- 2 days ago
Paul Gallant and Luke Mauro take a look at local media's defensiveness of C.J. Stroud and whether it makes sense.
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00:00Is local media correct to be so defensive of C.J. Stroud?
00:04This was something you asked earlier, Paul.
00:05What do you think?
00:06Well, I don't know if you paid attention over the last 48 hours or so
00:10to C.J. Stroud just getting bodied, which has been the entire offseason.
00:16And look, that playoff performance against the Patriots,
00:19this is what happens.
00:20You are the kid who peed his pants.
00:22There's no real coming back from it.
00:24It's almost like you've got to change schools generally.
00:29But Stroud not only has had people getting after him for that clip
00:34before the game on national TV where he's holding his two fingers out
00:38and looking each way, I guess, to see how big his peripheral vision is.
00:44Also, he's getting crushed because a sports talk show host in our city
00:53who used to work here, Jeremy Branham, who I like,
00:55put out a post where he said, and it was deductive reasoning,
01:02and he clarified afterwards, and he had to clarify,
01:05that Stroud's probably looking for $70 million.
01:08He didn't frame it like probably.
01:10He said Stroud's looking for $70 million.
01:12And everyone took this and ran with it and crushed C.J.
01:17And it led to some in local media doing more of what I think they've done
01:23a lot of this offseason, which is being defensive of Stroud.
01:28Now, on one hand, you shouldn't do that,
01:31especially after how he looked against the Patriots.
01:34On the other hand, this offseason has been so ridiculous that, I mean,
01:40take a look at that Stroud press conference after the game against the Raiders.
01:44He's barely saying anything.
01:48There's a selfish interest in the minds, this is me projecting,
01:52in the minds of these reporters who cover the team on a daily basis
01:56who want to get more out of Stroud,
01:57and they realize this is going to make their job a little bit more difficult.
02:01But right now, I am actually on their side a little bit.
02:05I am like that guy, girl.
02:09Remember that viral clip from 20 years ago or so?
02:12Leave Brittany alone!
02:14Oh, yeah.
02:15Leave her alone!
02:17Again, I'm dating myself, my unk reference here.
02:20But I feel the same way about Stroud right now
02:24because he should be crushed for the game against the Patriots.
02:28He played poorly against the Steelers,
02:30and there were a lot of bad performances
02:32compared to the expectations we all had for him in 2023,
02:35maybe unfair,
02:37in the second half of this past season
02:39after he came back from the concussion.
02:42The Cardinals game is the only one you can look at and say,
02:44wow, he looked great in that one.
02:46But we've gotten to the point now
02:47where everyone's crushing him for
02:49wearing shorts to cross the street in 100-degree weather
02:52to go from the parking lot into NRG Stadium
02:54for his first practice of training camp.
02:55But, like, I'm actually...
02:58Well, I've been annoyed by this earlier this offseason.
03:00I'm actually, for a change, right now, today,
03:04August 22nd, 2026, at 11.09 a.m. Central Time.
03:09I kind of get it.
03:11How do you feel about that?
03:12Have you noticed this defensive nature
03:15with which some who cover the Texans on a daily basis
03:18have carried themselves when it comes to
03:20C.J. Stroud coverage specifically?
03:23Because you've got a lot of well-actually guys
03:25online right now.
03:26Oh, yeah, right now it's bad.
03:28John Alexander of the Houston Chronicle
03:30is, like, defending the wall.
03:32He's Jon Snow against the entire horde of the internet.
03:35Like, in Jon Snow, Game of Thrones,
03:37the Battle of the Bastards.
03:38And credit to Jon.
03:40Jon is, you're not going to win this battle.
03:42You can't stop everyone from coming after him.
03:45But I do get why they're doing it.
03:47I kind of feel bad for C.J. right now,
03:49even though I have real questions
03:50about what he's going to be this season.
03:51I feel bad for C.J. simply in the last 48 hours
03:54of this thing becoming a big story
03:57where it was just simply an opinion
03:58from the biggest blowhard in the city.
04:00And now it's like, if I'm C.J. sitting at home
04:03and seeing articles, like, written about it
04:05and people talking, like, he's asking for 70 mil.
04:08I'm like, no, I never did.
04:08This is just one person's opinion
04:10and everyone's running with it as if it's fact.
04:12So I do feel bad in that regard
04:14that people now suddenly believe that C.J. in his camp
04:18after what we saw in the playoffs
04:19are asking for 70 million
04:21because they didn't use good enough, like...
04:24I don't even put it on Jeremy
04:26because people should be able to realize
04:28that it wasn't a report.
04:29It was an opinion on the tweet.
04:31But since everyone ran with it,
04:33I do feel bad simply in just the 48 hours for C.J.
04:36that this has become a big story
04:37when he had nothing to do with it.
04:39And now there's a lot of people out there
04:40thinking, like, the unmitigated gall of this guy
04:43to play as poorly as he did in the playoffs
04:46and then be asking for 70 million
04:47when that's not what has happened.
04:49The things he has been crushed for
04:51since the start of training camp,
04:53it's just wild.
04:54I saw someone trying to make things go viral,
04:56C.J. Stroud's at a concert,
04:57and he's hanging out with the normies.
05:01You know, he's not in a box or something like that.
05:04They're trying to crush him for that, too.
05:06It's gotten so out of hand with him.
05:08He should be crushed for that awful performance
05:10against the Patriots.
05:12But, God, it has gotten ridiculous.
05:14And I get the urge, finally, from local media
05:17to carry a shield for Stroud.
05:20And they might debate that they're doing that,
05:21but, I mean, they are.
05:24You know, in Jeremy's defense,
05:26we're taught in this industry to not say,
05:29I think.
05:29I know that I do it every now and then.
05:31But you're taught to say your opinion
05:34as if it is factual.
05:36And I'll also say this.
05:38You think David Mulageta doesn't want to get
05:4070 million a year for C.J. Stroud?
05:42He's the most powerful man in the NFL
05:44that's not a knowner.
05:45You don't think he wants to get
05:4770 million a year for C.J. Stroud?
05:49You don't think it's possible
05:50that C.J. could get 70 million a year
05:52with how these quarterback contracts
05:53keep on going north and north?
05:54You might not like it,
05:55but with the salary cap keeping on
05:57expanding and expanding and expanding,
05:58there is a chance that he gets
06:00that kind of money.
06:01No one wants to hear it right now
06:02because the last time we saw him,
06:04again, he peed his pants.
06:05Yeah.
06:05And we know how this goes, right?
06:07When Stroud, rookie year,
06:08C.J. Stroud could do no wrong
06:10because of the way he's playing.
06:12And now that Stroud is coming off
06:13those terrible performances,
06:14it seems like he can do no right.
06:16And we're like this
06:16with really all our athletes.
06:18Patriots fans didn't mind
06:19when Tom Brady was wearing Uggs
06:21and dancing with his ponytail
06:22wherever that was
06:23doing that awkward condo thing.
06:26Yeah, exactly.
06:26See?
06:27Patriot fans loved it.
06:28Everyone else was like,
06:28what a weirdo.
06:30And then vice versa.
06:32When Mike McDaniel in Miami,
06:34everyone loved the guy
06:35and then once the team's struggling,
06:37it's like, okay,
06:37now this whole act at the podium
06:39is a little annoying and weird.
06:40It's kind of like Step Brothers
06:41where they wore the tuxes
06:43to the interview with Seth Rogen.
06:44And at first he's like,
06:45yeah, it's funny.
06:46It's cool.
06:46I get it.
06:47And then he realizes
06:48how weird they are.
06:49And it's like, okay,
06:49now it seems a little messed up.
06:50When you're playing well
06:51as an athlete,
06:53in your fan base,
06:54you could do no wrong.
06:55You could do whatever you want.
06:56When you're not playing well,
06:57now everyone's looking
06:58for a reason to make fun
06:59or criticize C.J. Stroud.
07:01If he goes out there
07:01and plays his rookie season,
07:04then everyone will be back
07:05on his side
07:05and these things
07:06that seemingly are so weird
07:07like sitting in the crowd
07:09for a concert
07:09suddenly become cool
07:11and unique again
07:12and everyone's supporting him.
07:13So it's simply based off
07:15of the most recent performance,
07:16which obviously was terrible
07:18in the playoffs.
07:20But I said the same thing
07:21about Wemby in the playoffs
07:23when, was it the temporal series?
07:25When he threw that elbow
07:26and I was like,
07:26this is the origin story
07:28of Wemby
07:29that we are turning him
07:30into this victim
07:31by the way he's being,
07:32or not victim,
07:33I should say.
07:34We're turning him into
07:34a monster?
07:35Yeah, pretty much.
07:36By the way,
07:37he's being handled
07:37in the postseason.
07:38And sure enough,
07:38by the NBA Finals,
07:39he got worse
07:40and NBA fans turned on Wemby.
07:43And I think it's almost
07:43been similar at Stroud
07:44where because of what happened
07:45in the playoffs
07:46and the way everyone's responded,
07:47that's the origin story
07:48to now your point.
07:49I mean, he's very short
07:51in interviews,
07:52press conferences,
07:52that interview they did
07:53on the field
07:54during the game last week.
07:56Doesn't seem to have
07:56a lot of personality
07:57or emotion.
07:58He's just kind of trying
07:59to get through these questions
08:00and move on.
08:00Doesn't seem interested
08:01to be talking.
08:02And I don't necessarily
08:03blame him,
08:04but I think that's
08:05the whole origin story
08:06for super villain
08:08CJ Stroud now
08:09where the persona changes
08:10as opposed to
08:11if you go back
08:11and you look at
08:12how he was talking
08:12and the way he was acting
08:13his rookie year
08:14where everything was good,
08:15now suddenly he's become
08:17more of this villain
08:18than the hero he was
08:20to begin his career.
08:21I wonder if it will
08:22help him, Luke,
08:23on the field.
08:24I saw a text.
08:25Let that chip
08:26on CJ's shoulder
08:27get as big as possible.
08:28Then he'll kick
08:29even more ass
08:30in 2026
08:31to get rid of it.
08:32I mean,
08:32the mentality right now
08:34if we're basing it
08:35off of press conferences
08:36that he is angry
08:38and I think anger
08:39can be a really
08:41good motivation.
08:43I mean,
08:44maybe the Count of Monte Cristo
08:45took it a little bit
08:46too far
08:46in the greatest story
08:47of revenge
08:47of all time,
08:48but I think about
08:49this movie Network.
08:51You ever seen it?
08:51This is a dystopian look
08:53at broadcast TV
08:54back in the 1970s
08:55and there's this guy
08:56who essentially
08:57is the first person
08:58ever to go viral
08:59who's realizing
09:01he's going to get fired
09:02and in his last broadcast
09:03he just goes on a rant
09:04and the rant is nonsensical
09:06but it's well executed.
09:08It's like one of those
09:08Stephen A. Smith ones
09:09where you're like,
09:10I don't think he's
09:10saying anything
09:11but damn it,
09:12he's saying it so loudly
09:13and passionately
09:14and I like this
09:15and in that rant
09:17he goes,
09:18I want you to get mad
09:19and I'm hoping CJ
09:22can use this
09:24because it's got to suck.
09:25Just from a human perspective,
09:28no one's gotten crushed
09:29more this offseason
09:30in the NFL
09:31than him.
09:31Period.
09:32And we have a-holes
09:33like Rasheed Rice
09:34who are the worst.
09:37That's off to the side.
09:39CJ has a terrible
09:40playoff performance
09:41and everything since then.
09:43Like, I feel bad.
09:44I think he should be crushed
09:46for that game
09:46and I think you can have
09:48questions about
09:49what he is as a quarterback
09:50after coming back
09:51from that concussion
09:53but I,
09:54it's gone so far
09:55past that
09:56and I don't know
09:57how you can,
09:59if you're,
09:59if you got no soul
10:00inside you
10:01and you're living in town
10:01and this is the quarterback
10:02under center,
10:03even if you got questions
10:04about him,
10:05I don't know how you
10:05can't feel bad for him
10:06and I do get the local media
10:08picking up the shield
10:09for him right now.
10:10It always goes too far
10:11like,
10:12as you already touched on,
10:13you could criticize him
10:14for the performance
10:15on the field
10:16but as we always do
10:17with all these athletes,
10:18you take it too far
10:19and the criticism
10:20moves off the field
10:21as well.
10:22I feel bad for him
10:23in the amount of,
10:24I feel bad for him
10:25when I see some of these
10:26memes online
10:26where it's not even related
10:28to CJ Stroud,
10:29you know,
10:30a basketball team
10:30doesn't shoot very well
10:31and they photoshopped
10:33Stroud into like a uniform.
10:34Yeah!
10:35It was nuts!
10:36I mean,
10:36I forget the game
10:38but I know exactly
10:38what you're talking about.
10:39I remember that meme.
10:40Yeah,
10:41I do feel bad for him
10:42in that regard.
10:42Before we hit the break,
10:43let me ask you a question.
10:44You can tell me
10:44if this is a stupid thought
10:45but after the Jaden Higgins injury,
10:47if you're CJ Stroud
10:49and his camp,
10:49do you come together
10:50and think like,
10:51ooh,
10:51maybe we should just
10:52take a deal now
10:53before we actually
10:54try to play out
10:55this season
10:56where you're throwing
10:57to Nico Collins
10:57and whoever else
10:58where potentially,
11:00I guess ultimately
11:00the question is
11:01could this season
11:02actually lower
11:03CJ Stroud's stock
11:04after the Higgins injury?
11:06You know,
11:06that's a good question.
11:08I don't think
11:09it's possible
11:09for it to be lowered.
11:11You know,
11:11and I say that
11:13because I think
11:14he's better
11:15than this.
11:16We saw what he is
11:16in 2023.
11:17Maybe the Texans
11:18view him differently
11:19and maybe more
11:20as a game manager
11:20than the way
11:21he views himself
11:21right now
11:22but I don't think
11:24it's possible
11:24for the stock
11:25to get lower
11:25for Stroud.
11:26I think it either
11:27stays the same
11:28or it goes up
11:29a little bit.
11:29I'm not expecting
11:30Matt Schaub
11:31throwing pick sixes
11:33in six games
11:34in a row
11:34or whatever it was
11:35back in 2013.
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