ENGELWOOD, Colo. --
...the Texans' defense more than held its own. Frankly, Houston's offense looked better than I expected, as the team with the NFL's first-overall draft pick (Jadeveon Clowney, who left practice early with what appeared to be a minor injury), at least in this practice, didn't seem outclassed by a Broncos team that is a favorite to win it all.
Manning spread the ball around effortlessly at times, but also had one ball knocked out of his hands, misfired a time or two, and was intercepted by safety D.J. Swearinger. The Texans seemed genuinely buoyed by their outing on both sides of the ball, while the Broncos probably needed to face a little adversity -- as minor as Tuesday's was -- given the relative ease with which they sailed through the first two preseason games.
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The Broncos certainly brought a renewed intensity and focus into this practice -- you don't cross Peyton twice -- but the Texans seemed truly fired up for this opportunity to test themselves against greatness...
Texans coach Bill O'Brien seemed genuinely enthused with what he saw as well from both of his starting units, allowing there were two fields in play and 180 football players running around, making it impossible to see everything in realtime. Tape review is essential.
"The defense had some good moments [on Tuesday]," O'Brien said, "and it looked like that again today."
The Texans' defensive playmakers are impossible to miss, but once you get into the second and third units you quickly realize this team is still rebuilding.
"We've got to improve the depth of our defense," O'Brien said.
...If the Texans can stay relatively healthy on defense, they might be able to creep toward being competitive...
The Texans seem to be taking well to new coordinator Romeo Crennel's system, and have the makings of a very formidable front seven, with the secondary still a concern. I'll be interested to see how much Manning ends up playing against this group Saturday night, with another day of joint practices scheduled for Thursday, given the kind of problems they present up front. Gase said there isn't a set plan yet and they could take it "series by series."
More observations
• J.J. Watt has every right to make the case to be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL. With the season fast approaching, I wouldn't suspect he budges much on his contract stance. All the little things he does -- attacking a blocking sled from his knees well after practice ended, working closely with Clowney on leverage and swim moves between drills, powering through tackle Chris Clark in individual drills and keeping his cool as Clark knocked off his helmet and pushed Watt in the face...
• Clowney looks every bit the part of a dominant pass rusher. In individual drills he was kept to the outside by stud left tackle Ryan Clady early. But in team drills Clowney was able to get inside Clady a few times and the Broncos clearly knew they needed to know where the No. 1 pick was at all times. Gase certainly made sure the protections knew where he was, even though there was obviously no contact on QBs in these sessions ("He's such a freak in terms of his athletic ability," Gase said) – and Denver's offensive line was clearly tested during this two-hour practice.
"This is a different animal for us," Gase said. "J.J. Watt, Clowney, the rest of that crew. It was tough ... It's a great test for our guys to see where we're at, and where we can get better as a group."
• Broncos running back Montee Ball is...
• Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders is...
• Manning drew a few gasps when...
• Texans receiver Andre Johnson showed no signs of rust from his time away from the team this offseason. He was showing up all over the field, making one incredible catch in the back of the end zone, staying in bounds and holding on to the ball in a red zone drill. "He's a big part of what we're doing here,” O'Brien said. ... Rookie tight end Anthony Dunham made a fair share of nice plays as well. ... Starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had a good day, all in all, limiting the mistakes that have dogged him in recent years. Case Keenum continues to get snaps with the second team and rookie quarterback Tom Savage is working with the third unit.