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Houston Texans off-season Thread (1 Viewer)

The Texans lack a team identity and more to the point a general nastiness. I do not mean this to be an attack on them but I was just wondering if you all see the same thing or am I way off base?

I will go a little more into it. The Texans are fine with getting a lead and grinding out the win. I personally would like to see them running up the scores a little bit, going for more TDs in the 4th instead of FGs, generally just playing with more aggression. I think it is a combination of Schuab and Kubiak who both seem to be more passive types. I think it leads this team into a "we are going to come to work, do our job and that should work." Clearly, these are professional players and I don't think anybody is actually saying those words to themselves or anyone else but it is a subtle message that can be felt. Not to mention the fact that emotion driven teams are the ones who usually get "hot." Cushing come back and Ed Reed should help improve this aspect of the team but I was wondering what your guys thoughts on this were.
I'm guessing your point on a lack of "nastiness" is directed only at the offense. The defense, with JJ, Ninja, Cushing, and Joseph, has alot of nastiness. I do think Kubiak is somewhat conservative with his playcalling, but I don't think he is trying for field goals over TDs or trying not to close out an opponent. He is a run first coach. He wants to run the ball when he has a lead, somewhat to the point of stubbornness. Unfortunately, the whole right side of the oline has not been up to the task to allow them to be a grinding run based offense. So then you have to turn to Schaub on the playaction, and frankly, his decision making was sub par last season. Couple that with an already weak arm and it didn't end well. The defense getting healthy again will make a big difference, but the bottom line is this team will only go as far as Schaub can take them. No one in the media is saying it, but I really think this is a make or break year for him. If he doesn't lead this team they need to bring in legitimate competition next year.
These aren't new criticisms for Kubiak or Schaub, as they are understated and not extroverted personalities. I think a lot of the criticism stems from the general mindset that if your coach or players aren't screaming on the sidelines or displaying a lot of emotion then their "too soft" for football. Never really agreed with that but I can see the argument.

Most of the fan base has closed the book on Schaub as a choker/mediocre and given up on him. IMO, he's a lot better than that (although not elite obviously) but this will not be a make or break year unless he is just absolutely terrible. With a healthy defense (particularily in the secondary) and hopefully some semblance of pass-rush which was non-existent outside of Watt last year, Schaub will probably not need to do much in many of our games. There shouldn't be too many excuses though with the addition of Hopkins although the right side of the line is likely still going to be a major issue this year.

For better or worse, with Schaub's contract we are probably married to him thru the 2014 season, but after that the cap savings would make it easy to cut or trade him if need be. The bigger question is where the heck do you find his replacement? High quality QB talent does not grow on trees.

 
I've only got a small amount to report on camp. Just couldn't see much of the worthwhile stuff.

Tate and D. Johnson seemed to get the 1st team reps. During a 1-on-1 receiving drill where I could at least see the deep routes, I thought the RBs as a group did well in getting open. They did 9-on-9 rushing drills (no CBs) but I was so far away I couldn't really say much about if they made the right cuts, just didn't have blocking, etc.

Swearinger was playing with the 2nd unit. Keo played with the first unit, and I believe had an INT during the 1-on-1 drill.

Hopkins apparently had a touchdown catch in red zone work which I couldn't see. Alec Lemon had a nice one handed catch in the same drill, couldn't tell if he was in bounds or not though.

Sorry I can't share more, I just couldn't see much from where I ended up. Tried moving and the crowd was standing room only so deep I couldn't even see the players at all then. The red zone drills from my original seat I couldn't even see the players at the line until after the snap because of a crowd of players standing at midfield between us and them. What little I did catch was through binoculars to make out anything for the most part. Will try to get there even earlier tomorrow and get a spot down at the end they do more of the work at.

 
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I asked Cecil Lammey his thoughts on Joe Mays. His reply: he's shot out of a cannon vs the run, but guesses wrong a lot, tremendous liability in coverage, too often looks for big hit.

 
Let me give y'all the Bronco fan perspective of Mays: special teams ace, probably miscast as starting LB. Takes bad angles, gets lost in coverage, but man he can hit. Not just the Schaub hit, he layed Moeaki out pretty good a couple years ago too. His nickname on a Broncos forum I frequent is "idiot cannonball". The alleged reason he lost the starting gig was an inability to get the plays called on time in huddle vs NE. Great guy though, the guys in the press really liked him and apparently coaches/teammates did as well.

He'll be adequate in run support but wouldn't want him near starting.
Appreciate the input.

 
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/07/30/camp-confidential-tuesday-7-30/

(Credit: Will Grubb / CBS Houston)

Houston (CBS Houston) Editors Note:Camp Confidential will feature daily news and notes throughout Texans training camp.

Here is everything you need to know about this mornings practice:

>>>Brennan Williams knee swelled up during this mornings session. He finished practice but then went for an MRI.

>>>Gary Kubiak thought Arian Foster would be back by now but he may be held out until next week.

>>>Ed Reed would not specifically say he would be back week one but maintained his rehab his going well. As far as Andre Johnsons comments about him being ready for week one, If he said it, then its true right? said Reed.

>>>Joe Mays was not at the morning practice session. He will be on the field tomorrow. The Texans will have to cut someone to make room for him.

>>>This note might as well be copy and pasted to everydays Camp Confidential but DeAndre Hopkins was especially impressive. He made multiple one-handed grabs and went head to head with Jonathan Joseph, beating him out a couple of times.

We are going to challenge him each and every day but he comes to work and he fights each and every day, you know, he makes some tough catches out there in traffic at times as a young player thats the type of mentality you want to see from your young wideout. Joseph told Sports Radio 610.

>>>Tight End Garrett Graham worked out on the side but looked noticeably thinner as he continues to work his way back from a virus.

>>>Rookie wide receiver EZ Nwachukwu remains a long shot to make the team but hes doing everything he can to make his case. Nwachukwu made a number of nice plays and did well working one-on-one against the defensive backs.

>>>Keshawn Martin is in firm control of the number three wide receiver spot. He beat out Brandon Harris for a touchdown on a fade route.

>>>Newly signed nose guard Kevin Muir broke up multiple run plays in the backfield and also displayed good moves when trying to rush the passer. Onlookers let out a collective ooh and ahh as he executed a perfect spin move during pass rushing drills.

>>>Brandon Brooks had a solid day in pass protecting drills. At one point he clearly got the best of JJ Watt on back to back plays.

>>>Lestar Jean struggled dropping a few very catchable balls. Meanwhile sixth round pick Allen Bonner had a strong day working one on one against the defensive backs.

>>>Fourth round pick Trevardo Williams struggled to show the quickness and hand work needed to get off blocks outside. Undrafted free agent Willie Jefferson has out-shined him throughout camp.

>>>Dennis Johnson had the best day for a running back. He scored a 20-yard touchdown run during the 11 on 11 red zone session. Ben Tate didnt have a great day getting stopped in the backfield on a few occasions but that has more to do with offensive line play than it does him.

The thing Ive been impressed with more than anything is that he will step up and block a blitz, its hard to find guys in our league that we say stay on the field for three downs said Gary Kubiak

This is a good sign for Johnson, picking up the blitz is usually a weakness of young running backs.

>>>Daryl Sharpton, Johnny Adams, Sam Montgomery, Arian Foster, Whitney Mercilus, and Delano Johnson did not practice.

Contact the writers of Camp Confidential

Twitter: @WillGrubbRadio & @PaulyGRadio

Facebook: Will Grubb & Paul Gallant

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Camp Confidential: Monday (7-29)

Camp Confidential: Sunday (7-28)

Camp Confidential: Saturday (7-27)

Camp Confidential: Friday (7-26)

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Texans had been taking some snaps out of the Pistol. Zierlein said one of the Texans staff told him yesterday that they were just doing it to give the defense a chance to look at it, not because they planned to use it themselves.

ZIerlein said today that apparently Kubiak has given it more thought and has said the Texans might use it as well.

For clarity's sake, the Pistol is a formation. It is not an offense. If you use a Pistol formation it doesn't mean you are doing a read option offense. You can run the Texans normal offense out of the Pistol, out of the Shotgun, or under center. The biggest change would be that it would allow what is normally a 3 or 5 step drop to happen more quickly. You can still run our zone rushing plays out of it.

 
They are just confusing Andre having to slow down for one of Schuab's throws as losing half a step.
This. So many times that happened last year.

I can't wait to see what DeAndre Hopkins can do with their play-action offense.

I think the only real discouraging think from camp is 3rd and 4th round picks.. meaning depth at pass rush. At least Willie Jefferson is looking good. If one of the rookies can contribute something, all the better.

 
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Tania Ganguli got hired by ESPN to cover the Texans. Chronicle's new beat writer is @ChronBrianSmith on twitter.

 
any news on how the QB2-3 battle is taking shape? i remember reading about how keenum is really challenging yates. yates had his run two years ago down the stretch while schaub was injured. he had his moments but looked very much like a rookie taking over at the tail end of the season. keenum seems to have kubiak's eye but it's tough to draw conclusions here. any insight for a dynasty owner looking?

 
any news on how the QB2-3 battle is taking shape? i remember reading about how keenum is really challenging yates. yates had his run two years ago down the stretch while schaub was injured. he had his moments but looked very much like a rookie taking over at the tail end of the season. keenum seems to have kubiak's eye but it's tough to draw conclusions here. any insight for a dynasty owner looking?
I don't play dynasty, but I would argue that the Texans QB of the future is not currently on the roster. Yates has indeed been having a lousy camp. He doesn't seem to be improving like the coaches want. And yes, Keenum has been receiving lots of praise from Kubiak. I think there is a quote from Gary saying something along the lines of "I see myself in Case"; a reference to his career as a hard working backup QB. Keenum will always have supporters locally too, since he played his college ball at U of H. The fans and the media are insinuating that it's a legit competition for the #2 QB job. But I personally think that Kubiak will always be loyal to the more experienced vets, so Yates will keep his #2 spot. BUT, he hasn't announced who gets the 1st crack in the first preseason game after Schaub makes his brief appearance. So tune in to Fridays game. He might announce his QB decision Wednesday. I like Case personally, but I don't think he'll ever be more than an average backup. I imagine the Texans spend a 2nd-4th rounder on a QB in the 2014 Draft. Just my opinions.
 
I do think there is some competition for the backup, though I agree that Kubiak tends to stick with what he's familiar with a lot of the time. Since Keenum is still eligible for the practice squad this year, he'll probably have to outplay Yates by a decent edge. Definitely something to watch for in the preseason games.

Some other things worth watching in preseason:

OLB Willie Jefferson. He might get to start this week with the other linebackers banged up. He's been showing a knack for getting into the backfield. Really can't say much in comparison to Reed or Mercilus until we see him in some games, preferably against first string lineman. Would love having his height on a line where people are already having trouble throwing around JJ.

Cornerback A.J. Bouye. He's been getting some attention in preseason. There hasn't been a lot of quality once you get past McCain, so it's quite possible he could work his way up as a dime corner.

RB Dennis Johnson vs RB Cierre Wood. These two are probably the best bet for the 3rd RB behind Foster and Tate. I think most people have Dennis Johnson as having been a little better early in camp, and he's gotten the extra 1st string reps with Tate while Foster was out. Whoever lands the job could be in a position if Tate leaves in free agency to slide up into the backup job in the future. Deji Karim is another possibility though he might need to land a special teams returner job or something to make the team, not sure I see him winning it outright.

And of course DeAndre Hopkins. I am starting to have a bit of confidence in him already just based on how he's looked in camp, but of course he'll be one everyone is watching. D.J. Swearinger as well, though I don't know if he'll play with the 1st string. Keo and Pleasant have been getting those reps while Ed Reed is out.

 
Dennis Johnson had a really nice blitz pick up. Didn't have much blocking in front of him so far, though the one play he did he made the most of it. Also avoided a defender was waiting for him as he took the hand off, turned a 4 yard loss into about a 1 or 2 yard loss anyway.l

Backup safeties were having a good first half. Keo with a pick with 1st string, Pleasant with one with second string. Swearinger did well in the box, but then just as I type this missed a tackle that ended up going for a touchdown. Tackling has been kind of poor in general.

Earl Mitchell had a great game when he was in there. Tackle for a loss and a sack. Willie Jefferson knocked a pass down on the pass rush. In general have gotten some heat on the QB. Lestar Jean looked pretty good early. DeAndre had a short catch, and I noticed he did a nice job blocking on another play.

Joe Mays... would like to hear from a coach about one play. He dropped into coverage, then just as the TE is moving into his area, he releases and goes after the QB, leaving the TE open down in the red zone. Think that was on him, but not positive.

Bullock's 1st kickoff was probably 6-7 yards deep in the end zone, though Patterson brought it out for a big return. Second kickoff he kicked out of the end zone. That's welcome to see.

 
DeAndre Hopkins catches the TD pass from Yates! Showed nice hops, just like we have heard in camp!! Hype hype hype!!

 
That's a strength for him, going up for a jump ball and coming down with it.

I was just thinking before that play that he's had a fairly quiet night. I keep rewinding to watch plays and am about 10 minutes behind. Not real impressed with Clutts at FB tonight. Two plays I spent time watching him, I thought he didn't see who he needed to go after as the lead blocker.

 
Hopefully Greg Jones offers more than what what Vickers, Casey and Clutts have offered. Yates has not impressed me one bit, regardless of his 2nd string oline or vanilla playbook.

Not texans related but C. Patterson looks pretty good for the Vikes, in my amateur opinion.

 
It certainly is preseason for the TV broadcast. Picture keeps going out, and I think the announcers have gotten the names of the players wrong an awful lot. Though in their defense, I'm still looking at my roster every 5 minutes to check who a number is.

 
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I like Bouye's chances to contribute some this year, but in general I'm still not enthused by depth at cornerback after you get past McCain.

 
I've noticed Terrell McClain twice today. He was the 2-man wedge guy who whiffed on his block on the defender who brought down the kick returner earlier. And then he had the helmet to helmet on the QB. Not good.

Would like to see more of Dan Muir at NT.

 
Actually I'll just settle for SEEING the game at this point. Might as well turn off TV and turn on the radio.

 
Abc 13 in Houston will rebroadcast the game tomorrow at 7pm. Supposed to be free of today's technical difficulties.

I liked what I saw from Case. Granted, it was against 2's and 3's.

I hope we can develop Ryan Griffin into the next solid TE. I like his height.

Earl Mitchell looked good at NT.

Special Teams still looks awful. Joe Marciano should've been fired after last season.

I noticed DJ Swearinger and Eddie Pleasant got time with the 1st team, AND in late time with the 3rd team. Hmmm....

Seems like a quagmire at 3rd RB. Dennis Johnson didnt have much room. Cierre Wood was ok. Déji Karim got some late carries. And Ray Graham vultured Karim's touchdown. We are no closer to figuring out the 3rd spot.

Can't help but get excited about DeAndre. But, it's early. Can't get too high on him yet.

Unimpressed with Yates. Hope he bounces back next game.

 
Horrible broadcast, ABC should be ashamed. Couldn't see a lot of the game at my local Buffalo Wild Wings due to technical difficulties.

Our rookies looked like rookies, Swearinger with the missed tackle, Hopkins with his nothing except for the jump ball. That kind of play doesn't work out as well against most NFL starters. Braman still looking good as a backup. The backup RB's all looked good so hard to pick a favorite. everyone is predicting Foster to get hurt after his usage last year, I think we will be OK if not great if he goes down. Not like Jax who had nobody after MJD last year. Thought UofH looked better than Yates, but level of competition is suspect.

Special teams looked terrible again. If not for Patterson not following his blockers, that would have been a TD on the initial kickoff. Earl Mitchell was my surprise of the night, he did really well against the 2's & 3's.

 
I had to pause it to walk a new owner through our dynasty contract stuff. Just past Jean's touchdown.

I see Terrell McClain is making some plays after I was critical of him earlier in the game.

 
I was at the game last night and D. Hopkins looked AWESOME! He was open many times and they were looking for him. As for his TD catch, it happened right near me. When the ball was thrown in the air, I thought, "there is no way he is catching that. Our guy is blanketing him!" He just outjumped our player and used his great hands to come down with it. I was very impressed with D. Hopkins last night!

 
I was at the game last night and D. Hopkins looked AWESOME! He was open many times and they were looking for him. As for his TD catch, it happened right near me. When the ball was thrown in the air, I thought, "there is no way he is catching that. Our guy is blanketing him!" He just outjumped our player and used his great hands to come down with it. I was very impressed with D. Hopkins last night!
Appreciate the insight. Going up and winning a battle for the ball is something he does regularly in camp. He's great at adjusting and then with his hands, which are enormous. I suppose it's a good thing to be great at jump balls when your QB is known for underthrowing on deep balls.

But mainly I wanted to say thank you for the comment that he was getting open. That's really the big question mark about him, is he going to get separation on a regular basis or are jump balls and patterns like curls where he can shield with his big body going to be what he has to live on. It's difficult to tell from TV broadcasts unless the ball is thrown to him specifically, whether he was getting open in general.

 
ESPN has a camp focus on the Texans right now, bunch of articles on the front page. Tania Ganguli formerly on the Chronicle just went to work for them, writing the Texans stuff for the AFC South blog.

Wade Smith had his knee scoped this week, no word on how long he'll be out. Quessenberry and Ben Jones will be filling in for him.

 
New huge video screens are so bright, when they switched to a graphic with a dark background, we thought part of the lights had failed

 
Kubiak said Deji Karim is practicing well, they want to see more of him in the preseason game.
Karim had a good game. Thought on him or Wood for the #3 job?
I'm thinking it'll be Karim. He has experience, Kubiak loves vets. Plus he can play special teams. Texans will try to sneak Wood on the practice squad like Jonathan Grimes last year. They liked grimes, but lost him to the jets then jaguars.
 
Kubiak said Deji Karim is practicing well, they want to see more of him in the preseason game.
Karim had a good game. Thought on him or Wood for the #3 job?
I'm thinking it'll be Karim. He has experience, Kubiak loves vets. Plus he can play special teams. Texans will try to sneak Wood on the practice squad like Jonathan Grimes last year. They liked grimes, but lost him to the jets then jaguars.
At this point I wouldn't bet against him, but I think it's still left to play out. Unless Cierre Wood is looking bad in camp sessions or something, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get a shot with the 2nd team next week for comparison.

I did see one gaff by Wood in special teams. He was late getting on the field for a punt return play. Got up to about a linebacker position by the snap, and then failed to block anyone at all as they headed upfield.

Karim had a blitz pickup which wasn't spectacular but it got the job done well enough. Found the unblocked rusher and got to him close enough to the line that though he slowly got driven back to the QB, there was enough time for a completion. Much better than Tate. I said when I saw Tate's play live he either just made a great play (breaking off a route to pick up an unblocked defender), or a horrible play (releasing on a route when he had blitz pickup responsibilities first). After seeing the TV replay, I think it wast he latter. He almost got Schaub killed, lucky he managed to get just enough of a push on him that Schaub evaded the worst of it.

Dennis Johnson might have the edge on Wood if they did keep four RBs as they are looking at him as a possible returner. Although maybe not on Karim, who has a solid kick return history of his own in Jacksonville. But he hasn't done much in the games as a RB. I still think he's had the worst blocking on the plays he's been in, but there have been a few also where I thought he could have gotten more despite that.

 
Other thoughts... I came out of the first few camps liking Griffin over Graham, but I have to say Graham has sure proved me wrong with his game play. I think TE is now very deep. None of the three are Jimmy Graham, but I think all three could be an upgrade for teams out there today.

Keshawn Martin is another guy I was critical of, I'd heard he's had a good camp but he looked like the old Keshawn in game 1. This game he looked a lot better. Made a number of catches with guys on him which is where I think he's been a let down in the past.

Defense... have to wonder if some of these guys are preaseason champs or if they'll be able to get it done against NFL starters. Terrell McClain looking great at DT again. Tuggle had a decent game. Willie Jefferson is still raw, needs to bulk up but again he's getting in the backfield. Can't see him as much more than a pass rush specialist though at his weight... a starting OL gets his hands on him and he's going to get pushed back too easily.

Safety is becoming a concern. Manning hasn't played great since the Bears game midseason last year. Reed still out. Shiloh Keo hurt his calf and Eddie Pleasant hurt his knee. Swearinger... whew. I wasn't a big fan of the hit on Keller to be honest. To me that's just asking for an injury like what happened. He could have come in and wrapped him up higher up on his legs or body. I can see a lot of fines and personal fouls in this guy's future. Wade Phillips said this week Swearinger was still working on the mental side of the game is why he wasn't starting.

Keenum is giving Yates a run, isn't he? Yates played well too though. I don't know there is going to be much chance of sneaking Keenum onto the practice squad after this. He looked really good.

 
Foster was expected to practice Monday. But now Kubiak saying doctors say he needs a few more days, got injections for the soreness in his back and also affected his legs.

Now I'm going to be concerned. Wanted him to have this time to get back in football, getting-hit shape.

 
More happily, WR DeVier Posey is off of PUP.
Very Shocked that he made it back. I figured he wouldn't be a factor this year. Wonder what happens now between Lestar and Alan Bonner? Who gets that 5th spot? Jean is what he is at this point. Supposedly bonner looked good in camp before his injury.
 
Foster practiced with pads on, got 10 plays Wednesday, 20 on Thursday. Said he was fine, wasn't sore.

Tate is going to play with the 1st string. Kubiak said Deji Karim is going to spell Tate, so sounds like he's maybe moved ahead of Johnson and Wood. Kubiak said they'd look at the pair after that.

 
Antonio Smith's appeal was denied.

Lechler "could play" if needed but they will probably take it easy with him.

Hopkins is in "stage one" of the five stage concussion recovery protocol. I'm assuming the protocol is something like this (recommended one for athletes from some panel awhile back):

Stage 1 – Light aerobic exercise (walking, swimming, or stationary cycling) keeping exercise heart rate to less than 70% of maximum predicted heart rate and no resistance training.
Stage 2 – Sport specific exercise (activities that incorporate sport-specific skills excluding any head impact activities)
Stage 3 – Non-contact training drills (progress to more complex drills, but no contact).
Stage 4 – Full-contact practice (following medical clearance, participate in normal practice activities).
Stage 5 – Return to competition
 
Ed Reed is being checked out by his surgeon. This is supposed to be the final step in his rehab, so if he's cleared he should begin practicing then.

 
Texans homers, who is looking like #3 RB behind Tate? Oddly, cbssports game tracker stats excluded Den Johnson stats from Saints game.

 
If I had to gamble right now I'd say Karim. This was Johnson's best game though, so not sure how that will impact things.

I thought Cierre Woods would get more time this week. Instead he got like 1 carry. That could mean he's on the outs. Or it could mean they feel they don't need to look at him to know what they have and instead wanted to look at Dennis Johnson more.

If I had to guess, I think it means he's on the outs.

 

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