken both to create this NFL season’s breakout success — and a case study for teams racing to the bottom of the standings. As Stroud carries a woebegone franchise into a new era, teams sinking into position to draft a celebrated quarterback prospect next April will try to glean lessons from Houston’s franchise-shifting selection and development of Stroud.
How pass rush became its own position
“Everyone is going to self-study this thing in the offseason,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy said.



Stroud is the overwhelming favorite for offensive rookie of the year, a status he cemented Sunday in a 39-37 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He passed for 470 yards, a rookie record, and five touchdowns, the last of which he conjured out of astounding throws after starting a drive at his own 25 with 46 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
“What I saw in that last drive was just calm,” Coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Everybody had this quiet confidence within them that they knew we were going to go down and score. It starts with having faith in your quarterback.”
Stroud is not just the NFL’s best rookie. He’s been one of the NFL’s most prolific quarterbacks, period. He ranks third in yards per game (283.8), first in interception percentage (0.4), seventh in touchdowns (14), third in yards per attempt (8.1) and fourth in quarterback rating (102.9). Behind Stroud and first-year coach Ryans, the 4-4 Texans have matched their highest win total since 2019 and could challenge for a playoff spot.



Stroud is responsible for his own success, of course. But plenty of franchises have chosen the wrong quarterback, and plenty more have failed smart, talented quarterbacks. In Carolina, top pick Bryce Young has looked small (as expected) and indecisive (a surprise). But he has also played behind a spotty offensive line and without a dynamic wideout he can trust; Carolina’s leading wideout by far is 33-year-old Adam Thielen.
C.J. Stroud: From ‘Little Man’ to Heisman Trophy favorite
In finding a franchise quarterback, the Texans have nailed the most important task an NFL team faces. In advance of the draft, Stroud was viewed as a top quarterback, but not a slam-dunk choice at No. 2. Recent Ohio State quarterbacks had a spotty NFL record. He reportedly scored poorly on the S2 cognition test, an emerging metric some NFL teams view as telling for quarterbacks.
“Hats off to the Houston Texans for sticking to what they saw on tape [and] … sticking to what they hear from the people around C.J.,” Beck said. “... [They had] strength in their belief of, we’re going to go off of what we see on tape, off what we feel when we’re around him in private interviews. I’m so happy that it’s working well for them, because they stuck to what they believed in.”



When the Texans studied Stroud, they did not fall prey to stereotypes about quarterbacks who played at Ohio State. They saw a quarterback who had more responsibility than prior OSU passers Justin Fields and Dwayne Haskins. Stroud’s natural throwing ability stood out.
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“Accuracy’s something you either have or you don’t, and C.J. has it,” Ryans said. “You can try to coach it as much as you want to, but it has to be that natural, right throwing ability.”

In Houston, Stroud found infrastructure that could support a rookie quarterback. Ryans hired Bobby Slowik and Jerrod Johnson as his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, two up-and-coming coaches with different backgrounds who were both suited to work with Stroud.



Slowik came from San Francisco, where he helped prepare game plans for Nick Mullens, whom injuries thrust into the lineup as a rookie. Slowik saw an example of how a highly drafted quarterback could go wrong after the 49ers drafted Trey Lance third and watched him struggle until they traded him to Dallas in August for a mid-round pick.Johnson played quarterback at Texas A&M in the late 2000s and bounced around the NFL in low-level assistant positions. He could relate to Stroud and help him translate college concepts into the NFL. Since practices last spring, coaches have gradually granted Stroud more and more autonomy without overburdening him.“C.J. has built that trust that we can put a little bit more on him,” Ryans said. “He’s still a rookie, still has things to learn and things to grow from each and every week. But he’s doing a really good job of growing throughout the year.”The Jets are making Aaron Rodgers's return moot“I don’t ever try to do too much with it,” Stroud said. “I’ve been playing football for a really long time. Even though I’m a rookie and I’m still young in this league, I can feel the game out a little bit.”
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Though the Texans won seven games over the past two seasons while firing two coaches, General Manager Nick Caserio had quietly been building a solid roster with an emphasis on attitude. “A lot of teams give it lip service but don’t put their money where their mouth is,” Nagy said. “They have really stuck to their guns the last two drafts and taken really high-character football guys.”After taking Stroud second, the Texans swung a trade with Arizona for the third pick and took defensive end Will Anderson, a pass rushing demon and team captain at Alabama.

Though the Texans sacrificed this year’s first-round pick and more, Anderson’s talent and intangibles fit their plan perfectly and helped alleviate Stroud’s burden.“They really wanted Will Anderson’s leadership,” Nagy said. “He’s a different type of leader and competitor. Everyone thought they overspent. But they didn’t overspend at all, because they really valued what Will was going to bring to the building so all the leadership wouldn’t fall on C.J. Will could handle the defensive side and take some of that leadership burden off C.J. and let him focus on playing quarterback.”


Ryans was a star defensive coordinator for the 49ers, and his acumen boosted Houston’s defense. The Texans had veteran left tackle Laremy Tunsil in place to protect Stroud’s blindside. They already had an elite wide receiver hiding in plain sight in Nico Collins, whose blend of size and speed was squandered catching passes from Davis Mills. They added third-round pick Tank Dell, whom Stroud worked out with before the draft and campaigned for the Texans to pick. Dell’s quickness and ability to separate from coverage have been invaluable; he caught the game-winning touchdown Sunday.After the game, Ryans raved about Stroud and called his performance one of the best ever for a rookie quarterback. Ryans had been far more withholding in praise of Stroud earlier in the season, another carefully considered piece of the Texans’ plan.“You don’t want to make it weighty on him starting out,” Ryans said. “You just see how he’s grown each and every week. You see the more and more he can do for us. He’s still learning. He’s still growing. But the plays he’s able to make, you don’t win in this league unless you have a quarterback who can make those type of plays.
 

Mr teX

Hall of Fame
well... he didn't start beating them until the 2nd half.

All your explanations of why the blitz wasn't working boiled down to the blitz wasn't working. Which lead to him going against his whole NFL defensive identity.
lol, what? your explanation makes no sense. He didn’t stop blitzing b/c it wasn’t working. I believe He stopped blitzing b/c he felt he no longer had the personnel in the secondary to hold up & withstand the potentiality of the big play once Dean went down and he had Winfield playing over the top helping McCollum…all that took place about the middle of the 1st qtr…I which is about when CJ and the offense started to get going closing the gap a little right before the half. Matter fact, CJ took 2 horrible sacks in that last possession before the half. His hand was forced by his personnel not necessarily b/c CJ was just eating his blitzes up. had he continued blitzing he would’ve exposed his defense to bigger more explosive plays and the lead they had would’ve evaporated much faster than it did. Basically he went prevent the rest of the way hoping his defense could hold up just enough and his offense could keep pace with whatever CJ & co. was doing taking in the fact that his team had the lead……& It almost worked for him. Almost.
 
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thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
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His hand was forced by his personnel not necessarily b/c CJ was just eating his blitzes up.
Are you telling me you've spoken to Bowles & this is what he told you? Or you spoke to someone & they told you that's what Bowles told you?

Or am I reading too much into your tone? To me it sounds like you're saying my take is ridiculous & your recollection is the only way to interpret what happened Sunday. But you're not that guy, I know you're not that guy. So what are you saying?

Yes CJ was beating his blitz, but he wasn’t killing it..if he were, we wouldn’t have been down for 3/4 of the game.
…all that took place about the middle of the 1st qtr…I which is about when CJ and the offense started to get going closing the gap a little right before the half.
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Well, Benjamin Solak of The Ringer has a window into Bowles’ mindset on Houston’s game-winning drive.

Per Solak, Bowles blitzed a bunch in the first half and man did his defense get shredded.

Stroud went 7 for 9 for 105 yards, 1 TD, and a sack. He didn’t have a completion under 10 yards.
And when Bowles didn’t blitz in the second half, Stroud ate the Bucs’ defense alive.
I concede Bowles secondary couldn't (I assert didn't) hold up due to injuries, so he stopped blitzing the rook. But it wasn't an educated guess. It was a reality & he saw it with his own eyes.
 

JB

Innocent Bystander
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Houston Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud's NFL star is born


Priest Brooks, his youth football coach in California's Inland Empire, wanted a moment with Stroud. Brooks had been alongside the Ohio State quarterback for the bulk of this journey and had a list of things he wanted to say. He addressed Stroud's impending NFL stardom, which at the time might have seemed presumptuous.

Stroud was going to the Texans, a franchise far removed from prime-time scheduling -- and success -- to play a position with such a jagged learning curve that most of his counterparts don't even make it in the NFL. But in Brooks' mind, it wasn't a matter of whether Stroud would become a star, but when.

It took 6½ months.
 
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