Texans camp report (1 Viewer)

Edit: Added an August 4th camp update as post #12.

Went to the 8:30 Texans training camp. Here's my impression of what I saw. If the forecast thunderstorms stay away I'll probably go to the 3:30pm practice and update this post with it later, so check back tonight if you're interested.

QB

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Schaub looked about as expected. Fairly accurate. Decent timing with the receivers though there's maybe still a little room for improvement. Once or twice I thought he got rid of the ball late, and one time in particular he would have been leveled by Okoye and another DL if it were a real game.

Rosenfels, Van Pelt, and Zabransky didn't particularly impress me. Rosenfels was ok but not great.

RB

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Green and Dayne alternated with the first team. Lundy and Gado alternated with the 2nd and 3rd string. I didn't see Chris Taylor at all, don't think he dressed. Lundy also was playing special teams on the punt return team, as a guy rushing the punter, not as a returner.

I couldn't really give any of the RBs a big nod over the others. Most of the time they either had gaping holes or I thought they'd have been brought down immediately. Lundy did impress me with his cutback ability, though on the same play I was most impressed it looked like Kubiak told him he chose the wrong hole, so take my being impressed with appropriate salt.

WR

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AJ looked like you expect AJ to look. He had little problem getting open even against Dunta. Walters got pretty much every snap as WR2. McCardell and Jacoby Jones seemed to me to get the most snaps with the 2nd string. On at least one play I noted McCardell lined up in the slot with the 1st string. McCardell looked as good out there to me as Walters did. Jones had a nice catch or two, though I don't know that he was consistently getting open.

Jerome Mathis dressed and was in on some plays during 7-on-7, though I'm not sure he practiced the entire time. I can't recall him being in on the 11 on 11 drills. He had a great catch on a post pattern in the 7-on-7. Andre Davis was the biggest deep threat of the day, with a great deep catch in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 both. Bethel Johnson had a bad practice, twice it looked like he was confused or ran the wrong route, one of which drew a chewing out from Kubiak for lack of effort ("we don't walk around out there!").

edit to add: Was just thinking back, and I think Mathis may have been more involved in the 11-on-11 than I originally recalled, as I forgot the last pass of the day looked like it was a deep one to him.

TE

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Bruener and Daniels alternated with the 1st string, Putzier and the guys trying to make the team alternated on 2nd and 3rd string. Other than AJ, Daniels had the most impressive practice if you ask me. A lot of balls were thrown his way. Putzier was the 2nd best TE in the receiving game, go figure. Daniels had a great block on a weakside sweep where he'd motioned back to the fullback position in a strong-I. Beat the RB to the weak side and sealed the line and freed the RB to make the turn for a big game.

DL

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Didn't focus as much on the defense today, so only a little to add. I didn't even notice Okoye on the field until midway through the 11-on-11, so he wasn't showing up as a force by any means. Mario wasn't proving to be a beast yet, on the only plays I really focused on him much, Jordan Black seemed to handle him ok. No Weaver that I saw, 3rd year DE Earl Cochran was working with the first team. Anthony Maddox was the other 1st team DT. Travis Johnson was with the 2nd team. The standout DL to me was 3rd year DT Tim Bulman, a 3rd year player out of BC. Though playing DT, he was consistently getting upfield or being the guys chasing down the QB on the bootleg. Though he was playing against the 3rd string, so don't go picking him up as an IDP.

LB

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I really didn't pay much attention the linebacking this time, couldn't even tell you who was on which string, sorry.

DB

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I think my off-season fears this will be another long-year for the Texans secondary are looking right on track. It wasn't a particularly impressive performance overall. Not a lot of offensive passes hit the ground. 2nd string safety Von Hutchins had a pick and I thought a nice play or two, though other times I thought he was slow to react to the run. Rookie corner Fred Bennett looked decent, had a nice pass defend on a poorly thrown deep ball, and had a pick.

Overall impression:

Really, it's too early to draw a lot of conclusion from any of this, short of perhaps who was working out with which team, but I could easily see that changing. Kubiak, like Shanahan, is very willing to reshuffle the depth chart. I'd say guys to keep an eye on are the WRs, particularly Walters, McCardell, Jones and A. Davis, and how the rotation continues to go at RB.

I have no one from the Texans roster on my fantasy teams and probably won't. I really don't care to follow any information about the Texans either, that being said this was a nice write up from you, good job.

You gained my interest

Don't have much to add from the afternoon camp. Had a poor spot to view the action from, and the players went inside to practice in the bubble after an hour and fifteen minutes due to lightning.

Bethel Johnson did better, got open a couple of times on deep routes including one juggling catch where he must have covered 15 yards between the time he first touched it and when he finally got control. Andre Davis had a couple of nice catches again. Jacoby Jones got quite a few targets on the 2nd string. I was watching him more closely than this morning and he was getting a great jump off the line. If the QBs were getting him the ball on time he'd have had even more catches.

Overall though it was a crappy performance. A lot more bad passes and bad choices, especially by the 3rd and 4th string QBs, Van Pelt and Zabransky. Throwing deep into double coverage, that kind of thing.

It looked to me like Shawn Barber is already assuming a team leadership role on the team. He was one of the guys leading the stretching, and he was the guy on defense who seemed to be getting everyone else pumped up.

Faggins was the second cornerback. The only play I watched him close he had surprisingly good coverage on AJ, chucked him at the line and broke up his route. Rosenfels threw it at AJ anyway, bad choice. As expected, AJ got targetted a LOT.

Great report, please keep it up! Thanks

from the official site on some of the missing players

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=3433

Mathis

On the next play, Rosenfels found wide receiver Jerome Mathis, who made an impressive over-the-shoulder catch, for another big gain. Mathis appeared to tweak his hamstring on the play, but continued to practice after receiving treatment.

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Taylor

Chris Taylor was the latest player to be struck by the injury bug, as the second year running back slightly injured his knee during practice. Although the team does have a large stable of running backs, Kubiak expressed some concern about his depth at the position after practice.

“Chris Taylor has a little knick in his knee that we’re trying to take a look at this afternoon,” Kubiak said. “It only takes losing one or two and all of a sudden you’re not (as deep).”

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Orr

Outside linebacker Shantee Orr, who fell hard to the turf while making a spectacular interception during the morning session Friday, was suited up and active this morning.

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Greg R thanks for the live report for those of who can't attend the practices.

Great job GregR!

thanks, Greg

Blackjacks said:

I have no one from the Texans roster on my fantasy teams and probably won't. I really don't care to follow any information about the Texans either, that being said this was a nice write up from you, good job. You gained my interest

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I don't really care to follow any information about what players are on your fantasy teams either. This report by GregR was pretty informative, but again, I don't really care if it gained your interest either. TC reports by members is gold.... beat reporters typically don't offer the insight that homers do.... go figure. I hope to see many more quality reports like this one.... and hopefully won't have to wade through pointless posts like the one I quoted for good info.

Great stuff Greg, thanks.

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Saturday August 4th 8:30 am camp report:

The offense really did not look very good to me today. The O-line was not providing time for the QBs to throw. There was a noticeable lack of ability to throw deep amongst all of the QBs, though Schaub was the guy I got the least amount of observations on in this respect. Jerome Mathis working with the 2nd string constantly had to stop and wait for the ball because he'd outrun it.

Lots of drops, lots of bad throws and throws that never would have gotten off if the defense wasn't pulling up before hitting the QB. Andre looked pretty good as always and had a couple of impressive touchdowns including in double coverage and a circus catch where he took a hard fall flat on his back but he was ok. The dink and dunk game is alive and well in Houston, and I'd expect to see a lot of receptions by the running backs if these practices I've seen are any indiciation.

Dayne and Green continued alternating with the first string, Gado and Lundy with the second and third strings, with Darius Walker worked in as well. I didn't really see enough of Walker to give much of an input, but none of the RBs was an immense stand out. If I had to pick one of Dayne or Green, I thought Dayne looked better. Green didn't seem to have much burst at all, while Dayne was at least hitting the holes hard. I'd even say from my perspective that Gado was doing a better job than Green at RB though it's very debatable still. The running game looked decent overall, much better than the passing game did.

WR, Walters got almost all the reps with the 1st team until one period where they really mixed up the units and Jones got some time there, but so did some 3rd and 4th string TEs so I wouldn't read a huge amount into it. Saw some formations with Daniels and Putzier both, including Putzier in the slot and Daniels on the line, and another empty backfield that had both of them in the slot and Dayne of all people split out wider. Most of the plays run were 2 WR sets. A lot of use of the fullback, including some sets with Patrick Pass in as the lone running back. McCardell and Andre Davis didn't play. Jones and Mathis were consistently with the second string, while Charlie Adams, Bethel Johnson, and Harry Williams worked with the third string. Jones had a bad day, some balls I thought he should have caught, or where I'd have liked to see him fight harder for the ball.

The defense looked better and was getting pressure on the QB consistently on both the 1st and 2nd string. ND Kalu was playing end in place of Weaver who is still out. Maddox and Okoye at DT. Greenwood, Ryans, and Charlie Anderson were the LB. Shawn Barber sat the practice out. If Charlie Anderson isn't the outright starter, I believe he will see a lot of playing time as he's been in the 1st string mix all three practices I've been to.

Don't have much to say about the secondary other than they were hitting. Putzier, Daniels, and one of the FB got lit up pretty good by DBs, Putzier was down for awhile after the hit but returned to practice. They were separating the ball from the receivers pretty well.

All in all, my opinion of the offense from this practice was pretty pessimistic. 3 practices isn't a lot to judge a team by, but at this point in time I don't expect them to improve on last year's record.

One other interesting note I heard from someone else in the stands. Granted it was the first time I'd ever spoken with him, but he seemed to me to have a very level head, had a reasoning behind his opinions and wasn't afraid to admit when he'd been wrong. So for a comment from a guy on the street I tended to give it more salt than normal, but YMMV. Anyway, we were discussing the David Carr history and the extension. He said he knew Bob McNair's secretary, and that she'd told him that it was made clear to the coaches interviewing for the head coach position that sticking with Carr was a requirement for the job. First I'd heard of a supposed actual source that the decision would have definitely come down from McNair, though of course there had been some speculation how much of a role he played in retaining him.

One more camp that's open to the public, but it's not for another two weeks or so.

GregR said:

Saturday August 4th 8:30 am camp report:The offense really did not look very good to me today. The O-line was not providing time for the QBs to throw. There was a noticeable lack of ability to throw deep amongst all of the QBs, though Schaub was the guy I got the least amount of observations on in this respect. Jerome Mathis working with the 2nd string constantly had to stop and wait for the ball because he'd outrun it.Lots of drops, lots of bad throws and throws that never would have gotten off if the defense wasn't pulling up before hitting the QB. Andre looked pretty good as always and had a couple of impressive touchdowns including in double coverage and a circus catch where he took a hard fall flat on his back but he was ok. The dink and dunk game is alive and well in Houston, and I'd expect to see a lot of receptions by the running backs if these practices I've seen are any indiciation.Dayne and Green continued alternating with the first string, Gado and Lundy with the second and third strings, with Darius Walker worked in as well. I didn't really see enough of Walker to give much of an input, but none of the RBs was an immense stand out. If I had to pick one of Dayne or Green, I thought Dayne looked better. Green didn't seem to have much burst at all, while Dayne was at least hitting the holes hard. I'd even say from my perspective that Gado was doing a better job than Green at RB though it's very debatable still. The running game looked decent overall, much better than the passing game did.WR, Walters got almost all the reps with the 1st team until one period where they really mixed up the units and Jones got some time there, but so did some 3rd and 4th string TEs so I wouldn't read a huge amount into it. Saw some formations with Daniels and Putzier both, including Putzier in the slot and Daniels on the line, and another empty backfield that had both of them in the slot and Dayne of all people split out wider. Most of the plays run were 2 WR sets. A lot of use of the fullback, including some sets with Patrick Pass in as the lone running back. McCardell and Andre Davis didn't play. Jones and Mathis were consistently with the second string, while Charlie Adams, Bethel Johnson, and Harry Williams worked with the third string. Jones had a bad day, some balls I thought he should have caught, or where I'd have liked to see him fight harder for the ball.The defense looked better and was getting pressure on the QB consistently on both the 1st and 2nd string. ND Kalu was playing end in place of Weaver who is still out. Maddox and Okoye at DT. Greenwood, Ryans, and Charlie Anderson were the LB. Shawn Barber sat the practice out. If Charlie Anderson isn't the outright starter, I believe he will see a lot of playing time as he's been in the 1st string mix all three practices I've been to.Don't have much to say about the secondary other than they were hitting. Putzier, Daniels, and one of the FB got lit up pretty good by DBs, Putzier was down for awhile after the hit but returned to practice. They were separating the ball from the receivers pretty well.All in all, my opinion of the offense from this practice was pretty pessimistic. 3 practices isn't a lot to judge a team by, but at this point in time I don't expect them to improve on last year's record. One other interesting note I heard from someone else in the stands. Granted it was the first time I'd ever spoken with him, but he seemed to me to have a very level head, had a reasoning behind his opinions and wasn't afraid to admit when he'd been wrong. So for a comment from a guy on the street I tended to give it more salt than normal, but YMMV. Anyway, we were discussing the David Carr history and the extension. He said he knew Bob McNair's secretary, and that she'd told him that it was made clear to the coaches interviewing for the head coach position that sticking with Carr was a requirement for the job. First I'd heard of a supposed actual source that the decision would have definitely come down from McNair, though of course there had been some speculation how much of a role he played in retaining him.One more camp that's open to the public, but it's not for another two weeks or so.

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Playing the optimistic Texans' fan: So is the defense just improved so much that the offense looks bad? Otherwise, your notes seem to indicate the same stuff with a different number 8 and another 55 catch WR with low YPC. On the Carr thing, I have always taken Bob McNair's comments about how he asked the coaching candidates, Dan reeves and others with a grain of salt. Asking someone if "I can win with Carr" is a very different question than 'would I be better off with Carr versus ____." Most coaches, especailly one trying to get a job would think that if he has even average QBing, he can win with that. That is not a true vote of confidence that a QB is a difference making face of a franchise as Carr was marketed to us for too long as Texans' fans.

coolnerd said:

Playing the optimistic Texans' fan: So is the defense just improved so much that the offense looks bad? Otherwise, your notes seem to indicate the same stuff with a different number 8 and another 55 catch WR with low YPC.

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Of course that's the hard part to say until they play some other teams. If I have to go out on a limb, the D-line looked better today than they did in the regular season. I also think they probably looked better today than they did the other camps I attended. Though I should add, I tended to watch the receivers running their routes and the db's covering them on passing plays, so how much was great play by a defensive player getting in the backfield, and how much was bad blocking, I wasn't really focused on.

Rovers said:

Blackjacks said:

I have no one from the Texans roster on my fantasy teams and probably won't. I really don't care to follow any information about the Texans either, that being said this was a nice write up from you, good job. You gained my interest

Click to expand...

I don't really care to follow any information about what players are on your fantasy teams either. This report by GregR was pretty informative, but again, I don't really care if it gained your interest either. TC reports by members is gold.... beat reporters typically don't offer the insight that homers do.... go figure. I hope to see many more quality reports like this one.... and hopefully won't have to wade through pointless posts like the one I quoted for good info.

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I think he just chose his words poorly but meant well

Lundy still impressing ya Greg R?

Bri said:

Lundy still impressing ya Greg R?

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I didn't think he stood out beyond the others at least today. But I'd still like to see him get a chance at starting. I think on physical ability he's probably the best RB on the team, but then I don't know about the other stuff like blitz pickup, choosing the right hole, etc.

I do not understand the mad love for Andre Johnson this year. I expect him to regress from his performance last year (PPR leagues) thanks to the new QB in a new system. Also, Schaub will have a lot of growing pains when he finds out what playing in a regular season means....a lot different than the 3rd and 4th quarters of a preseason game. Yet, people seem to consistently rank and pick (in some of the early drafts I have seen) AJ over a Donald Driver, Lee Evans, Javon Walker, Marques Colston and definitely Randy Moss.

Sweetness_34 said:

I do not understand the mad love for Andre Johnson this year. I expect him to regress from his performance last year (PPR leagues) thanks to the new QB in a new system. Also, Schaub will have a lot of growing pains when he finds out what playing in a regular season means....a lot different than the 3rd and 4th quarters of a preseason game. Yet, people seem to consistently rank and pick (in some of the early drafts I have seen) AJ over a Donald Driver, Lee Evans, Javon Walker, Marques Colston and definitely Randy Moss.

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he's young, he led the league in receptions last year-point per reception

Schaub has to be an upgrade over Carr.

Schaub will be very helpful to this team and I think Andre will be the beneficiary.

Andre is the lone option - the number of targets he receives eachgame gives him utmost value in a PPR.

I would put him in top 10.