34 observations from Texans-Saints joint practice
Posted 4 hours ago
John Harris Texans Analyst
The Saints came marching in on Thursday and that’s... yes, I know that was cheesy. I’m sorry, but it’s that time in training camp when I’m ready for September 11th to get here, if you catch my drift. Regardless of my Groundhog Day implications, the Texans got plenty of work done against Drew Brees and company on Thursday morning.
Here are my observations.
1. One of my favorite things during these joint practices is seeing the players congregate afterward to see who knows who, figuring out how they know each other. I’m struck by this every Sunday during the regular season when I see players, coaches and staff meet, hug and laugh with those they know from the other team. Coach O’Brien made his way over to chat with Saints linebacker Michael Mauti before the practice started. Coach has said numerous times how valuable Mauti and his Penn State senior class was to that program when he coached there. The Ohio State guys all got together to talk after the workout.
Eddie Pleasant
went looking for his Oregon peeps on the sideline after the workout.
Stephen Anderson
waited after to see his former Cal teammate and The Woodlands resident Daniel Lasco, a rookie running back for the Saints. I always say that there’s a definite brotherhood in this game and then I see those reunions. It does nothing but confirm that feeling.
2. The first joint drill was between the Saints tight ends and the Texans outside linebackers in a run blocking drill. Two years ago, the Texans might’ve struggled in that drill, still acclimating to what linebackers coach Mike Vrabel truly wanted from them. But, after two plus seasons of coaching and seasoning, the Texans outside guys didn’t budge.
3. The first rep I saw was
Whitney Mercilus against former Colts tight end Coby Fleener. Whitney has improved immensely against the run and maintaining the edge. He can hold it down and showed Fleener exactly how it was done.
4.
Jadeveon Clowney, seeing the first action against a different colored jersey since December 2015, held up the same way as Mercilus and it didn’t even appear as if he had to exert too much energy to do so against a Saints tight end.
5. Speaking of outside linebackers, rookie
Brennan Scarlett made his debut today after missing the first few weeks with an injury. He looked sharp throughout the practice. I wrote his name in my notes a couple of times. He’s an interesting story, having played for both Cal and Stanford during his career. As a frame of reference, that’s like playing for Texas and Texas A&M. Either way, he missed all of 2014 with a knee injury, graduated from Cal and then became the first ever graduate transfer to play ball at Stanford. He’s attempting to turn himself into an outside linebacker after playing a ton on the interior at Stanford, but he showed some pass rush ability and toughness throughout the workout. He’s definitely going to be a player to watch on Saturday night (No. 57).
6. During a 1-on-1 period with the Saints wide receivers versus Texans defensive backs,
Kareem Jackson
faced off with hulking Brandon Coleman, one of the biggest receivers in the league, and came away with a pass breakup to start the drill.
7. Safety
Corey Moore
was matched against tight end Coby Fleener and after the rep was over, I heard a couple of coaches lauding Moore for his tight coverage of the former Colts pass catcher. Why? Moore was in Fleener’s hip pocket the entire way. The former Georgia Bulldog safety has quietly done excellent work in this training camp and he played well out in Santa Clara last Sunday night versus the 49ers. Keep an eye on him on Saturday night.