Keep Texans Talk Google Ad Free!
Venmo Tip Jar | Paypal Tip Jar
Thanks for your support! 🍺😎👍

Hard Knocks: Houston Texans 2015

I liked Blue's response when he was walking to the sideline..."Yo, Cushing acting crazy, man." something like that. I thought it was pretty funny.
 
I think it's obvious that OB has a strong hand when it comes to editing for these shows. A lot of fluff stuff without a lot of meat. I dig the heck out of it, but you can definitely tell (from past HKs) that a lot that goes on inside the building is being cut out. They basically wasted their time installing robotic office cams. Ha
 
Marshall said:
I like how Blue didn't allow himself to be intimidated AND how Cushing was trying to BE intimidating. Is that the subtle leadership sneaking through or do you think Cushing was really upset?
Click to expand...
I don't know, but I noticed Blue blocking better after Cushing got in his head. Maybe that was Cushing's intent, to push Blue harder.
 
Mollywhopper said:
I don't think Cush had any intent other than not looking not alpha. I don't think Cush ever in any scenario has any intent other than that.
Click to expand...

I think that's his nature but I don't think you're giving him enough credit. When DeMeco left Cush realized he had to take on an actual leadership role and not just a lead by example role...and he has a totally different style but it works too.
 
infantrycak said:
I think that's his nature but I don't think you're giving him enough credit. When DeMeco left Cush realized he had to take on an actual leadership role and not just a lead by example role...and he has a totally different style but it works too.
Click to expand...

I didn't even mean what I said as a knock on him. He leads with toughness, hard work, and tenacity, all honorable traits. But no one is expecting Cush to be pulling levers behind the curtain to motivate guys.

Kasparov he's not, but he plays the meanest game of alpha checkers imaginable. And that's great.
 
Last edited:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-knocks-recap-no-2-cushing-a-compelling-bully

Pretty good read.

His name is Brian Cushing and he spent the majority of screen time in Tuesday's episode acting like the antagonist in a 80s teen comedy. Cushing is Billy Zabka, 31 gallons of sentient testosterone intent on sweeping the leg of every puny running back who dares to challenge him.

In Episode 2 it was poor Alfred Blue, who just wants America to take him seriously as Arian Foster's replacement. That won't be easy after watching Cushing taunt, tease and manhandle Blue in a one-on-one blocking drill.
 
Mollywhopper said:
I didn't even mean what I said as a knock on him. He leads with toughness, hard work, and tenacity, all honorable traits. But no one is expecting Cush to be pulling levers behind the curtain to motivate guys.

Kasparov he's not, but he plays the meanest game of alpha checkers imaginable. And that's great.
Click to expand...

As I said, I think you are selling him short. He's not the most cerebral guy around but I do think he intentionally directs his mayhem.
 
Loved the episode.

I liked the Charles James bit. I also found it interesting that blue was planning dance moves before getting into the end zone. Lesson learned I hope.

I like seeing how OB talks to jj watt. Challenges him during practice. Liked seeing clowney. I liked seeing OB tell mallet that if he gets a fucked up call to not just run it like a mindless drone.

I like seeing the player interactions during practice and games.
 
My 2¢ on Cushing, what you see on TV is his football persona. He knows his role and plays it well. To me Blue got the better of him twice so he called him out for a 3rd shot. He needed that win. Much to do about nothing.

Charles James has the right mentality, that safety is going to learn the hard way.

Kevin Johnson didn't get a haircut. I find that very interesting.

It was easier not knowing who a guy was before. Cuts won't be easy this year.
 
PapaL said:
My 2¢ on Cushing, what you see on TV is his football persona. He knows his role and plays it well. To me Blue got the better of him twice so he called him out for a 3rd shot. He needed that win. Much to do about nothing.

Charles James has the right mentality, that safety is going to learn the hard way.

Kevin Johnson didn't get a haircut. I find that very interesting.

It was easier not knowing who a guy was before. Cuts won't be easy this year.
Click to expand...
I like the hazing rooks have to go thru, probably because I've been subjected to that treatment more than once in the past.
But I'm surprised they did anything because I thought the league had gone to totaling ban that sort of stuff ?
 
Great episode, much better than last week. I like the focus on the training camp practices and game situations. Last week had a lot of useless fluff that I really don't care about.

Anyone know why they had the safety and CB double-teaming that one SF receiver (I think it was Wright)? Seemed like overkill to me.
 
Dutchrudder said:
Great episode, much better than last week. I like the focus on the training camp practices and game situations. Last week had a lot of useless fluff that I really don't care about.

Anyone know why they had the safety and CB double-teaming that one SF receiver (I think it was Wright)? Seemed like overkill to me.
Click to expand...

I thought those were special teams plays.
 
This is the best Cushing has looked health wise in years. Since 2011 when he was named the team MVP and was a second team All Pro. That was around the time many viewed him as the best inside linebacker in the league.
 
Cushing is such an asset to this team as resident bully/enforcer.

Sure bullying is bad in schools but I can't help but be entertained at an NFL player imposing his will on other alpha males. I hope the Cush gives someone a swirly on next week's Hard Knocks!
 
Watched the part about the QB sneak again. At least for that call it looked like OB was out of the loop. He's like wtf to Mallett who turns around to Godsey and says I was doing what you said and then OB said something like don't care fix it. So Godsey call thru a comm link that didn't include OB.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
Loved the episode.

I liked the Charles James bit. I also found it interesting that blue was planning dance moves before getting into the end zone. Lesson learned I hope.

I like seeing how OB talks to jj watt. Challenges him during practice. Liked seeing clowney. I liked seeing OB tell mallet that if he gets a fucked up call to not just run it like a mindless drone.

I like seeing the player interactions during practice and games.
Click to expand...
Kinda thought that was a no-win for Mallett. If it IS what Godsey/OB wanted and then you call the timeout, you get your ass chewed for taking a timeout and letting the Defense regroup.

Coaches never want a mindless drone, but they also want you to run the play they called.
 
kiwitexansfan said:
Should have drafted him over Mario Williams.......

:kitten:
Click to expand...
obsiwan slaps Kiwi around a bit with a large trout

images
 
disaacks3 said:
Kinda thought that was a no-win for Mallett. If it IS what Godsey/OB wanted and then you call the timeout, you get your ass chewed for taking a timeout and letting the Defense regroup.

Coaches never want a mindless drone, but they also want you to run the play they called.
Click to expand...

Coaches are different.

Some coaches don't want any changes at all. I think it's been established that OB gives his qbs some freedom at the LOS.

That said from now on mallet knows to either double check the call, signal timeout, or get to the line and change it. Plus I'm pretty sure they had more discussions about it than what was shown on hard knocks.

Once they went back and watched film I'm sure they hashed out exactly what happened there and came to some sort of resolution for future instances if that happens again.

Or maybe it was a godsey OB issue.

Learning experience for all.
 
infantrycak said:
Watched the part about the QB sneak again. At least for that call it looked like OB was out of the loop. He's like wtf to Mallett who turns around to Godsey and says I was doing what you said and then OB said something like don't care fix it. So Godsey call thru a comm link that didn't include OB.
Click to expand...

I was (and am) uncertain whether it was the scenario you described, or Mallett misunderstanding the play call and running something that surprised both OB and Godsey. Either way I like OB's response of "If it seems stupid, it probably is, so do something different". OB's given Mallett (or whoever the QB ends up being) the autonomy to correct something that is stupid on it's face. The other side of that is that OB and the Texans have the right to expect that a.) The QB can correctly identify what is and what isn't "stupid on it's face", and b.) Whatever they change it to will be a smart playcall (or at least less stupid than what they audible out of).
 
disaacks3 said:
Kinda thought that was a no-win for Mallett. If it IS what Godsey/OB wanted and then you call the timeout, you get your ass chewed for taking a timeout and letting the Defense regroup.

Coaches never want a mindless drone, but they also want you to run the play they called.
Click to expand...
Well, if that was true Saturday night, OB's just made sure it's not true down the road by clarifying his expectations.
 
Yeah, I love O'Brien's response to the QB sneak. After dealing with Kubiak who thought his QB should never change the play at the line, I loved hearing that from OB.

This show is turning me into a pretty big fan of Mallet. I really hope he wins the job. He seems like he has improved, looks really confident out there, and his accuracy seems a lot better. We all know his arm strength is up there with Stafford and Flacco so if he can ever figure out the mental game, he could be a very good QB.
 
Cushing calls out blue destroys blue but BTW off the field Cush is a calm Dude :P

glad they pointed that out ...... LOL
 
disaacks3 said:
Kinda thought that was a no-win for Mallett. If it IS what Godsey/OB wanted and then you call the timeout, you get your ass chewed for taking a timeout and letting the Defense regroup.

Coaches never want a mindless drone, but they also want you to run the play they called.
Click to expand...

The way that I understood it was that Mallett misinterpreted the play call not that Godsey called a QB sneak. When he went to the sideline OB asked him what was up and he said he was just running the play. OB then told him if he thinks he got a screwed up call then to change it and don't run a stupid play. Seems like it was a miscommunication and afterward OB was reinforcing to Mal that he has the power to change the call if he thinks it's messed up.

I may be wrong though. I don't have DVR so only heard that conversation live that one time.
 
Two things that really stood out to me in this episode were...

1) Charles James may not be the most talented guy in the room but he freaking gets it. His conversation with that rookie Safety was legit. Practice isn't just practice for fringe roster guys. It's money making time. Livelihood is on the line. It's the difference between making $500k a year playing special teams or making $50k a year selling cars.

2) I could listen to Vrabel slap around rookies all day long. His encounters with Trail may seem mean or like bullying, but Vrabel is a long time vet with playing and coaching experience at high levels in both pro and college. I think he sees some softness in Trail and is trying to push him to see how he will react. It's a test. A guy with Trail's natural ability can turn it on when he wants to in college and still succeed. You can't do that in the NFL. If you're not turned up every single play then you're likely out of a job.
 
infantrycak said:
Godsey was right there and acknowledged that was the play call with a nod of his head.
Click to expand...

Ok then I have no idea what that was about then because OB got onto Mallett afterward about running a sneak on 3rd & 3. Perhaps they were testing him to see if he would audible or would run the play as called.
 
I actually thought the play was intentionally sent in to see if Ryan Mallett would have the smarts to change it fast on the go. Tom Brady does it all the time in New England. A preseason game you can afford to challenge your players mentally as well. Another funny part was the penalty called on Mallett pre-snap, and O'Brien shouted out that only two quarterbacks can do that. I assume he was referring to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
 
Haven't seen anyone comment yet on O'Brien's comment when Mallet got called for the false start. That was hilarious hearing him say something like, "Come on, there are only two QBs in the league that can get away with that." We all know he's referencing Manning and Brady. It then was hilarious hearing Mallet reinforce that by saying he did that because he was so used to watching Tom (Brady) do it all the time. Funny stuff.
 
Bulls on Parade said:
I actually thought the play was intentionally sent in to see if Ryan Mallett would have the smarts to change it fast on the go. Tom Brady does it all the time in New England. A preseason game you can afford to challenge your players mentally as well. Another funny part was the penalty called on Mallett pre-snap, and O'Brien shouted out that only two quarterbacks can do that. I assume he was referring to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Click to expand...

That is exactly what he meant, and it's total bullshit that they get away with it. Manning is more obvious about it than brady, but it's still ridiculous. Every once in a while some ref will call him on it for one game, and he will complain every time and get all sad. There was a rule change a few years ago regarding it, but it's still selectively enforced in an NBA-like fashion.
 
Dutchrudder said:
That is exactly what he meant, and it's total bullshit that they get away with it. Manning is more obvious about it than brady, but it's still ridiculous. Every once in a while some ref will call him on it for one game, and he will complain every time and get all sad. There was a rule change a few years ago regarding it, but it's still selectively enforced in an NBA-like fashion.
Click to expand...

Well the NFL just got called out on it real publicly by an insider. Be a nice hallway chat between Goodell and the head of officiating.
 
Dutchrudder said:
That is exactly what he meant, and it's total bullshit that they get away with it. Manning is more obvious about it than brady, but it's still ridiculous. Every once in a while some ref will call him on it for one game, and he will complain every time and get all sad. There was a rule change a few years ago regarding it, but it's still selectively enforced in an NBA-like fashion.
Click to expand...

Bulls on Parade said:
I actually thought the play was intentionally sent in to see if Ryan Mallett would have the smarts to change it fast on the go. Tom Brady does it all the time in New England. A preseason game you can afford to challenge your players mentally as well. Another funny part was the penalty called on Mallett pre-snap, and O'Brien shouted out that only two quarterbacks can do that. I assume he was referring to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
Click to expand...

Totally missed Bulls on Parade pointing this out.

As I mentioned, it also adds to the narrative that Mallet said it far more directly about Brady saying he always watched Tom do it and forgot that he couldn't get away with it.

That kind of stuff has to stop, and I love the fact that this got pointed out for all the world to see by two guys that have been in the Patriots locker room.
 
I was really surprised by how poorly Strong has been playing. I never read about that in the camp reports. It's been all rainbows and unicorns.
 
Say Watt said:
Totally missed Bulls on Parade pointing this out.

As I mentioned, it also adds to the narrative that Mallet said it far more directly about Brady saying he always watched Tom do it and forgot that he couldn't get away with it.

That kind of stuff has to stop, and I love the fact that this got pointed out for all the world to see by two guys that have been in the Patriots locker room.
Click to expand...


Mallet looks like he really studied Tom and tried to emulate him all the way down to the socks. Literally.

tom-brady-under-armour-turf-cleats-700x932.jpg



920x1240.jpg
 
infantrycak said:
Watched the part about the QB sneak again. At least for that call it looked like OB was out of the loop. He's like wtf to Mallett who turns around to Godsey and says I was doing what you said and then OB said something like don't care fix it. So Godsey call thru a comm link that didn't include OB.
Click to expand...
Good to know how it went down as I said "stupid play for preseason".
 
Say Watt said:
Yeah, I love O'Brien's response to the QB sneak. After dealing with Kubiak who thought his QB should never change the play at the line, I loved hearing that from OB.

This show is turning me into a pretty big fan of Mallet. I really hope he wins the job. He seems like he has improved, looks really confident out there, and his accuracy seems a lot better. We all know his arm strength is up there with Stafford and Flacco so if he can ever figure out the mental game, he could be a very good QB.
Click to expand...
I thought the "accuracy" issue with Mallett was on deep balls which he did not attempt in this game?
 
DocBar said:
I was really surprised by how poorly Strong has been playing. I never read about that in the camp reports. It's been all rainbows and unicorns.
Click to expand...
My understanding from the Hard knocks and TC threads Strong was criticized for being out of condition and "needing to catch up". Also, IIRC Strong was thrown to one time in game and it resulted in 10 yard TD.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top