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Ben Arthur
AFC South Reporter
After a home victory over the Broncos on Dec. 3, Texans defensive end Jonathan Greenard couldn’t help but notice the fans as he drove away from NRG Stadium.
Some were hanging out of their cars, with music blaring, repping their Texans jerseys from the parking lot. Others were doing the same on the highway.
It encapsulated a buzz that Greenard never saw in his previous three seasons in Houston.
“These things all matter to me as a defender and obviously as a player,” Greenard told FOX Sports. “When you have fans out there that are just ready to cheer somebody on and that are die-hard and just ready to have that winning feeling back again, it makes you want to go a little bit harder for them.”
There’s an aura around the Texans that had been missing for years. And it starts with the foundation laid by their first-year coach and quarterback tandem.
After years of dysfunction — constant losing, back-to-back one-and-done coaches, controversy in the front office ranks, Deshaun Watson’s trade request and eventual fall from grace amid sexual misconduct allegations — Houston has been re-energized by the arrival of C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans.
Stroud, the No. 2 overall pick, has already established himself as one of the league’s best quarterbacks. The odds-on favorite to win NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, who at one point even gained MVP buzz, Stroud will return this week vs. Tennessee after a two-game absence due to a concussion. He announced on Thursday that he has cleared the protocol.
“I feel back to myself,” he said.
Then there’s the 39-year-old Ryans, a Texans Pro-Bowl linebacker in his playing days, who has returned to Houston and is a candidate for Coach of the Year in his first season. The former 49ers defensive coordinator has the Texans in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South. Even if the team doesn’t make the playoffs, Houston (8-7) already has more victories…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/how-demeco-ryans-c-j-stroud-have-elevated-texans-standard-in-year-1
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Publish date : 2023-12-28 23:58:11
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