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Texans Training Camp Preview 2023

xtruroyaltyx said:
Serious question...

Have you ever played organized sports?

I'm asking because, no offense, but that's kind of a silly question if you have played sports.

First of all, I didn't say learn "more"...

There are different types of lessons that can be gained from sitting and there are different types of lessons that can and will be learned from playing.

When you sit you get a lot of mental reps. It gives you time to see the game and think the game at a slower pace without having the pressure of going out and performing right away. When you are young and you are going up a level in competition, sometimes things can be a blur and you end up making a ton of mistakes because things are moving too fast. This can lead to confidence issues, bad habits that are hard to break and possible injury. Also, the coach has a responsibility to the rest of the team that has busted their ass to get ready for the season to give them the best chance to win. Imagine these guys out in this crazy heat during training camp, spending the off season staying in shape, trying to be the best they can only to have the coach punt on the season for the sake of developing one player. That's how coaches lose locker rooms.

Here is a quote from Rodgers about sitting:



www.chicagotribune.com

Aaron Rodgers explains benefits for developing a quarterback on the bench

Aaron Rodgers offered his recollections and insight into the three-year apprenticeship he experienced behind Brett Favre from 2005-2007.
www.chicagotribune.com www.chicagotribune.com

I don't have a hard line about starting vs sitting rookie qbs and in fact I've debated the exact other side right after we drafted stroud. Starting right away is not always a bad thing. I think it's very situation specific.

Edit: You don't even have to have played organized sports to understand that sitting and observing can be beneficial. Even in regular everyday jobs you sometimes shadow other people for a while before you jump in and take over.
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Is this the Aaron Rodgers who sits and sees the game at a slower pace through the fog of ayahuasca? People who shadow other people in regular jobs usually have never done that job before.
 
Dejaview said:
People who shadow other people in regular jobs usually have never done that job before.
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Not true.

Different companies do things different ways. You sit and shadow to learn the nuances, not how to do the job from scratch. Just like trying to learn the nuances between college qb and nfl qb.
 
Texansballer74 said:
It’s amazing to me that some people act like they never seen a rookie quarterback being developed on the fly. Having your rookie quarterback sit is not the only way to develop him gents.

Oh the Colts have named rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson the official starter for game 1.
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Agreed, throw him out there and let him sink or swim.
 
Can anyone verify that something made Pitre angry just prior to INT? If so, hope he gets angry a lot this season.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
Not true.

Different companies do things different ways. You sit and shadow to learn the nuances, not how to do the job from scratch. Just like trying to learn the nuances between college qb and nfl qb.
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Not true at all as I have ever experienced it. Professionals in any field come in and go right at it. Rookie Professional football players are professionals in the same sense. Speed of the game isn’t a nuance, it’s a student driver getting thrown behind the wheel. They already know the rules of the road. It’s the nonprofessional inexperienced new hires that may require Learning the rules of the road.
 
Porky said:
Classy move by Tua. He’s a good guy and I hope he can stay healthy.

In other news…if Tank Dell isn’t starting in Baltimore there should be a congressional investigation! It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
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To start you have to be able to block. With Tank’s size that could be a liability with him and prevent him from starting. Since he is a playmaker they will figure something out to get him on the field. Plus he will bulk up through the years.

Who was that smallish WR that Philly had a decade ago?
 
Porky said:
Classy move by Tua. He’s a good guy and I hope he can stay healthy.

In other news…if Tank Dell isn’t starting in Baltimore there should be a congressional investigation! It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.
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Yeah,
lol, thank goodness.
 
zshawn10 said:
nice throw from stroud here

https://twitter.com/x/status/1691839386130731254
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What was Noah Brown trying to do on the TD pass to Tank? Looks like a busted play on offense, but the Fins were bustier(?).

R.3463240ed8c4cc90853919c6694ec05b
 
In a simulated two-minute drill, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa delivered two downfield strikes: a 38-yard heave to tight end Durham Smythe over the middle, a 16-yard crosser to wide receiver Tyreek Hill.


Houston’s secondary was scattered. Suddenly it struck back.


Tagovailoa slung a slant leftward. Safety Jalen Pitre jumped the route, snagged the football, then sprinted down the sideline. The entire Texans team chased him down in celebration. Pitre passed the media tent near the 25 shouting “Let’s go!” He passed the end zone, passed onlooking owner Cal McNair and passed through the open fence at the edge of the field.


Fans hollered from the bleachers. An air horn blared. Practice was over.


“Big moment,” linebacker Christian Harris said. “That’s something we need.”


Sometimes only drama can combat drama. Pitre is one of over 40 veteran players under contract who’ve experienced some of the miseries of Houston’s past three seasons. Pitre’s pick-six on Wednesday was a seminal moment, the sort of core memory that can form the new identity of a young team that’s still maturing under first-time head coach DeMeco Ryans.


“He’s the GOAT,” defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said of Pitre. “Honestly, he works his butt off every day. I can’t say enough good things about him. He brings the team up. He has a lot of energy every day. It’s something about him. He has that tick in him that makes him go, and it’s contagious and it spreads to the whole defense.”


The Texans intercepted Tagovailoa twice on Wednesday. The fourth-year veteran, who placed ninth in MVP voting last season, tried to sneak a no-look pass by Harris during an early team drill, and the linebacker, who’d dropped in coverage amidst a crowded rush on the right side, plucked the pass and returned it for a defensive touchdown.


There were times when the Dolphins bested the Texans. Miami’s receiving corps is perhaps the NFL’s fastest. They are a formidable test for a promising Texans secondary. Hill, a four-time All-Pro, corralled multiple catches throughout practice, including a deep comeback along the left sideline against backup cornerback Shaquill Griffin. Dolphins backup quarterback Skylar Thompson flung a deep pass over the Texans’ second-team defense to former Jets receiver Braxton Berrios for a touchdown.


In red-zone drills, Tagovailoa threw three touchdowns on end-zone fades. He lobbed a score to running back Raheem Mostert over Pitre along the back left pylon, another to Berrios again over Pitre in the same spot, then found backup receiver River Cracraft over safety Jimmie Ward along the back right pylon.

Tank Dell and Dalton Schultz among standouts

The Dolphins have one of the best defensive front sevens in the NFL, and they made it difficult for C.J. Stroud and the offense in teams drills by consistently getting pressure on the rookie.


But the Texans’ offense was dominant in the red zone drills. Stroud threw five red-zone touchdowns, including three to rookie wide receiver Tank Dell.


Dell and tight end Dalton Schultz were among the standouts for the offense in the joint practice. Schultz has battled through injuries early in camp, but he looks completely healthy now. The Dolphins’ safeties couldn’t contain him in coverage. He used his big body to make some contested catches.


Dell has come on strong in recent weeks. He’s only 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, but he’s quick with his route running. He led the Texans with five catches for 65 yards and a touchdown in the team’s preseason game against the Patriots last week.


He’s been both Davis Mills’ and Stroud’s favorite target recently.


Stroud getting first team reps

Ryans says there’s still a competition. But Stroud has taken all the first-team reps over Mills for the second straight week. It would make sense if the Texans were to name Stroud the starter after Saturday’s game if he plays well.


Stroud and Mills have played at about the same level in training camp. On Wednesday, Stroud was a little better. Mills was picked off by linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel. Both Mills and Stroud have thrown five interceptions in training camp.


Stroud played in two series last week against the Patriots. He’s expected to get more snaps against the Dolphins.

Stroud chats with Tua

Stroud and Tua Tagovailoa talked on the field for about five to 10 minutes after practice. It appeared Tagovailoa was giving Stroud some tips. Tagovailoa had his best statistical season with the Dolphins last year. The 25-year-old finished with a NFL-high 105.5 passer rating.

Anderson against Armstead

Anderson, Houston’s No. 3 overall pick, matched up against four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead on two plays during the second round of team drills on Wednesday. The first play was a screen to the opposite side, and on the second, Anderson charged from a standing position, attempted to spin, then stumbled.


The former two-time SEC defensive player of the year has been a disruptive force in training camp so far. But the rookie is still refining his pass-rush techniques, and his plays against Armstead are valuable. Anderson has often faced teammate Laremy Tunsil, now the NFL’s highest-paid offensive tackle, in practice, but there has been a significant drop-off in talent on Houston’s depth since right tackle Tytus Howard underwent hand surgery on Aug. 7.


Anderson is learning he can’t always win with speed. Tunsil and Armstead are both proficient pass blockers who move laterally with ease. Several of the NFL’s best tackles are on the Texans’ schedule: Ronnie Stanley (Ravens), Braden Smith (Colts), Jake Matthews (Falcons), et. al. Anderson knows this. It’s partly why he bulked up from 243 pounds to 260 over the summer. It’ll be notable in Thursday’s joint practice to see if Anderson beats Armstead, and if he does it by using his strength. Anderson says it’s an underrated part of his game.


“Really, they sleep on my power,” Anderson said. “So, they see me and my frame and say, ‘Oh, he’s probably just a speed guy,’ then I — boom — I hit them with power as a counter or anything like that. So, it’s just good having that speed-to-power that a lot of people wouldn’t think I’d have with my body type.”
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Team Periods
The two clubs split squads between two fields for all of the team periods which consist of drives, red zone, and two-minute drills.


I focused strictly on the Texans' offense Wednesday morning. The fans in attendance for the open practice got front-row seats to the first-team offense all morning as well.


CJ Stroud again worked exclusively with the first team, and while it’s just a guesstimate, he seemed to take about 80% of the total reps among quarterbacks on the day.


During the first team period the Texans offensive line looked like this:


LT Laremy Tunsil
LG Kenyon Green
C Juice Scruggs
RG Shaq Mason
RT George Fant

OL Michael Dieter spelled Green a little bit toward the middle portion of practice but Green finished the day at RG.


Stroud had an excellent first series, completing both of his passes to tight ends Dalton Schultz and Eric Tomlinson.




I saw something I hadn’t yet this camp. Stroud checking into other plays at the line of scrimmage. He saw something he didn’t like on the 4th snap of the first series and checked into an outside zone run, handing the ball off to Dameon Pierce who ran for a first down and then some.




On the second series, Stroud tried to air it out a little bit and over-threw both Xavier Hutchinson and Nico Collins on the drive.


Devin Singletary ran well during the period. He hit the hole hard and busted through for two first down runs.


On the third series, Stroud hit Schultz, who was being covered by Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard, for a big gain. It was a beautiful play design as Pierce started in the slot, can in fast motion to line up in a trips-left set. That allowed Schultz to get one-on-one with Howard, whom the Texans exposed all day.


Tank Dell continued to shine. He had a terrific practice, catching three touchdowns on the morning, all of which were from Stroud during 11-on-11 periods.

Keep on keeping on


Texans linebacker Christian Harris had himself another day. He intercepted Tua Tagovailoa in an earlier team period. He continues to be in the right spot at the right time to make plays, is clearly seeing the field really well in the new defense.


The second-year pro, Harris also got into it briefly with Dolphins running back Jeff Wilson after a play.


Receiver Steven Sims had a nice practice. He made a couple of really nice catches during the two-minute drill with Stroud at quarterback.


Not sure how he’s going to factor in a seemingly predictable receiver room already with Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Robert Woods, Noah Brown, John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson locks to make the team. That’s six guys, but Sims continues to have a really good camp the past two weeks.


Texans cooked a Dolphin


Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard had a rough day. Tank Dell caught a touchdown over him in the back left corner of the end zone during the red zone period, Nico Collins beat him badly on a go-route in an earlier period and Noah Brown absolutely cooked Howard on a dig-route in which Howard was called for holding.
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