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Texans Minicamp, OTA’s and Preseason

thunderkyss said:
Would you rather hear of a good practice or a bad practice.
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You know I share it all. That in itself should tell you I want to hear about both. But you know some will take both information the wrong way. And you also know I love football and understand you will have both good and bad days. Comes with the territory.

Hurts had a bad day this week and that’s when that trade rumor resurfaced.
 
www.si.com

Texans Camp: Mercilus Will 'See Ball, Go Get Ball' In Lovie's New D

Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus discusses his fitness, adjusted playing style, and Houston's new defensive scheme.
www.si.com www.si.com
With the pass rush with the four down(linemen), it's nice because now it's like, 'All right, everybody doesn't really have to think,' especially with the outside linebacker," Mercilus said Friday after practice. "Especially for the ends, whether we've got to drop or anything like that, it's just see ball, go get ball, hit, react off the tackles, react off the tight ends and all that, and go make a play."
 
IDEXAN said:
Hey T_C great to see you back on the Board, and appreciate your thoughts on TC.
Since you are a lawyer I'm very interested in any observations you may have re a resolution to the Watson situation,
or is it just pointless for even a legal professional like yourself to speculate on that subject ?
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Nice to be back. TT was a welcoming introduction to finding more fans who liked talking football. :)

I wrote the thing about the Watson lawsuits last March because I was getting so many questions about it and am sadly well-positioned to provide informed commentary.

The feeling I get is that both sides are amenable to trade but that Caserio does not like the compensation. Compensation would be higher if Watson did not have a no trade clause that limited potential trade partners and unresolved lawsuits. "Doing what is in the best interest of the Texans" is a broad charge, and many things could go into that view, things we know and don't know.

The current public posture of the lawsuits does not look like imminent settlement (various reasons), but sometimes that is public puffery and things are getting settled behind the scenes. I do not think a resolution from the police department investigation is any time soon because they do not want to publicly say there is nothing there and then more people step forward to discuss their interactions with him.

This is what I wrote in March and think holds up well given events (the whole post answers a lot of question, and contains my preferred way of discussing these sensitive issues. For me, this is a painful topic for many reasons and I don't particularly like to *debate* it as it is hard to do among strangers without trivializing the topic or being gross):

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DBCooper said:
At the beginning of Training Camp
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This was Mills first time with the ones.

On 610, one commentator is a former nfl qb. He commented that he would like to see Mills take snaps with the ones, explaining that the talent level was significantly better; the speed, route running and such. Not said, that I remember, is that Mills would need to adjust. It sounds like this is what he may have experienced. Against the twos and threes he had fine practices.
 
mussop said:
He’s trash. His attitude sucks. His leadership is destroyed. He’s a quitter. He’s a disgrace as the face of the franchise. logic says let him sit on IR so he doesn’t taint the team with his BS. He doesn’t want to be here and he definitely doesn’t deserve to be here. He will be desired just as much next year by teams thinking they can win with him as he is now. Sell him to the highest bidder as soon as lawsuits are settled and move on. He shouldn’t even be here now. This at the end of the day is a business.
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Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?

Signed Wilkes Booth
 
We wouldn’t be making excuses for other QBs, rookie or not, on other teams.
 
Number19 said:
This was Mills first time with the ones.

On 610, one commentator is a former nfl qb. He commented that he would like to see Mills take snaps with the ones, explaining that the talent level was significantly better; the speed, route running and such. Not said, that I remember, is that Mills would need to adjust. It sounds like this is what he may have experienced. Against the twos and threes he had fine practices.
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I’m of that same mindset.
 
Texans_Chick said:
Hi friends, old and new.

This is the time of year that I try to help fans figure out what is going on with the Texans in training camp as I am figuring it out. I don't hang out here as much any more because busy and avoiding injury from sitting too much, but I think of y'all often, and because of the support of this forum, I ended up doing the media thing as one of my hats. If everyone in the fanbase contributes in the ways they can, it makes stuff better, she says as someone who enjoys other peoples' BBQ and beverages.

Preliminary thoughts:

* I started writing back when the number of media members was few. I got frustrated that it was hard to figure out what was happening at camp. Now there is in-house media, traditional media, more participation from radio/tv, new media. More is better, even if you may not like their tone. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses as an analyst, and if you can get past tone issues, and filter info, you can figure some things out.

Like sometimes people think I am too harsh or soft, or mean or nice, and I think that comes from people's preferences. Like sometimes people like truths in a brutal way, though people who enjoy the brutal truth, sometimes like the brutality more than the truth. I try to be fair though some people read that as being soft. Whatev. Take what works for you and leave the rest.

* It is VERY hard to communicate what you are seeing at camp to people who are not there. Sometimes people take something innocuous what you say, and make it into something bigger or smaller, or magnify good or bad days.

* The best days at camp are the ones with no real news tbh. It is easier to spot trends over days than it is to do it day to day.

* Though body language in sports IS important, particularly for leadership positions, I think over-reading body language, particularly in training camp, is a bit much and can be unfair.

* It is the weirdest time in franchise history, I say as someone who was a moderator here during the infamous surprise choice of Mario Williams that maxed out users and led to many violations of forum policies. It may be the weirdest situation in modern NFL history. Like money disputes are normal. The unresolved issues from last year into this year, the surprises at GM and HC and retaining VP of Ops, have created a weird transition. The very serious and unresolved lawsuits and police investigations of a QB who does not want to be here and wants a trade is also weird and unsettling. Also, COVID makes stuff weird, and it makes covering training camp a little weird.

* As a general rule, the more emotional the topic, the more I try to use very precise, descriptive language, and take care to express the difference between what I know and what I think. Ultimately, I don't get into optimism or pessimism, and my current orientation toward the team is that I want all Houston sports teams to be healthy, and right now, everyone would likely agree that the current stance of things does not feel that way. Lots of mutual distrust, fear, anger. It is much easier to analyze football than feelzball.

* How does COVID make covering camp more difficult? There are limited close contact media badges so some media members cannot ask questions. Where the media area is laid out is not ideal for hearing questions or answers. The area where we can stand is more limited in the past. So if there is work done on a far away field, good luck seeing what is going on.

* Some things you can't answer due to media rules that are intended to allow us to share stuff but not so much that it benefits opponents.

Camp thoughts generally:

Here are some observations-

* Watson being there is both weird and not weird.

Early in camp he does drills that if you didn't know something weird was happening, you wouldn't know. Then later, in team period, he participates in different ways. Sometimes feeds balls to Mills. Sometimes stands behind the offense looking at the field during team. Sometimes to the side. Sometimes talks to QBs/coaches/teammates. Sometimes stands by himself. Like there is a bunch of things happening over many fields.

Analysis: People are reading different things into this. My personal thought given the universe of things I know and think I know. I believe that the Texans and Watson both want a trade. Issue is proper value. Proper value is extremely difficult because of the serious nature of the lawsuits/police investigations/NFL uncertainty of punishment/blowback and his abilities and the difficulties of obtaining QB. I wrote about the Watson issues and trade in depth in March. (Not a topic I have any interest in discussing in terms of fair value because among strangers, discussing that is emotionally unpleasant and tends to trivialize real issues even if that is not the intent. That's why I made it a standalone blog post).

I think there are talks. It only takes one team to decide it is worth various knowable and unknowable risks. Personally, I do not think you can properly vet Watson's issues as an outside team because police do not share their investigations with outsiders, they do share some info with his lawyer, but they are not obligated to share fully or at all, particularly this early.

Him being at camp and at least observing things creates at least the theoretical possibility that he stays. Which doesn't depress the value of the trade. He's under contract. For various reasons I explained in March, I do not think the exempt list is imminent though Roger Goodell is not afraid of inviting legal conflict with the NFLPA. Peter King has floated the idea of him staying sorta "for the children" until Watson's cases are better resolved and he has better trade value. I don't know that the Texans would want that actually, even if it is pretty clear, by just football terms, he is the best player on the team.

* Offense

General not impressed face gif at this point.

As for the rest of the QBs, yes, I know it is early, but oof, it just feels fully like another QB carousel year. With the added component of not feeling like an offensive scheme that looks like a coherent whole. Maybe there is, but I don't see it, and it hasn't really been articulated fully. Culley has mentioned running. Kelly has mentioned an exciting offense. Just overall, and not surprising given all the changes, the offense looks really far behind where offenses usually are at this time before the first preseason game. (Caveat. I did not attend last year's COVID camp. Ramp ups are supposed to be slower but just as an observation, it seems like WHAT how many days before a pre season game?)

Taylor. Lots of batted down balls, throws in the short middle. Some moving pocket stuff looks better.

Mills. It is really hard for rookies who are not in a QB friendly, proven scheme to really shine. It is hard to learn in front of the world. Watson didn't really impress from the get go but part of that was some of his best gifts are not within scheme, and well, not impressed with OB's scheme. I don't need to tell folks here about how difficult it is for rookies to jump into weird situations and shine. He looks the part, but not sure what he is working on specifically as far as results are going. Nothing oh wow to me yet but even if it wasn't a weird year, rolling the dice on QBs especially when you have respected NFL QB coach on staff has some value.

Very overly early guess:

They are going to try to do the no real QB thing: Focus on defense and being good at running the ball, pick your spots with QB play, including some tricky things, focus on special teams and just general try hard teamwork. That can steal games against superior talent/scheme teams, and if your defense is good enough, and your QB can rise to the occasion, you can succeed that way but it isn't easy.

Sort of a Baltimore/Brady's first year intention which would be their best case given current stance of team. Worst case would be many years of Texans futility.

Basically playing to strengths: I think the offensive line/running backs look like they might be able to do some things barring injury as sort of a contrarian to the modern NFL thing, playing to strengths.

From a fantasy football perspective, waiting for pads, seeing which RBs stay healthy in this heat. (Minor note. In the past with the heat we have right now, the team has sometimes started camp earlier in the morning. Like you'd have to check your email before camp to see if they moved up the time. 9:00/9:15 start.)

* Defense/Special Teams

The teaching on the defense looks more normal to my eye. Can't really tell much about them without pads. Lots of work on special teams, and I think they need that to maybe steal from teams with better schemes/carry over chemistry. At a minimum, it seems as though players are more excited about see ball, get ball, and using their athleticism more instead of reacting so much. Figuring out fits of players may be different but at least it won't be trying to run a defense where you do not have the grown men roster to run it.

* Overall Too Early Impression

I was underwhelmed by OB's coordinator/position coach staff. So just having NFL people who know the game a bit and have had some level of success may be of benefit. That said, it reminds a bit of the early Capers years: Can various NFL coaches who have shiny resumes and some old heads put a coherent whole together that works for the roster they have, whatever that ends up being?

I know competition is said a lot, and I wonder how real players can be when they have little security on the team, and it gets over said. But yeah, I didn't like the level of competition and hunger on OB's squads ever, and particularly in recent years.

Anyway, this is very general, and not very specific. For the individual players, at this point it is more like, do they look the part, do they perform like they belong on a NFL field? That seems kind of basic, but that has not always been the case. It is very rare that you see a player that flashes immediately, and that is usually a position where you can do that in early camp. I am not a hype person.

Anyway, if you have any specific questions or want more context behind a report you've heard, please ask here. I will answer what I can. Some things you can't answer obviously. I will check in and out while I am trying to stay out of this heat. If you are reading this far later then when I am checking in, you can @ me on Twitter too - @StephStradley
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Good stuff as always. Welcome back Stephanie.
 
thunderkyss said:
We wouldn’t be making excuses for other QBs, rookie or not, on other teams.
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Well of course we're gonna make excuses. This is our 1st pick, 3rd round savior of the franchise.

Seriously though, he likely doesn't even get reps with the ones if Taylor is not absent. This kid has just 13 collegiate games under his belt, he's not just going to step in and shine on day 4 of an NFL training camp. He's not ready and has a shit ton of work to do. Maybe Taylor missing practice and him getting a shot with the 1's is a blessing. If he didn't know before, at least he knows now that there's some serious work to do. Learn and be better on day 5, 6 and so on.
 
Thorn said:
Yes, and I just traded you for a bag of cheetos. To the Cowboys. Jerrah called, he's want to take you for a massage.
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So you got the same for me as Deandre Hopkins? Again? Jerry Jones knows how to party. He doesn’t get the Deshaun Watson type of massage. If that guy is going you are going to want to tag along.

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Speedy said:
Well of course we're gonna make excuses. This is our 1st pick, 3rd round savior of the franchise.

Seriously though, he likely doesn't even get reps with the ones if Taylor is not absent. This kid has just 13 collegiate games under his belt, he's not just going to step in and shine on day 4 of an NFL training camp. He's not ready and has a shit ton of work to do. Maybe Taylor missing practice and him getting a shot with the 1's is a blessing. If he didn't know before, at least he knows now that there's some serious work to do. Learn and be better on day 5, 6 and so on.
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don’t let thunderkyss twist your balls. He likes to stir the pot:stirpot:
 
thunderkyss said:
We wouldn’t be making excuses for other QBs, rookie or not, on other teams.
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Myself personally, I would give any young quarterback the same leeway as I feel is deserved for Davis Mills. After all he is only a third round pick. Many other fans and pundits may not choose to give the young man a break but I think there is no need to be overly critical of him at this time.

I am fine with being critical when I think the situation merits it but as far as my judgement of Davis Mills, at this time I don't think his early struggles are anything to be too critical of. It is still early in training camp and I am not overly worried about how Davis Mills has performed up till now. That does not mean he should be let completely off the hook. I am sure he will be coached up and he will be amenable to learning. If he shows that he is improving I am not going to be too concerend with some of his early struggles.
 
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They could always given him the flatulence test. Simply put your right foot on the chair, slightly bend at the hips, and push with all you got:

1. If it still has a robust rat-tat-tat vibrato acoustic value to it…..maybe no one massaged the area as stated.

2. If it sounds like someone blowing excessively into the mouth of a empty one-gallon clay moonshine jug…..there might’ve been some intense massaging of the area of concern. Is it possible for the said area to reach a point of no return if the massaging was too excessive?
 
OptimisticTexan said:
They could always given him the flatulence test. Simply put your right foot on the chair, slightly bend at the hips, and push with all you got:

1. If it still has a robust rat-tat-tat vibrato acoustic value to it…..maybe no one massaged the area as stated.

2. If it sounds like someone blowing excessively into the mouth of a empty one-gallon clay moonshine jug…..there might’ve been some intense massaging of the area of concern. Is it possible for the said area to reach a point of no return if the massaging was too excessive?
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I don't know if it's possible, but given your scale above.. My hypothesis is Watson's "sound" is identical to that of a whoopee cushion. Flap-flap-splat :)
 
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