After further review and a flight back home, here is everything Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans has to say following a 34-31 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Q: On what has helped the success of the offense
Ryans: “The offense has played really well. It starts with C.J. [Stroud]. Everything operates through our quarterback and C.J. has done a phenomenal job all year of just leading the offense. We've thrown the ball around really well and that starts with him and just his progressions, his reads, him protecting the football, doing a really nice job all year. No matter who's open, he's distributing the ball to a lot of different guys. He's just playing the quarterback position really well, really confident in how he's operating. That's what's allowed our offense to play as well as they play this year.”
On the wide receiver room
Ryans: “What I like most about our receivers is I like how they prepare throughout the week. Those guys can move around to a lot of different spots. No one is just stuck in one particular position. Our coaches do a great job of moving them around. Everybody is versatile. We have a lot of different plays for different guys. We try to get as many guys touches as possible. That allows Coach [Nick] Caley to mix it up really well with his play calls and set guys up to get opportunities to get the football. At the end of the day, when the ball is snapped, the offensive line has to do a great job of protecting. C.J. has to do a great job of delivering the football. Both of those two have gone really well for us, so that's why the receivers are able to make the plays that they've been able to make. Another thing I'm proud of with our receivers, is they do a great job of the contested catches. Marvin [Harrison Jr.] getting his first catch with us yesterday. The first one was a tough, contested catch over the middle. I just like how our guys are playing tough, as well as getting the explosive plays.”
Q: On the offensive lines protection
Ryans: “It all starts with the protection up front with our offensive line. They've done a great job, a much better job, of just communicating, being in sync. They've done a great job of finishing, picking up blitzes, being where they're supposed to be. It showed up yesterday really well. Our first day, not only just pass protection, but also in the running game, we were able to run it for over 100 yards. Credit to the offensive line for how they sustain their blocks and they finish better. Our backs ran the ball really well. Our offensive line has gotten better each and every week. I'm really proud of the progression that they've made.”
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud’s confidence in the offensive line
Ryans: “It takes a lot of trust to stand in that pocket. When you have defenders barreling down on you, you have to have trust in your offensive line, trust in their protection. Especially from your blind side and those guys that gave C.J. that confidence to be able to stand in the pocket and make those plays, deliver the ball downfield. When you're trying to throw the ball deep, make explosive plays, you have to have trust. You have to rely on the offensive line. The only way we can do those type of things, we can call those type of plays, is we have to have faith that our offensive line is going to sustain their blocks and finish. C.J. is benefiting from that big time.”
Q: On CB Tremon Smith
Ryans: “Tremon is a true veteran who's ready to go. At any time, whatever we ask of him, whatever I've asked of him, when it comes to playing a defensive role for us, he stepped in and handled it extremely well. Yesterday was a really great sign of what he's been doing. We asked him to step in and play in our nickel defense and he stepped up, played outside corner and made some big time plays for us. We needed some critical stops in that game and he got two critical stops for us, one on third down and one on fourth down. Tremon is our player of the game for the effort that he's shown and how he finished a lot of plays in that game. He showed up big time for us and looking for him to keep going. We can keep relying on him, keep leaning on him to make those plays for us.”
Q: On the defense’s tackling
Ryans: “Right now the tackling is not good enough. We had way too many missed tackles yesterday to where we had run stuff. We had the ball checked down in the flat. That's where we want the ball checked down, but we have to make those tackles. The tackling has to improve. Overall, it’s not good enough and we have to improve that this week.”
Q: On what has led to the missed tackles
Ryans: “We were in position to make the tackles. A couple times, I give credit to the Jacksonville running backs. They ran hard, they ran physical. They broke a lot of our tackles, but we have to bring our feet more. When we secure, you have to wrap up and truly put your body on people. You have to wrap up and you have to run your feet. You really have to grab, wrap, squeeze and really run your feet. We weren't running our feet much in that game. We were just arm tackling and playing against those backs. Again, this week versus the Giants backs, they have two good physical backs as well. We have to improve it very quickly.”
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud’s best throw from Week 6 vs Jacksonville
Ryans: “There were so many. However many completions he had, that was my bet. No, the one to ‘J-Noel’ was probably the best one to me, the first play of the end of half, two minute. He had [Dennis] Gardeck coming downhill, he's free. He's running at C.J., he puts both arms up trying to attack his throwing arm, just like you teach defenders to do it. He couldn't have been in a better position to try to stop C.J. from throwing that football. But the pure determination and sure will for C.J. to really still get that ball off and drop it in the bucket, that was a beautiful throw by him.”
Q: On WR Tank Dell
Ryans: “Tank is doing an outstanding job these past two weeks of practicing. We are all excited and we'll see Tank out there on Sunday vs. the Giants. We're excited, it's time for him to be back. He's done a great job of working to get himself back. We're excited to see him.”
Q: On TE Foster Moreau
Ryans: “One thing I love about Foster is his joy and the energy he brings every day. What I expected from him when he first came here, it wasn't anything for him just to be himself. The way that Coach Jerry [Schuplinski] talked about him, the type of guy that he was, that's why I knew we were getting a great guy in our building who would be good at the line of scrimmage as a blocker. Then he's just been effective from the standpoint of executing. He's just doing what he's supposed to do. On the first touchdown, he's wide open, C.J. finds him and he secures the catch. The second one there, he has a defender draped all over him. C.J. throws an outstanding ball where only he can get it and he makes an outstanding one-handed catch. The cool thing about that catch is, we had that exact same play in our Friday practice and Foster came down with that same type of catch. It's cool to see guys, like practice means a lot to me. When you practice the right way, you practice with the right joy, the right mentality, it shows up on game day. Foster did the exact same thing.”
Q: On his expectations from WR Tank Dell
Ryans: “I expect Tank just to be himself and just play the offense the right way. No huge expectations from what he needs to do. We're all just going to be excited. I know me personally, I'm just going to be excited to see him just out there for the first time in over two years, just getting some game action. I'm just thankful, grateful for him to have this opportunity to return. I don't have any expectations. I'm just happy to see him out there and that's the only thing that matters.”
Q: On what WR Tank Dell brings to the wide receiver room
Ryans: “As we all know, Tank is an explosive player. He's still quick as ever. As our defenders who was covering him the past couple weeks, he's been putting us in some tough matchups and practice the past two weeks. I expect him to go out on Sunday and do the same thing. Really stress defenders and that's what Tank is going to do with his speed, his playmaking ability. He's going to stress defenders and you add them in a mix with all of the other guys that we have. We just have a really good group of guys, a lot of guys who are capable of making big time explosive plays for us.”.
Q: On S Reed Blankenship and LB Azeez Al-Shaair
Ryans: “Reed will be in the concussion protocol and Azeez is fine. He finished the game, he'll be fine.”
Q: On the defensive line getting pressure in Week 6 vs Jacksonville
Ryans: “From the pressure standpoint, the ball was out pretty quickly. I thought Trevor [Lawrence] did a good job of getting the ball out quick. They had a really good game plan for our guys. The field, the surface was slippery for both sides. I don't think their defenders got any sacks either. It was hard to get that footing and get downhill in the rushes. I give credit to Jacksonville, first and foremost, for the game plan and how they executed.”
Q: On RB Jawhar Jordan
Ryans: “Both running backs, yesterday you saw just playing decisive and playing with speed. [RB] Jawhar [Jordan] just brings that home run speed, like him being able to run outside zone, effectively really press the blocks on the outside, setting up the offensive line to make their blocks and then being able to cut downhill. He had a great run, great cut back on the 25-yard touchdown. Then there, at the end of game, in a two minute situation, we gave him another toss outside. He was able to press it and then cut downhill to put us in a favorable field goal range. Two really huge plays by Jawar. He also had a reception there on our sideline. He stepped up and really maximized his opportunity.”
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: After Further Review: Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said following win over Jaguars