Most professional athletes will tell you that when it comes to listening to the critics, whether from television or social media analysts who think they can play the game better than the professionals, they block out all of the noise associated with their name.
For Houston Texans third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, he understands that the criticism comes with the responsibility of being a young franchise quarterback.
“I don’t care, to be honest,” said Stroud about the naysayers. “I’ve gotten so used to people loving you when you’re up, hating you when you’re down. It’s just how this entertainment business operates.”
After a slow start in the season opener loss to the Los Angeles Rams, where he completed 19 of 27 passes for 188 yards and threw one interception, Stroud’s critics flooded the radio airwaves and social media with harsh criticism for the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
“So, for me, I try not to just look at it and try to just stay kind of like a horse, tunnel vision,” Stroud reiterated about the negativity hurled his way. “But I can control what I can control, and that’s what I do on the field. Everybody, like I said, is entitled to what they think.”
As Houston looks toward its next opponent, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it can’t help but think about the opportunity it let slip away at SoFi Stadium. The offensive performance from Stroud could have been better overall, and he promises it will be improved on Monday night at NRG Stadium.
“We played really bad, and we still had a chance to win,” said Stroud. “That shows, I think, how talented we are and how good we can be, and it’s one week. I’m not the person to just give a whole bunch of grace and no truth, and a whole bunch of truth and no grace. I’m a little bit of both. I don’t really know what to say. This team, myself, I’ve been in a position a bunch where everybody thinks you suck and whatever they want to think, cool.
“Y’all go ahead and do that. We’re going to continue to grind. If we lay an egg again, we’re going to get back up. We’re going to trust each other. It really doesn’t matter what everybody else thinks. It takes time to build. So, I’m trying my best to keep our guys’ mojo up, and I think we’re doing a good job of it.”