Texans HC DeMeco Ryans admits the harsh truth about playing in the moment and the criticism that comes after
The Houston Texans haven't performed how most thought they would this year after having a big year last season. In 2023, they were a team that seemingly came out of nowhere because of the years prior. No one thought they would be a playoff team let alone win a playoff game. So 2024 was supposed […]
The Houston Texans haven't performed how most thought they would this year after having a big year last season. In 2023, they were a team that seemingly came out of nowhere because of the years prior. No one thought they would be a playoff team let alone win a playoff game. So 2024 was supposed to be a big year in progress after the rebuild.
And, it started that way. The Texans are still one of the best teams in the league. But, after two straight losses to both the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets, the Texans have been struggling a lot. And, it's surprisingly been on the offensive side of the ball.
After looking at the numbers, it's clear that the run game is all on the offensive line in terms of how bad they have been. And you can add the passing game to that, too, as they are allowing C.J. Stroud to be pressured more than any quarterback in the league by almost 10. But recently the coaching staff has been under a bit of fire for their decision-making as well. And that includes head coach DeMeco Ryans.
And, he knows that he's being criticized for that. But at the same time, he doesn't care, as he admitted the harsh reality of being an NFL head coach.
“When it comes to the outside noise on decision making and play calling, all those things, that’s the NFL," Ryans said on Thursday. "That’s – we’ll always get that. I don’t listen to it. I don’t have time to spend on everybody’s opinion on how we’re running our team what we’re calling and what we’re doing. As an NFL coach, you make decisions and you stick by the decisions that you make.
"And everybody, of course, being in the NFL, being an NFL head coach, probably one of the only jobs where everybody critiques you on Monday. That’s the only job, besides the NFL head coach and the president, you probably get critiqued on every decision that you make because everybody else has all the answers after the fact, but nobody has answers in the heat of the battle, in the heat of the moment. We can all hit rewind as many times, we can slow it down as much as we want to. But that’s why I’m here to make the decisions and that’s how it’ll be.”
The Texans are a team that, if you think about it, are still learning how to win. Last year they won more than they were supposed to, if you look at everyone's expectations of them. This year, they are a team that everyone has very high expectations of. They aren't used to that, and this franchise sure as hell isn't used to winning.
So, mistakes will be made, but it's about how you learn and bounce back. If there is anyone in the league that I think will bounce back from and learn from his mistakes, it has to be DeMeco Ryans.
The Houston Texans will face the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football this week before they play an easy schedule of the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Miami Dolphins to try and get back on track.
There isn’t a real fix this season for the biggest issue the Houston Texans are facing on offense
It will have to be fixed over the offseason.
