- 24 minutes ago
The Texans are only three games into the season, but the way things are going could eventually force the organization into some major decisions. ITL discusses the dilemma Houston could be heading toward and whether there’s still a way to avoid it.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Now, the paradigm-shifting dilemma that the Texans might be barreling towards
00:04John Lopez.
00:05This is interesting, and just keep it in mind as we keep moving forward.
00:12Who's been the best player on offense?
00:14I think it's been C.J. Stroud.
00:16Okay.
00:17Is there even a second option?
00:21From this last game?
00:22No, just in general.
00:23First three games.
00:24From the first three games of the season.
00:25Crazy as it sounds, I was going to say Nico Collins.
00:27Dalton Schultz, maybe.
00:28Dalton.
00:29Even he wasn't necessarily targeted as much as he should have been, which we didn't
00:32talk enough about.
00:33We did.
00:34Would you like to talk?
00:34I mean, we're talking right now.
00:36Because I think this is important.
00:38I really do.
00:39Take that, Dalton.
00:40Yeah, Dalton, we'll get back to you.
00:41Be more important.
00:42Cowboy, we'll get back to you.
00:43All right, so C.J. Stroud has not been the problem, right?
00:46I don't believe so.
00:49He's been the good soldier throughout.
00:51Maybe that'll change a little bit.
00:53He has to be frustrated with what's going on.
00:56I mean, he did say he would like them to be more aggressive.
00:58And he's, you know, that was the first little nugget of information.
01:01He said it in a nice way, too, man.
01:01He said it in a nice way, but that was the first little nugget of information, like, okay,
01:05maybe, you know, things are starting to...
01:06But here's the dilemma, and it's not a quandary.
01:09You know the difference between a dilemma and a quandary.
01:11I don't.
01:12Educate me.
01:12A dilemma means both options are bad.
01:15Okay.
01:15A quandary means one of the options could be good.
01:18Huh.
01:18Yeah.
01:19So this is a true dilemma.
01:22If C.J. Stroud keeps playing the way that he's playing, okay, why would he want to stay
01:28on this team if they don't make changes?
01:32And if C.J. Stroud moves on, asks for a trade, wants to get out of here, however it is,
01:39that's
01:41a total reset of your organization, in a way.
01:44At least have one side of the ball, you're going to have a new quarterback.
01:48It's the same damn thing that happened with Deshaun Watson.
01:51It could well come to that.
01:53Remember, Deshaun had, stat-wise, had a really good season, but they were bad.
01:56Yeah.
01:57And then when they hired Nick Casario, and we knew about the trade requests and all that.
02:01So if things keep going the way they're going, C.J. Stroud's playing well, everybody else
02:04stinks, offensive line doesn't get better, all the things that we've been talking about,
02:08you know, for these last three weeks, okay?
02:10Yes.
02:10Or at least two.
02:11Okay.
02:11The other option is, you want to keep C.J. Stroud.
02:15He is good.
02:16He does keep on the trajectory that he's on, but you've got to change something in order
02:21to keep him.
02:23I think something might be an understatement.
02:25You've got to change, starting with Nick Casario, and even if you somehow, someway, want
02:30to keep Nick Casario, you have to change the entire offense to better fit and suit C.J.
02:35Stroud.
02:36That goes for Nick Caley, Popovich, Jerry Szaplinski, name someone on the offensive side
02:41of the ball.
02:42They're gone.
02:42Cole Popovich, you already mentioned.
02:44Ben McDaniels.
02:45Ben McDaniels, gone.
02:46All of them, gone.
02:47James Ferentz.
02:48If you really...
02:49I'm trying to see how many people on the offense I can name.
02:52If you really want to keep C.J. Stroud and you think, you know what, this guy in the
02:56right offense, he can get us there with this defense.
02:59You're going to have to change everyone on offense, I think including Nick Casario, but
03:03okay, whatever, you know, you're tied to him and you like him, whatever.
03:07Well, let me...
03:08I think I have an idea as to what the answer is, but I do want to ask the question
03:12just
03:13for the sake of thoroughness.
03:14Do you have to change Nick Casario if you are willing to blow out the remainder of the
03:19actual offensive names or the named, titled offensive coaches?
03:24Well, I think you might not have a choice because Nick Casario knows one offense.
03:29He knows how to draft one style of offense.
03:32You know, he can say all these things, but it didn't work out with Bobby Slowick.
03:36It didn't work out, you know, with Gerard Johnson, you know, more of a West Coast quarterback
03:39coach, et cetera, et cetera.
03:41So I think you do.
03:42And I think in order to keep...
03:44The key element here is in order to keep C.J. Stroud, you do.
03:48Yeah, I think that's the part where...
03:50If you are going to this place where you're recognizing, C.J. Stroud, we want to keep
03:54you, I think, especially in the situation you lay out, where it continues to look like
03:58C.J. is doing what he can, but he's being failed by his team and by his organization.
04:02Team being specifically more the offensive side of the football, but you get it.
04:06You have to be able to earn his trust, and I don't know that you can go, C.J. Stroud,
04:09I want you to sign up for more of your valuable years in the league to be under the decision
04:15makers that put you time and time again in this time, in this place, whether it was
04:19offensive line not sufficient, coordinators that were not good enough, and I know coordinators
04:23that are not good enough, you kind of look towards D'Amico, but maybe you can even wave
04:26that away on D'Amico's level.
04:28For general manager, I don't think you can.
04:29Right.
04:30So the question I have, guys, and listeners as well, 713-572-4610, two things.
04:37Is there any way to avoid this?
04:38And this being, if you decide to keep C.J. Stroud, you've got to blow out Casario on the
04:44offensive side of the ball, which resets the team in a sense.
04:47If you decide, you know what, we love Nick Casario in this offensive style, we got the
04:52wrong quarterback, even though he's playing well throughout the season.
04:55Then you get a new quarterback, and that resets this team.
04:59Is there any way to avoid that if he keeps playing the way he is?
05:06It would have to be a miraculous step forward for this offense, right?
05:10Right.
05:11That would have to be the step.
05:11Outside of C.J.
05:13If he keeps playing well, you have to be able to run the ball, you have to be able to
05:16protect
05:17the quarterback, you have to be able to block better, you have to get receivers that can
05:22separate, you have to, you know, all these things have to happen in order to sort of
05:27make him happy if he keeps playing well.
05:29Yeah.
05:31And when I say miraculous, well, actually, let me ask the question.
05:35Is it possible that even without a run game, it just becomes Nick Caley coalescing and
05:41finally actually doing the thing that we, you know, we heard about, which is I'm going
05:45to mold what this is to my players.
05:46And when I say players, I'm actually now just talking about C.J.
05:49Stroud.
05:50And this offense really does change most of its shape to be something that leans a little
05:56bit, a lot more on him and what he does.
05:58Is there a place, do you see, or are we too, already too far down the path where this is
06:03irreconcilable between having a Kaylee and, or just this offense and, uh, and C.J.
06:10Stroud marriage?
06:11Only Stroud knows for sure.
06:13You know, if, if, if, if, you know, that ship has sailed kind of thing with Kaylee and
06:16this offense.
06:17Right.
06:17With the, like tank Dell comes back healthy and now you have a couple of weapons with
06:22him and Nico and then you find that this is more feasible and more doable.
06:26Yeah.
06:26Is there any, you know, Jalen Noel starts being utilized.
06:29Well, in case on booty, you, you get him back to his superpower of making those, those, uh,
06:33those big grabs down the field.
06:34But at this point, isn't it safe to say those are some big time asks.
06:38Those are such huge asks.
06:40Line, booty, you know, Dell, you know, the receivers, et cetera.
06:45Here's the thing, Figgy, I is, I don't think there's a way to avoid this either Casario and
06:51the offense has to go if CJ keeps playing the way he is, or CJ is going to want to
06:56go if
06:57you're tied with Casario and this offense.
07:01I don't think there's a way to avoid it.
07:02Yeah.
07:03I don't think so either, man.
07:04I don't think so either.
07:05And it might even come down to maybe the organization, maybe picking the side.
07:11Like, do you want to stick with CJ Stroud and just blow out, uh, blow out the offensive
07:17staff and Casario or either get rid of CJ and just keep going how you've been going.
07:23And, and, and I know that it can feel like, all right, it can feel like, Hey, you're wild
07:29early to this thought process, but I think it's fair to bring up because even if, and
07:35I will say, hopefully when, right, this team does the thing where they find themselves back
07:39into some level of winning, this still exists.
07:44This still exists.
07:45No.
07:46Yeah.
07:47It may be even tougher too, because let's say they do get on track.
07:51Let's say they do rattle off 10 wins or whatever.
07:54And the same result happened from last year.
07:57You still got the conversation of the office.
07:59I think he's gone.
08:00The CJ Stroud part of it.
08:02Like it's still going to be a conversation.
08:04Like, do you keep Casario and the offensive staff or do you make a move?
08:09I, I, I think let's say they win 10, 11 games, you know, from, from this point forward
08:15and they make the playoffs and it is still CJ Stroud sort of carrying the load as he has
08:20these first three weeks.
08:22I still think he's gone after the off season from the three to please tell me another team
08:26that would pay him 60 to 70 million.
08:28Oh boy.
08:29All right.
08:30I'm going to go down the list.
08:31Rams.
08:32Yeah.
08:32The Los Angeles Rams.
08:33Yeah.
08:33I think the Minnesota Vikings would be interesting.
08:36I think that they would be, uh, that would be a place that I might be willing to put up
08:40here.
08:40The Falcons.
08:41I'm sure they'd pay them that money.
08:44No, they, they will be tripping.
08:46There's a lot of people that's willing to pay for that.
08:48They'll be tripping over themselves if he has, if he continues on the path that he
08:52has, by the way, no interception.
08:53I don't know if the Steelers would, but they, they are in a place where they need a quarterback
08:57after this season.
08:58I think that that could be interesting.
09:00I just don't know how, how dedicated they would be.
09:03It will be some teams willing to pay, man.
09:05There will be multiple teams willing, willing to pay trade.
09:09Yes.
09:09Yes.
09:10I mean, we're, we're looking, we're starting to see the first few steps of a true dilemma,
09:17as I say, because neither, neither option is good because both options, you're going
09:21to have to reset something on the offensive side.
09:23And that defense is still in its prime and will be in its prime.
09:27But you know, how long is this defense going to be, you know, the, the, the thing that
09:31can really help you with a complimentary offense get there.
09:34Well, and honestly, the defense also exists and I hate to put it this way because it
09:39feels like it feels unfair, but the defense also exists is potentially one of the, one
09:45of the factors in this dilemma.
09:46And I, I, I don't think that to me, uh, that CJ Stroud would say this by any means
09:50explicitly, but when you look at where assets and where help has been attribute, uh, you
09:55know, allocated, it's been so much towards the defense and for a CJ Stroud.
10:01And admittedly, I understand that you start talking about the numbers that you're talking
10:04about for a quarterback at that level, you go, Hey, we need you to do a little bit more
10:08with less, but this is, this is a lot with largely nothing.
10:12At least this is what it felt like in the first three weeks of the season.
10:15Yeah.
10:15And then, then you have to start asking yourself like, okay, let's say they do that.
10:20They blow out the offense again.
10:21I think you get there a little quicker with that.
10:24Cause CJ Stroud and clearly a veteran, you know, now and likes that off.
10:29It has to be someone that he can be comfortable with on that offensive side.
10:32Whereas if you let CJ walk, you know, or don't want him back, however you want to do it.
10:37And it wouldn't be walk.
10:38Cause somebody is asking.
10:39It's a trade.
10:40Yeah.
10:40Yeah.
10:40He still has the fifth year because you picked up the fifth year option.
10:43But what do you get my point?
10:44Like, like if you let CJ go, then you got to bring in another quarterback that fits this
10:49offense.
10:50And who boy, are there any guarantees with that?
10:52You know, given this staff and what we've been talking about, you know, the coaching and
10:56the style and all that stuff.
10:58Yeah.
10:58It'd be a cheaper option, but I mean, ain't no guarantees.
11:03And we say that while I have always been on the, if you did, you know, and this is the,
11:08this whole conversation is a lot of if right.
11:10We're still very much in week four of the 2026 season.
11:14But if you did decide that you wanted to move on from CJ Stroud and go and, you know, trade
11:18him and acquire draft capital, um, the, the path forward with at least what they had stated
11:23they wanted this team to be, which is, you know, stout defense and offense that runs the
11:26football.
11:27Maybe, maybe you could see a quarterback that just kind of manages stuff.
11:30Um, would you not want to reset a rookie window and get a rookie quarterback, but looking
11:35at college football right now?
11:36And then with this defense and you want to get there and, but you look at college football
11:41and all the quarterbacks in this, in this class that we kind of looked at as always,
11:44this is going to be the next great class.
11:45A lot of them are looking a little funny in the light.
11:48Like, I mean, take Sam Levitt, right?
11:50Who is, who is one of those guys that's supposed to be one of the top guys.
11:52How about just rookie in general?
11:54You know?
11:55I mean, that's always tricky.
11:56Yes.
11:57Like Reggie said, like, I mean, at the beginning of the year, we could have been like, oh yeah,
12:01it's a lot of quarterbacks.
12:02They all, they all started looking a little funny once the season started happening.
12:06So that's hard to bank on.
12:07And you're going to break in a rookie quarterback.
12:09Like it could be a number one overall pick type.
12:11You know, you're going to break him in trying to win a Superbowl, but you got Davis Mills,
12:16man.
12:16He going, he going to hold on.
12:18Hey man.
12:19Until he's ready.
12:20Right.
12:21Look, this is, again, it's the first three steps of 17, but CJ Stroud looks good.
12:27This offense top to bottom looks awful.
12:30You're going to have to make a choice if they continue down this, you know, these next,
12:34you know, 14 steps.
12:35And the thing that sucks is I want to go, let's hope that they don't have to make that choice.
12:39But I, as we were just talking about, it feels like that choice is almost inevitable.
12:44It would, it would really take a large swing back for this offense that I don't know that
12:48I feel that they're capable.
12:49I think that there's, there's places where they can find themselves to being more palatable
12:54than the slot that it almost felt like we had this weekend or, you know, within, within
12:58the last couple of weeks.
12:59But I don't know that I can see this getting to a place where you go, okay, all of these,
13:04all of these fears, all of these problems are completely off the table for you.
13:08Right.
13:08That's the uncomfortable part.
13:10Very much so.
13:10And yes, I see you.
13:11I see you on the YouTube saying it's depressing.
13:13That's right.
13:14I said, that's, that is right.
13:15Unfortunately, we have to be here for the depressing conversations.
Comments