Battle Red Blog
Houston’s offense is in turmoil. Do they need to hit the big red button?
There’s been enough time to think rationally about the demoralizing loss to the putrid New York Jets. Whether relevant or not now that Kenyon Green is gone and Nico Collins is back, that game illustrated the floor at which the Texans offense can operate.
When I proposed this question to the Masthead I was enraged post-game. Sure, I want something to burn. This offense has failed to impress and with the Stefon Diggs injury will never live up to its potential. We’ll have to live in a reality where the offensive line isn’t fantastic and are putting C.J. Stroud’s career at risk.
Firing might be a bit strong, but he’s definitely getting the side eye. There have been some whacky play calls at the wrong moments and they always seem to be in the red zone. I think the most frustrating thing on offense is that we do not adjust well during the game to what the defense is doing. That is 1000 percent on Slowik. When you get to the line specifically it becomes more muddy. It could be the OL coach. It could be the players themselves. Some of it probably is him. What I don’t want to see are any stories like I’ve seen in “Houston Football” and other outlets saying “we’ve fixed the issues” on a Wednesday. That’s a bunch of nonsense. There needs to either be changes in what they are doing, who’s doing it, or your overall offense has to reflect what they can’t do.
Will concur with Vballretired here that firing might be a bit strong. Coming into this season, many figured it would be Slowik’s last in Houston, as he likely would parlay two straight successful seasons as OC into a Head Coaching job. However, after the 1st half of this season, he might still leave Houston after 2 years, but maybe not as successfully as he or we figured.
The offensive execution has definitely not lived up to the standards we expected coming into the year. Much of the blame rests (deservedly so) with the offensive line and their inability to offer a modicum of pass protection. As a result, Stroud hasn’t been able to make the plays that so defined his rookie season. Injuries haven’t helped as well. Even the strong running game driving this team is not working as well as it should, as the Red Zone execution in the last few games leaves a lot to be desired. It does not seem that Houston is adjusting to what other teams do to counter their moves. That being said, if things do not dramatically improve, the Oline coaching staff might need to update their...
