Training Camp 2018

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

As is invariably the case, barrett and I are in lock step agreement on this. It's unbelievable, really, that I can side with McNeck on anything, and admittedly his insistence on choir boys over the years is something I have belittled from time to time, but it sure looks more defensible now, doesn't it, that the Astros have traded for a vicious wife-beater and are parading around acting like their "due diligence" somehow mitigates the shame of having some piece of shit like that on the team.

At least the players aren't buying it.

I love the Astros more than any other sports team or organization and they have an incredibly likable team. But I hope that once the facts come out about the incident, Verlander publicly destroys the organization for this shameful trade. He has the stature to do it.

And I guess I'll focus on the Texans right now. I don't always love the on field product or the front office/ownership, but Deshaun Watson and JJ Watt are pretty fantastic humans (and countless other Texans).

[Arky]

Harris' notes - Aug 1:

......................

-- Tight end MyCole Pruitt had a safety attached to his hip yet still made a tremendous catch for a touchdown during one-on-one drills against the safeties.

-- Rookie safety Justin Reid had a pass breakup on the final play of the one-on-one drill as he covered fellow rookie Jordan Akins. Reid had to stay with Akins all the way across the field on a deep crossing route. It’s not a route that safeties like to cover, nor are they successful doing it. Yet, Reid handled it beautifully.

-- One of the toughest parts of training camp for any offense is the familiarity the defense has with what the offense does regularly. Case in point, in team drills, linebacker Dylan Cole recognized a formation just prior to the snap during a team drill. He pointed to the spot where he knew the ball was going and ran right to the spot to help on the tackle.

-- Now, it does go both ways, but defenses are more apt to take advantage at this point in training camp. It’s not cheating, but if it helped me get an “attaboy” from the coaches, I was all about it. Offenses didn’t like it much, though, and still don’t.

-- One of my favorite plays on the day didn’t seem like much on the surface until I drilled down a little further. Quarterback Brandon Weeden had his unit at the line of scrimmage, ready for the snap. Just prior to, he sent a guy in motion to the other side of the field. When he did the defense shifted and rookie safety Justin Reid showed as if he were going to rush the edge. Before the ball was snapped, Weeden noticed it. He checked the protection and made sure that Reid was accounted for if he did blitz. He did and the O Line picked it up allowing Weeden to make a clean throw.

-- The communication was just so impressive during that 20-25 second time frame on both sides. Very cool to watch and listen.

-- The best catch of the day was ruled a no catch. Rookie Jester Weah made an outstanding over the shoulder catch right in front of us, landing in bounds, in the end zone. But, with no officiating crew to accurately determine complete/incomplete, it was ruled incomplete...by the defensive staff. Figures, huh?

-- Late in practice, Deshaun Watson was really dealing, especially during seven-on-seven.

-- The Texans worked some situations late in practice and will probably do some more of that this week heading into the last few days at the Greenbrier.

More to come tomorrow...hopefully, the rain will hold off long enough to get more work done. See ya then, everyone.

[Arky]

Texans just 1 week away from their first preseason game on Aug 9 at KC. Probably on ABC 13 locally. Most teams are kicking off their preseason next Thursday with a couple of games on Friday and a couple of more on Saturday.

If you need a football fix, tonight Chicago plays Baltimore in the Hall of Fame game, 7pm CST on NBC.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Arky

If you need a football fix, tonight Chicago plays Baltimore in the Hall of Fame game, 7pm CST on NBC.

I tuned in tonight and had no idea that RG3 was still alive, much less playing in the NFL. Huh.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by Keith

I tuned in tonight and had no idea that RG3 was still alive, much less playing in the NFL. Huh.

Yep, no Astro game so I'm watching (not listening, though), too. Between he, Lamar Jackson and Flacco, Baltimore seems to have it covered at QB....

[Arky]

Harris notes 8/3/18:

The heavens opened up on Friday morning and dumped oodles of rain on the Greenbrier Valley, most importantly on the Greenbrier’s Sports Performance Center.

Here is the Harris Hurry-up from a wet Friday morning practice.

-- The Texans actually worked out longer than they had in a few days. Coach Bill O’Brien noted after practice that he wanted to keep the team out in the elements to get some work in inclement weather. You never know, right?

-- The most important aspect of the day was the multiple situational work that the team did on Friday. Coach O’Brien came up with as many different situations as humanly possible. Even in the rain, the team worked through a litany of end of half, end of game or specialty situations in the downpour.

-- The first play of team drills during situations was a red zone type drill and safety Tyrann Mathieu set the tone with a key pass breakup.

-- Then, on the next play, quarterback Deshaun Watson lofted a beauty to DeAndre Hopkins in the back left corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Hopkins dragged his back foot to ensure the touchdown snag.

-- On the next play, Watson threw a dime to tight end Ryan Griffin for another touchdown. That one had the defensive back seven congregating to figure out how they let that one get to Griffin so cleanly.

-- Rainy conditions are a kicker’s worst nightmare yet Kaimi Fairbairn was more accurate than perhaps any other day in camp.

-- Fairbairn came up short on a couple of 57 or so yard bombs but was right on target. He hit the crossbar with one. He was a yard short on another, then he got some help from the crossbar on the last in the drill. He hit the crossbar and it propelled through the uprights.

-- I mentioned Mathieu earlier for work that he did with the first defensive crew. Later in practice, he actually stepped in on the scout team and recovered an onside kick. I love watching that dude every day because he loves this game.

-- The rest of the workout was specialized situational work that didn’t really provide much in the way of information. Fairbairn did end the day with a “game winning” field goal, which was fun to see from a distance. As he made contact with the ball, water flew everywhere, spinning with the ball as it went through the air.

-- At the end of practice, the Texans turned into a bunch of young kids. The linebackers and defensive linemen took off for some standing water on the field near us and turned it into a slip and slide. The offense did the same on the far field. Nothing like a bunch of professional athletes going full slip n’ slide before ending the day.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by Arky

Yep, no Astro game so I'm watching (not listening, though), too. Between he, Lamar Jackson and Flacco, Baltimore seems to have it covered at QB....

I have no idea if Jackson will be a good NFL QB. He obviously has tools and produced in college. But I watched him against UH and not only did he play awful, he had a terrible attitude. He was a total hothead that reminded me of Philip Rivers. Punching the ground every time a defender dared to tackle him. Yelling at linemen. Most great QBs are Joe Cool back there and not many emotional guys succeed at the position. He got crushed in the game (like he did against most teams that matched Louisville's talent). He dominated bad teams with his legs and with a beautiful deep ball, but he was awful when pressured. It will be interesting to see what he does in NFL games. Most NFL teams have not shown a lot of creativity with mobile QBs. They try to turn them into pocket guys who can scramble on broken plays. Most NFL offenses just aren't very out of the box.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by barrett

Most NFL teams have not shown a lot of creativity with mobile QBs.

I had a dream a couple of nights ago where Deshaun just ran wild. He'd get the snap and stand there for a moment and wait for the play to unwind a bit, see his opening and just take off. It was like fun football where there's one 12 year old with the body of a 15 year old who is just miles and miles ahead of all the other kids and is almost literally a man among boys. We've all seen this, I'm sure. That was Desahaun. But it was the NFL. But it was a dream.

Speaking of dreams, how 'bout that Manziel kid, huh? I certainly hope the Cowboys don't find a way to scoop him up.