- 15 minutes ago
C.J. Stroud spoke yesterday, and it confirmed something we’ve been hinting at: he’s fully embracing this offense and taking real ownership of it.
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00:00Did you walk away from that feeling that he's finally getting it,
00:03he's finally buying in?
00:04That's been a larger theme or trend that feels like it's been happening
00:07through the, I guess, second part of the season.
00:11And I guess the results on the field seem to confirm that.
00:14I don't know how much of that is like confirmation bias,
00:16but it does feel like it confirms that,
00:18especially as this season has been a lot of, okay, there's things to grasp.
00:22When does CJ, the entirety of the offense, Kaylee,
00:26when do they grasp these things?
00:28So that's been kind of a conscious thought throughout the season anyway.
00:32Yeah, but also just the way when you hear him talk
00:34and you watch him earlier in the season and the death by a thousand cuts
00:38and, you know, talking about the offense and what he needs to do,
00:42you also get a real sense, a real feeling, and it's very unscientific,
00:45but you kind of read a person, everybody does it,
00:47and you're like, I don't know if he's all bought in on this thing.
00:49In fact, we talked about it.
00:51I think he might have some doubts.
00:53I think he might be a little, you know, wary of is this thing going to even work?
00:58And could you have blamed him in that circumstance?
01:00We didn't blame him.
01:01You know, like coming from line and, you know, bad games and all that.
01:06And then he's a dude that likes taking shots.
01:08What they've done in the system is like, hey,
01:10wait until you have your moment to take your shot.
01:12It's been a very – some could view it as an offense that limits a quarterback
01:17and forces them into a little bit of a box,
01:19and that's not something that especially any young quarterback
01:21that feels themselves would reasonably want.
01:25So I can understand that if he was not latching on to it.
01:27I think – this just occurred to me, so tell me if this is a good way to put it.
01:32Earlier in the season, I didn't buy into his buy-in.
01:35Yesterday I did.
01:37Okay.
01:37You know, he bought in.
01:38Let's hear from him because, like, earlier in the season,
01:40he would say the things as if he's bought in, but I didn't buy into it.
01:44Yesterday I kind of did.
01:45Let's start here.
01:47Stroud 2, if you don't mind, Vic.
01:49This was CJ talking about making in-game adjustments in order to be successful.
01:53Yeah, I think we, you know, talked about some things on the sideline
01:57and tried to, you know, find a way to calm the storm,
02:01and I thought we did a good job at that.
02:04I think, you know, teams are going to, you know, try to pressure us some more
02:07just because, you know, we showed it on tape.
02:09So we just got to be ready for it and, you know, have plans and, you know,
02:12just be, you know, good on what we're doing, you know,
02:14and be calm in the chaos because, I mean, every game, you know,
02:17no teams keep letting you do the same things.
02:20They're going to adjust, and then you have to adjust.
02:21So just part of the chess match of football, you know.
02:24And we'll hear some more.
02:27He said calm the storm, calm in the chaos, and the way he bought it.
02:32Now, certainly their success, even if it's marginal at this point still,
02:36you know, offensively, has something to do with him, okay, starting to buy in.
02:41And certainly his ability to know when to take the risk and when not to,
02:46as D'Amico's talked about, as we've talked about, has something to do with it.
02:50But I just feel like it's clicking.
02:53I mean, I don't know what word you want to put on it, clicking, buying in,
02:56believing, whatever it is.
02:57I think there's more of that there with this offense.
02:59Maybe even they're finding a natural stasis in their relationship.
03:04And when I say they, probably the key factors of C.J. Stroud and Nick Caley, right,
03:09it's also worth remembering that this is their first year working together,
03:12finding the relationship that works with also an understanding that there was
03:15three weeks in there where there was some level of break in that period
03:20just because of C.J. dealing with concussion protocol.
03:24So I think that I found that interesting, like the idea of them having
03:27conversations, feeling, being comfortable and capable of, you know,
03:30staying the storm, right?
03:33Yeah.
03:33I also appreciate it because I talked about this yesterday, like, hey,
03:36is this pressure that the, you know, the Chiefs were able to gin up in the
03:40third quarter, is this going to be a thing, quotation marks, going forward?
03:44Right.
03:45Because that's on tape.
03:46That's him, C.J. Stroud, making that note that, hey, man,
03:49teams are going to see because we put this on paper that this is a thing.
03:52I appreciated maybe there's a level of buy-in just acknowledging these things,
03:57the challenges that are here and that will come.
03:59I think that even if it's not incredibly different from what had previously
04:03been there, it gives the feeling of we're locked in on what's happening here
04:07because we are not only aware of what's happening here and what's happening
04:10in this game, but what's to come.
04:12Hopefully they'll be prepared and capable of, like, game planning ahead of time
04:15for such things as opposed to having to adjust.
04:17Or seeing the adjustment quicker.
04:18Right.
04:19Yeah, that's the thing that we're still looking at.
04:20But the idea that they can get to an adjustment is nice.
04:23I don't know if that is enough as of right now, but we'll see if it's enough.
04:27But that ties in with him accepting it and sort of receiving it
04:32and understanding that this can work if I do it this way.
04:37So speaking of chaos, CJ was actually asked about it.
04:40How are you capable and able to stay focused among the chaos when you're faced
04:43with a ton of pressure, especially on the Woody Marks touchdown,
04:47a little dump off to the left side?
04:48Yeah.
04:49I don't want to say I'm like no veteran or nothing or Navy SEAL or anything.
04:53I mean, I love our military, respect to, you know, everybody who's serving for us.
04:58But, yeah, I feel like I could have done a better job at it, you know,
05:03in the calm and the chaos.
05:04You know, I got hit a couple times.
05:05And, you know, that happens.
05:06You start to, like, kind of naturally flinch a little bit
05:08and, like, move around for no reason.
05:10But on that specific play, you know, I just seen Woody and just try to make a play.
05:15And that's how he did a good job of just being instinctive and, you know,
05:18making him pay for, you know, being aggressive.
05:20So, yeah, I mean, I think I could have did a better job on that on Sunday.
05:24But it's something I can learn from and, you know, try to be calm in that
05:27because it's not easy.
05:29But the better you can do it, you know, the more plays are to be made,
05:32especially on third down.
05:34So I think that's something that I can get better at is, you know,
05:36just being calm in that chaos of, you know, pressure, guys flying on your feet,
05:40hitting you after the whistle or whatever the case may be.
05:44And I just, you know, want to, you know,
05:45be able to put my team in a better position.
05:47I mean, he said calm, calm in the chaos, calm in the storm, what,
05:50five, six times already?
05:52And then just those two parts that you heard.
05:55I think it really is him like, okay, you know, if I do this the right way,
05:59and specifically that play, that was a broken down play.
06:03I mean, the blitzer was coming.
06:04We talked about it yesterday.
06:05Nick Gordon coming in off the left.
06:06And all of a sudden he didn't just bail, you know,
06:10he just took a step back, dumped it over the blitzer.
06:12He stepped into it.
06:14Well, yeah, after he came out.
06:16But that to me is a guy that's recognizing and absorbing
06:21and accepting this offense the way it should be.
06:24Yeah, and it is interesting.
06:25I don't think that it is.
06:27I don't think that it's an anomaly.
06:29I don't think that it's random that he is using that word calm so much
06:33after the stint that Davis Mills had as the quarterback, right,
06:36as having to start in that moment because what is probably the chief thing
06:39that you would use to describe Davis Mills and his demeanor
06:43and the way he went about playing quarterback?
06:44Yeah.
06:44It's probably calm.
06:46And I think that that is something.
06:49Like, that's something that CJ, I hope, saw,
06:52or maybe the coaching staff saw and wanted to impart on him is like,
06:54hey, there is some benefit for being calm in the thing that you can do with this.
06:58With the talents that you have, the ability to throw on the run,
07:01all those things, you can also make those things more valuable
07:05by remaining calm in that moment, by not, you know,
07:09not losing your head in that moment.
07:10And, again, I don't know that I blame him for some of those things
07:13because of the circumstances that had befallen him before,
07:15dealing with pressure, you know, immediate pressure, fast pressure,
07:19instances where pockets would break down.
07:21I get how you might get to that place, but now it's time to unlearn that feeling.
07:26Get yourself to a place where you can calm, and that will help you execute.
07:29I like that that is clearly, either he has internally or someone has given to him.
07:34I want to see that continue to grow clearly.
07:36Well, and this is something that you've said a few times.
07:40Yes.
07:41Oh.
07:41Proof of concept.
07:42Ah, yes.
07:43That's something that you'd like to talk about.
07:45I think also he's realizing, you know what, I am going to get my shots.
07:49Even though the game plan may not have any, like, hey, we're going to run this deep whatever
07:54on the third snap of our script.
07:58No, I think he's realizing if this play breaks down, I will, or they press cover
08:03or whatever he sees, I will be able to take a shot there.
08:06At the beginning of the year, he's like, wait a minute, you want me to just do what?
08:09Just be safe and hand the ball off and throw the ball two yards to the back
08:12or this tight end or this out route or whatever?
08:14And I don't think that's a buy-in for him.
08:17He likes to take his shots.
08:18He likes to, he also, he's also realizing, you know what, I can go off script, which is
08:23my strength.
08:24I just can't do it, you know, arbitrarily.
08:27So I think he's also realizing after having some success, there are going to be shots.
08:32They just might not be in the game plan.
08:34There are going to be off script plays.
08:35They're just not in the game plan.
08:36And so I think he's trying to buy, he's starting to realize it can work that way.
08:39I could feel that a little bit from the 8-3-2, do you agree with the idea, sorry, yeah, the
08:458-3-2, that CJ with this offense is equivalent to Jordan not liking the triangle back in the
08:50day in, you know, the...
08:53That's pretty good, actually.
08:54Early 90s, late 80s, early 90s with the triangle offense.
08:57Phil Jackson, obviously one of the big proponents of it, at least one of the ones that you think
09:00of.
09:00There you have it, CJ Strouds, it's Michael Jordan.
09:02Oh boy, here we go.
09:04No, but in terms of like, I remember that, you remember that.
09:07I mean, you know, Jordan was like, wait a minute, I need the ball in my hands.
09:11No, the ball's going to get to your hands.
09:12It will be in your hands, but you have to do it this way with the Tex winner triangle
09:17and all that stuff.
09:18I think there's a lot to that.
09:20He's realizing, you know what, they told me early on, don't take this shot because
09:23it's, you know, whatever, unless you see this.
09:25Don't go off script unless this happens.
09:28And now he's realizing, you know what, it will happen just about every game.
09:30And to be fair, it sounds like we're saying just trust the process and everything go right.
09:35I think there's real criticisms to be had for the process.
09:39If that process is indeed this offense, I think there's still things that need to be
09:43cleaned up from schematic instances, right?
09:45There's when you get into the red zone and all your, all your stems are vertical and there's
09:49very few things that are going crossing or really, you know, forcing the entirety of
09:52the width of the field to be defended.
09:54I think that ends up being an issue sometimes.
09:56So I do think that there's places for clearly Nick Haley to elevate and make this easier, but
10:02I think that it's hard to also have that happen while sometimes you have what feels like
10:06a little bit of trepidation or hesitation from the quarterback.
10:09I think that you're seeing more and more buy-in and hopefully he can work even a, I don't
10:16know what the right word is, for lack of a better term, mediocre system.
10:19Like you can work that if you have a level of buy-in it feels like.
10:22It's a conservative system.
10:23Yeah.
10:24And I think ultimately what it came down to is like, wait, you want to be this conservative
10:27with me and, and he's right, you know, it's more than, if you want to be this conservative
10:32with me, he's starting to realize, no, it's a conservative approach, but there are going
10:37to be the shots.
10:38There are going to be the opportunities.
10:39There are going to be the off script place.
10:40Yeah.
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