August 2 practice session observations

Don’t want to get into a play by play analysis (). Here are some observations I had watching tonight’s practice session. Overall, I’d say that there was a little more contact than the practices I’ve seen before. Might have been a spillover from some things that happened in the morning session.

Domanick Davis – Seemed as if he was in mid-season form. Made the decision to go with the zone blocking scheme look like a stroke of genius. Outstanding as a receiver out the backfield. Looked like the best player on the field.

Tony Hollings – Didn’t look substantially bigger & stronger than last season. Had a poor session catching the football. Overpowered often during blitz pickup drill.

Jason Anderson – Closer in size to DD than Wells, but very put together. Very solid in every aspect (following blocks, catching with his hands rather than his body, positioning & strength in blitz pickup, gunner on punt coverage). Has the type of versatility needed in players at the bottom of the roster.

Derick Armstrong – Looked much thicker than last season. Reminds me now of JaJuan Thomas. Didn’t have a good practice.

Fred Weary – Looks to be in tremendous shape. I think he gets that this is the year to show he’s got what it takes.

Dunta Robinson – Had never seen Dunta prior to this practice. Can now say that I get why the Texans were so crazy about him. How can someone so small deliver such a blow (that’s what 260 lb TE Matt Murphy would like to know)? Answer: positioning, timing, fearlessness.

Jason Babin – Held his own against Mark Bruener on run plays. Which says a lot to me. Just overpowered most of the FBs & RBs during the blitz pickup drill.

Vontez Duff – Doesn’t have the suddenness (or the hands) associated with a punt returner. Kick returning might fit Duff better.

J.J. Moses – Judging from this session, still head & shoulders above the other returnmen. Caught everything with his hands, very confident. Still very, very small.

i'm sorry lucky, but you wont be able to post that here...that gives away too much information...we're going to have to ask you to delete that post at once.

Hollings let that fade route drop get to him for the rest of practice. The fans sighed when he dropped, he sighed when he dropped it (happened right in front of us) and he had a poor showing the rest of practice. Folks...its ONE PRACTICE. He'll be fine. We all have those days.

I was really impressed with Kris Brown and Chad Stanley's wideout stances.

Sounds like pretty good news all around. I heard that Wells bulked up to like 250lbs. Does he look slower (than usual that is)? This Anderson kid sounds better and better everyday. I know he's a longshot to make the team, but if he does do well on special teams then Wells could be out of a job. Till Miami comes calling that is. As far as Robinson goes I was thrilled at his hitting ability when I caught a couple of his college highlights. Sounds like he delivers highlight material on a regular basis.

texas guy, please go to texans tailgate and read up on the simple request

Hey how's Andre looking so far in training camp?I mean is he dropping as many passes?Is he any bigger?

Murphy is definitely asking how that little guy hit him that hard.

JMO, but none of the potential kick/punt returners stood out at either special teams duty or their "normal" position. JJ for this practice still looked like the guy to beat.

May have just not been watching the right plays, but seemed like on a lot of plays Robinson was releasing his WR to coverage by Coleman almost immediately.

Take a look at DD and Hollings some time if you can catch them standing next to each other--Hollings is 1" taller, but it looks like his legs are 3-4" longer. Maybe that has something to do with cutting vs. speed--who knows, maybe a random observation of no meaning.

Glenn, Robinson & Faggins look like triplets playing on the same football team. They're all "undersized," but they look like they all have the athleticism to pull off Glenn's style of play--great closing speed/split second timing.

Peek definitely has the athleticism/build to be a fantastic ROLB--only question is whether his head will let him in the game. Gut feeling, he has the look of someone that will either be fantastic or out of the league in a few years--just don't know which yet.

I also noticed this. All you bullpen guys were chanting JJ's name that one time. Well, he picked up that one punt when it was definetly a "peter" kick. Once he got downfield towards Coach Capers, Capers looked at him, shook his head and finger as if to say "Not again."

Bullpen got JJ in trouble.....shame shame

texasguy346 said:

I heard that Wells bulked up to like 250lbs. Does he look slower (than usual that is)?

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Wells is what he is. He's just not explosive. No need to continually bash him for what he can't do. Wells did hustle on punt coverage and was very strong in blitz pickup (get that weak stuff out of here, Raheem Orr).

texansfan88 said:

i'm sorry lucky, but you wont be able to post that here...that gives away too much information...we're going to have to ask you to delete that post at once.

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Feel free to post what you see T88. Your observations are safe here.

Good stuff guys. How did Charlie Anderson do or did he do anything of note?

you'd think they would be, but read my message about my request vinny...you'll see that its not safe. You want that to change? email them. You probably have more control than most on the board

Just throw it down 88. Trust me, as long as it is football talk you are gonna be fine here. Anything that is not specifically football talk goes to the Tailgate section.

I feel for you and I understand your dissapointment, but just tell us what you see and you will be fine here. I appreciate your insight and your effort.

texansfan88, don't let that get you down. Just keep having fun at what you like to do and it will work out for you.

V, Anderson looked a little overmatched against the run, but showed some quickness on the pass rush. Like a lot of rookies, he looks like he needs a bunch of time in the weight & film rooms. But, he does seem to have the physical talent as far as size, speed, & quickness is concerned.

thats not the point vinny...you dont do what they did to keith and i. you dont give out credentials 3 days before, have you work your butt off, only to be told to throw your credential away and get out.

theres no difference in posting here and posting on hpf.com if its the same material...and like i said b4, the texans pride themselves on being fan friendly...so hopefully the fans will open up to ESPN and the Chronicle if nothing is changed.

As an aside note--I am a little surprised noone has talked about Duff converting to safety in the NFL. It doesn't really seem like he is NFL CB material, but he has the size (same size as Eric Brown basically 5' 11" 206 lbs, vs. 6' 210 lbs) to be a safety.

No bash intended, just a little humor. I'm still very intrigued to learn if Wells is perhaps pushing for a FB spot on the roster or if he's trying to be the 'grind it out' type RB that Capers seems to like.

From what I've read and heard, he's shaping up to be a short yardage type guy, which I think he can be very successful as. Just like guys like Ty Wheatley, Moe Williams, and pre-Texan Stacey Mack.

Wells seemed to have a knack for falling forward for the extra yard, the problem was he also had a knack for getting tied up at the LOS. I think he may have been a let down to those looking for him to become a franchise back, but he has been a good ST player and could develop into an option for goal-line punches.

Charlie Anderson do or did he do anything of note?

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Anderson showed a lot of quickness on the blitz pick up drills. He reminds me of Peek last year - maybe not as cat quick but still fairly explosive.

Any more observations to offer on Babin ? Does he look like he's 260 ?
Does he have the quickness and explosiveness per advertisements ?
Got my practice ticketts, but had personal biz last night so couldn't make it.
Are you right out in the sun, or is there some overhead protection ?
Do you get any opportunities to interact with the players after practice is
over ?

It's that nasty streak that I think will seperate Dunta from Dante. Dunta played safety in college. This guy is a waterbug that likes to lay the hat people. Man, I love that.

nunusguy, read this.

As far as Babin, I didn't see anything that left me ooh or ahh. He has a lot of tatoos and a lot to learn. He's built like a muther and I don't know what his exact weight is but he looks like he could go 255 or so (that's an observation from about 15 feet away). But when standing around with the other LBs, he doesn't stand out necessarily -- except for the tats. He looks more like a LB than a DE to me.

Hey AJ - thanks a lot for the info, it's very helpful. I appreciate it.