Marshall'sLaw said:
So Jerek is Jason Babin looking better this year at DE? Has he put on some weight?
Babin has been a pleasant surprise thusfar. I still think Peek is the better pass rusher but Babin is probably a more solid allround DE as of now. I heard Babin is currently weighing around 272 and Peek is around 268, so they have both bulked up some. Babin needs to work on developing more moves though, he's somewhat of a 1 trick pony right now.
U4ikrob said:
Any news on the Peek injury?? Was reading the reports and mentioned him going down and that they would report after x-rays?
http://www.houstontexans.com/news/detail.php?PRKey=2690§ion=N Latest News
And how was TJ looking?? After being callled out a number of times now and being told he has to loose some weight I'm anxious to see if he's gonna man-up.
Any news on Demeco? I hear my main man D-Wreck is playing almost every LB position out there - with Rainer going down its looking like Demeco may be cracking the starting lineup. As I was saying back after the draft - I think Demeco will be giving anyone stiff competion for RoY if he gets to start this year. I definitely see him becoming a future Pro-bowl type player.
I don't think Peek is really hurt, he looks like he was feeling sick the last day or two, probably from the heat. Dunta is day to day with a tweaked ankle, Faggins is out 6-10 weeks with a broken foot, Rainer is done for the year, and there have been some other minor tweaks and problems adjusting to the heat, but I'm not aware of any other real injuries.
TJ has improved marginally the last couple days and is seeing some more reps, but he still has a long way to go before he gets much playing time. Weaver has looked very good so far and they play the same position on the line, so unless Weaver gets hurt I don't see much PT for TJ.
Demeco has looked pretty solid so far and seems to be picking things up pretty well, especially considering he's having to learn multiple positions. I was originally thinking he'd probably see more time at OLB this year but with Rainer's injury he could see significant time at MLB, he spent most of today at 1st team MLB with Cowart on 2nd team.
A4toZ said:
Agree with the above. Kinda like AJ wrote in VoF, when the defense does really well, you wonder if the offense is realy messing up (or something like that). What's Carr looking like these days with the revised system - from what I saw on ch 13's hour long special, I was liking the nice passes on target (would they highlight anything else?) but then hearing of the picks today, it sparked a renewed wonder. Overall - how is Carr, Rosen., and all QB's looking?
Oh, and maybe it's just a few highlights given v. thought out viewpoints? I know the majority appreciate y'alls review, especially those unable to attend or out of towners. It's kinda like the Texans ticker report.... just some info / observation till we can ALL see on August 12th.
Carr still looks sharp, other than the DLine is getting pretty consistent pressure on him and in a real game he'd have to move around more than he is for practice. Rosenfels had a bit of a rough day today, especially against our 1st team defense, but overall he's looked pretty good. Pickett looks ok but nothing special, he's seen very few reps but he just arrived here three days ago and is learning the whole system. Porter has shown flashes of talent but is making a lot of rookie mistakes, which is to be expected from an undrafted rookie.
humbleone said:
First, thanks a million Coach C, Jerek and others for taking the time to post your observations. Many of us are starving for anything "Texan" these days.
Regarding questions, here are mine:
(1) Have you seen us in 11 on 11 practicing against a "cover 2" and if so how do we look?
(2) What is Moulds doing so far and when he is not in there, who is lining up in the "2"?
(3) Sounds like Putzier is getting most of the TE reps with the 1st team, where is our boy BJ seeing action?
Thanks again guys...your terrific!!!
The offense has gone against some zone, but not really a cover 2. Right now they are running our offensive scheme vs. our defensive scheme, and we aren't running a cover 2 so the offense hasn't seen much of it at all. The defense is running a lot of man to man thusfar (may add more zone coverages later, who knows at this point other than the coaches), and have run some man zones and a little cover 2, but that hasn't been a primary defense that the offense has faced thusfar.
Moulds has been held out of a couple morning practices but I've heard he participates fully in the afternoon ones out of the heat, so I think that's been his problem thusfar. When he's not playing he's right there watching and picking up on things and offering advice to AJ and others.
They have actually rotated the TEs a lot. Putzier and Bruener have basically exclusively been in with the 1st team, but Daniels, Steele, and Joppru have all seen some reps with them too and more reps with 2nd/3rd team. Bruener has seen a lot of action too, and has pretty good hands, he's just real slow. Putzier is a nice receiving option. Joppru and Daniels have seen a decent amount of action as H-Backs too and seem to be embracing that versatile role and both have looked pretty solid. Steele has looked ok the few times they look his way.
Lucky said:
jerek, what have you seen regarding the pass protection schemes? Are you seeing a lot of 5 man routes, or are they keeping FBs in to block sometimes? Have the tackles gotten any help from the TE to block Mario?
I'm not Jerek but I'll add my comments to this. Thusfar the pass protection has been fairly suspect, although I think a lot of that is our DLine playing very well, playing very aggressive, and really being driven by Smith/Karm. At times we've seen a lot of play actions, bootlegs, etc. and Carr has thrown the ball very well on the move in these situations. So far when they've had him stay in the pocket he's getting pressured pretty quickly, although he does look a lot better at staying with it, bailing only if necessary, and either throwing it away out of bounds or waiting and finding a receiver on the move rather than taking a hit behind the LOS. The TEs and FBs don't stay in and pass block much in this system, they have a decent amount where they block for a second then release for a pass, and they've run some screens that have been pretty effective against the high pressure. Mario, Peek, Babin, and Weaver have all looked great so far, especially when it's the four of them together on nickel formations.
Texans86 said:
I am greatly interested in y'alls point of view on Chris Taylor. Apparently he is very decisive and getting a lot of attention from the coaches. That's great news, considering the lack of progress from D.Davis. I was curious if C.Taylor has been used to catch the ball out of the backfield. From what I've read, he is fast, but I haven't heard anything about his hands. Not sure if it's because he hasn't been tested, or if it hasn't come up.
Along with everyone else who can't make it to camp, thank you.
Haven't seen a ton of catches out of the backfield but it's not a real big part of their offense anyways, FBs and TEs get a decent amount of catches but not so much the RBs. Taylor has dropped some balls but I think he will be a fairly productive receiver. I think Morency has pretty nice hands too, and once he stops dancing so much (he is getting better at this) then I think he'll get more action and be productive as well.
Coach C. said:
Lewis Sanders is just fine. It is early right now but look for D-Rob and Buch to start with Sanders and McKenzie in on dime and nickel. Sanders gets most of the run on first team with Dunta sitting out. Walker right now is looking good but he is going to be battling T. Williams right now. They both are showing flashes and then make rookie mistakes. Walker is a decent bit larger though and could not only help in the secondary but on ST.
I'll add that McCleon has looked decent in the fairly limited action he's seen in the day that he's been here, plus they are on the lookout for more CBs so we may have another effective veteran for the season.
and willingness to serve those less knowlegeable and distant.
