One of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud’s personality traits is how refreshing he can be when reliving his performance in a game like the Texans’ 28-3 loss to Miami at NRG Stadium.
Stroud can be analytical, informative and entertaining. He’s not afraid to point out his mistakes and accept blame -- even when it’s not all his fault. He admits his evolution to become a legitimate NFL quarterback includes some good plays he’s proud of but is quick to mention how much he has to learn and how fired up he is about the process.
For one series Saturday afternoon, the Texans saw the kind of progress that showed why they made Stroud the second overall pick in the draft.
The first possession was a disaster. Stroud and the offense wasted linebacker Denzel Perryman’s interception that set them up at the Miami 7 and included a third-and-goal situation at the 1, where Stroud took a delay of game before throwing two incompletions, including a fourth down miscommunication with tight end Dalton Schultz.
But the second series was different. The Texans started at their 22, and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik let Stroud come out throwing. He completed 5-of-6 for 52 yards. He threw timing routes that resulted in pinpoint completions on the sideline. He threw quick strikes on slant routes across the middle. He got rid of the ball fast, and he was accurate. Coach DeMeco Ryans, Slowik and quarterback coach Jerrod Johnson liked what they saw from Stroud on that possession.
“I think I got (into) a good groove, a rhythm,” Stroud said. “After that, we started clicking, started spreading the ball. I feel like being a quarterback for the Texans calls for the responsibility of making everybody around me better. I think everybody got to touch the ball on that drive, which was special. I think it shows what we can do, but we've got to finish.”
Unfortunately for the Texans, Stroud’s third down pass over the middle to Noah Brown that would have been a first down was batted away at the last possible instant by cornerback Xavien Howard, forcing the Texans to settle for a field goal that made the score 7-3.
“I feel like I took a step (but I’ve) definitely got to clean up some things,” Stroud said. “Great protection up front (and) overall, I felt like I started playing like I'm used to. It's starting to slow down for me, and I'm seeing things a lot more (clearly).”
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Stroud was disappointed in the delay penalty that took them from the 1 to the 6 and his miscommunication with Schultz on the fourth down incompletion.
“Thank God it's preseason, and you can learn from it,” Stroud said. “It's on me. I've got to get guys lined up and get them set and snap the ball and try to execute as best I can. We have to get a lot better. We’ve got to fix that because those (kind of plays) are drive killers. I actually appreciate the mistakes and the lessons learned because you don't really get them anywhere else. You've got to have scars even though they might not look good on TV.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself to play perfect. I think it's a good thing. I want to be the best I can be, but if it doesn't happen, it's all about the next play. Coach Ryans always talks about it -- the next play, the next drive. What are you going to do? Be mad? I could have been mad about the first drive. I messed up two times. I should have been better (but) I let it go.”
Every practice and game must be a learning experience for Stroud, the Texans’ first franchise quarterback since Deshaun Watson.
“In situations like that, the quicker I can get up there and diagnose the coverage – the blitz look or whatever it is -- the more dynamic this offense will be,” he said. “We want to be an explosive offense. Once you put pressure on defenses, that's when you put them (between) a rock and a hard place and keep that pressure on them.”
Playing with most of his starters in the first half, Stroud finished with 7-of-12 for 60 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. His rating was 71.5. It didn’t help that the defense was dreadful after Perryman’s interception, surrendering 398 yards, including 205 rushing. The defense was so bad it allowed the Dolphins to control the ball for 38:42 to the Texans’ 21:18. That’s not a lot of time to get much done.
“I thought C.J. was more efficient,” Ryans said. “He felt more comfortable, and I think everyone around him played better, which allowed him to play better. I'm proud of the progression C.J. took this week. You want to see improvement week to week.
“Now we need everyone around him to continue to play better. When it comes to catching the football, we have to catch the ball better. When it comes to how we run the football, it wasn’t good enough.”
The running game was non-existent. Even with the starting linemen playing in the first half, the Texans accumulated only 32 yards – 20 in the first half -- on 14 carries, a 2.3 average. Dameon Pierce carried 6 times for 15 yards, a 2.5 average. The line continues to be an issue.
The Texans are expected to run the ball more effectively when regular season begins because Pierce will get the heavy-duty work and get relief from Devin Singletary. Still, the attention in preseason and regular season is going to be on Stroud.
“The main thing for me is being consistent in everything -- my approach, the way I call plays, the way the (ball) spins out of my hand,” Stroud said. “I know I can be a really good player in this league. I think I've showed flashes of that (but) it doesn’t matter until you do things consistently. Everybody can do it one time. The ones that separate are the ones that do it every game.”
Stroud learned a lot going against two outstanding defensive coaches. He played against Bill Belichick at New England. He practiced and played against Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio at Houston Methodist Training Center.
”I think going against two great, defensive-minded coaches is good for me,” he said. “Those two practices definitely helped.”
The Texans have two practices against the Saints this week before closing preseason Sunday at the Mercedes Benz Superdome. Dennis Allen was an excellent defensive coordinator before being promoted to head coach last year.
”This week I had flashes,” Stroud said. “I think I made more plays than I made mistakes. I just want to keep growing -- accept my nerves, accept my negative plays (and) accept everything that comes with the game because it's going to (help) me get better.
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“Go out there and try to diagnose the defense like we did in practice. Miami is a great team. We got some really good looks from them. I definitely think we took steps as an offense. It's frustrating when you don't score on the 1-yard line, but (we were) learning.”
Still, Ryans and Slowik saw enough improvement in Stroud’s performance against the Dolphins to be pleased going into New Orleans, where he’ll get more work to help him build the kind of consistency the coaches demand.
“What I saw from his throws was the ball coming out on time,” Ryans said. “It was accurate. It's encouraging to see the overall improvement from week one to this week. I saw him having fun playing the game, saw him being able to scramble out of the pocket and make a play.”
Ryans accepted the blame for the team’s poor performance in getting steamrolled by the Dolphins.
“It all starts with me, and it wasn't good enough,” he said. “We’ll go back to the drawing board and look for myself to improve to make sure I lead this team, that we (have) a much better outing. It’s not representative of what I want for the Texans, and we'll get it corrected.”
(John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on Sports Radio 610 and before every practice during training camp on Texans Radio. He also writes three columns a week and does two Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.)
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