Texans’ DeMeco Ryans Weighs In on C.J. Stroud’s ‘Lollygagging’ Comment

After the events of the Houston Texans' season opener loss to the Los Angeles Rams in 9-14 fashion, quarterback C.J. Stroud voiced that the Texans didn't do the right things throughout the day to put together a winning effort, saying that when you come out "lollygagging" and not prepared in the NFL, that's what ends up happening.

"I definitely think we could've won, but you can should've, would've, could've all day," Stroud said after the Texans' loss on Sunday. "We didn't deserve to win that game, because we didn't do the right things. So, when you come out in the NFL lolligagging and not going through the motions, that's kind of what happens."

C.J. Stroud said the Texans lollygagged and went through the motions against the Rams.

"We didn't deserve to win that game." pic.twitter.com/zy4z3OXyuU
— SportsRadio 610 (@SportsRadio610) September 8, 2025

In all, there were a few errors the Texans put together in their Week 1 loss. The offensive line in front of Stroud still showed some disarray, 11 total penalties were called on Houston, and a late-game fumble from running back Dare Ogunbowale ultimately took Houston out of the mix for a comeback in the final minutes.

Mistakes can always happen, but in the NFL, sometimes those few mistakes can turn the tide every Sunday, for better or for worse. On Sunday, that's what ultimately led to the Texans' demise.

But following the loss on Tuesday, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans didn't want to blanket any blame across the entire group for a lack of preparation or "lollygagging".

Instead, he focused on one major aspect he wants to hone in on before Houston's Week 2 home opener: tempo.

"It's never an entire group, that's the one thing about it," Ryans said when asked about Stroud's comments on Tuesday. "There are individuals that have their moments throughout the week, and lollygagging, which is the term everybody wants to use now. For me, it's just our tempo– in and out of the huddle."

"We've got to get in and out of the huddle quicker, so we can get to the line of scrimmage, so we can operate and make sure we've got checks, and things you have to make at the line of scrimmage. "Well, to make those checks in a proper manner, we've got to get out with some urgency. The urgency piece from everybody has to pick up from the offensive side of the ball. Once the urgency picks up, we'll be able to operate cleaner when it comes to pre-snap and post-snap."

Sep 7, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans reacts during the second quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It's that urgency that Ryans covets within both sides of the ball, but especially offensively, that'll smooth out any missteps for the Texans and their preparation.

If there's an urgency to put together some positive plays on the offensive side of the ball in and out of the huddle, in turn, that allows Stroud to get to the line of scrimmage quicker, and make any necessary adjustments on a down-to-down basis; something Ryans clearly aspires to see.

That also comes with a need to pay attention to detail and limit those costly penalties, where the Texans had seven detrimental flags on the offensive side of the ball in SoFi on Sunday. But for Ryans, he's taken accountability and is looking to tighten the operation up before a primetime showing against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"Everything comes back to me. It's not about, oh, I need to talk to a player about doing this or that. We'll get it fixed. It's on me."

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