NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Ben Arthur
AFC South Reporter
As a former NFL player himself, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans knows the trap second-year pros can fall into.
Some who’ve had success as rookies, he explained, have rested on their laurels. They’ve taken their foot off the gas pedal. Oftentimes, that backfires.
As Ryans sees it, you must work harder entering your second season. That’s because opposing teams have a year’s worth of your tendencies on tape. They’re able to hone in on what you do well — and take it away.
“They think they have that ‘I made it’ moment,” Ryans said of some successful rookies. “Nobody has ever made it.”
That embodies the challenge for C.J. Stroud.
After posting arguably the greatest rookie quarterback season in NFL history, he must continue to ascend in 2024. The Texans’ Super Bowl-sized expectations depend on it.
Stroud as a rookie completed 63.9% of his passes for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns with just five interceptions in 15 games. He joined Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks in the past 50 years to lead the NFL in passing yards per game (273.9) and touchdown-interception ratio (4.6).
Of the five rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to throw for at least 4,000 yards — Jameis Winston, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert are the others — Stroud was the only one to have won a playoff game. The former Ohio State star was also the youngest starting quarterback to win in the postseason at 22 years old.
Entering Year 2, Stroud said everything has slowed down for him.
“I think last year, I wasn’t able to do that much. I was meeting every team,” he said last month of the pre-draft process. “Going through offense after offense. Meeting a new coordinator. Meeting a new head coach the next week. Then finally got here, and then everything ramped up.
“Now, I’m coming into the same offense and I get to slow down and really get better at what we’re trying to get done this next year….
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/after-texans-qb-c-j-strouds-historic-rookie-season-what-expect-year-2
Author :
Publish date : 2024-05-30 18:35:23
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
