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Texans Training Camp 2008

It was great seeing some of you guys today....great to have football back on the week-to-week again. Looks like everyone was in great shape and it seems like there was more contact than at this time last year. Jesse Nading stood out and I thought Mouldin looked abit like Chris Dishman as far as bodytypes go....thin waist, long arms and had smooth hip turn. If I was to bet right now I'd say Salaam is going to start vs Pittsburgh.
 
How did the DLine look? How much bigger is Okam than Okoye (I thought Okoye looked huge last year in comparison to the rest of the DLine)?

Did Xavier Adibi play with the 2's? What about Bentley and Thompson, how did they fare?
d-like looked fine...there is only so much you can tell when they are in shells this early in camp. Everyone seemed to be in great shape. Okoye is much smaller than Okam. Okam seems big even when standing around the big guys.
 
How did the DLine look? How much bigger is Okam than Okoye (I thought Okoye looked huge last year in comparison to the rest of the DLine)?

Did Xavier Adibi play with the 2's? What about Bentley and Thompson, how did they fare?

It was a little tough for me to see too much in the trenches, I sat in the front row and players and people walking by were constantly in my view.

Okam looks like that dude off of the longest yard, you know the one "I brokeded my nose". He was huge!

Adibi was with the 2's and so was Thompson. Bentley is battling with Diles for sam. Thompson was a thick dude. However, I got confused a lot between Bentley and Thompson, just because they are new additions. Adibi seemed to hold his own, but I didnt focus in on him. I thought he looked good in the passing drills at the beginning of the practice.
 
It was great seeing some of you guys today....great to have football back on the week-to-week again. Looks like everyone was in great shape and it seems like there was more contact than at this time last year. Jesse Nading stood out and I thought Mouldin looked abit like Chris Dishman as far as bodytypes go....thin waist, long arms and had smooth hip turn. If I was to bet right now I'd say Salaam is going to start vs Pittsburgh.

Who was Jesse Nading? I don't know about him.
 
Okoye is much smaller than Okam. Okam seems big even when standing around the big guys.

David Anderson was standing next to him at one time and all I could do is laugh. The dude's a mountain of a man.

Mario's still a beast! The guy is just flat out ripped from head to toe. He destroyed Salaam a couple times. Brown was bullrushed a couple times, but the ball was gone by the time MW was in the backfield. Brown had his leg rolled up on which was scary for a second.
 
Let me know if there is anything also that you would like to know.
Did Taylor see any reps at FB? Anyone else besides Leach or Cook at FB?

Who was running 2nd team O-line?

What were the safety groupings? Did the 2 Brandons play together?

Who did Andre Davis beat on those bombs?

Thanks for sharing. I'm out in Cali and will miss training camp for the 1st time. I know a lot of other fans are in a similar position and appreciate the info.
 
Who was Jesse Nading? I don't know about him.
number 72. He seemed pretty quick and had high energy. He made a nice spin move on Winson on one play that stood out in my mind. I started to pay attention to him after that and he seemed to hold his own...but like I said earlier its way too early to draw too many conclusions about any of the guys at this point in camp. I did hear the pads pop a bit more in this practice than I seemed to remember at this stage in last years camp. Can't wait till tomorrows session.
 
Who did Andre Davis beat on those bombs?
I think Davis ran past Earl on one of them...after the long catch in the middle of the field the coaches were talking to Earl. Not sure who the cb was or what his technique was.
 
David Anderson was standing next to him at one time and all I could do is laugh. The dude's a mountain of a man.

Mario's still a beast! The guy is just flat out ripped from head to toe. He destroyed Salaam a couple times. Brown was bullrushed a couple times, but the ball was gone by the time MW was in the backfield. Brown had his leg rolled up on which was scary for a second.

OH MAN! That almost ruined the whole day!!!
 
I think we will have a piece on Okam at the .com shortly...the camera crew was on him at the end of practice.
 
It was great seeing some of you guys today....great to have football back on the week-to-week again. Looks like everyone was in great shape and it seems like there was more contact than at this time last year. Jesse Nading stood out and I thought Mouldin looked abit like Chris Dishman as far as bodytypes go....thin waist, long arms and had smooth hip turn. If I was to bet right now I'd say Salaam is going to start vs Pittsburgh.

So I take it Brown didn't start off to good. I know they showed a little of Day 1 on Fox last night and he got beat by Colvin.

I wish I could be there!
 
So I take it Brown didn't start off to good. I know they showed a little of Day 1 on Fox last night and he got beat by Colvin.

I wish I could be there!
Brown is gonna get a lot of reps but he is raw...and will continue to be raw for a little while. He didn't look "bad". It's hard to look too good or too bad at this stage in the game.
 
Brown is gonna get a lot of reps but he is raw...and will continue to be raw for a little while. He didn't look "bad". It's hard to look too good or too bad at this stage in the game.

Yep, that's why they are there. I'm confident Gibbs will have the youngster ready for opening day.
 
Did Taylor see any reps at FB? Anyone else besides Leach or Cook at FB?

I didn't see anyone else at FB.

Who was running 2nd team O-line?

I remember seeing Butler at RT, Jackson, Studdard, Salaam and I don't know who the other guard was.

What were the safety groupings? Did the 2 Brandons play together?

Brown and Demps were starting. Earl and Ferguson were 2nd team and the two Brandons were alternating with Barber being the other safety.

Who did Andre Davis beat on those bombs?

It looked like one was Reeves and the other was was Roberson.

Thanks for sharing. I'm out in Cali and will miss training camp for the 1st time. I know a lot of other fans are in a similar position and appreciate the info.

No problem!
 
Brown is gonna get a lot of reps but he is raw...and will continue to be raw for a little while. He didn't look "bad". It's hard to look too good or too bad at this stage in the game.

You are right. Tomorrow I think that I will sit at the top of the bleachers, farthest to the left. I will probably be able to gauge the action way better from there.
 
That seems to be the case from Bullpen Andy's pic, with Chris White at Center.

Yeah, I forgot the center not the guard. Not bad depth at all.

Vinny is right, I heard more pops of equipment today too.

I forgot to mention the play where Diles popped Darius Walker. Didn't see it because someone was walking in front of me, but I did hear it.
 
Presser after today's camp stuff:

Link

Highlights:

Kubiak:
(on T Duane Brown) “Just got gassed, you know. Taking a lot of reps, which he’s going to do, and he’s a little bit overweight right now. So we’ve got to push him, and he’s got to catch up with the rest of his teammates. In this business, you’ve got to be able to go all day and he’s figuring that out, and we’ve got to catch him up with everybody else.”

My comment: He looked a lot uh fluffier than the other linemen. Pitts looked in particularly good shape for him.

Kubiak:
(on LB Rosevelt Colvin not practicing) “Rosevelt, well, I’m going to alternate him and (DE) N.D. (Kalu). I’m going to rotate them at practices, so I gave Rosevelt this morning. He’ll work in the afternoon; N.D. will take the afternoon off. I’ve got a big group of players I’ll be doing that (with) starting right now.”

(on if LB Rosevelt Colvin and DE N.D. Kalu are competing with one another for a roster spot) “I wouldn’t – I mean, everybody’s competing for a job. What I would say is they’re a lot alike as players, you know. They’re undersized ends that rush the passer. So from that standpoint, they’re very much alike and they’ve both been playing a long time, so I think it’s natural for us to stagger them in practice and let them get to the point where they can be as good as they can be and then let it work itself out.”


(on if RB Chris Taylor was cramping) “Yes, just cramping up. You know, he had a little bit of that problem last year; he cramped up on us some. It’s hot and we had some shells on this morning for the first time and had a good long practice, so that’s part of it. You’ve got to keep pushing.”

Andre Johnson:
(on how he is feeling) “Yesterday, I didn’t feel too good, to be honest. You know, I was kind of winded. But today, I feel real good. I don’t really know what it was – maybe the heat got to me. But today, I came out and played a lot better, maybe through the whole practice, but I’m feeling good right now.”

(on his knee) “My knee is feeling fine. I haven’t really had any problems with it. When I am out running routes, when I break down, I have no problems, no pain and no nothing. I still go in and do some things just for precaution. But other than that, it is feeling fine. I’m just trying to get ready for the season.”

Steve Slaton:
(on the jumping into the Bullpen) “Hopefully. Hopefully, I’ll do it every game."

(on visiting the Hall of Fame with the rookies) “It’s very important to me. It's one of the proudest moments of my life. You get to see the people that laid down the foundation to play football and see how it keeps revolving."

(on what inspired him most on the trip) “The Jim Brown, the Walter Payton, the Emmitt Smith and the breaking of the rushing record. That’s one of the things I wanted to see and take some pictures of."

(on following in their footsteps) “Just the longevity in my career, that’s all.”

So there you go. :texflag:
 
Are they allowing fans to get autographs from players or any of that sort of feel good stuff?

Also, Chris Taylor needs to remain as healthy as possible if he wants to remain on the team.

Yep. The autograph session was in full effect. I understand that you need a wristband to be permitted in the autograph line. I heard, from folks in the crowd, that some people got there before daybreak to get in line to get wristbands.

Chris Taylor had to be helped off the field at one point. But later he was up "walking it off".
 
Shaft, I think it was a cramp in the calf. I watched him after he walked behind the players with the trainer and they were rubbing down his calf. They were also throwing alot of gatorade at him. He'll be ok.



He was there after practice with his jersey and tennis shoes. I don't know where he was during practice.

The only ones I saw rehabbing were D-Rob and Faggins.

IMO, the practice was kinda sluggish today.

Green and Slaton had good runs.

AJ's a beast.

OD made some good grabs.

Krause was my surprise of the day. He reeled in a few nice balls. Might spell the end for Bruener who couldn't catch anything thrown at him today.

Agree that A.J. is a beast.
The surprise of this morning's session was Andre Davis. He beat the D deep at least twice; adjusting to some balls that weren't exactly "perfectly thrown". I don't recall seeing him drop anything that was thrown in his direction.

Darius Walker looked like he's trying very hard not to be the odd RB out. He's not as speedy as Slaton, but he used his blocking much better than everyone else. Chris Brown looked fairly decent too.

Some of the DTs, Okoye, Okam, Gabe Long, and one other guy who's number slips my memory, were the last guys to leave the practice field. They worked with the DL coaches a good 15-20 minutes later than everyone else on technique.

Will Demps stayed late doing wind sprints.

I like to make note of the guys who stay behind to put in that little extra.
 
It was great seeing some of you guys today....great to have football back on the week-to-week again. Looks like everyone was in great shape and it seems like there was more contact than at this time last year. Jesse Nading stood out and I thought Mouldin looked abit like Chris Dishman as far as bodytypes go....thin waist, long arms and had smooth hip turn. If I was to bet right now I'd say Salaam is going to start vs Pittsburgh.

It was great to meet you guys too! I'll see you out there tomorrow morning.
 
Yep. The autograph session was in full effect. I understand that you need a wristband to be permitted in the autograph line. I heard, from folks in the crowd, that some people got there before daybreak to get in line to get wristbands.

Chris Taylor had to be helped off the field at one point. But later he was up "walking it off".

Thanks for the info bro, I would rep you but apparently you post too well as it is.
 
Thanks everyone for the recaps! It is so awesome to be able to here this stuff from first hand observers.

How did Schaub look out there, was he sharp?
 
Thanks everyone for the recaps! It is so awesome to be able to here this stuff from first hand observers.

How did Schaub look out there, was he sharp?

He had at least one nice deep throw to Davis. Some bread and butter passes to AJ. I was trying to watch the trenches more. I am curious about his leg, though. Does anyone know what happened to his thigh? His knee and thigh were wrapped up.
 
Darius Walker looked like he's trying very hard not to be the odd RB out. He's not as speedy as Slaton, but he used his blocking much better than everyone else. Chris Brown looked fairly decent too.

As A fan of the Irish I am really pulling for Darius.

I think he got a hard lesson in "desire to play" from Kubiak last year.

:coffee:
 
He had at least one nice deep throw to Davis. Some bread and butter passes to AJ. I was trying to watch the trenches more. I am curious about his leg, though. Does anyone know what happened to his thigh? His knee and thigh were wrapped up.

he took a bad whack to it during the falcons.. im guessing this is the result

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d802d22f0 at 3:30

who is frye and weary playing with? i think RG could be an interesting TC battle
 
All the guys looked a little slugish out there today but will improve as training camp goes on. Pitts looked like he was in good shape along with Fred W. AD had a couple of catches of passes that weren't really placed all that well. I didn't see much of JJ. Leach was the only FB that I saw. Green had some nice runs so did Salton. He showed some burst of speed but not too much but he will get there. Nothing really that great from MW that I saw but he did not have a bad practice. AO number 91 looked ok as well but again nothing great. Mark B. looked very bad dropping every pass that came his way. D. Walker played like he did not want to be the odd man out, no one does. Matt did throw some questionable passes but I know he will work that out with the coaches. He also looked like he hurt a little bit. He did have his knee wrapped up and I hope it is nothing too bad.
 
Here's what Lance Z had to say about today's practice

http://blogs.chron.com/fantasyfootball/2008/07/five_observations_from_saturda.html
1. The chemistry between the WRs and the QBs looked pretty good considering it is so early in camp. If the Texans can establish the running game, the play-action passing is going to be a MAJOR force this year because André Davis will keep getting open deep and because the TEs are going to be open a ton. Andre Johnson is a given and Kevin Walter is very underrated. Good to see the passing game look sharp early on.

2. Jauque Reeves didn't have a great practice on Saturday morning and his body language needs some work too. Coach Hoke and Coach Rhodes got on Reeves a couple of times because of mistakes he was making and he just hangs his head and kind of slumps around. I don't really mean to jump the guy so soon in practice but he better get used to having coaches jump him and try and coach him up. This is a grown man's league and the Texans are counting on Reeves this year.

3. LT Duane Brown had a nice day in pass protection drills. Brown did a nice job with his hands and with redirecting pass rushers as they tried to make swim moves on him. His technique has already improved a great deal from when I watched him at the Shrine Game practices which were here in Houston back in January.

4. DE Chaun Thompson could have a bigger role on this defense than expected. Many times it is much easier for a pass rusher to have success in pass rushing drills than it is in a game because it isn't always one on one during a game. There is help sometimes from the guard if a DE spins inside. With all that said, Thompson has good speed off the edge, not great, but he has some nice swim moves and spins that are hard to ignore out there. If Rosevelt Colvin isn't the man opposite Mario Williams during pass rushing situations, it will be Thompson.

5. Dunta Robinson is coming along NICELY. I spoke with a couple of people close to the situation who both said that Robinson is coming along much faster than the time-table that was set for his rehab. Granted it is a contract year and I'm sure that Robinson wants to get back out on the field, but there is a chance now that Robinson might not be put on the regular season PUP list. I think if you had asked anyone with the Texans just a month ago they would have told you that they thought the PUP list was inevitable, but right now he is just on the preseason PUP list and he's already running and cutting better than expected.
 
There was one "I forgot" that I noticed. There's a WR running with the 3rd teamers, #17 LeRon McCoy, he made some pretty nice catches. Kid has pretty good speed, good hands, and is tall and sturdy (219 lbs according to the roster). David Anderson better watch his back.

Also, obviously this is my perception, but Brink has the slowest release of all our QBs, at least from what I saw this morning. And his passes weren't alway on target. He's definitely a "project".

Didn't see Shane Boyd throw any passes; all I saw him do this morning was hand off. I've been wondering if he was truly good enough to make Quinn Gray expendable. Perhaps tomorrow he'll run the 3rd team 7-on-7s.
 
I am so living vicariously through you folks right now. It's not funny. I'm tempted to hop on a plane and fly in.
 
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Hey Lance,


did Mario go up against Brown today? And if so, who had the upper hand?

Z: I saw them matched up once and Brown got the best of him.

Interesting.... can't wait till they put on pads. Then we'll truly know who will get the better of who.


..........and then it will be interesting to see how that breaks down in pass protection vs. the run.
 
I am so living vicariously through you folks right now. It's not funny. I'm tempted to hop on a plane and fly in.

LOL. I know what you mean.

I want to make a comment here...but it's like "Uh, I'm not there and I don't know anything and can't say anything because I can't see what's going on."

It's a helpless feeling. I wait for the daily updates like a dad waits for an update on how things are going in the delivery room. I'm all pacing around the waiting room, biting my fingernails...just waiting to hear something from the doctor. "Any news doc? How's she doing?"

I thought I saw a poster say that Matt Schaub had his knee wrapped? What's that about? Does anybody know? And I guess Briesel's nose and some cramping with Taylor is the extent of injuries thus far, right? Man...we need ZERO camp injuries.
 
LOL. I know what you mean.

I want to make a comment here...but it's like "Uh, I'm not there and I don't know anything and can't say anything because I can't see what's going on."

It's a helpless feeling. I wait for the daily updates like a dad waits for an update on how things are going in the delivery room. I'm all pacing around the waiting room, biting my fingernails...just waiting to hear something from the doctor. "Any news doc? How's she doing?"

I thought I saw a poster say that Matt Schaub had his knee wrapped? What's that about? Does anybody know? And I guess Briesel's nose and some cramping with Taylor is the extent of injuries thus far, right? Man...we need ZERO camp injuries.

I missed that post. If this is true, I wonder if it's his LEFT knee, which if I remember was the resaon he was taken out of the October Titans game. Any additional info out there?
 
...AO number 91 looked ok as well but again nothing great. Mark B. looked very bad dropping every pass that came his way. D. Walker played like he did not want to be the odd man out, no one does. Matt did throw some questionable passes but I know he will work that out with the coaches. He also looked like he hurt a little bit. He did have his knee wrapped up and I hope it is nothing too bad.

Cloak:

Here's where I saw it.

BTW, gary, thank you for posting all those observations on so many guys. Good stuff.
 
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