Could the Houston Texans have a similar turnaround to the 2017 Los Angeles Rams? Robert Woods thinks they at least remind him of that team early on in his tenure with Houston.
When Robert Woods got to the Rams in 2017, he joined a previously 4-12 team that had just hired a young and upcoming head coach in Sean McVay. They would finish that season first in the NFC West with an 11-5 record. They would advance to the Super Bowl the following season and win it the year after.
Recently, Woods spoke to Brian Barefield of USAToday.com, saying the following:
"I think a lot of hungry players, hungry coaches. I feel like this is a similar situation to when I came to L.A. with a young McVay. Some say it was a rebuild. I feel like it was just a team buying into your coach, believing in the coach, believing in the system, and I think Coach Ryans has that here. Got a lot of young players buying into this defense, into this culture, and we can change this environment."Robert Woods
Could Robert Woods' initial thoughts be correct? While it may be challenging to assume the Texans to make a jump into the playoffs like the Rams, Woods' views on the culture change, the roster framework, and the system at hand are similar to that 2017 squad. So, let's take a look at these more in-depth.