WTF Happened to C.J. Stroud in 2025? & More Lingering Questions

The Giants have spent a ton of resources along the defensive line in recent years, and made a splash this offseason by bringing in head coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. So, what exactly is this defense? The Texans had a Super Bowl caliber defense last season, but were ultimately let down by their previously up-and-coming quarterback. So, what happened to C.J. Stroud in 2025? The Jaguars had one of the best offenses in the NFL in the second half of last season. Was that real? Can they carry that over to 2026? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman dive deep on those three questions on this Lingering Questions episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
0:54 We’re talking bottle episodes
1:27 Big fans of Community
3:57 Are you sure about that?
5:08 What is the New York Giants defense?
6:04 Giants D-Line
6:53 Giants edges
7:58 …Isn’t it okay?
9:01 Giants run defense
10:13 Run defense personnel
13:46 Hype vs reality for Giants D
14:54 Setting new expectations
15:47 How Dennard Wilson will use personnel
16:53 Cedric Gray = Arvell Reese
18:00 Giants pass defense
18:51 What Giants can take from Denver Broncos
21:14 Ar’Darius Washington
23:09 Middling
23:15 Wtf happened to CJ Stroud?
25:00 The Mac Jones trajectory
25:22 What is CJ worth in a contract negotiation?
27:17 Playoffs vs regular season
30:05 CJ vs New England Patriots
32:40 Confuddled by CJ’s inconsistency
33:53 CJ vs Kansas City Chiefs
34:29 A+ Jurassic Park analogy
35:19 Concussion issues
35:54 CJ lack of scrambling
38:13 How CJ mirrors Jared Goff
40:52 What CJ & Houston Texans did well
44:33 CJ through a Trevor Lawrence lens
46:36 When to pay CJ
51:50 Was the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive ascension for real?
52:30 Dave steps into an anthill
52:40 Why aren’t Jags getting the Chicago Bears treatment?
54:52 Run game
55:17 Losing Travis Etienne
56:29 Liam Coen
57:21 Trevor Lawrence
58:47 The 15-yard sweet spot
1:03:26 Nate Boerkircher
1:04:37 Offensive line
1:07:40 Jags as regression candidate

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