Tag: Bobby Slowik

WR Nico Collins loves the Texans’ new offensive approach

Houston Texans WR Nico Collins is enthused by the way the offense seeks to put the ball in everyone’s hands.

HOUSTON — The Houston Texans are in their final week of organized team activities, and one group is starting to develop the type of chemistry you want to see heading into training camp later this summer.

Veterans Robert Woods, Nico Collins, and Noah Brown are making sure they are getting accustomed to the offensive playbook of coordinator Bobby Slowik while trying to help rookie Tank Dell and Xavier Hutchinson get acclimated to the position at the NFL level.

Although many NFL analysts do not believe that they have a strong core of receivers, Collins is ready to take on that challenge to prove the naysayers wrong.

“It is another year,” Collins said during his press conference on Tuesday. “New year. I have to reload and stay healthy. Keep my head down and keep grinding and keep your foot on the gas.”

Collins, who is in his third year with the Texans, only played in 10 games in 2022, finishing with 37 catches for 481 yards and two scores, before being held out for the rest of the year with a foot injury he sustained against the Cleveland Browns. He looks forward to competing this upcoming season in a new offense that will help utilize his 6-foot-4-inch frame and massive catch radius.

“I feel like this offense will find ways for everyone to touch the ball,” said Collins. “Make plays; whenever your number is called, you make a play. Coach Bobby keeps telling us, ‘Man, you get that ball in your hands; just go score.’ Just have that mindset. He wants that dog about you, and that is what I love about his offense. I can’t wait for the season.”

Two other players ready to contribute on the offensive side of the ball are Dell and Hutchinson, who have been finding ways to become more productive in the system. Collins and Woods have spoken highly of their work ethic on and off the field.

“Those two young guys coming into the league, they were just like me,” Collins said about the rookies finding their niche on the team. “I feel like I was just in their shoes two years ago. It flew by.

“So, I feel where they’re coming from. They’re asking for help, so I’m just helping them out as much as I can. I’m still learning just as [much as] them. So, we’re all kind of in the same boat. Just coming in every day and getting better.”

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Bobby Slowik explains how Texans’ new offense relates to Gary Kubiak scheme

Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik clarified how the Houston Texans’ new offense relates to an older scheme deployed by former coach Gary Kubiak.

Bobby Slowik comes from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree that was established with the San Francisco 49ers. Slowik is bringing that Shanahan scheme to the Houston Texans as its offensive coordinator under coach DeMeco Ryans.

Shanahan comes from the Gary Kubiak coaching tree. From 2006-09, Shanahan was an assistant under Kubiak with the Texans, working as offensive coordinator in his final two years.

What is old is new.

“I still remember watching when I first got the offense in San Francisco, all these Houston Texan cut-ups and Andre [Johnson] and [Matt] Schaub and David Anderson and all these guys just running the same stuff we’re running right now, and the principles and the foundation of what they did is all there, but like everything, it kind of evolves as it goes.”

Kubiak coached the Texans from 2006-13. The NFL still had a taste of commitment to the run that has faded over the past decade. Defenses across the league have adapted as well.

Said Slowik: “There’s some different defenses you see. There’s some different issues you get. So, you find different ways to adjust to that.”

The Texans are still using some of the same material from the Kubiak days to explain the objectives in the 2023 offense. However, it is more in a football genealogy sense.

“You just point to something else that they did back then and be like, hey, this is the same as that was, but now we’re doing it this way,” said Slowik. “That was really neat when I first got to throw on some Houston Texan film and see all of them play.”

The Texans were able to win two AFC South titles and a couple wild-card playoff games with Kubiak’s system. Houston sports fans would not mind that type of stroll down memory lane after three seasons of double-digit losing campaigns.

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Texans OC Bobby Slowik says WR Tank Dell is adjusting to learning curve

Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik says rookie wideout Tank Dell is adjusting to the new offense.

Tank Dell has impressed the Houston Texans with his work ethic since the 2023 NFL draft.

The third-round receiver has had to play catch-up throughout the spring as he transitions from the pre-draft process to integrating into an NFL offense. Dell’s relentlessness in picking up the Texans’ playbook has earned respect from offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who recognizes the challenges Dell faces coming from the Houston Cougars.

“The first thing that jumps off about all these guys is just they come in and they’re hungry and they are come in ready to work,” Slowik said after organized team activities on May 31. “Tank comes from a very different offense at Houston, very, very productive, efficient, but it’s just a different style to what we’re really doing here.”

Dell caught 109 passes for 1,398 yards and 17 touchdowns with the Cougars last season. As the Texans’ offense is more West Coast with a penchant for establishing the run, Dell has had to meet the expectations of a receiver playing in such a system.

Said Slowik: “There’s a bit of a learning curve, and when he’s out on the field, he doesn’t blink. I don’t think anyone has noticed how big of a leap it is because he’s been on it, and he’s been working.”

Dell has also been working as a returner on special teams in the Texans’ offseason workouts.

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Texans’ Bobby Slowik has history working with rookie quarterbacks

Houston Texans OC Bobby Slowik has a short history as a coordinator, but most of it has been spent working with rookie quarterbacks.

Bobby Slowik has spent just two seasons in the coordinator world.

In 2021, Slowik was the San Francisco 49ers’ passing game specialist. The next season Slowik served as passing game coordinator under coach Kyle Shanahan.

Although Slowik’s time near the decision-making on offense has been short, it has been rich in working with rookie quarterbacks. In 2021, the 49ers were transitioning from Jimmy Garoppolo to No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance, who started two games his rookie year. In 2022, Slowik was working with a rookie once more in seventh-rounder Brock Purdy. This work was also concurrent with transitioning completely to Lance after a late-season surge from veteran Jimmy Garoppolo.

While Slowik has his own experiences to draw upon as he gets No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud up to speed, he also leans upon the collective knowledge of his colleagues.

Slowik believes the knowledge he has accumulated has been “fortunate.”

Said Slowik: “I have a lot of connections and people that I’m friends with that I know across the NFL that have been through this process and I’m also fortunate that I went through it really the last two years with Trey and with Brock in a different way, and just getting like the different ways and the different styles guys play, guys learn, they put things together, and the process they have to go through to get to where you envision them getting to and the patience that’s required when you do that, while at the same time like the urgency that’s required when you do that.”

While Slowik does have a bevy of experiences to draw from — whether his own or from his connections — the key is to filter what may be applicable.

“Being able to bounce ideas off guys or have guys tell you their experiences and what they went through and what to watch out for, which may or may not apply to the situation you’re going through, but it’s always beneficial when you have people around you that have been through it,” said Slowik.

The Texans are unique in that they have committed capital to a position that was underperforming the past two seasons. Houston sees Stroud as the answer, not a transition.

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C.J. Stroud has worked additionally on his own to learn the Texans offense

Houston Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud has put in extra work to learn the offense, a process he admits “doesn’t happen overnight.”

As the Houston Texans begin the second week of organized team activities at Houston Methodist Training Center, one player will be eager to return to the field and apply everything he is learning daily.

Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is soaking up information from new offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson like a sponge.

“They’ve been very methodical and want to get me to learn it step by step, just like how they would teach anybody else,” said Stroud last week during his press conference. “I feel like I’ve tried to do a lot of work on my own, so when I come back the next day, I have that to put in the bank to be able to move on to the next install, whatever it is.”

With the first glimpse, the media had to observe Stroud as he took second-team reps; he looked like a rookie quarterback learning the basics of running an NFL offense. He made mistakes that should be easily fixable during training camp this summer with more repetitions and film study.

“It’s coming,” Stroud said about learning the offense. “I mean, it’s going to be a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. Just trying to learn from the guys who have been in the offense before. Learn from some of the vets. That’s kind of just been my approach is learn it little by little.”

Stroud, who completed 69.3% of his passes at Ohio State during his last two seasons as the signal caller, is a very quick learner and a borderline perfectionist when it comes to playing the quarterback position. It was a trait he learned from his head coach Ryan Day while playing in the NFL-type system the Buckeyes use.

“They do a great job in our building; it is a mini-NFL team,” Stroud answered at the NFL combine in March about learning how to run an offense at Ohio State. “They make you get on the board and explain the plays back.

“It is not them coaching you all the time, you have to be the coach on the team, and that is something I took very seriously. Not only being the leader but being that coach on the field. If somebody forgot a route or protection, I think on film, you can constantly see me pointing things out. That shows what I am willing to do to be great and be a coach on the field.”

The media will have an opportunity to observe Stroud’s progress on Wednesday as practice will be open for a brief period.

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Texans QB Davis Mills adjusting to third different offense of his career

Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills is having to learn his third different offense since entering the NFL in 2021.

Springtime is a season of rebirth and new beginnings. In Houston, this is highlighted by the Texans deploying a different scheme under a new offensive coordinator.

Davis Mills is entering his third year in the NFL, and the Texans are on their third offensive coordinator in that span with Bobby Slowik, the former passing game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, where Houston hired DeMeco Ryans.

With changing being constant, there are some aspects Mills has adapted to.

“The only thing difficult is just picking up new plays and not having anything to fall back on from the year previous,” Mills said during organized team activities at Houston Methodist Training Center May 23. “A lot of different offenses across the league run similar concepts, but they’re just calling it different things. Some of it is getting rid of the old verbiage and picking up new terminology. A lot of the other stuff is learning from new coaches, the new guys we have in the room and finding ways to get better.”

What Mills has been able to do is take pieces from his time with Tim Kelly and Pep Hamilton and add it to his experiences to help become a well-rounded signal caller.

Said Mills: “I think that’s what makes people better players, better people is if they can learn from the good traits from the guys around them and then also be able to get rid of some of those things that won’t really mesh with the new stuff. I think I have learned a lot from different coordinators, different coaches over the years, and I’m excited to add all that stuff to my memory bank like I’ve talked in the past and just keep getting better.”

What Mills has over No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud is experience from those coordinators, which the former Stanford product will need if he hopes to win the starting job.

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WR Robert Woods sees exciting similarities in the Texans’ offense

Receiver Robert Woods is excited about the similarities that he sees in the Houston Texans’ offense and others he has played in.

Robert Woods sounds excited to be home.

Of course, everything is different with the Houston Texans for Woods. This will be his 11th NFL season and the fourth franchise that the USC product has played for in his career. It’ll be an entirely new coaching staff, new teammates, and a new quarterback for the veteran receiver has to learn how to play alongside and operate in.

Despite all that newness, however, Woods spoke as someone with a great deal of familiarity when taking the podium at organized team activities on Tuesday afternoon. He was asked early about what fueled his decision to come to Houston and was quick to compliment offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik as a reason:

Said Woods: “I would say Coach, knowing the offense he’s coming from, me having familiarity with it, and then trying to just, like I said, pick back up in a good offense, efficient offense, having a young quarterback being able to pick it up and kind of just knowing what to expect, me and the Coach having the same expectations with the offense and me understanding it and just trying to get in that same rhythm and knowing how it works, knowing what plays could be made.”

Slowik will serve as one of the NFL’s youngest offensive coordinators in 2023 at just 35 years old but he comes highly regarded from San Francisco. The west coast scheme he’ll deploy for Houston is projected to be similar to the one used in San Francisco by his mentor Kyle Shanahan and from the same tree of thought as Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay.

Woods had the best seasons of his career in Los Angeles and had over 900 receiving yards and 85 catches in 2018, 2019 and the 2020 seasons. It’s a scheme that rewards the strong combination of route running and blocking that Woods brings to the table and he acknowledged that.

“In this offense receivers are asked to do a lot,” Woods said. “That’s obviously run crisp routes, make plays down the field, be able to take the ball for short catches, get a lot of yack, and make guys miss. Being able to get sweeps and being able to block D-ends. This offense, receivers, are asked to be a true playmaker and play everywhere on the field. That’s what I’m able to bring. I’m able to block, able to catch, good routes, have Good speed. Match up well against outside corners, nickel corners. That’s why being in this offense, being able to play all around, move all around, will help me and this offense.”

The veteran will be hoping for a bounce back campaign after the worst year of his career last season with the Tennessee Titans. Woods suffered from an offensive system that didn’t play to his strengths and consistently poor quarterback play from the rotating group under offensive coordinator Tim Kelly.

Houston seems to have all the ingredients that Woods might need to find a career renaissance in 2023. The relief to playing within his skillset combined with the quarterback play from second overall pick C.J. Stroud is a far friendlier situation that the one he faced last season.

There’s little competition in the receiver group for Woods and he’ll be asked not only to produce in a familiar way but also to tutor to young players such as Tank Dell, John Metchie and Nico Collins.

Stroud will need all the help that he can get to find success during his rookie season. Woods being back in a comfortable environment, and to be enthused about that situation, could play a huge role.

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What would a bad year from Texans QB C.J. Stroud look like?

C.J. Stroud is a rookie after all, and his initial season could be underwhelming. What would that look like for the Houston Texans?

The Houston Texans drafted C.J. Stroud No. 2 overall in the 2023 NFL draft to upgrade their quarterback situation. Long term, the decision should work out.

For the 2023 campaign, Stroud will have to prove himself better than 12-year veteran Case Keenum and incumbent starter Davis Mills. The former Ohio State product should be able to win the job on talent alone, but Stroud isn’t exactly taking on the Big Ten. Stroud will basically take on Georgia every week.

There is an expectation that Stroud will do well for Houston, but what exactly does a bad rookie year look like for the 21-year-old?

According to Chris Trapasso from CBS Sports, a worst-case scenario for Stroud would be if he had a 57% completion, 6.3 yards per attempt, 2,993 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, 17 interceptions, and 48 sacks on the season with a 71.5 passer rating.

Stroud’s worse-case scenario numbers aren’t too different than what they got out of Mills last season through 15 games. The former 2021 third-rounder from Stanford had a 61.0% completion, 6.5 yards per attempt, 3,118 passing yards, 17 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and 33 sacks with a 78.8 passer rating.

The context of Stroud’s final stat line would have to be taken into consideration. If Stroud compiled such a worse-case scenario from being hesitant about taking shots downfield, refusing to scramble, or being late with getting rid of the ball, then a perception would develop that the Texans’ young quarterback just needed more work.

If Stroud’s interceptions were the result of one or two games wherein he threw three or four, and his passing touchdowns were impacted by the offense’s rushing touchdowns, there would be more confidence that the former Buckeye was doing his part as he learned the entire offense.

The most troubling aspect in either view of Stroud’s worse-case scenario is the sacks. Houston can’t afford to have their future under center taking that type of punishment.

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Why WR Nico Collins could be the Texans’ breakout player in 2023

Houston Texans receiver Nico Collins is considered to be a breakout candidate for 2023 according to Pro Football Focus.

The 2023 Houston Texans have plenty of potential.

While most of the focus will be on rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and rookie defensive end Will Anderson for that potential, there are still two previous draft classes with candidates to have big seasons.

According to Zoltán Buday from Pro Football Focus, the best candidate to be the Texans’ breakout player this season is third-year wideout Nico Collins.

Collins might have already had a breakout season in 2022 if not for a couple of injuries and below-par quarterback play. His 72.4 PFF grade ranked only 35th among wide receivers last season; however, passes going his way were completed only 56.9% of the time, the 10th-lowest rate in the NFL despite Collins not dropping a single target all season. In fact, he was just one of nine receivers not to drop a pass among players with at least 50 targets last season.

Collins caught 37 passes for 481 yards and two touchdowns on 66 targets. What is intriguing about Collins’ stats last season is they are all career highs, even though they were recorded in 10 games compared to 14 in 2021.

Improved quarterback play should help Collins demonstrate his consistency as a receiver. The Texans’ commitment to running the football should also help as a successful ground game will open up more opportunities to throw as part of a two-dimensional approach.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: C.J. Stroud is a perfect fit in the Texans’ new offense

C.J. Stroud looks like a natural fit in the Houston Texans’ new Kyle Shanahan-style offense. Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar get into all the reasons why.

The Houston Texans made Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud the fulcrum of the offense when they selected him with the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Texans also took former San Francisco 49ers passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik to make him their offensive coordinator, so you can expect to see a lot of Kyle Shanahan-style concepts in this offense — boot action out of the pocket, a lot of pre-snap motion, and 21 personnel (two running backs, one tight end, two receivers). Shanahan really didn’t have a guy in Brock Purdy who could roll out credibly in 2022, but there was a reason the 49ers traded as much as they did to get Trey Lance.

Stroud, with his ball placement, ability to read the field, and underrated sense of how to attack defenses while on the move, seems like a natural fit. Two of the top five quarterbacks in EPA in the NFL last season with the benefit of pre-snap motion were Purdy and Jimmy Garoppolo, so that’s obviously a San Francisco staple. 

Per Sports Info Solutions, Stroud in 2022 completed 98 of 137 passes for 1,233 yards, 632 air yards, 17 touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 135.7 — that passer rating led all FBS quarterbacks.

In this week’s episode of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) get into all the ways in which Stroud is already primed to succeed wildly over time in that Shanahan-style passing game.

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