Now that the Houston Texans have officially reached their bye week, now would be a good time to take some inventory of how things have gone through the month of October.
It hasn't always been pretty for the AFC South franchise, as evidenced by their porous 2-5 record to being their 25th anniversary campaign. The defense is looking like the most disappointing in the NFL, Houston's coaching staff and front office has been under constant scrutiny and the Texans' offensive line is still one of the lowest quality units in the entire league.
However, there's also been a litany of positives that have helped keep this team afloat, like quarterbacks C.J. Stroud's aerial artistry, the resiliance of running back Woody Marks and the combined efforts of wide receivers Nico Collins and Jaylin Noel in the passing game.
With that said, let's give out some report card grades for each position on the offense as we head into the team's official by week.
Report Card grades for the Houston Texans' offense at the bye week
Quarterback: A
To be quite honest, there's not much else one can expect from C.J. Stroud after what he's had to endure situationally through seven weeks.
- His play caller (Nick Caley) is still overly conservative and/or lacking in creativity too frequently throughout games
- His offensive line is still bottom-10 quality unit
- He still doesn't have a consistent run game to lean on during games
- He's still adjusting to a fluid pass catching group
- His head coach (DeMeco Ryans) has struggled with overall game/time management at times
Yet and still, Stroud still finishes his week seven as the fourth-leading passer in the NFL in terms of yards (1,867), while also sporting a sterling 11-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Houston starting 0-4, and eventually 2-5, is nowhere near Stroud's fault.
Running backs: D
While I wanted to really put a mark of "incomplete" due to injuries, I settled for a D at the moment as a grade due to the available evidence that pre-dated David Montgomery's groin problem in week five. Besides week one's impact performance, Houston's rushing attack has been one of the most ineffective in the NFL through seven weeks. As of right now, they've accumulated the sixth-fewest rushing yards in the league (593), while being tied for the fourth-lowest yards per carry mark at 3.6.
Wide receivers: B
Much of the B grade for Houston's wide receiver room is due to the combined excellence of Nico Collins and Jaylin Noel through seven weeks, as well as the bump in explosive potential given by the arrivals of both Marvin Harrison Jr. and the returning Tank Dell. Outside of those four, I can't help but remember that this unit began the season in an ailing state due to the presence of players like Jared Wayne (now in Miami), rookie Lewis Bond and an attempt to squeeze more out of Xavier Hutchinson while Collins was out for weeks two and three. In spite of much adversity, the unit was still the fourth-best receiving group in the NFL heading into Sunday against the New York Giants (270.2 YPG).
Tight ends: C+
Heading into week seven, Dalton Schultz was the Texans' third-leading receiver in yards with 277. Behind him, fellow tight end Foster Moreau's 72 yards were the seventh-most on the team, while his three touchdown receptions were tied for the team lead (Nico Collins). Their production notwithstanding, Houston hasn't gotten much out of Brevin Jordan and Cade Stover. Worse than that, rookie tight end Marlin Klein was a healthy DNP for the fourth time in a row this past Sunday against the New York Giants.
Offensive line: F
It may seem a bit tough, but Houston's offensive line has been (yet again) one of the most problematic components for the team over the first seven weeks of the season. Heading into Sunday afternoon, the offensive line had a pass-block win-rate ranking of 18th (49%), while also having a run-block win-rate ranking of 22nd (72%). They were also tied with three other teams for the 13-most sacks allowed at 14. They also did this while facing injuries (Ed Ingram, Trent Brown), integrating rookie blocker Keylan Rutledge and uneven performances by tackle Trent Brown at times.
Nick Caley: C
If I was asked this question after week three's disappointing 17-19 walk-off loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Nick Caley would've been given a F with no questions asked. At that point, he was still trying to force feed a "physical run game" scheme with a roster that was ill-equipped to actually make that happen at a productive enough clip.
What helped improve his score has been his willingness to make the necessary adjustments in order to allow Stroud and co. to look much more explosive from weeks four to now. For reference, Houston averaged only 18 points per game from weeks 1-3, and then took a jump to 27.75 points per game from weeks 4-7.
In saying that, what really knocks Caley down multiple pegs is his persistent lack of creativity and innovation as a play caller, as well as his tendency to force the run at times that completely undermine the flow and/or effectiveness of the offense as a whole (along with Caley seemingly having a persistence to force runs between the tackles instead of utilizing the edges to have his backs operate in space). At times, Caley shows the kind of potential that he possesses as a potentially ascending offensive mind. But at other times, the former Rams tight ends coach shows why many believe that he shouldn't be anywhere near anyone's list of head coaching candidates anytime soon.
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