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John Harris:

26 Training Camp Observations: Day 6 (partial)

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2. The two new players added to the roster were former Arkansas All-American punt returner Joe Adams and former Arizona State OT Brice Schwab. The latter was drafted by Carolina in 2012 after a stellar career as a Razorback but didn't make the roster. He came in for a workout on Thursday and showed well, so the Texans signed him. Schwab was undrafted coming out of Arizona State following the 2012 season but he spent 2013 with Tampa Bay and New England. The roster churn continues at all times in the NFL and there's no telling when an opportunity turns into something bigger.

3. As it pertains to Adams on the field, he is well schooled catching punts. I was standing next to Deepi Sidhu (@deepslant) watching Adams catch punts and I told her that his form was perfect, his technique was "teaching tape" worthy. Now he just has to do something with it when he does catch it.

4. Schwab's size strikes you right away. The rust was evident during drills but what he did today was much better than anything he did yesterday, if you catch my drift.

5. As Marc Vandermeer and I were doing our Texans Radio thing this morning, the QB, RB and WR were in the end zone near us running goal line routes. Each of the three quarterbacks was responsible for an eligible receiver. Someone's wires got crossed on one rep as one QB (not sure the exact guilty party but it was...wait, I should stay quiet) threw to the same receiver as the other QB. The ball nearly hit Bill O'Brien in the head. I don't think he saw it, so I hope I didn't out anyone. Maybe I should just move on...QUICKLY.

6. Great to see RB Jonathan Grimes back on the field after passing his conditioning/physical tests. Coach Bill O'Brien noted after practice that Grimes is a 3-down running back, which inherently increases his value immensely.

7. A guy that is just steady is second year WR Alec Lemon. He made a catch going across the middle in 7-on-7 and it hit me that he does that often and without fanfare.

8. Earlier in the week, I saw DE Jeoffrey Pagan seemingly struggle a bit getting away from a zone blocking OL. But today he handled that much better, defeating the zoning OL and turning him upfield back into the RB.

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13. Xavier Su'a Filo, as I mentioned earlier this week, loves contact but in pass protection, when he gets tall, doesn't drop his hips and anchor, he'll struggle. Later in practice, I saw him "sit down" a bit better and, as a result, he slowed down the pass rush of Jared Crick.

14. In a combination/stunt pass protection drill, rarely does a DL come completely clean to the quarterback, but hard working rookie Julius Warmsley did just that on his one rep during the drill.

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21. On the last team period of the day, DJ Swearinger batted down Fitzpatrick's first pass as he blitzed the team's QB. Then, the defensive backs locked down the secondary for a coverage sack on the next play. Coaches John Butler and Anthony Midget have busted tail working with that group and it's showing.

22. QB Case Keenum hit Camp Star WR EZ Nwachukwu on a three-step slant - his best throw of the day.

23. C Chris Myers was asked who he thought has played well during camp and he said without hesitation "James Ferentz". The former Iowa OL certainly doesn't look the part, a lot like Warmsley, but he's well schooled and wins more, much more, than he loses. He won't knock anyone on his backside but his pass pro technique and production have been good and he's making an impression on the players and the coaching staff.

24. OLB Jason Ankrah has been asked to do a lot during camp that he's never done before. But, he set the edge against the run for four years at Nebraska. That experience was evident when he did that exceptionally well on a zone run his way during an 11-on-11 team drill He destroyed the tight end and shut down a perimeter running lane for RB Andre Brown.

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The rest Here.

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The knock on Joe Adams was that he was having ball security issues with Carolina which forced him to spend some time in the CFL. I can say that he and fellow Razorback Dennis Johnson weren't particularly fumble prone while playing at Arkansas. I remember Adams would drop the occasional pass. Johnson wasn't really an excessive fumbler. For whatever reason, they both have had trouble in the NFL. If they get it figured out, they can help the team....

"Official" Texan moves:

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08/01/2014 The Texans have signed the following players: Joe Adams, Brice Schwab

08/01/2014 The Texans have released the following player: Trevardo Williams

08/01/2014 The Texans have waived the following player - injured: Bryan Witzmann

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We'll be watching Texan pre-season football in a week.

The Hall of Fame game is tomorrow night on the NBC, 7pm CST, Buffalo vs. NYG.

There's football the following Thursday (double-header), Friday and Saturday on the NFLN. Texans will play in the last game Saturday night, 7:30 pm CST, I surmise, on ABC Channel 13 at Arizona.

I made it out to practice this morning.

Got lucky with cool and overcast weather.

Got unlucky in that I didnt get there early so difficult to find a good viewing spot.

I did see Blue and Prosch both make good runs.

I think this from Texans website covers it much better than I could.

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/ar...77653fcf#start

Hey NConcoe, did Clowney suffer an injury at practice today ? There's been some talk along those lines.

With the new BoB Texans we will never know what happened.

O'Brien said they have him on a pitch count and were taking extra precautions with him during his "rehabbing".

I've stopped reading the team quotes because they all read the same.

He practiced hard, he is getting better every day. The team all practiced hard.....

I made it out Saturday morning too. No detailed report like the old days though... I stood in the end zone for four hours and saw little that hasn't already been said.

Our QBs suck. Savage throws a pretty ball, but he's still too new to be counted on. Fitzpatrick seems... I dunno. Like a vet that knows when to turn it up, and it wasn't Saturday morning. Nothing new about Keenum that we didn't already see last season.

Hopkins is awesome. I am very interested to see what Posey offers... color me intrigued. Mike Thomas is the slot, which means he'll see a ton of passes this year for 4 yards.

Blue is a bit interesting too. Seemed to run tall, kinda like James Starks. Need to see more. Wonder if he has a lower center of gravity.

Duane Brown looks like a return to form is on the horizon. Can't really say much else about either the OL or DL, couldn't see much.

There is still a serious lack of ILB talent with Cushing out. Reed was not in the ILB group from what I could see. Some flashes from the other no-names, but just as many ughs.

Mercilus lost contain... he's just not a 3-down player. Stop trying to make him act like one. Clowney is definitely a beast. Very excited here.

Swearinger was sharp. Hope he's ready to take the next step... looked like it Saturday.

The punter rocks. Kickers both struggled. Shocking, I know.

Another personnel swap out

Released tight end Chris Coyle who hasn't been practicing recently.

Added Bronson Irwin, a 6-4, 316 pound undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma, Seahawks released Irwin on July 29.

What position will Irwin play since those dimensions don't sound like a tight end?

I think I saw OG somewhere, probably hear more today or soon.

Saw when Irwin released Seahawks picked up our old friend, Eric Winston.

And another move on OL

The Texans claimed Sam Longo, 6-foot-5 and 305 pounds, 23 yrs, OC or OG, a UDFA out of Cincinnati, who was placed on waivers by the Miami Dolphins on Saturday.

Texans cut OT Brice Schwab from Arizona State they just picked up last week.

How about that Seattle signed Wade Smith as well as Eric Winston to their OL. Hope they both make the team.

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Originally Posted by Nconroe (Post 38437)

How about that Seattle signed Wade Smith as well as Eric Winston to their OL. Hope they both make the team.

The defending SB champ appears to have worse, maybe far worse OLine issues than we do ?

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Originally Posted by Keith (Post 38431)

Wow! I am now less optimistic then I was before reading this.

Bad QB, no ILBs, kickers that suck and Mercilus is a not a three down player.

And I'm not saying your wrong, just saying my rose colored glasses are being stepped on.

They seem to be a lot more aggressive in turning over the bottom of the roster this year. I know part of that has to be attributable to the new staff looking for guys that fit their systems, but I wonder if there's a "trickle up" motivational aspect as well -- keep the heat on the scout teamers to earn their places in camp each day in the hope of leading to more intense and competitive practices.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Warren (Post 38442)

Yes, could be. Don't recall them being this aggressive in truly improving the depth before.

The Texans have first shot on waiver wire pickups and would be foolish not to take advantage of it this year. Backups and bubble players better stay on their toes...

Quotes from Monday's training camp:

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QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
(on what the film showed) “It was, again, a disappointing performance. I thought we ran the ball well and did some good things up front, but a lot of things, the pass game starts with me, in terms of stuff we can get better at, but that’s the best way to do it, come out today, get a good practice in, get some sweat, and competitive plays out here on the field.”

(on the unfamiliarity with plays in the first preseason game) “The good thing about it is it was the first preseason game, so we’ll sit there and learn from it, but we’ve already moved on, moved forward, we made some corrections in our walkthroughs, and we’re looking forward to the next one now.”

(on being surprised by poor performance) “You never with the preseason, how it’s going to go, especially the first time out or anything, but we would have hoped to have a better showing.”

(on taking a step forward by bringing tape lessons onto field today in practice) “Yeah, it was a good day to slow it down and to look at what we did wrong and why and really get to those answers to those questions and move on from it. This whole thing is a work in progress; it’s a process where we’re kind of moving along and we’ll continue to get better and hopefully that shows leading up to the season.”

(on if a tough game like that plays with his confidence) “No I don’t think you can let it play with your confidence at all. You’ve just got to take it for what it was, learn from it, and move on. For me, that’s what I’m going to do. It was the first one, I’m disappointed, but we already moved on and we’re out here practicing, trying to get better.”.................

CB Kareem Jackson
(on mood after the game) “My mood didn’t change any. It’s a simple fact: we didn’t do what we’ve been working on all camp. Defensively, we didn’t get off of the field on third down, we made some fundamental errors, and we didn’t execute.”

(on mistakes being more mental than physical) “I think more mental and somewhat physical, but that’s just all what it boils down to. We’ve just got to go out and do what we’ve been practicing all week.”

(on the rule changes affecting a defensive backs’ game) “No, as a player, you’ve just got to go out and play, you can’t think about the rules every play. You’ve just got to go and play, if they’re going to throw the flags, they’re going to throw them. You can’t sit and think about that every play and not put your hands on receivers. You just have to go out and play.”...................

G/T Xavier Su’a-Filo
(on what coaches said they liked that he did and didn’t like) “We haven’t really talked about it yet but there are some good and bad things. I think overall we wish the outcome would have been different but I can only control what I do and make sure I’m doing my job for the offensive line and for the offense, so that’s about it.”

(on what he would like to improve going into this week) “Keying in on specific details just making sure I’m that much more focused and tuned in on each play. In the NFL, there are a lot of different things that you can’t get away with in the league and people catch you or body language looks different kind of things that you really have to be in tune because it’s the NFL and good players want to play against good people.”

(on when he realized he could play in the NFL) “Yeah, it was awesome. I really just tried to come out and treat it like another day of practice but obviously it was a game and got to go execute. I just wanted to try to execute the best that I could and earn the respect of my teammates.”

More here.

Brown, Cornett and Johnson were released.

@MarkBermanFox26: Texans agreed to terms with running backs Ronnie Brown and William Powell.

I just wonder if this will happen to several position groups or guys will get time to improve?

And team just activated nose tackle Louis Nix III to start easing back into shape after recent orthroscopic knee surgery. hopefully he will help Dline quite a bit once regular season underway.

30 Training Camp Observations: Day 13

Worth a look just for the video of Rick Smith doing the ice-bucket challenge.....