Training Camp Report
 

Today marks the first practice of the 2012 season. Football is back, and Houston loves them some Texans. I arrived at Reliant at 7:10am and the parking lot was half full, the line was long to get in and the stands for 90% full.

I moved to the north end zone to watch, usually a good move, but today not so much.

Due to the new bargaining agreement, teams have to have 5 practices in shorts before they put on full pads. So today was a dress rehearsal in many ways. And boy was it hot. No breeze to speak of either. So hot that Kubiak moved the team inside the bubble at 9:15. And that was it for the fans.

Not sure I am going back tomorrow.

OK that is the overview. I do not have many observations about individuals, hard to see today due to the locations on the field.

Schaub was out there, and he ran unto the field to start the practice season. I am sure that was to send a message to the fans. He did look rusty IMO. He appeared to have less zip on the ball. TJ looked more at ease with the deep ball than Matt. But I think that has been a Schaub signature since he got to Houston.

AJ was there and he was AJ.

Guys that flashed for me, Justin Forsett, was the biggest flash for me. He is super fast, and upgrade for the #3 RB.

I remember a very good defensive play in coverage by Keo. So maybe he makes the sophomore jump.

Kelvin Martin is as advertised. He was targeted a few plays and that had to be because he was able to get that step on the defender. He made some plays out there and I noticed him.

Keenum looked good, not saying that any QB looked bad, but I have seen many UDFA QBs looking lost at the first open practice and he looked natural.

Sorry I don't have much more, I just did not have the best seat to get more info. I saw plays being made, but was not always sure who was the player/players involved.

But guys, it's great to have football back!!!! :D

Thanks pk. Was it as crowded as ever? I miss the old days of camp when it wasn't so packed.

Texans posted a link from their Facebook page to get tickets to Sunday's morning practice for those still in need.

https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/tex...y/details/HTC2

Thanks for the report! All info, much appreciated....

Minor groin injury for Andre Johnson this morning.

http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans...ted-by-injury/

Can't make it through 2 days of camp... not sure why we should expect he'd make it through 16 regular season games and a deep playoff run. :(

Don't want to over-react after 2 days of camp, but as you stated it is going to be real hard to continue to count on AJ if he can't stay on the field. Rick Smith has shown that he has no qualms about cutting the "stars" of the franchise, and this might be another notch on the bedpost.

The sad thing is, I'm not so sure I wouldn't be OK with that, provided we had someone that develops or we aquire another legitimate #1. AJ has been my fav since he arrived, but it seems as if he is holding them back from getting another top end WR. When is enough.....enough?

Food for thought....sadly

Just returned from Monday's open practice. They have issued attendance numbers of 5,700+, largest crowd ever. And boy was it hot.

Today was the 1st day in shoulder pads, so a little more hitting, but still not full blown pads. Not that they ever really hit (tackle) in practice.

Well today I watched more of the WR drills then the other day.

First my no duh statements.

Jonathan Joesph is a stud. Very few balls are caught by his guy. He has the amazing ability to swipe the ball away before the WR pulls the ball in.

This is the deepest this team has been since they started to play. And they have done it the right way.

JJ Watts is a beast. He is almost unblockable in the one on one drill. His quickness and strength are hard for anyone to stop. Plus IMO he has become the fan friendly guy. (that was Eric Winston before). I think he is going to be very special.

Duane Brown maybe the best OLT is football. These guys were taking ahead of him, Jake Long, Ryan Clady, Branden Albert, ok they are good, but Gosder Cherilus, Jeff Otah, and Sam Baker. Those last guys have not panned out for various reason. And I thought he was only worth a 3rd round pick. Duane Brown is a hard worker and it has paid off in a big way. Pay him Rick!!

Now some observation.

Keshawn Martin continues to flash. Posey also had some moments, he also had a big drop on a very deep ball in 1 on 1.

Schaub's throws looked a lot better today then on Saturday. John Beck has a huge arm. And Case Keenum continues to look solid. I am not slighting Yates here, I just did not focus on him.

Foster looks like he is in mid season form.

Lestar Jean has made the team, the question is can he move up the ladder. I can't tell you how many time I saw a play being made and then noticed it was Kevin Walters making the play. Walters is the clear #2 guy. We are going to be cutting some WR that play in this league for someone.

Stop calling Brandon Harris a bust, he was looking very good in coverage. Also keep an eye on Roc Carmichael. He is looking good.

Ben Jones has a mean streak, and I like that. Plus he the shortest OL guy we have.

Staying with the OL, Derek Newton has really improved, he is going to push Butler, who also looked solid. And Brandon Brooks is looking like a guy who is finding his way. That is not a slight, he has a lot of things to catch up on. And I think he will.

This is a deep team with not many roster spots open, and I am glad I am not the coaches having to make that cut down.

More food for your thought, It is rumored that Mike Wallace is on the trading block for a 2nd and a 5th round pick. Or the Sportsradio 610 guys, asked "would you" with a Wallace for Tate trade right now?

If AJ plays in 12+ games including the playoff, then I think we are OK.

Nice work PK, thanks.

The organization has made some questionable draft day decisions but those involving Duane Brown and JJ Watt were plainly not among them. I never foresaw Brown becoming the anchor that he is and an elite LT, nor did I have the slightest inkling that Watt would be very good much less the best player on a pretty damn good defense.

If anyone has any insight on what Mercilus is up to at these practices I'd love to hear it.

I went to practice this morning and for the first time ever I was disappointed in the experience, but actually for a good reason I suppose because it was the largest crowd I've ever seen at any Texans' TC practice including past years when I've attended on weekends. In past years there'd be places where you could get with maybe a small cluster of other fans, say 10 or a dozen, and watch certain drills with good visibility and even almost a sense of intimacy. Not this morning ! As they say, we are the victims of our own success.
And call me an alarmist if you want, but the situation with AJ is really a big deal because I have doubt about us being able to count on him again to be there for us in most of the games of a season ? Groins don't go away without rest, and I mean lengthy rest, not a week or 10 days. And this comes right out of the blocs, just the second session of TC. And what kind of injury could be next ?
I sure hope I'm wrong about this ?

The Steelers may be willing to let Wallace play out his final year then let him walk as UFA next year. Could get them a compensatory pick in 2014 plus allows them to keep him on the roster one more season.

I would love for the Texans to acquire Wallace this month, and giving up Tate or that pick combo would be ok (would prefer to give up the picks though). The real problem comes when trying to fit Wallace into the cap, one which will also need to find room for Duane Brown, Connor Barwin, and Matt Schaub, among others.

Wallace isn't going anywhere unless the new team can give him the huge new deal Pittsburg won't. We can't do that even if we were willing to give up the picks.

Yeah, sad but true.

To lighten the mood, hear Jerrah talk about the 'glory hole' days of the Crackwagon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1del...e_gdata_player

Yep, while it is an interesting thought, but a move for Wallace would force another MAJOR chop off the roster. Shoot, I don't know that we could get his $2.7MM tender under the cap, and still have flexibility during the season for the vet min. guys that will be coming in to fill in for injury.

Mercilus, is very quick. He will benefit greatly from playing next to/ behind Watts. In the 2 on 2 drill today, Watts destroyed the two OL guys, and I believe it was Mercilus, had a free shot at the ball. Mercilus did not show me any pass rush moves other than speed.

Mercilus is still raw and will need time to grow. We have 5 young OLB (Barwin, Braman, Reed, Mercilus, and Nading) right now so I am not concerned about us having any trouble there.

I agree with this, I was only relaying the radio talk show banter.

fwiw, I'm not panicking on WR's, atleast not yet.

I think we got a good group of 10 WR in TC already.

And I don't think AJ is hurt bad and I think KW is a reasonable 2.

And we have other excellent TE and RB receiving options as well.

All receivers drop a pass once in a while and everyone gets a ding once in a while.

A slight groin pull can be gone in a day or two as well, just depends.

They had a replay of the past years "Kraft Fight Hunger" bowl on one of the local Houston cable channels couple weeks ago which featured Illinois vs UCLA and I got to watch Mercilus.
As advertised he's very athletic and truly does have a nonstop motor as he appears to be hustling on every play. He was very strong on rushing plays and made several tackles behind the los and also got a sack and many hurries even though UCLA had 2 & 3 men blocking him on every passing play. Plus the guy seems to be an enthusiastic teammate as the camera caught him jumping up and down on the sideline several times when his offense made a long-play and was right in the middle of the celebration at the end of the game with the Illinois win.

I am and I gotta think the Texans are also concerned and would use maybe up to a mid-round pick to trade for a vet WR before the season starts, though I have no idea who that might be in terms of a fit for our offense ? Would a potential trade include somebody like Tate as rumored ? Good question ?

Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Tuesday that he hopes injured wide receiver Andre Johnson could return to the field next Monday.
http://www.houstontexans.com/news/ar...a-4a26d8964cfa

In a worse case, I see them waiting for any vets that might be on the trading block to be released, and then signed to a team friendly contract. If you trade for a guy then you assume their contract and with our cap space being tight, I don't see them taking on anybodies else's dead weight.

Every year some veteran WR is cut and they can pick up someone. Remember there are now 3 other teams running very similar styles of WCO. That just adds to the pool.

Right now I think they want a vet for leadership in camp, not necessarily to make a big splash during the season.

I saw talent in our young WR, just no history.

Rick Smith was on 610 radio TC coverage this morning talking about WR with Mark Vandermeer and all.

what I think I heard said in general:

Rick thinks the injury to Andre is nothing much at all, nothing to worry about.

They are comfortable with the 11 WR guys in camp now and will be tough to cut down to 5 or 6 on final 53 man roster.

The WR's who are most consistent and help them win the most will be the ones they keep on 53 man squad. ( I guess this is the out for bringing in someone else if makes sense).

You like to have mix of experience and new people for depth, not always the perfect mix, nothing decided yet, still very early.

They covered all the other typicl WR topics, almost every WR in TC mentioned, Who looking good, so forth.

Separately Devier Posey had several exceptional catches yesterday we are told, against JJ, so some good WR info in the news.

Jonathan Joseph apparently spent time with young WR's after practice showing them tips on how to recognize defense and get open.

I hope to go see practice Friday and watch these guys for myself if I can get a reasonable place to watch from, seems lots fans at practice this year.

This is awesome if true. In camp practices I've attended, this is not something I've seen often. Guys typically hang within their position groups, even before and after practices.

On a somewhat related note, what a great signing Joseph has turned out to be. I don't think this can be understated, especially considering how much we all wanted Nnamdi and failed to sign him last summer. What a fortunate outcome this has been. Looking forward to seeing him on the field this season.

...speaking of, here is photo evidence of Danieal Manning working with DeVier Posey. Simply awesome.

https://twitter.com/NickScurfield/st...122688/photo/1

1st some bad news, Duane Brown got hurt today. We do not know how bad. I saw it happen he got tangled up and went to the ground. Seems he got his ankle rolled on. Got up slowly and and played the next down.

I never saw him leave the field but he did not get carted off as reported. They drove him to the stadium to get xrays. Hopefully this is a slight strain, not a high ankle sprain. We will know later today.

I watched from the stands today. But today they did not have rosters for us when we came in so always sure of what I am seeing. I will take my own roster on Friday.

Lestar Jean was working with the 2nd team today and Keshawn Martin was working with the ones. That is a big jump for Martin. But they also had Bryant Johnson working with the ones, so they maybe just shaking it up to see different guys against different levels of coverage.

I am going to stop telling you guys how good JJo is, the man is very very good and I am so glad is on this team.

Keep an eye on Grimes RB, he should make the practice squad. He is having a very good camp.

Beck had a mental mistake today which caused Kubaik to take away some reps on the field today.

Jeff Maehl had two drops today during team drills. That is news because he usually catches everything.

Tate made a great move when Brooks was knocked to the ground in the hole. Tate jump over him and took off on a long gain.

Mercilus had a sack on Schaub, but it was not on Brown. But still the man has amazing quickness.

Friday I will go watch OL/DL drills, so I might not be able to get you guys the info on on the team drills.

Forgot to mention Bullock putting on a show kicking in front of the whole team. Use his last two kicks as guides, he made a 50 yard shot and just barely missed the guy filming the practice on the lift. Would have been good from 60. Then they move him to 55 yds and with a high snap he made that one with room to spare, maybe another that one that would have been good from 60 yds.

He looked good.

Hopefully Brown is fine but this is why I'm not thrilled with the idea of locking up players before their free agent year. What if Brown snapped a ligament or tore a tendon and had to miss the season? Would you still want to pay him Top 5 money when he might not take the field all season or come back but not be able to dominate as he did before?

Again, I hope/expect Brown to be okay but I'm just making a point why you don't re-sign players too soon. All you have to do is look at Dunta Robinson or Domanick Davis to understand this point.

From the Chronic - Take it for what its worth, as I haven't seen this diagnosed elsewhere. Would assume Kubiak will address after the PM session.

"Injury report
Left tackle Duane Brown became the second front-line Texan to get hurt in training camp. Brown suffered a left high ankle sprain and, although he stayed on the field for two more plays, he was then taken back to the training room for treatment."

Good God, I wish we had a credible newpaper......

Texans LT Duane Brown: "Bone bruise. Got pretty lucky. Pretty sore. Nothing major." "Extremely relieved." "Day to day." -- Stephanie Stradley (@StephStradley)

JJ Watt's elbow injury is being evaluated, but Gary Kubiak said he thinks Watt will be fine by opening day #Texans -- Nick Scurfield (@NickScurfield)

Brandon Brooks also went out due to heat related issues.

I have my doubts about Brooks. He reminds me of the fat kid that you think would be good if he could only shed 50 pounds but he never does.

I will take the blame for JJ Watt's injury, yesterday I bought my first Texans jersey, #99 JJ Watt. I jinxed him.

I believe I heard it was Brooks Reed who went out due to heat, not Brandon Brooks. Fwiw, its hot out there and need to be careful.

Ok, from TV news, it was Brandon Brooks today, but he is ok.

Its all good.

Football: Texans DE J.J. Watt dislocated his elbow today. Texans doctors popped it back in and Watt expected to not miss much time. -- Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter)

YOU CAN'T HOLD BACK THE MILKMAN! ;)

Football players are just tough. If a baseball player had that, he'd be on the DL for a month.

Looks like Texans TC is on NFL TV network this morning.

I was out at the training camp again today. This is my last practice. Talk about a big crowd, not sure of the numbers, but this looked to be the largest crowd yet.

There was a Holiday sighting today. Trindon had two huge kick returns. He has not flashed during team drills but he has been open with the QB not getting him the ball.

A note about all the pass catchers, way to many drops. Normally sure handed guys are dropping balls in their hands. Also Jean is an arm catcher on way to many balls, he does not use his hands enough. Had some issues because of the way he catches.

That said Jean was open on two deep balls today. One was over thrown, and the other Jean made a nice adjustment on to get in front of the two guys covering him to catch the ball and then trot into the end zone.

Posey had a drop on a deep ball today, and he also made a diving catch in the two minute drill that he appeared to hurt himself on. They stopped practice for a minute Kubiak came over, but long story short, it looked like he had just landed funny and had the breath knocked out him.

Yates looked to be throwing fastballs on every pass today and many of the underneath guys had trouble holding on to the throws. Not sure if that was due to the coaches wanting to see the receivers handle heat or not.

I am even more impressed with Grimes after watching him all week. Keep your eyes on him against the Panthers. He should be a PS guy.

For the 2nd practice in a row, Brandon Harris made me notice him. He is having a very good camp. Not push for a starter good, but I am ok with him if some one gets hurt good.

General impressions, our defensive back field is good, in 7 on 7 they dominated, both the ones and the twos were shutting out the WRs. . So that shows depth to me. Kubiak will complain about the WR not being open, like he should, but our DBs are good.

Sorry I did not watch the linemen in one on ones today, I had to good of a seat and their were to many people to try and move about.

Noticed the team rotating a lot of guys in with the ones today. Looking at a lot of combos.

Again this team is loaded.

McClain reports AJ was back at practice today. I doubt he'll be full speed for awhile though. No need to test that groin until it's necessary.

When asked about the combination of Butler and Caldwell after the morning practice, coach Gary Kubiak said, “They’re doing a good job. They’re being pushed really hard. Brooks and Smith are pushing Caldwell. Newton’s pushing the heck out of Butler. It’s going to be a tough call. I couldn’t make that call today.”
http://blog.chron.com/ultimatetexans...d-right-guard/
I dunno, should we make anything by Kubiaks comments, especially the "I couldn’t make that call today" re the Butler vs Newton competition at RT ?
And if we are to believe it means the 2nd year guy out of little known Arkansas State is dead even with the vet Butler, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing ?