Here's everything Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroudsaid ahead of Week 7's matchup against the New York Giants, including his thoughts on Tank Dell's return, the defensive pressure of New York and more.
Question: On the offensive weapons
C.J. Stroud: "It's huge. I just have options and guys who know how to get open and create separation. A lot of guys with a lot of experience, so it's fun for me. I'm excited to get all those guys out there."
Q: On WR Tank Dell returning
"I'm very excited. I'm just thrilled to have my brother back out there with me and just really happy for him and his family. Just all the work he put in. It wasn't easy and it took a long time, but it was perfect timing. I think just his faith has grown, his tough skin. I think he's
defied a lot of odds, so I'm just very proud of him."
On WR Tank Dell's recovery process
Stroud: "I would say how quick he got back to rehab and getting back in the building. I think the main thing, he's always had a smile on his face, even when he wasn't feeling like smiling. Just how his attitude through the whole process I've been really proud of."
Q: On his relationship with Offensive Coordinator Nick Caley going into late game situations
Stroud: "Depends. It's all really just unique on the situation. Some things marry up, some things don't. We communicate; we talk a lot on the sideline. It's not just me, Davis has a lot of input, as does Jerry [Schuplinski]. I think Caley does a good job of trying to listen to some guys' suggestions. We do a good job of just communicating on the sideline."
Q: On being named Week 6 AFC Offensive Player of the Week
Stroud: "It's a blessing. I'm grateful. But like I said, I just like to flush to successes and the failures as quick as I can. Of course, I'm going to enjoy it. I'm very grateful for the honor. I think it's something that you can't just overlook. But also you can't harp on it. It's a great opponent coming in here. If you play around with them, they've done some good things on defense. They're a tough team, so we've got to flush our game, which was an emotional rollercoaster game, but we've got to be able to flush that and prepare this week. It's a new week and we want to go 1-0."
Q: On WR Marvin Harrison Jr.
Stroud: "Just grow. I think he's done a great job. His mindset: he's always been a hard worker. I think just his ability to be in the building. He's always in here and trying to learn and asking different people different aspects of the offense. Hopefully we get him some more touches and some more opportunities to make some plays. He looked great today at practice."
Q: On his input on offense
Stroud: "I feel like I've always been involved, but I think maybe I'm listened to a little more. I'm grateful for that. I think I've built some trust with how I see the game. I think I'm pretty intelligent on what I see. I usually see the coverage and know what's coming or the blitzes and whatnot. I think my coaches also do a good job of preparing me for things that I'm not prepared for. There are two aspects to it. I do believe they listen to me more this year and I'm grateful because it's paid off a little bit and I've been able to put in some plays. [Nick] Caley has called them and most of them have worked. I'm just grateful that I have a coaching staff that trusts in me that I'm going to go out there and try to get us in the best position to win the game."
Q: On WR Kayshon Boutte big-play ability
Stroud: "He's been huge. Like you said, he makes some big-time catches. He's honestly been open a lot. We've got to find more ways to get him touches and that's really my job. I'm still bidding my rapport with him and trying to feel what he's seen and know how he runs his routes, but he's a really great receiver. I think he's made a lot of tough catches and had a lot of success in his career thus far. I'm grateful to have him on the team. I think he's a really tough guy and does a good job with just creating separation and getting open. I've got to do a better job of getting in the ball and making sure that his presence is felt from the other side of the ball."
On the New York Giants defense
"I think their defensive line is really good. Sadly, Brian Burns went down. I think he's a heck of a player. But also got Abdul Carter, a really good young talent. Kayvon Thibodeaux has been doing a good job. DJ Reader, great player for a long time. Two stud linebackers and then they got a really good back end. Jevon [Holland] does a really good job playing the back end, [Greg] Newsome, I thought [Deonte] Banks has been playing really well. They do a good job and they play on a string. They do a lot of different coverages and blitzes. I think they're a great team and definitely got to be prepared because they've showed some good things on tape."
Q: On his relationship with DE Will Anderson Jr.
Stroud: "We've grown as men of God, as men, as family men, as people who are trying to be leaders on this team. We have a very similar mindset. It's not shown the same way on the field, you know, because he's a big guy and running people over. I actually admire him a lot, his faith, his character. I actually try to embody a lot of things that he stands for. My dad used to always tell me, 'It's okay to copy the right cat.' He's somebody that I don't mind copying because he does a lot of great things in life. Just his mindset on how he approaches the game. I think we're very similar in a lot of ways. I'm just really grateful to have him as a brother."
Q: On DE Will Anderson Jr. being an advocate for him
Stroud: "I would think so. I think he's seen what I've been through. Seen the things on and off the field. He's been very supportive of me and I'm very appreciative of that. I always have his back like he has mine."
Q: On if his help for WR Marvin Harrison Jr. increased his ability
Stroud: "Not really. He's really smart. He's not really somebody I think you have to like baby or walk through with a bunch. He knows that I'm here whenever he needs me. He calls me and texts me about questions and I'm always there for him, at least I try to be. But, no, he's a very smart guy and he knows a lot about football. If you see him, he made a lot of plays. Even the times he didn't get the ball in the game, creating separation, using sauce on his routes. It looks like he's having fun, so I just love to see that from him. He's doing a really good job here thus far."
Q: On WR Marvin Harrison Jr. loving football
Stroud: "I don't think he ever has said he never didn't have fun. I think he enjoyed Arizona. If you ask him, he'll tell you that. I think a lot of people like to diagnose people when they can't understand and they don't understand. Everybody has a right to their own opinion, but you don't always have to diagnose somebody that harsh that they fell out of love with the game or whatever the case may be, whatever they said. I don't know everything. But Marvin's never fell out of love with the game of football. He's always worked hard. It might just look different, you know. You get different people going to different situations. That's not always fair to me that you diagnose certain people when they don't do exactly what you expect from them. I don't always think that's right. He's always had a joyful attitude about him. He’s a quiet dude. He's never been a loud bravado type of guy. He's done a great job, I believe just keeping his head down and working throughout all the noise."
Q: On utilizing the receivers
Stroud: "I've been in this situation before. It's not easy, but I think it's good because now you can't really just focus in on Nico [Collins]. You can't really just focus in on Tank or whatever has been in the past. I think there are a lot of different ways that we can move the ball and create explosives and use everybody. I think if you watch the bulk of my career, I've been able to use a lot of guys and throw to a lot of different receivers throughout games. I try not to be picky on who I throw to. If you're open, I try my best to get you the ball. There are times where I miss people, too. I would like for everybody to be patient, but I haven't had that from anybody thus far. The room has really been good. At practice, they're all talking to each other, helping each other out. It's a cool thing to see because there are a lot of talent in that room. That could be something that the outside can push on in that room. I believe that they've been able to block that out and really just focus in on one another and help one another."
Q: On his receiver room at Ohio State preparing him for the Texans current receiver room
Stroud: "I don't know if difficult is the right word, but I would say it wasn't easy. I don't really look at that stuff as pressure. I go out there and I really just try to do my job as best I can. I put a lot of pressure on myself, as is. The more that I play free, I think I play better. I think at Ohio State Coach [Ryan] Day did a great job of having game plan plays for certain players and making sure that we were hopefully getting the right coverage to get those guys the ball. That was how we kept everybody fed. I think we were able to do that last week with some certain formations and play calls. I thought Caley and Ben [McDaniels] did a great job doing that. We have to keep that going because it's a lot of talent we have on offense, but I think it's a great problem to have."
Q: On blocking the outside noise
Stroud: "Something I was taught when I first went to Ohio State was just keep the main thing the main thing. Football has always been there and it's not going nowhere. I hope not. I'm very blessed to play this game every single week. Practice, walk-throughs, meetings, I don't take anything for granted. If you chase the deal or the contract, I think that's when you kind of lose yourself. I've been able to kind of get that on my system when I was in college, chasing NIL and things like that. Of course, I'm grateful I had mentors at the time who talked me off those ledges and helped me to like really focus. I think I kind of take the same approach, keeping the main thing the main thing and chasing the game, not chasing what people would think is like the bag or whatever. I'm grateful that I have a lot of people who keep me focused on what's important in life. More than anything I'm on my faith journey. I'm all about family and football. I'm not perfect and I can get distracted at times and make mistakes, but at the same time, I believe that God has given me grace enough to keep going forward. I'm grateful for that."
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans QB C.J. Stroud said ahead of Week 7 matchup vs. Giants
