The Rams Get Honest About Playing C.J. Stroud

Sean McVay

For the first time in his career, Stroud will be able to make audibles at the line of scrimmage. I asked Sean McVay about how that affects his tactical decisions, and in his response, he shared his thoughts on Stroud and his development.

“I'm not exactly familiar with what they were doing in those first couple years. I know he looked pretty damn good. He looked like he had real clarity and an ownership of what they were trying to get done. I'll see if I can call [Offensive Coordinator] [Nick] Caley and see which audibles that he's going to give him for this game so that we can be ready. I think that's just the natural progression for any of these quarterbacks."

"He's a stud. He's a guy that has earned the recognition and the praise that he gets. We have to be ready to play rules ball, like what I mentioned earlier. It is the first week. I'm looking forward to watching our defense fly around. They have great players. You know that they'll be able to be productive in both phases and so we have to be ready to roll.”

Chris Shula

On Sunday, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula will be tasked with stopping Stroud and the Texans' offense. He acknowledged how much of a challenge Stroud makes in pursuit of completing the task.

“He's an elite thrower," stated Shula. "He can make all the throws. Obviously, he’s had a great first two years in the league. He has really good skill. He can do a lot of stuff off-schedule. He can see the field. He can make every single throw. He’s a true, true problem to play against. It’ll be a fun challenge on Sunday.”

Jared Verse

Verse, who was quick to the point on Thursday, showed his respect for the Houston Texans quarterback, detailing how Stroud's game affects his.

“That’s a quarterback," stated Verse. "That's somebody that can hurt you with his legs. He can hurt you throwing the ball. He can throw on the run. That’s somebody that's a dangerous quarterback. There are a lot of dangerous quarterbacks in this league, but that's somebody you are very keen on. We have to do a lot of work beyond keeping them in the pocket, but understanding where his throws are, who he's looking for, who his main target is and who he's edging for so we can take off that side of field not only in the secondary, but in the pass rush.”