Houston Texans QB CJ Stroud will have complete control over calls during the 2024 season

The Houston Texans started their 2023 NFL campaign with a 3-4 record, which was appropriate considering the situation. The team had a rookie quarterback in CJ Stroud, who had shown flashes within the offense but was still a first-year pro. DeMeco Ryans was also in his first season as the team’s head coach. And after a 3-13-1 season, a 3-4 start was still an improvement.

Things changed in Week 8, however, as Tom Brady alluded to on The Herd during an appearance. The team gave Stroud authority within the offense, putting all of its trust in the rookie quarterback. Since that change was made, the team improved to 7-3 to cap off a 10-7 season, starting with an incredible 39-37 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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“The ability to develop that player to give him the tools, so that when he gets to the line of scrimmage and he sees a blitz, ‘Okay, if they blitz me, it’s both protections that I can use when they’re blitzing — those are the two or three routes that I can signal to my receivers that can beat the blitz,'” Brady explained.

In addition to an elite offseason, the Texans enter Week 1 with Stroud leading the team at the line of scrimmage, a change that has improved the trajectory of the team’s 2023 season.

“You try to make the quarterback really be a field general,” Brady continued. “Quarterback, you have the last stroke of the pencil.”

Brady compared the confidence within the offense to his career, where he continually made intentional moves based on his read of the defense. The coaching staff doesn’t see the field like a quarterback under center does, so Stroud’s ability to make his decisions before snapping the ball allows the offense to be that much more effective.

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