Training camp 2015

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

This is a very big deal I fear, Arian's injury. There is an enormous dropoff between Arian and everyone who has ever backed him up.

Yep. Every offense has lynch pin pieces that prop up everyone else and make it all work. Usually it's the QB. On our team it's Arian Foster. I don't think we are a team with much margin for error and this might sink us. We simply aren't good enough anywhere else on offense (QB, WR, OL) to trot out a replacement level RB too.

[Warren]

Ron Dayne is waiting by the phone.

[Arky]

17 observations from day four of #TexansCamp

Day four was a short practice so the team can get out to the airport to catch a flight to Richmond but it wasn’t without excitement, for lack of a better word.

What happened? Well, glad you asked.

1. The absence of Arian Foster was noted and acknowledged and it was the thought on most everyone’s mind throughout the workout. But, Bill O’Brien addressed it after practice, said that he injured his groin and that he’d miss some time. It’s a tough gut punch to take but the team on the field seemingly went about its business as it always does. Teams/staffs can’t dwell and there’s plenty of work to get done. O’Brien knows this better than anyone. His first year as a full-time assistant with the New England Patriots in the very first game of the 2008 season, they lost Tom Brady for the season. That team won 11 games. I’d trust no one else to handle a curve ball like this more than Bill O’Brien.

2. Ryan Mallett took snaps with the ones today and had some tremendous moments. He started the day hot completing all but one throw in a 1-on-1/group drill. He dropped a beautiful corner route on Anthony Denham for a TD. He then lasered one across the middle for a big gain. Then, he completed the drill with a dime to Jace Davis who had a miniscule step on the defensive back for another touchdown.

3. Mallett had a couple of rough spots, including a few down on the goal line, but there weren’t many. After missing a wide open Jay Prosch during that goal line drill, the very next play Mallett threaded the needle on a frozen rope to EZ Nwachukwu for a touchdown. EZ’s No. 17 was the only blue jersey in the area with about four white ones present and Mallett stuck right in his gut.

4. One of the things I heard and/or read this off-season was that Pro Football Focus rated Kareem Jackson as a below average inside/slot corner. First off, I can’t even begin to get into that whole thing about PFF so I won’t (just know, I truly appreciate what they do, but it’s off and misguided on certain situations). As such, please know that it’s not gospel, for many reasons. Either way, I was impressed with his interior coverage today, including two or three pass break ups when he was matched up with WR Alan Bonner.

5. When we all talked about how the tight ends have to produce much more in this offense, Garrett Graham must have heard every word. He has been incredibly difficult to cover throughout training camp and I can’t remember a 1-on-1 situation where he hasn’t gotten open and made the catch. Steady, solid and a reliable passing game tool for these quarterbacks to utilize.

6. Brian Hoyer made some much better throws the second half of practice. I wrote in my notes early in practice “7’s out of synch with these receivers.” But, during team, in particular, a move the chains team drill, he ran the offense like it’s supposed to be run. He had it flying up the field, even to a point where he was back up at the line of scrimmage ready to run a play after a catch took a guy out of bounds. It was a bit chaotic until Coach O’Brien stepped in with some words of, uh, encouragement? Aggressive counseling? to get the defense back in line, so to speak.

7. One of Hoyer’s best throws was a complete look off throw on a shallow cross to Kenny Hilliard. The rookie from LSU has displayed reliable hands throughout the start of training camp but Hoyer’s ability to go through his progressions quickly and find a wide open Hilliard was impressive.

8. Along those lines, both quarterbacks have really impressed me with the way they get through their progressions quickly. Quickly being the key word, of course.

9. I’ll say one other thing about this offense. I watched every single practice and every single play in training camp last year. I can’t remember one time, not one singular time when I’d say the 2014 version of this offense was ahead in any way, shape or form of this 2015 unit. It’s night and day different and I’m not the only one that’s noticed how stark the difference is between the two units, only one year apart.

10. I only got to see two reps of pass rush one-on-ones. As I walked down to the North end of the field, Kourtnei Brown completely bull rushed an offensive tackle, which elicited some hoots and hollers from the defensive guys. Brown, later, in a team drill got loose on a pass rush as well to force an incompletion. Marc Vandermeer would call him a “subterranean under the radar” guy.

11. Linebacker Justin Tuggle was injured throughout minicamp and OTAs and that put him behind the other inside linebackers to start training camp. But, during a run drill today, he completely blew up an OL wrapping around to make a block. Tuggle was shot out of a cannon and knocked the OL backwards, right into the running back. He needs more of that over the next few weeks as he’s in a staunch competition at that inside linebacker spot.

12. During that 'Move the Chains' drill, rookie Kevin Johnson showed why he was a first round selection. He read a slant perfectly, broke on the throw and nearly came up with the interception. He’ll get those picks eventually, but his transition ability to get to receivers, breaking on the ball, is outstanding. Improvement day after day is what you want to see and he’s doing that for sure.

(more at link)

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Warren

Ron Dayne is waiting by the phone.

I still remember him crushing the Colts in a late season throw away game. He got to be king for a day in the NFL.

[Arky]

25 observations from #TexansCamp against Washington

On the Road, AGAIN!

Yes sir, last year it was Denver, Colorado to tangle with the Denver Broncos but this year, it’s three days with the Washington Redskins at the Bon Secours Training Center in Richmond, Virginia. It was a festive occasion, similar to the environment in Houston for a public practice. As such, the team got some work done against RGIII and company on Thursday. Let’s dive right into the observations from the team’s workout.

1. Marc Vandermeer and I jumped on the air early and our radio set up was a bit off the beaten path a bit from the two practice fields. But, I had a small view of Field Two. As I was talking, setting up the scene from the facility, the wide receivers and defensive backs were doing some 1-on-1s. In the middle of one of my many diatribes, I saw this blur sprint through the small view with a Redskin defender about four yards behind him. It was rookie Chandler Worthy blazing past, making the catch and scoring a TD.

2. A few moments later, Jaelen Strong was matched up on a white jersey. Now, the Texans flipped jerseys today as the offense wore white while the defense wore blue, so Strong was going one on one with a Redskins offensive player. I eventually realized that the Redskins must be trying to convert former Florida receiver Quinton Dunbar to defensive back. Yeah, Strong whipped him on that route down the field.

3. That was a good moment for Strong, but he had a couple of lapses in concentration, one right in front of me during 7-on-7 when Ryan Mallett hit him right in the hands for an easy catch and Strong couldn’t complete the catch. He’s been excellent in training camp through this point and I expect him to bounce back and have a few great days to finish the road trip.

4. A few moments after seeing Strong flash against Dunbar, I saw a group of Texans WRs and Redskins DBs having a bit of a pow wow and then it turned into a mild fracas. It started as a Redskins defensive back made some comment to Strong, which caught the attention of DeAndre Hopkins and then Redskin DeAngelo Hall opened his mouth. That exacerbated the situation as the verbal tete-a-tete turned into a shoving match with Hopkins and Hall right in the middle of it. Then, I saw Big Tex Ryan Mallett himself run over and defend his teammates which was the least surprising aspect of the the whole thing. Mallett backs down from no one. There were no more dust ups, but the talking did continue throughout the workout.

5. Later during 7-on-7, after hitting three or four consecutive throws, Brian Hoyer went through his progressions and truly only had one option downfield - DeAndre Hopkins across the middle of the field. He wasn’t really open but Hoyer tried to stick it into him anyway. He threw it high hoping Hop might be able to sky to snag it, but it was incomplete. After the play, I was standing a few feet away from the Redskins DBs and a couple of them starting taunting Hopkins, serenading him with “D Hop...D Hop”. I don’t think Hop heard them, but I came back to tell Marc the story and he had the perfect comeback. “Didn’t those guys give up a 75-yd bomb to Hopkins last year?” Boom. Roasted.

6. Early in the radio show, right smack in the middle of one of my answers to Marc’s question, I saw DeSean Jackson walking gingerly right off the field. I didn’t see what happened, but apparently during 1-on-1s with the Texans DBs, he collided with a blocking sled and separated his shoulder. We saw him come back out a while later with a huge ice bag on his shoulder. He’ll be out a few weeks but I really wanted the Texans DBs to be challenged by his deep speed this week.

7. Speaking of Washington receivers, keep an eye out for rookie Jamison Crowder from Duke. This joker can flat out fly, but he’s best in the slot as his quickness has no peer. There’s a Vine video out there with Crowder going 1-on-1 with Kareem Jackson. Crowder darted inside and Kareem slipped on the cut, leaving the rookie wide open. At the Senior Bowl last January, Crowder did that to EVERYONE he faced. He was so quick in space, even though he’s no bigger than your youngest son. Just saying, keep an eye on him, especially now that Jackson is out for a few weeks.

8. First play of team, Hoyer found C.J Fiedorowicz open crossing the formation for a solid catch and run to start the period. I thought the Texans passing game was strong throughout the day.

9. The Texans didn’t pick up one blitz during that team period, but that was the only bust I remember during that team period. Redskins LB Perry Riley came off the edge to “tag off” on Hoyer for the sack. But, after that Hoyer found Cecil Shorts on a slant with a perfect catch and run pass.

10. Hoyer really has a good thing going with Shorts, who a few plays later was left all alone down the right sideline for a deep catch down the field.

11. Jay Prosch hasn’t had a tremendous training camp but he’s had more opportunities in the passing game. He worked himself open versus the Redskins linebackers and Hoyer found him for a long first down throw.

12. When the twos came out on the field, Mallett got a little pressure, rolled to his right and threw a dart right on the money. Dropped.

13. I thought both quarterbacks threw it well today. Hoyer did throw an interception that happened down the field that I couldn’t see exactly what happened. But, that was the only pick that I remember seeing the Texans throw during the day.

14. Late in the practice, down on the goal line, Hoyer threw an absolute gem to DeAndre Hopkins. After Alfred Blue’s strong run to the two yard line, Hoyer lobbed the fade to D Hop in a perfect spot for the touchdown. The offensive players all ran down to congratulate the third year receiver again, as they did when he made the one hand snag back in Houston a few days ago.

(more at link)

[Arky]

24 observations from day two of Texans vs. Redskins

Another day is in the books from the Bon Secours (the r is silent, just so you know) Training Facility here in Richmond, VA. As a native of Richmond, TX, I’ve typed TX every single time, but then have to remind myself that I’m back here in Virginia for the weekend. A slight drizzle highlighted the day, but it could’ve been worse...like Thursday night when a gullywasher hit us on the way home from dinner.

1. A number of Texans sat out practice as they rehabbed injuries or got the day off. As such, a number of threes and twos moved up the ladder a rung to the twos or the ones. It disrupted the rhythm of things throughout the day as Jonathan Grimes mentioned after practice. As always there were some good moments, but the Redskins returned the end of practice favor to the Texans, seemingly winning the last couple of drills.

2. One of the great aspects of a shared practice is the fact that players get the opportunity to reunite with former college teammates, coaches and/or acquaintances. As practice was just about to start, nearly everyone was out on the two practice fields, but the last Redskin out of the locker room jogged out of the facility. It was Akeem Davis, a former Memphis Tiger. As he ran past, he made a beeline for Lonnie Ballentine, his former secondary mate with Memphis. The two exchanged a quick bro hug before Davis continued on to the practice field. That was one of the cool moments of the day to me for some reason.

3. It was Ryan Mallett’s day with the ones and there were definite start and stop moments with that first crew. One of Mallett’s first throws during team was a laser across the middle to DeAndre Hopkins but he couldn’t make the catch. It was a ball Hop catches nine and half times out of ten. Washington’s defensive backs may have gotten a hand in on the ball but it’s still a catch he should, and typically does, make. Mallett did hook up with Cecil Shorts III again, but missed the mark to Nate Washington a couple of times during the day. Washington did make a catch during the ones’ Move the Chains team drill, one of the only catches during that period. As I said, it was an up and down day.

4. The story for the Texans today was Brian Hoyer leading the second offense during the day. Since minicamp and OTAs when one of the two quarterbacks took snaps with the second group, it was a struggle at times. But, today, Hoyer lifted the two unit throughout the day. During the team’s first team period versus Washington’s nickel scheme, he threw a dart to Keith Mumphery for a first down. He then lofted one to Jonathan Grimes for another long gain.

5. Later during an 11-on-11 Move the Chains drill, Hoyer threw a bomb down the field and couldn’t have thrown it any better. I mean he dropped a dime right into the hands of EZ Nwachukwu. Unfortunately, EZ couldn’t squeeze it and make the catch. But, the positive was the deep ball accuracy of Hoyer. That ball was just brilliantly thrown down the field. Other than the goal line fade, Hoyer threw to DeAndre Hopkins on Thursday here in Richmond, that deep ball was perhaps the best throw I’ve seen him make. Trust me, that ball should’ve been caught.

6. During the team’s goal line session, the first offense struggled a bit and Hoyer needed to get the twos in the end zone to get some momentum to end practice. On the team’s second play from inside the ten, Hoyer stood in the pocket and found Jaelen Strong in the end zone. He lasered one to Strong, hitting him between the one and the one for a much needed end to the goal line drill.

7. While Mallett and Hoyer faced the Redskins’ nickel unit, the Texans nickel unit took on the Redskins offense. I didn’t get to see too many reps as they were all the way down the field but I saw a couple of excellent throws by RGIII, combined with a scramble out of bounds. A Colt McCoy throw later in the drill led to perhaps the hardest hit of the day. McCoy couldn’t find a downfield receiver, so he checked it down to his closest receiver. POW...Texans OLB Jason Ankrah delivered a massive hit on the receiver right as he caught the ball.

8. I’ve said this before, I can’t stand how often players I love in college end up on opposing teams. I mentioned Jamison Crowder yesterday but another guy that I didn’t get to see yesterday that I was a huge fan of in college was former Florida runner Matt Jones. He’s an absolute load and he ran the ball hard all day long. In fact, he introduced himself to Texans corner Kevin Johnson and by introduced, I mean, he ran KJ flat over right in front of the Redskins’ vets. They went nuts and got all in KJ’s face about it, in a sportsman’s way of course.

9. After radio, the first part of practice that I was able to truly watch was pass rush 1-on-1s. I eschewed watching 7-on-7 so I could focus on the Texans’ pass rushers against Trent Williams and company. Jared Crick continued his strong week of work. He had a really quality day rushing on Thursday but was even better on Friday against the Redskins OL. His hand usage, placement and quickness are all improved and it’s really paid off in much more effective and efficient pass rush.

10. But, the real winners to me during that drill though were two rookies - Christian Covington and Dan Pettinato. Covington, the former Rice University product, is going to be a steal in the sixth round, mark my words. On the first rep that I saw when I walked up, he completely ran flat right over a Washington OL to get to the QB. Over the next four or five reps, Covington won each and every rep and was, without question, the winner of the drill. He won with a variety of different techniques but when he started the drill by running over a Washington OL, it gave him some serious confidence.

11. Pettinato had a couple of reps where he just blew past the Redskins’ offensive line. His quickness won out and that’s his game. He’s not the biggest player but he’s relentless and never stops hunting the quarterback. His quickness though starred in that pass rush drill and he truly flashed.

12. Chris Neild returned to face his former Washington teammates and flashed a couple of good moments. He’s so difficult to move off the ball and he had a pass rush rep or two in which his power won out substantially. His game isn’t about rushing the quarterback but it was good to see him dominate that drill a couple of times.

(more at link)

[Warren]

Wow: https://vine.co/v/ewpAWpU0OEE

[Arky]

Originally Posted by Warren

Wow: https://vine.co/v/ewpAWpU0OEE

Sumo!

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16 Observations: Day 3 Texans vs. Washington

With no radio on Saturday to keep me from watching practice, I was jacked up beyond belief to see the Texans tangle with the Redskins. Little did I, or many others, realize that they would literally tangle four separate times. The practice fights heard around the globe, or so it seemed, ended the joint practice sessions between the two teams and put them on separate fields for the rest of the rainy Saturday workout. The fights may have muddied up the Saturday practice, but I still walked away with a few observations from today’s slugfest, errr, practice.

I’ll get to the four different skirmishes as I saw a couple of them up close and personal, but before that it was clear that these two teams had seen enough of one another. All of this had been building since early on day one.

The first drill of the day was one-on-ones with four different quarterbacks throwing on the four different ends of the field. I watched Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer throw to their receivers against the Washington defensive backs.

1. WR EZ Nwachukwu had, more than likely, the best period of his three days up in Richmond. The first rep I saw of his, he shook a Redskin DB and headed to the back pylon in the end zone. Mallett dropped a gem at the back corner of the scoring area, right in front of me and Nwchukwu held on to the wet pigskin. I was feet away from him when it happened and he was stoked that he made the catch.

2. The Redskins DBs were extremely physical during that drill and won a number of different reps against the Texans WRs. They didn’t stop all of the Texans’ receivers, though. One receiver that has flown under the radar and continues to have solid workouts is Keshawn Martin. He made a Redskins DB miss badly on him in the back of end zone on a TD catch in one-on-ones. He also had a couple of catches in team drills later in the workout.

3. The one receiver that has been like Circle K, always open 24/7, is Nate Washington. The former Steeler/Titan has fit right in with this Houston squad and is definitely a security blanket for the quarterbacks. He let one slip through his hands on 1-on-1s but he must have made six or seven catches during drills the rest of the day, all at different spots/levels on the field.

4. Once the joint team drills started, the powderkeg was ready to blow. I was down near field two where the Texans offense faced the Redskins defense. Af first, it seemed innocuous and wet but nothing seemed to be afoot. Then, rookie tight end Khari Lee made an outstanding catch. He was crossing the deep intermediate area of the field and the ball was thrown behind him. Now, at this point the rain was falling heavily and plenty of receivers had balls go through their hands. Even RB Alfred Blue had fumbled on the first play of team drills. Anyhow, after the catch, the Texans’ offensive guys started cheering for Lee and congratulating him on the catch. At that point, Ben Jones and Redskins DT Chris Baker got into each other’s face and the first “discussion” of the day started.

5. Watching that unfold, it didn’t seem like anything sinister, but not ten seconds later, I looked over to field one and there were Texans defenders running to a mosh pit in the middle of field one. Many of you have seen the ESPN video of Vince Wilfork destroying a Redskins OL and pushing him right back into the Redskins RB. What some couldn’t see was a Redskins offensive player pushing LB Max Bullough right in the back. Bullough didn’t take kindly to the shove and turned around to tell that player just that. Many of the Texans were running off the field when the Redskins player then threw hands at Bullough and it was on. Wilfork and J.J. Watt turned right back around and jumped into the fray. They weren’t alone. It was a mob scene. Wilfork, though, didn’t take kindly at all to the Redskins antics. More on him in a bit.

6. Once both fields got calm again, the two teams went back to work. The Texans run game picked up some nice gains with Chris Polk and Kenny Hilliard registering a couple of solid runs. On Hilliard’s last run, he barreled over a Redskins defender. Now, every run that I saw from Hilliard v. the Redskins this week finished nearly the exact same way - the former LSU product sending a message to any Redskin defender that dare tackle him. Well, the Redskins two defensive backs in the vicinity didn’t take kindly to that action and threw Hilliard to the turf. That incensed Texans OT Aaron Adams who then sprinted down the field and hammered the defensive back which set off the third fight of the day.

7. Four or five Redskins had Jaelen Strong in a head lock, while a few of the Texans OL ran down the field and dropped the People’s Elbow on a Redskins defender.

8. Just prior to that fight in front of us, on field one, Texans DB Kevin Johnson tackled a Redskins ball carrier down low and that angered the Redskins WR. So, yep, you guessed it, the Texans D and Redskins O went at it again, only to be distracted by the fight on field two that we had going on in front of us.

9. Honestly, I’ve seen training camp fights for years but nothing ever like this. However, as Coach O’Brien noted after practice, it’s training camp football, things happen. And, it did. This, though, had been brewing as I mentioned due in large part to the animosity between the Texans DB/WR and Redskins WR/DB. The first day set the tone and neither team was ready to step down in any way, shape or form.

10. One thing I heard a Redskins player say later was that the Texans were attacking the run drill a little too aggressively. Not sure there is such a thing - it’s football, by gosh. But, when Bullough got slugged in the head, the second year inside linebacker didn’t let that slide. I hadn’t really seen the interior guys get into it much over the three days but they certainly did on Saturday.

(more at link)