The Houston Texans have won a playoff game in every season since drafting franchise quarterback C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State University. However, Houston has yet to make a deep playoff run in the Stroud era and has not advanced past the divisional round.
Last season was a down year for Stroud and the offense, but as the Texans’ training camp builds momentum, offensive coordinator Nick Caley is making clear what the expectations are heading into this season.
“I always take my job seriously,” Caley told reporters, via Pro Football Talk. “I think everybody else here does. The biggest thing we want to do is be at our best and give ourselves a chance to perform at the highest level we can possibly do. Not to make it any more simplified than that, but that’s really what it is. Coming out here, there’s a standard. This was sloppy to start today. That’s not good enough. We have to do a better job of being more consistent, starting with me.
“Moving the needle there, but in terms of the pressure, I think we have a great opportunity to work in this profession. We have great people here with good characters that [General Manager] Nick [Caserio] and [coach] DeMeco [Ryans] have given us. We’re busting our ass every single day to be the best that we can be and trying to just be truth tellers to each other. ‘Hey, it’s either good enough or it’s not and here’s how we have to rid the bad stuff and be able to move the needle.’ That’s the reality of it. We’re on a crusade to do that.
“It’s not perfect. We have a ways to go. I want to give ourselves an opportunity to play our best football when it matters the most.”
The Texans already boast one of the best defenses in the NFL. If Caley and Stroud are able to figure things out on the other side of the ball, there’s no reason why this can’t be the season that sees the franchise finally get over the hump and make a serious run for a title.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.