Training camp 2015

[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.

[Arky]

Video - Clowney speaks

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14 observations from Monday's #TexansCamp

John Harris
Texans Analyst

As Sunday was a day off for the squad, many players squeezed in a trip to the movies, got some rest or got much needed sleep. Or in Christian Covington’s case got some Game of Thrones reading done. But, the time off was much too short as the team got back on the field on Monday in shorts and jerseys, welcoming back a couple of familiar faces on each side of the ball.

Here are a few things from today’s workout.

1. Everyone had been anticipating the arrival of OLB Jadeveon Clowney and by everyone, I mean nearly every TV and Hard Knocks camera followed his every move during the early part of practice. Honestly, I didn’t think I’d see this day when it was announced in November that he was having microfracture surgery. But, consider the work he put in to get back to this point and the work that Geoff Kaplan and his training staff to motivate JD to keep pushing himself. It all paid off to get him back into camp at this point. But, it’s going to be slow going and that’s by the team’s design. JD feels ready but as I’ve said a few times, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, so he’ll get the call in due time.

2. He wasn’t the only one to return to the practice field today. Akeem Dent worked out with the team for the first time since the win over the Jags in early January 2015. A lower leg injury kept him out of workouts until today and his return only serves to muddy up the ILB waters. In a good way, of course. So, Clowney and Dent returned on Monday; it was a good day.

3. Not to be left behind, the offense saw the return of Ryan Griffin to the tight end group. He had a stellar week of practice prior to getting nicked up in Richmond, so here’s hoping that he can pick right up where he left off.

4. I noted in my game observations that the 49ers long run of the night was unfortunate, but correctable. One aspect that I know riled up secondary coach John Butler was that the receiver cracked on the safety and it appeared that safety Eddie Pleasant had no idea it was coming. Sure as shootin’, what was the first thing I heard today when the Texans defense did their walkthrough this morning? “CRACK!” Audible and heard all the way to the sideline where we were standing. Message. Received.

5. Players throughout time have made the transition from being a special team stalwart to key offensive or defensive contributor. As such, the special teams reps often get pushed off to another player. Not so for Alfred Blue. He’s the first guy in line for all the special teams reps, even though if the season started tomorrow, he’d be the starting running back. As a former coach, I notice little things like that and love it.

6. Standing near the end zone, watching practice with former Texas A&M and Dallas Cowboy great Dat Nguyen, quarterback Ryan Mallett dropped an absolute dime right in front of us to Damaris Johnson, with Kevin Johnson draped all over him. Dat is visiting from San Antonio where he co-hosts the afternoon show on our ESPN San Antonio affiliate with Jason Mannix. As such, this was his first look at the quarterbacks and he remarked after that throw what a gem that was. I look forward each year to get to watch practice with Dat to hear what he thinks. He was impressed with Mallett today.

7. I looked down during 1-on-1s with RB and linebackers and as soon as I did, Chris Polk made a one hand catch and made it look easy. The linebacker covering him, I can’t recall, I think it was Max Bullough perhaps, just stared at him as if to say “you didn’t just do that, did you?”

8. Rookie Kevin Johnson flashed a few good moments on Saturday night and his confidence seems to be growing by the day. He had multiple pass break ups on the day and his breaks on the ball were outstanding. He ran a few routes for the receivers and it seems he brings his juice to the ballyard every single day. He never seems to be at a loss for energy and excitement.

9. Kourtnei Brown’s performance on Saturday night will make him a guy to watch in camp this week. He got the coaches attention and it appeared his confidence shot through the roof.

(more at link)

[Keith]

Originally Posted by WMH

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

I'm not sure this can be understated if the rest of camp for Clowney proceeds accordingly. This franchise has often over-promised and under-delivered on injured players. Clowney is returning from a serious surgery, and it still remains to be seen how close he can return to pre-injury form, but this is at least beyond encouraging for our otherwise justifyingly cynical fanbase.

[WMH]

Originally Posted by Keith

I'm not sure this can be understated if the rest of camp for Clowney proceeds accordingly. This franchise has often over-promised and under-delivered on injured players. Clowney is returning from a serious surgery, and it still remains to be seen how close he can return to pre-injury form, but this is at least beyond encouraging for our otherwise justifyingly cynical fanbase.

Yep. Watched some videos on the website of him cutting during some drills. Didn't look limited at all.

[barrett]

The biggest thing to me is I know how hard he must have worked in his rehab. That work ethic and maturity was a question mark for him. Even though he will likely never be the same athletically, he may be a similar player from the personal growth and increased ability to work.

[Arky]

23 observation's from Tuesday's #TexansCamp

John Harris
Texans Analyst

It’s another Hard Knocks Tuesday, but more importantly Tuesday was essentially the middle of training camp. It’s ALL downhill from here, right? Well, not really, there’s a lot of work still on the docket with two weeks and change remaining.

Here are some observations from Tuesday’s full pads practice.

1. Coach O'Brien started the day with a “going out” drill. The ball was placed inside the offense’s five-yard line as it was forced to maneuver. Hoyer, taking first team reps today, hit Cecil Shorts for a short gain and following a five yard run from Alfred Blue, Hoyer hit his fullback Jay Prosch for a first down. The offense looked efficient against a strong rush from the front seven on D.

2. When Ryan Mallett took over on offense, he hit Damaris Johnson in stride. That was where the good start ended as following a false start, Coach O'Brien colorfully told his 2nd team offense to “take a lap.”

3. Tom Savage made a couple of accurate throws leading to a 1st down but it appeared that the slow start frustrated Coach O’Brien and the staff. That would change throughout the rest of the day as the team picked up the intensity and execution.

4. During individual drills, rookie defensive tackle Christian Covington consistently flashed with effort and intensity. There’s rarely a time when he isn’t going all out at every time.

5. During 1-on-1s, safety Eddie Pleasant was all over Garrett Graham, doing a great job of limiting him in the open field. Graham did bounce back with a catch on a well-executed pivot route.

6. One guy who consistently covers the tight ends better than anyone else is former Georgia safety Corey Moore. He locked up Graham on one rep and ended up with a pass break up against the guy that rarely has been covered in training camp.

7. Later in the 1-on-1 drills, Ryan Griffin, who was healthy after missing about a week of practice, ran a pristine route for a big gain. I was also really impressed with rookie Khari Lee who, again, made a few nice catches; he’s been improving a little bit each day.

8. With each and every opportunity in training camp, C.J. Fiedorowicz is flashing in the passing game. He made a great grab on a back shoulder fade down the perimeter and has gotten open consistently.

9. Chris Polk impressed with a catch against Benardrick McKinney that went for a TD. Polk, though, didn’t get everyone. A moment later Polk had a pass broken up by Bullough way downfield.

10. During pass rush 1-on-1s, ILB Benardrick McKinney blew through like a house of fire on one of his interior rushes to get easily to the quarterback dummy. No, the QB isn’t a dummy, the dummy that was in place of the QB. RB Jonathan Grimes had perhaps one of the best reps of the day as he did a GREAT job on Cushing.

11. Jadeveon Clowney finally got to put pads on for the first time since November 2014. He didn’t do any team or group stuff, but he got the chance to lock horns with TE C.J. Fiedorowicz in 1-on-1 run blocking drills. He held up against the Texans best blocking tight end. The power. The leverage. The knee bend. All there. He got two reps against C.J. and that was all, but it’s just wetting the appetite for later in training camp. Tantalizing to say the least.

12. During 7-on-7 drills, Graham looked really strong with some nice catches all over the field from Brian Hoyer. He broke multiple tackles and came down with some 50/50 balls. He continued his assault on the intermediate areas of the defense.

(more at link)

[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.

[Arky]

31 observations from Wednesday's #TexansCamp

John Harris
Texans Analyst

We finally reached THAT stage in training camp. I call it Groundhog Day: Training Camp style. It feels like we’ve done this all before. Practice. Sun. Interviews. Observations. Rinse, lather and repeat, right? It also means that the regular season is one day closer and, more importantly in the interim, Saturday night vs. the Broncos is right around the corner. Or, so it seems. The team was in full pads again on Wednesday in front of another loyal and loud crew of fans. So, here are some observations from the day’s work.

1. The Texans signed two players prior to Wednesday’s workout - former Texan Quintin Demps is now a current Texan and former Colt Fili Moala was signed to the defensive line. Rookie TE Mike McFarland was placed on IR.

2. Demps made a splash in his first workout as he made an outstanding interception late in practice on a goal-line drill. He shared kickoff return duties during practice. He had four interceptions each of the past two seasons with Kansas City and New York, respectively.

3. An intriguing story line on Tuesday night’s Hard Knocks episode was Charles James talking with rookie safety Corey Moore. James’ passion for playing the game was evident, but his point to Moore was, essentially, that Moore needed to communicate with him consistently. James implored Moore to work better together. It was, to me, one of the most important moments of Hard Knocks. Of course, one of the first things I heard on the practice field today was secondary coach John Butler yelling out “TALK!” to his players. It was a point Bill O’Brien made to me at halftime with mostly young players on defense in the second half; he wanted to hear them communicate and talk to one another.

4. Today was Ryan Mallett’s day with the first offensive group and he started the day strong. He dropped a beautiful dime in the back of the end zone for a TD early in practice and a few of his other touch throws on the day were on the money.

5. When Mallett and the offense were backed up in the “going out” drill, he threw two darts - one to TE C.J. Fiedorowicz and one to Cecil Shorts III. That got the ball out of the shadow of their own goal line and a definitive win for the offense.

6. Brian Hoyer’s first throw out of the end zone was a check down to J.L. Grimes in the flat and he was met by ILB Akeem Dent, who has been back in practice this week. Dent let up just a bit at the last minute but, in the game, it would’ve been a highlight hit for sure.

7. The NFL is a different beast than any other level of football, but it’s amazing, even comforting in some sense, to hear this coaching staff harp on some of the most basic aspects of football. One in particular is the ability to play low. Starting in Pop Warner football as a seven-year-old, players hear all the time “low man wins.” That doesn’t change at any level, but I heard three different defensive coaches, within minutes of one another, all mention “pad level”, “bend your knees”, “play lower”.

8. This isn’t a cut and paste from the past few days/weeks, but Garrett Graham is still open. However, I did see someone finally stop Graham - Brian Cushing. The team’s ILB locked up Graham as he started across the middle and wouldn’t let him go. Graham tried to break free to no avail. That’s about the only way anyone’s been able to cover Graham.

9. Speaking of Cushing, he also had a pass break-up as he covered TE Ryan Griffin out in the flat. Oh, this was after Cushing threw up his breakfast during the team’s individual period. I guess he doesn’t agree with JJ Watt and Vince Wilfork that breakfast is the best meal of the day. As a side note, there’s no debate that breakfast or brunch is the best meal of the day. Anyone that wants to argue with me...well, take it up with my muscle - Watt and Wilfork.

10. Speaking of Griffin, later in the same 1-on-1 drill, he ran a go route on a safety up the sideline and made a fingertip catch in the North end zone. I hope we get to see a significant amount of Griffin on Saturday vs. the Broncos.

11. Blitz pickup has quietly become one of my favorite drills to watch in camp and not just because there’s a chance of a Cushing-Alfred Blue tete-a-tete. But, there’s serious competition between the RB and the ILB. The first rep of that drill, rookie LB Benardrick McKinney came screaming through and WHAM...he got met and stoned on the spot by Blue.

12. One rookie that has made steady improvement is TE Khari Lee. I’ve mentioned him the past few days and he continues to impress. It’s a difficult position to try to make this roster but the rookie has put some quality tape together lately. He ran a double move as a perimeter receiver today and just roasted one of the defensive backs. His blocking has improved to a point where TE coach John Perry is finding positive things to say about it as opposed to earlier in training camp.

(more at link)

[WMH]

Jayson Braddock ‏@JaysonBraddock 7m7 minutes ago
Arian Foster Update:

Arian has been in Houston working out & expectations are for him to return to the field in some facet by week 2-4.

[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.

[Arky]

Originally Posted by 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.

Ankrah is a bit of surprise (to me). I think the next batch of cuts (post Dallas game) have better odds to get a practice squad offer....

[Nconroe]

Originally Posted by Arky

Ankrah is a bit of surprise (to me). I think the next batch of cuts (post Dallas game) have better odds to get a practice squad offer....

Im sure a bunch more surprises coming. Perhaps some of these guys to practice squad.

[Nconroe]

Seems pretty competitive at LB,

Getting to 75, on profootballscout saw this. One of the four transactions, the release of punter****Will Johnson****was reported****yesterday****after the club made its first series of cuts.

Here, via Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link), are the Texans’ other four moves:

Cut:

LB****Jeff Tarpinian

Waived/injured:

TE****Anthony DenhamS****Terrance Parks

Placed on reserve/non-football illness list:

T****David Quessenberry

[Arky]

John McClain ‏@McClain_on_NFL · 1h1 hour ago
Texans trade TE Khari Lee to Chicago for a sixth-round pick in 2017.

Texans have depth at TE including youngster Mike McFarlane on IR so, good deal, IMO....

[Nconroe]

Yeah, Khari looked pretty good.

Wonder if a CB or WR or LB or RB or DL might get traded as well.

[WMH]

Originally Posted by Nconroe

Yeah, Khari looked pretty good.

Wonder if a CB or WR or LB or RB or DL might get traded as well.

Not sure if it was real or not, but it seemed like Smith was trying to push a ILB on Elway in the Clark trade.

[HPF Bob]

Sounds like we're going to be a busy team in the 6th and 7th rounds next year. We added a pick from the Rams for Keenum. We added a pick from the Jets for Fitzpatrick. We now have a pick from the Bears for Lee. We traded a pick to Denver for Clark. Not really keeping track but I would think we'll add a low comp pick or two. Don't nap on the last day of the draft.

[Nconroe]

Found this unconfirmed cuts, on Chron, tough day, see who gets picked up elsewhere or practice squad

The Texans cut veteran defensive lineman Louis Nix III and Tevita Finau, according to sources with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.

Nix is a third-round draft pick from Notre Dame who spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve.

Nix had displayed improvement this year in terms of health, conditioning and his play, but rookie defensive tackle Christian Covington had outplayed him in terms of productivity and is more mobile.

The Texans also cut seventh-round rookie running back Kenny Hilliard.

Hilliard is a physical, bruising runner, but hadn’t been very elusive or able to consistently break tackles at this level to gain extra yards after contact.

The Texans also have also released**** veteran defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick and return specialist Damaris Johnson, according to sources.

Deaderick had dealt with injuries earlier in training camp, but he is healthy now. Johnson being released bodes well for fifth-round wide receiver Keith Mumphery, who also returns kicks.

Finau had a solid preseason, but he also lost outside contain on some long runs.

Finau is a 6-5, 288-pound former Utah player.

He has had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.

The Texans also released outside linebacker Kourtnei Brown.

Brown had gamely battled for a roster spot and led the Texans with three sacks during the preseason.

He also had some breakdowns as a run-stopper, including not setting the edge on a long touchdown run by Edwin Baker against the New Orleans Saints.

The Texans also cut offensive lineman Matt Feiler and safety Corey Moore.

Moore is expected to join the Texans’ practice squad if he clears waivers.

****