Training Camp 2018

[Arky]

Training Camp 2018 begins tomorrow.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Texans place 4 on PUP list.

RB D'Onta Foreman
CB Jermaine Kelly, Jr.
T Martinas Rankin
TE Jevoni Robinson

In addition, the Texans have placed S Andre Hal on the Active/Non-Football Illness list.

[Keith]

Not feeling optimistic about Foreman's readiness for the regular season. Hope I'm wrong.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by Keith

Not feeling optimistic about Foreman's readiness for the regular season. Hope I'm wrong.

Yeah, those achilles are bad news.

Have to say this has been one fast off-season. I got totally away from football and found other things to do. Didn't even think about football. It made the off-season fly by and I think I will probably do it again next year....

[Arky]

Some Harris stuff:

-- Man, it was great to see J.J. Watt back in action...and Deshaun Watson...and Nick Martin...and D.J. Reader...and Whitney Mercilus...and Christian Covington. That’s a lot of firepower that was lost to injury last year.

-- Watt looked like he hasn’t missed one minute in the weight room and I can’t wait to see him bangin’ in pads on Saturday.

-- One thing I noticed studying free agent signee interior lineman Zach Fulton was his strength. There were no pads on today, but I saw him take a Texans linebacker and literally shove him ten feet by the pile as if it were nothing.

-- I didn’t see many dropped passes on Thursday at all, which when I think back a few years, that was a real issue.

-- Loved seeing the coaches challenge the linebackers/safeties/cornerbacks during one-on-ones forcing them to cover with no use of hands/collision. That’s as challenging a drill as can be for cover guys to rely solely on read/react/redirect skills.

-- Running back Alfred Blue’s pass receiving skills seem to have improved every single year in the NFL and he made a couple of slick catches during the one-on-one/seven-on-seven periods.

-- Linebackers had a ton of trouble slowing down running back Lamar Miller in pass periods.

-- Still trying to get used to a few number changes. Tyler Ervin is now #21. Dee Virgin is Ervin’s old #34. Seantrel Henderson is wearing #76, which was worn for nearly a decade by Duane Brown.

-- Rookie receiver Keke Coutee has some serious next level quickness and speed, but his best overall trait might be his gluesticks for hands. He really snatches the football no matter where it’s thrown to him.

-- Tyrann Mathieu is a Texan. Tyrann Mathieu is a Texan...maybe if I keep repeating myself, it’ll sink in more and more. The star safety has such excellent instincts, whether it’s cutting off a route in coverage or reading the QB/playing the middle of the field in zone coverage.

[barrett]

I'm happy just to see posts around here.

It's a huge bummer Foreman is hurt. I'd love to see him take the job by season's end. We are right out of the 1990s paying premium money for above average RB production.

[Arky]

Day 2

More sunshine from John Harris:

-- I love seeing new drills from different positions/groups. There was one that I’ve never seen in all my years of football - a toss/bootleg drill between the quarterbacks and running backs. It was brilliant from the quarterbacks and running backs.

-- Rookie receiver Keke Coutee made a pair of grabs, including a DeAndre Hopkins Toe Drag Swag type catch, during team drills. His hands are just outstanding.

-- Fellow slot receiver Bruce Ellington made another couple of catches down the field on Friday as defensive backs struggled to cover him deep in the secondary.

-- A few of the defensive veterans relished the challenge of covering the team’s rookie tight ends - Jordan Akins and Jordan Thomas - during drills. They, in particular linebacker Benardrick McKinney, had some success early, but Akins went down the seam later in practice and hauled in a beauty and the chatter seemed to stop at that point.

-- First play of 7-on-7, Watson hit Hopkins on an out route to the sideline. Pitch. Catch. Toe Drag...it’s like they’ve doing that for years.

-- Rookie receiver Jester Weah adjusted to a deep throw from Brandon Weeden during 7-on-7, making a sliding catch. He just has to be more consistent catching everything thrown his way.

-- There’s a comfort in having Tyrann Mathieu at safety for this defense. He had a pass breakup on the first play of team in the red zone.

-- Down in the red zone, after a few stops by the defense, Watson lasered one to Jordan Akins. The defensive back seven looked at each other afterwards like “nothing we could do.” They were right.

-- We can talk all we want about receiver Will Fuller’s speed, but he’s a much more accomplished route runner than anyone likes to discuss. Yes, his speed helps sell those routes, but very few utilize that speed properly on their routes.