Training camp 2015

[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)

[Arky]

26 observations: #TexansCamp on Tuesday

Back to the grind, BABY!

Tuesday morning was the first practice here back in Houston since the team got back from Richmond, VA. There were no fights, perhaps unfortunately, perhaps fortunately, to add to the Hard Knocks repository but the team got in a solid day’s work under the glare of the 95 degree sun. Let’s get some observations from the day’s work.

1. Ryan Mallett spent the day with the first unit, which follows the alternating schedule the Texans coaching staff has followed from the first day of the spring. He made a few scintillating throws during practice. His best one was a launch deep downfield to Nate Washington that the former Titan/Steeler held on to for one of the best plays of the day.

2. There are times when Mallett, with his powerful arm, makes it look easy. That was true when he hit Cecil Shorts III on a slant route. Mallett split the one and the eight for an easy pitch and catch.

3. I didn’t get to see much of the initial parts of practice, but I did see some a bunch of 1-on-1 reps down in the end zone. One of those reps, I saw a pass break up by Charles James, one of the many he’s had in this training camp. He was draped on Alan Bonner in man coverage in the end zone. There was no place to throw the ball and James knocked it away at the last second.

4. One of the best breaks on the ball today was cornerback Darryl Morris on a slant route completion to EZ Nwachukwu. Brian Hoyer hit Nwachukwu on time, but Morris exploded into the fray and almost broke up the pass. I just have a feeling that Morris is going to find a way to make plays in this defense this season. I don’t know when. I don’t know how. It’s going to happen.

5. Another player in the secondary that has been fantastic is safety Eddie Pleasant. He had another strong day in coverage, forcing a pass breakup early in one-on-ones and then another one in team drills. “Eddie P” was a forgotten man by some heading into training camp, but he’s more than made his name known this summer.

6. I watched a few reps of linebackers versus running backs in one-on-one pass protection. As I looked down to the other end of the field, Justin Tuggle beat a running back and I heard linebacker coach Mike Vrabel praise Tuggle for his rep.

7. The tight ends and outside linebackers tangled again. As I walked up C.J. Fiedorowicz faced one of the young outside linebackers. After beating the outside backer off the ball, he then whipped the linebacker off the ball. Tight ends coach John Perry then remarked “kick his butt both ways.”

8. One of the best reps all day was when Whitney Mercilus and Fiedorowicz locked horns in run blocking. When it was done, both coaches Doug Colman and Perry said “GREAT battle,” and it was.

9. My man Julian Rowe-Cohen was my eyes and ears down watching the tight ends and linebackers until I could get there. Since I know the personalities a bit, it was interesting to see/hear Julian’s thoughts on the “aggressive counseling” happening down on that side of the field. There are certain players that receive more counseling than others but it goes with the territory to be honest.

10. John Simon is such a technician with his hands and it’s interesting to watch him work those hands defending the run on the edge.

11, During the tight ends/linebacker one-on-ones, I saw Chris Polk running away from one of the inside linebackers on a one-on-one pass drill. I heard some ooooohhhs and ahhhhhhs from the crowd after that one.

12. Speaking of Polk, no one had a better day than the former Philadelphia Eagle. He missed a few days of training camp but got some reps on Saturday up in Richmond, VA. Today, he was back in Houston getting a fair share of reps with Arian Foster temporarily on the shelf. He ripped off a long run down the far sideline on a run during a true scrimmage period. He caught the ball well out of the backfield, got open in one-on-one situation and left a strong impression on most that watched Tuesday’s workout.

(more at link)

[Arky]

21 observations: #TexansCamp on Wednesday

Wednesday’s workout, at least to start, seemed to have a Hard Knocks: The Day After sort of feel, but MAN, Wednesday’s real winner was the humidity.

Nearly unbearable at times near the end of practice, Mother Nature dominated the day. Most importantly, though, what about mere mortal, human types on Wednesday?

Here are some observations from the morning workout.

1. As mentioned earlier, it was the day after the premiere of Hard Knocks and it was an action packed first episode. I was down near field three doing a radio hit in Alabama when I heard the fans cheer loudly around 25 minutes before practice. As I talked, I surmised that JJ Watt had just run on the field. Nope. Head coach Bill O’Brien. If there’s one thing that he hates more than anything else, it’s the spotlight being on him and not the team. But, the fans love his fire and appreciate a quality leader when they see one. Hard Knocks gave them the opportunity to see it front and center on Tuesday night. They’re all just finding out what I’ve known for nearly 25 years (he’s going to kill me for mentioning this at all, so I’m moving on in the name of self-preservation).

2. Of course, Watt ran on the field to a raucous ovation as well (to be expected) and left the field well after everyone had left. On the way out, he photobombed Deepi Sidhu and myself recording for Texans 360. This was after spending nearly 30 minutes with two different families on the field, talking with two young kids and playing football with one little boy. Yeah, but he’s just worried about his image (that’s a tongue in cheek blast at those that questioned his sincerity after the first episode - you know who you are).

3. Practice eventually got going and it was Brian Hoyer’s day with the ones. They started the day with an 11-on-11 “coming out” drill. The ball was placed inside the ten yard line and the offense was forced to “come out” from deep in their own territory. I missed the first reps in that bunch but I saw one of the best throws of the day. QB Ryan Mallett threw a laser backshoulder ball to the near sideline to get the drive going. There was some smoke on that ball and it was thrown in the only spot where his receiver could make the catch.

4. On the next play, Mallett looked up Jaelen Strong on the far sideline. I lost the ball in the mesh, but the next thing I saw was cornerback Darryl Morris...and the rest of the defense heading the other way for a touchdown. I believe Morris jarred the ball loose after the catch and scooped and scored to end that drill.

5. I’ve made this comment a number of times, but I’m still waiting for someone to adequately cover tight end Garrett Graham. He completely dominates LB and/or safeties when he’s running routes. The 1-on-1s are just ridiculous. It’s as if he’s playing pitch and catch with the quarterbacks with how open he gets himself downfield.

6. The one thing that stands out watching Graham is that he understands that the route is the starting point to getting open. He understands how to make subtle adjustments in his patterns to remain open and run away from defenders. The young tight ends will learn that in due time but they’re not there yet. A couple of times I saw the younger TEs beat the defender off the line of scrimmage but they then ran themselves right back into the coverage. They started open and then covered themselves. You don’t see that from Graham, in particular. When he knows a guy is beat, he never puts himself back into harm’s way. It’s just the way it is for veterans; they get it, the rookies will.

7. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the guy that’s really shone during training camp. Although TE C.J. Fiedorowicz missed some time up in Richmond versus the Redskins, he’s been outstanding in the passing game. Drew Dougherty, host of Texans TV, spied a one-handed grab and I saw a pair of catches later in practices in different spots. He also beat a linebacker to the back of the end zone for a touchdown during goal line 11-on-11.

8. He was drafted for his blocking, in some sense, and that part of his game has improved as well. He’s the one tight end that I see regularly knocking DE/OLB off the line of scrimmage in run blocking 1-on-1s. One of the best battles of the day was Fiedorowicz against John Simon. The way both fought for hand placement and position, while exerting incredible strength and push, was fascinating to watch up close.

9. Talking with a radio station in Alabama this morning, they asked about LB Benardrick McKinney. I didn’t get to see too many LB/RB reps in 1-on-1 passing game, but one I did see was the MSU rookie locking on to a running back out in the flat and forcing an incompletion. As a side note, perhaps, it was just editing but one of my favorite moments in Hard Knocks that no one will remember involved McKinney. After Washington wideout Pierre Garcon stoked the fires with some trash talk directed at the Texans defenders, in particular J.J. Watt, the very next scene showed McKinney locked up with Garcon during one of the various skirmishes that took place last Saturday. I got the impression that McKinney wasn’t too happy with Garcon’s act in front of his defense and imposed his will.

10. I’ve mentioned Jason Ankrah only in passing during my observations and that’s unfortunate because he’s definitely more comfortable in his skin as a second year player in this defense. I don’t see many tight ends that can block him in the run game - I don’t know that I remember him losing a rep to a tight end on Wednesday. His ability to rush the passer has improved as well and he’ll be a guy I’ll watch closely on Saturday night, especially with Jadeveon Clowney due to return (hopefully) soon.

(more at link)

[WMH]

Clowney made it back on the field today, without a knee brace. That's pretty impressive.

If he can get/stay healthy, man, that D has the tools to be sumthin.

[WMH]

From PFT:

Texans sign veteran defenders Quintin Demps, Fili Moala

Posted by Darin Gantt on August 19, 2015, 8:58 AM EDT
T.Y. Hilton, Quintin Demps
AP
The Texans needed to fill in some blanks with veterans, and brought back a familiar face.

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans have signed safety Quintin Demps and defensive end Fili Moala.

Demps spent three seasons with the Texans (2010-12), and played the last two years with the Chiefs and Giants. Upon leaving the Texans the first time, he turned in a pair of four-interception seasons, and gives them good depth behind Stevie Brown and Rahim Moore.

Moala, a former second-round pick of the Colts, spent last year on injured reserve with a torn ACL.

[WMH]

O-Line Depth Addressed, would expect additional shuffles on the final 53.


PDS ‏@PatDStat 3m3 minutes ago
#Texans dealing a 7th round pick for Broncos T Chris Clark (6-5, 315). Been with the Broncos since 2010. Played at Southern Mississippi.

[WMH]

John McClain ‏@McClain_on_NFL 30s31 seconds ago
Texans cut Labhart, Witzmann , White, Bonner, A Adams, Ankrah, Neild, Davis, McLeod. Cliett to IR. Five more to go.