C.J. STROUD IS A MASSIVE NEW STAR WHO RAVAGES EVERYTHING ON HIS PLATE
Never mind the bogus S2 Cognition tests and the story of his father in prison for 38 years, because Stroud has led the Texans to the divisional round with an all-time season for a rookie quarterback
The next test is Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes. One will be a two-time MVP and the other already conquered it, with a helmet that shattered on a night when temperatures crashed to gangrene levels — minus-27 degrees. Like the rest of us, C.J. Stroud heard Mahomes mention his secondary deep-polar equipment, saying, “We have to talk about where we store the backup. It was like, frozen.”
And sure, deep in his soul, Stroud is thrilled to join them in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. He’s the youngest quarterback ever to win a postseason game, delivering at 22 years and 102 days when Michael Vick was 90 days older. This is the most consequential gig in sports, a quandary for most at any age. So far, he’s close to perfecting standards with a baby face and dreads, leading us to ask about his godsend while growing up. Guess who, regardless of jail time for dogfighting?
“I'm super blessed to be considered with a great name like Michael Vick, who was my favorite quarterback,” Stroud said. “I’m excited to be in the position I am in. It’s cool to see the fruits of your labor come to be true, and I thank God I can just go another week with my teammates. This is like a dream.
“Hopefully, I can make it two.”
He meant wins. Is he thinking too low? Suddenly, in a league controlled by the aforementioned megastars and an injured sap shaming himself on TV, emotional whims might accompany the Houston Texans and how they’re motivated by a whirlwind. Stroud throws touchdown passes, three more in a 45-14 trouncing of Cleveland and Joe Flacco. He doesn’t commit turnovers and avoids sacks, often recording passer ratings in the 150 range. His teammates are speaking wildly about him, such as veteran Case Keenum, who dared to utter, “I think he’s gonna be the best of all time. Like, he truly has the ability to be that way.”
The first-year coach who gladly took him in the draft, DeMeco Ryans, is doing nothing to discourage the talk. The Carolina Panthers went cuckoo and traded goods for the No. 1 overall pick and drafted Bryce Young, who struggled mightily in his first year. The Chicago Bears needed to be “blown away” to take a quarterback in last April’s draft and instead passed on Stroud, meaning they can sit in the back row with Justin Fields and Mitch Trubisky when Stroud and Mahomes are inducted in the Hall of Fame. “C.J. is the reason why we’re in this position,” Ryans said. “He’s special, a special young man, a special player. He continues to shine no matter how big the moment. Our whole team is leaning on him, and he has the shoulders to carry the weight. We’re looking to keep moving on.”
Then why not wonder if the Texans, also blessed with an improved defense, might be an extraordinary team that overcomes a 3-13-1 wreck and shocks us all. If Buffalo survives a home blizzard and advances to play Kansas City, Stroud faces Jackson, which could end the joyride against a rested team in Baltimore. If nothing else in a season of quarterbacking injuries, we’ve learned not to doubt him so far. He immediately shot down teams that paid too much attention to his S2 Cognition exams, which tested his learning curve at a low 18 percent while Young was at 98 percent. See how those numbers showed up in the season’s stat sheets.
“I’m not a test-taker. I play football,” Stroud said of the tests. “At the end of the day, I don’t got nothing to prove to nobody. I’m not about to sit here and explain to somebody how I process football. There’s a whole a lot of people who know how to coach better, know how to quarterback better and know how to do everything on social media. But the man in the arena, that’s what’s tough. ... I’m going to stand on that. If you don’t trust and believe in me, all I can tell you is watch this.”
What we saw was a player who bashed the Cognition scam and excelled with rookie production that blurs the mind. Kids don’t reverse a team from 3-13-1 to a member of the league’s final eight. Kids don’t put up remarkable numbers. In his mind, it was about finding the most comfortable spot with Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, both hired by general manager Nick Caserio. “I poured my heart out to the coaches. They poured their hearts out to me, let me know what they wanted from a quarterback, and I gave them what I felt I was,” Stroud said. “Every day, I feel like God has given me the ability to show up with that mentality and attitude every day. So it’s been a blessing. I think it’s really cool when you see your work pay off, but for me it’s just the beginning.”
He also has found time to publicly defend his father, Coleridge Bernard Stroud III, who is sentenced in Folsom State Prison for 38 years. When C.J. was only 13, he was put away for carjacking, kidnapping, robbery and misdemeanor sexual battery. He is a repeat wrongdoer. The judge had no mercy. “That's what I've been battling with, trying to still be a family man ... and still be a football player and do my job," Stroud said. “I (get) to talk to my dad a little bit. I'm praying to God that something can happen, that he can get out and come to one of these games. I've been praying for him a lot.”
It’s astonishing to see him excel with so much on his mind. “That is one dude that is locked in,” receiver Nico Collins said. “He’s calm and collected, he’s willing to leave it all out there for the brother. Seven is special.” That’s what they call him, No. 7, pushing aside all memories of Deshaun Watson, the off-field problem child who was traded away to Cleveland and $230 million in garbage guarantees. Every time Stroud takes a snap to pass, the Houston crowd chants, “MVP! MVP!”
Someday, sooner than later, he’ll win his own award. For now, the NFL has a massive new star. If his next target is Lamar Jackson, consider who has his own issues, finishing 1-3 in the playoffs without an appearance in the AFC title game. Two wins for Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV? His dad should be released, for a day, to see his son play for a Super Bowl berth.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.