The main topic of conversation was the fact that rookie Duane Brown was lining up with the first team instead of Ephraim Salaam. Brown said today that he was told the day after he was drafted that he would be practicing with the first team. He got a crash course in the NFL by lining up constantly against Mario Williams. As everyone should expect (and hope), Williams beat Brown often.
"I just think it's important that he gets every rep he can get for the next five or six weeks before we head into training camp," Kubiak said. "You put him in there right away and he has to see Mario Williams every dang day, so we know he has a long way to go, but we're going to get him the reps to get him there as quick as we can."
Williams, who looked in shape and ready to open the regular season, could be as instrumental in the transition of Brown from college to the NFL as any of the coaches will be. He will challenge Brown each day, which was why the Texans decided to have Brown with the first team instead of the second team.
This also means that the job is Brown's to lose. They are not going to declare him their starter for Week 1 right now, but they don't have to. They didn't draft him in the first round to be a backup. They want him to start and the sooner the better. It will be big news if in the midst of training camp he is running with the second team.
Salaam refused to talk to the media after either of the practices. That is unusual for the media-savvy 10-year-veteran. He is clearly unhappy with the decision by Gary Kubiak to put him on the second team.
"To me there's competition every where on the football team," Kubiak said. "There's nothing etched in stone. We're just working right now. But as I told Ephraim, I think it's very important. It's my decision to put the kid there and go to work.
"Ephraim is a big part of this team and I'm counting on him being a big part of this team. I know it's hard to swallow. I understand that. But he and I have had a talk. We'll move forward. But I think the kid needs to work, and you don't get it unless you put him in there."