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2018 TRAINING CAMP

CloakNNNdagger said:
Clowney took part in team drill today...........for a very short period..........only ONE drill........and was then relegated back to the sideline. O'Brien has said that he was going to ease Clowney back into play, but for him to come out so quickly after such a long rehab makes you think that Clowney's knee may not be responding as hoped. To be seen as TC progresses.
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Will the Killer Wats be up to full speed by the start of regular season? What are long term prospects for JJ ___(t)s and Deshaun ___s(on)?
 
badboy said:
That stance looks like Watson about to trip himself.
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Is this better?
:)
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Reading the camp report in the Chron this morning, there’s a mention that one of the things being stressed is using the hands properly, because of a new helmet rule. Can anyone shed some insight on this change in the rules.
 
CloakNNNdagger said:



Still scratching my head over the previous weight loss. He ran a 4.32 40 when he weighed 186 at the Combine.
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The Chron this morning interviews Fuller, who mentions he has always been thin and had problems putting on weight. Says this past off season, the pounds he added were “quality” pounds, lean muscle.

It doesn’t say, and combining this with your comment, it reads like he may have added some bulk for the combine, but did not maintain it.

It also mentions that in his weight training, he has avoided adding weights to his lifting. Again it doesn’t say, but this reads like going for repetition. It’s been almost 50 years since I learned just a smidgen about lifting, in high school. But as I remember, there is a difference in muscle development when training for repetition rather than strength. Can anyone comment?

(edit) Got home and now at my computer, so here's the link:
https://www.chron.com/sports/texans...l-Fuller-bulks-up-to-become-more-13113401.php
 
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Number19 said:
The Chron this morning interviews Fuller, who mentions he has always been thin and had problems putting on weight. Says this past off season, the pounds he added were “quality” pounds, lean muscle.

It doesn’t say, and combining this with your comment, it reads like he may have added some bulk for the combine, but did not maintain it.

It also mentions that in his weight training, he has avoided adding weights to his lifting. Again it doesn’t say, but this reads like going for repetition. It’s been almost 50 years since I learned just a smidgen about lifting, in high school. But as I remember, there is a difference in muscle development when training for repetition rather than strength. Can anyone comment?
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You can lift for strength and not add an appreciable amount of size if you choose by using heavier loads (85% - 100% 1 rep max) and limiting the volume of work (volume is typically calculated by multiplying sets x reps). Lifting to momentary muscle failure coupled with using an appropriate volume of work and a moderate load (roughly 60-80% 1 rep max) tends build muscle size. That’s the basic idea
 
Sarah Barshop‏@sarahbarshop 2h2 hours ago

*Kareem Jackson said he’s been practicing at safety on both the right and left side. Bill O’Brien said he’s also talked to the former cornerback about making sure he can continue to be versatile on the field.

*By far the most entertaining part of training camp thus far: a goal-line drill that the defense won 4-2. Brian Peters stuffed rookie Terry Swanson on the final attempt and the defense ran to the 30-yard line in celebration. The offense had to do pushups after their loss.
 
Defence is always ahead of the offence in early camp. I would have been kind of concerned if the offence was winning this early.
 
KemahKeith said:
Never do i recall, getting so little information this many days into camp.
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Like Cloak said, 2 of the big contributors on training camp info are hurt and unable to travel to WV.

John Harris is the only one that has given daily updates. While I enjoy them, (because they're all we get) I feel like he avoids mentioning when players struggle

Other than Jordan Thomas needing to become a better blocker, he makes it seem like Akins and Thomas are going to contribute this year and in a big way. Harris likes to sip on the Texans Koolaid.
 
AngryNateFTW said:
Like Cloak said, 2 of the big contributors on training camp info are hurt and unable to travel to WV.

John Harris is the only one that has given daily updates. While I enjoy them, (because they're all we get) I feel like he avoids mentioning when players struggle

Other than Jordan Thomas needing to become a better blocker, he makes it seem like Akins and Thomas are going to contribute this year and in a big way. Harris likes to sip on the Texans Koolaid.
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It’s his job to be positive and pro Texan. He works for the team. He’s very knowledgeable about the game but handcuffed in what he can and cannot report. You just have to take what he says with a grain of salt.

And when we scrimmage another team look for reports from their beat writers on how the practices are going!
 
CloakNNNdagger said:
Here.....take it back........I don't want it........


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All our answers for the upcoming season come from there...........

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Nobody's taking our Blanky............

DjIja19X4AAa1U-.jpg

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CloakNNNdagger said:
Fuller said he has gained 15-20 lbs with the help of Richesson. So he played last year at 165-170...........at 6'. No wonder the durability problems. He actually weighed in at 186 at the Combine (and at that time was criticized for small body type. Wonder whose great idea it was to have him drop down to 165-170???

Fuller has enough problems having to compensate his tiny 8 1/4 inch hands without introducing a tiny body type............
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I think for WRs and corners speed in 40 at pro days and combine gets more notice than weight. They can add weight in off seasons. Almost every college CB I review needs to add weight as every O. Lineman needs to add strength. A more solid Fuller (and Ellington) with another NFL season of experience behind them could bring greatly increased productivity. This in turn with a healthy #4 could have Hopkins getting player of the year and historical stats.
 
AngryNateFTW said:
Like Cloak said, 2 of the big contributors on training camp info are hurt and unable to travel to WV.

John Harris is the only one that has given daily updates. While I enjoy them, (because they're all we get) I feel like he avoids mentioning when players struggle

Other than Jordan Thomas needing to become a better blocker, he makes it seem like Akins and Thomas are going to contribute this year and in a big way. Harris likes to sip on the Texans Koolaid.
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or Harris likes to bring positives at this point of year to fans hungry for hope. Week two of training camp is time enough to start tearing team apart.
 
Romeo Crennel determined to restore bite to Texans’ defense
By Brian T. Smith, Houston Chronicle

July 29, 2018 Updated: July 29, 2018 8:27pm WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Something was missing last year.

Major injuries played a part. Losing Whitney Mercilus and J.J. Watt for most of the 2017 season obviously didn’t help.

But that doesn’t fully explain why the Texans’ defense — once the strongest asset of Houston’s pro football team - fell all the way to last in the NFL in average points allowed (27.3) and ranked 20th out of 32 teams in yards surrendered per game (346.6).

No wonder Bill O’Brien posted a losing record for the first time in four years as his squad went a disappointing 4-12.

And no wonder that in 2018, the 71-year-old Virginia native best known as RAC is back in charge of a defensive attack that must return to form if the Texans have any hope of making the playoffs this season.
THE REST OF THE STORY
 
The MMQB

✔@theMMQB
https://twitter.com/theMMQB/status/1023006397007581184

Jadeveon Clowney will be key to Houston's diamond fronts. @Andy_Benoit's 10 thoughts on the 2018 Texans: https://trib.al/Im5SFoK

7:45 PM - Jul 27, 2018

1. Bill O’Brien and Deshaun Watson acclimated to each other on the fly in a very impressive manner. O’Brien brilliantly replaced many of the complex option routes from his playbook with misdirection concepts, highlighting Watson’s mobility. Watson, in return, did not use that mobility as a crutch, committing more each week to playing from the pocket. That’s essential for sustained NFL success. And if Watson and O’Brien continue this way, Houston will soon have one of the NFL’s most electrifying aerial attacks. Watson does not have a cannon arm, but his downfield decisiveness can be more than enough. Notably, he’s comfortable making these downfield throws while on the move and outside the pocket. His vision and touch, though maybe not quite to Russell Wilson’s level, are excellent.

Assuming Watson is healthy, the only concern is his callow sense for appropriate risk-taking. He threw eight interceptions last year and could have easily had 12 or 14. Decision-making usually improves with experience, though that gunslinger mentality might make him one of those Favreian star QBs whose turnovers you just have to live with.

2. Having speedy vertical receivers like a healthy Will Fuller and fourth-round rookie Keke Coutee can change Watson’s world. Not only are more downfield throws available, but safeties now can’t always squat on DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins is football’s most befuddling receiver. He’s not fast, quick, big or refined, and yet, his production is almost unmatched. No one is better at making contested catches.

3. Dire questions along the offensive line could really hinder the vertical passing game. O’Brien hails from a Patriots system that prioritizes getting all five eligible receivers out in routes, but on deep shots he’ll add one, or even two, of those receivers to the protection. O’Brien’s left tackle, Julie’n Davenport, is one of the NFL’s greenest linemen, and his starting right tackle, whether it’s Seantrel Henderson or Kendall Lamm, is more of a high-level backup.

7. The other key to those diamond fronts is Jadeveon Clowney, who hopes to become the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player when his contract expires after this season. Playing in an ornate pass-rushing scheme like Houston’s is important because Clowney, though perhaps the game’s most destructive run-defender, does not have the flexibility to consistently bend around the edge. His deceptive herky-jerky movement can still generate outside pressure, but he’s most dangerous inside, where he relies on upfield burst. Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel must keep aligning Clowney at defensive tackle and standup joker positions, and looping him around on stunts against centers and guards.

8. It’s no accident that Houston’s starting safeties, Tyrann Mathieu and Kareem Jackson, are former slot corners. Or that last year’s starter, Andre Hal, who is out battling Hodgkin Lymphoma, is a former cornerback. The Texans play a lot of quarters coverage concepts on early downs, where zone coverages can convert into man-to-man. On third downs, they play a lot of straight man coverage. Disguises and wrinkles are common in all their coverages. If the safeties can’t act as de facto inside cornerbacks, the scheme loses potency.

9. The Texans have a thumping linebacker in Benardrick McKinney and a run-and-chase linebacker in Zach Cunningham, both of whom can star in those diamond pass-rushing fronts. McKinney just got a new five-year deal worth $21 million guaranteed, though Cunningham, because of his speed and potential versatility, could be more valuable by season’s end.

10. Cornerback Kevin Johnson has superb transitional movement skills, but it doesn’t matter if he can’t stay healthy. He’s missed 14 games over the last two years, including four last season with a left MCL sprain. With 34-year-old Johnathan Joseph slowing down and becoming increasingly vulnerable to deep in-breaking routes, Houston—even with the arrival of free agent ex-Jaguar Aaron Colvin—no longer has the cornerbacking depth to survive a prolonged Johnson absence.

BOTTOMLINE: The big names on offense and defense are talented enough to make Houston dangerous week in and week out, but the lineups beneath the stars are pocked with question marks. This team has a "boom or bust" feel.
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O'Brien on KJ
“He’s a versatile guy,” O’Brien said. “He’s concentrating on safety now, but we actually talked this morning again – he and I – just about making sure you know the other spots, too. He’s one of those guys back there that’s kind of a utility that can do some different things. Right now, he’s playing safety but helping us on special teams doing some different things. So, he’s doing a lot of different things.”

Jackson, who enters his ninth season in the NFL, all with Houston, prides himself on being able to play multiple spots and not get locked into just one role.

“That’s one of the things that I take pride in, my game and being able to play multiple positions, being able to play corner, the ‘Star’ spot and now safety,” Jackson said. “For me, it’s about being versatile. If I can be versatile, I can help this team any way possible. That’s what I’m all for.”
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https://texanswire.usatoday.com/201...m_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=pos3headline

Nothing really new but TC info.
 
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Carr Bombed said:
He put Johnathan Joseph in the spin cycle. :)

Will Fuller has mostly been known as a deep threat burner, but his route running is vastly underrated.

Imagine what Kubiak could do with these weapons/QB paired with his zone blocking scheme/running game?
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What I feel is being underrated is his small 8 1/4" hands. This is likely why he has always been criticized for his body catching (as in video above) and drop rate.
 
Outside of the 40 yard dash, hand size is probably the most overblown physical attribute there is when it comes to evaluating talent at the WR position. No wr ever catches even 90% of the balls thrown to them with only their hands. Ball placement, body positioning, defender positioning... all that stuff matters when setting up to catch. Many times, trapping the ball into your body is probably the best way to make the catch. He wasn't ever as bad as draft nerds claimed and if his hands size had been such a detriment, i doubt he makes it to this level. His issue like most other guys is concentration.
 
Mr teX said:
Outside of the 40 yard dash, hand size is probably the most overblown physical attribute there is when it comes to evaluating talent at the WR position. No wr ever catches even 90% of the balls thrown to them with only their hands. Ball placement, body positioning, defender positioning... all that stuff matters when setting up to catch. Many times, trapping the ball into your body is probably the best way to make the catch. He wasn't ever as bad as draft nerds claimed and if his hands size had been such a detriment, i doubt he makes it to this level. His issue like most other guys is concentration.
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Or a QB only throwing 49 MPH (average at the combine) on his throws.
 
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Texans coach Bill O'Brien wants sharper practice

July 31, 2018 Updated: July 31, 2018 4:34pm

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. -- It wasn't an obviously sloppy workout, but Texans coach Bill O'Brien wasn't thrilled with the tempo and crispness of practice Tuesday after being off Monday.

"Not really, I need to see that more," O'Brien said. "I think that they need to come out ready to go [Wednesday.]"

O'Brien delivered that message to his players.

They'll be in full pads Wednesday morning.

"Practice was decent, not the crispiest," outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus said. "Definitely (should) be a lot sharper, especially coming off the off day. That's what coach (O'Brien) harped on, so we're going to be coming out full pads and we have to be very, very sharp."
 
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