Thursday marked the final day of the offseason program for C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans, and the fourth-year quarterback continues to spark strong reactions ahead of what figures to be a critical campaign.
He is admittedly coming off a poor postseason showing.
However, another one of Stroud’s Texans teammates has come to his defense, noting that they win and lose as a team.
C.J. Stroud Has ‘Already’ Taken Leap for Texans
GettyC.J. Stroud could be primed for a big year for the Houston Texans.
Stroud is heading into the second year under Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley. The former second overall pick set career-highs in completion percentage and passer rating last season, but his counting stats dropped.
A three-game concussion-related absence did not help.
Quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski believes the anticipated “leap” from their first season together has already taken place.
“I think we’ve already seen it. The big thing we talked about as an offense in general is just … operation and building our foundation,” Schuplinski told reporters on June 11. “There was probably a lot of issues we had last year, just getting a lot of scrimmage, hurrying up to get the play off.
“The big thing we pushed on all of our offense is getting the huddle right, getting the play call in, getting the play call, breaking the huddle fast, using the shift, being able to use the motion, and still have plenty of time to operate–and also use cadence with that.”
That directive is for all of the Texans’ players, not just Stroud.
“That’s a big emphasis on everybody,” Schuplinski said. “They’ve done a nice job, but now we’ll just try to carry it over to training camp. How does your role in all this work?
QB Coach Gets Honest About C.J. Stroud
GettyThe Houston Texans must do their jobs around C.J. Stroud.
Schuplinski spoke about his experience in the scheme that Caley runs, and that it is a “combination of things.”
He expressed confidence that if the Texans do the right things around Stroud, he will deliver.
“I think the biggest thing we’ve tried to do is, how can we protect him. That’s not just with the guys up front and their blocking. It’s also with us getting the ball in our hands. But more importantly, last year, I think we did a great improvement in terms of our sack production, or decreasing that quite a bit. So, we’ll start there,” Schuplinski said.
“The protection piece is probably a big piece of that that I would start with. And as long as we can protect the quarterback, I would start there and say I have total faith in him that he’ll get the ball out and deliver it to the right spot, and do well doing that, as long as we can protect him.”
Schuplinski said that it is a “team sport,” emphasizing that the Texans’ wide receivers must do their part just like the offensive line and Stroud.
Kamari Lassiter Backs C.J. Stroud
GettyC.J. Stroud has garnered strong support from his Houston Texans teammates.
Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter also talked up Stroud, touting his teammate while defending him from criticism over Houston’s loss to the New England Patriots in the playoffs.
“For one, C.J., that’s my guy. And for two, he’s that boy. He’s been that boy since he picked up a football. So, in that game in New England, we all had a bad game. Defense had a bad game. We gave up 28 points. So, I feel like you can’t just single out one person. We had a bad game.
We didn’t win the game as a team,” Lassiter said on the “Green Light” podcast on June 11.
“I just feel like whenever you look at it from that perspective, you just–we all rally together. We all look at what we did wrong, and we just move on. We try and fix those mistakes, and then after that, it’s on to the next.”
Lassiter joins Texans tight end Dalton Schultz in shouldering his fair share of the blame for the postseason defeat.
Schultz was unable to finish the game due to an injury.
“Obviously, I think, just the results of that game, it’s hard to pin it all on him. As a player, in my eyes, that game is my fault. I left the game in the first quarter, you know what I mean? That was a big game plan for me, and I wasn’t able to be out there,” Schultz said during an interview on SportsRadio 610 in February.
“My process was exactly the same that I’ve done all year, every year. And I look back, and I’m like, ‘Well, shoot. Obviously, I didn’t do enough to get my body where it needed to be in that moment.”
That loss could serve as a kind of rallying point for Stroud and the Texans when the time comes.
C.J. Stroud Gets Telling Words as Texans Conclude Offseason Program