You’ll never guess what ridiculous drama the media just drummed up about Texans' CJ Stroud
STRONG WORDS
06 June 2024
STRONG WORDS
It's no secret that Texans QB CJ Stroud is causing quite the social media storm for his comments about the top quarterbacks in the league.
Stroud is taking some heat for his views on Aaron Rodgers specifically, and that has people like Pat McAfee and Mike Florio wondering if this could be a problem for the Texans moving forward.
The thought being, Stroud is ruffling some feathers across the league and placing a bullseye on his back. Traditionally, players wouldn't talk about other athletes during their career publicly. But media has changed and plenty of active players have their own podcasts where they say whatever is on their minds.
In Stroud's case, he's answered some questions honestly about football, something he knows a lot about by the way. Stroud is a football nerd and lives to play and talk about ball. Which is a good thing in our eyes.
If you saw his Bleacher Report YouTube video with Cowboys' Micah Parsons during the NFL Draft, you know what we're talking about. It was amazing to see how much Stroud knew about so many NFL prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft.
What does JJ Watt think?
With so many shows doing segments about CJ, and his supposed criticism of Aaron Rodgers, it's no surprise that Pat McAfee took an opportunity to ask JJ Watt about it.
When asked, Watt said he was fine with it. As long as you back it up in sports, there's no problem. But you do welcome criticism when you put yourself out there in the public eye. Watt certainly knows a thing or two about that. JJ also said making public comments like CJ's can be a good thing, because it puts pressure on yourself to perform.
Chris Simms loves him some Aaron Rodgers
NBC Sports' Mike Florio and Chris Simms also took issue with Stroud's willingness to honestly assess current players. Especially Jets QB Aaron Rodgers. They defended Rodgers at seemingly every turn.
Which got us thinking, why is Aaron Rodgers some sacred cow that's above reproach all of a sudden. CJ said many positive things about Rodgers, he was just more impressed with Matthew Stafford and Eli Manning.
Sure, it’s okay for Rodgers to go on podcasts weekly during the season, and discuss conspiracy theories publicly on his own time. But Stroud is the problem for sharing his opinions about football in the offseason?
Finally, what would the response be if Stroud was openly talking about taking Ayahuasca?
Be sure to watch the video above as we answer all these questions and much more!
Both continue to roll along despite rashes of injuries. When the Astros awoke May 24 their record sat at 26-25. Since then they have gone 26-10. That is a dominant stretch despite this clearly not being a dominant team. The still Alvarez-less offense is mediocre. So is the starting pitching apart from the one-two awesome punch that Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez have been. When Brown or Valdez has been the Astros’ starting pitcher this season, the team record is 25-9. With anyone else making the start, 27-26. They have been every bit as dynamic a duo so far in 2025 that Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole were for the Astros in 2019 when Verlander edged out Cole to win his third Cy Young Award. Brown is a lock to be named to his first American League All-Star team this Sunday. Valdez is worthy of a third consecutive selection but could get caught in a numbers squeeze. Eight or nine starting pitchers are picked for each league.
The Dodgers won’t face Brown this weekend, but will have to deal with Valdez on Saturday night. His mound counterpart will be Shohei Ohtani. Oooooooh! Framber didn’t give up a run in 13 innings over his last two starts, and over his last 10 outings has a super-spiffy 1.72 earned run average. The amazing Ohtani is easing back into pitching after his second Tommy John surgery. Ohtani has started three games, totaling just four innings. He has yet to throw 30 pitches in an outing. Saturday he probably will be allowed 30 to 40.
Arms race
While Friday’s outing isn’t remotely a make or break start for Lance McCullers, it does speak to a significant question the Astros hope to find a pleasing answer to over the remainder of the regular season. Who is their third starting pitcher in a playoff series? After Brown and Valdez there is simply no one who inspires confidence at this point. McCullers has been awful his last two times out, jacking up his ERA to 6.61 eight starts into his season. 20 walks issued in 32 2 /3 innings pitched is glaringly bad. McCullers is still reasonably in ramp up mode, but given his injury history along with performance concerns, the third starter spot can’t be considered his to lose. Spencer Arrighetti’s resume is thin but his return at the level he pitched at after the All-Star break last season would be massive. Colt Gordon and Brandon Walter have both done some nice fill-in work, but no one plausibly wants them starting what would be a do or die game if the Astros wind up in a game three of a best-of-three Wild Card series.
Historic achievement
Not as if it’s subplot or anything this weekend, but let’s call it notable that the two active career hits leaders in Major League Baseball share the field this weekend. Jose Altuve this week vaulted past Jeff Bagwell for second in Astros’ history behind Craig Biggio. Altuve enters the weekend 743 hits behind Biggio. He is no lock to catch him before Altuve’s five-year contract expires at the end of the 2029 season. Altuve will be 39 then. Biggio was 41 when he rapped his 3000th hit, then added 60 more before beginning the waiting game for election to the Hall of Fame.
Like Biggio got and presumably someday Altuve will get, Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman will get the call from Cooperstown some day. Like Altuve, Freeman is 35 years old, has won a Most Valuable Player Award, one Gold Glove, and with his selection this week been named an All-Star nine times. Aaron Judge may change this in the next couple of years, but among active players only Mike Trout (by a long shot) has compiled more Baseball-Reference offensive Wins Above Replacement than Freeman (second) and Altuve (third).
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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