2016 Houston Texans Off Season

[eagle eye]

The Texans JJ Watt got some love in Nashville Tennessee last night as he co-hosted with Erin Andrews the CMT Country Music Awards show. I didn't see it but apparently Watt did a nice job. Here's an article from the Houston Chronicle via the Bleacher Report about the show.

 

http://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Texans-J-J-Watt-delivers-laughs-at-CMT-Music-7971907.php

 

Jason La Confora is a pundit. He's a semi insider who works for CBS Sports and the only thing I'll say about him is he's no Adam Schefter or Chris Mortensen. Apparently, La Confora is not a Brock Osweiler fan. I'm not saying he hates the guy personally but he doesn't think much of Osweiler's chances for being good in Houston. Linked below from SB Nation a guy named Tim disagrees with La Confora. This article was copied from the Bleacher Report.

 

http://www.battleredblog.com/2016/6/8/11889028/jason-la-canfora-continues-to-express-doubt-about-brock-osweilers

[eagle eye]

It seems that there are only 5 NFL draft picks yet unsigned and one of them, Will Fuller plays for Houston. Fuller was the Texans 1st round pick in this year's draft and he was highly coveted enough by the Texans that they actually traded up on spot with Atlanta to get him. With salaries capped and slotted by round the only holdup I can see is a language issue with the deal. We are heading into the mandatory mini camp and the 6 weeks prior to training camp and by this time you'd have thought all these deals would get done. To his credit Fuller has been working in the OTA's with the team so at least there's that.

 

Speaking of Fuller and his fellow draftee Braxton Miller, both are being praised for the work ethic they have come to Houston with. Both seem to be quick studies and they are making great strides learning the Texans playbook. Nice. Now all they need to do is carry all that on the field with them. The Houston WR corps is pretty impressive when you look at it. DeAndre Hopkins, Cecil Shorts, Keith Mumphrey and Jalen Strong to go along with Fuller and Miller and four others and you have the makings for a really special group.

 

One of those "4 others" I mentioned above is Wendell Williams from the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg Kentucky, an NAIA school, was clocked at the NFL regional combine with hand held timers at a blazing 4.19 second in the 40. When asked who was the fastest guy on the team WR DeAndre Hopkins said it was Williams with another rookie UFA Robert Nelson, a DB out of Arizona State who is about to begin his 3 season in the NFL came to Houston this offseason, is 2nd fastest. He is followed by Fuller, a guy who ran a 4.38 at the scouting combine, and coming in as 4th fastest on the team is RB Akeem Hunt. Hunt was a UFA in 2015 of the Giants and he also spent time on the Ravens practice squad before Houston signed him last November 2nd to the their practice squad. He was promoted to the regular roster on November 21st. If nothing else, you can't claim the Texans don't have speed in their lineup.

 

Here's a couple of links to articles in the Houston Chronicle I got from the Bleacher Report. One is about the development of last year's 1st round pick Kevin Johnson and the other is about LBs coach Mike Vrabel.

 

http://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Texans-pleased-with-development-of-Kevin-Johnson-8079661.php

 

Okay, I lied about the Vrabel article. You have to be a subscriber to the Chronicle to read the full story and even though it's pretty cheap I don't want to buy a subscription. It's just not that important. The gist of what I was able to read was that despite an offer by Chip Kelly to be his DC in San Francisco and other offers from around the NFL Vrabel has decided to stick with Houston for the time being. If Vrabel is the hard nosed tough as nails coach as he was a player then he must be a really good coach. After retiring from the NFL after the 2010 season Vrabel began his coaching career at Ohio State in 2011 as a linebackers coach. In 2012 and 2013 he was the Buckeyes defensive line coach. Vrabel came to Houston working for his old boss at New England and Kansas City Romeo Crennel who is the Texans DC in 2014. He will begin his 3rd year as the Texans linebackers coach. By all accounts, he a pretty darn good coach.

 

Yet further evidence that this lineup is stacked and deep. There is no other way to say it, Houston will go as far as Brock Osweiler can take them and that includes the Super Bowl.

[eagle eye]

The Texans had a really nice draft class and the fact that Houston won 9 games, the AFC South division title and made the playoffs really gives hope for the prospects of the Texans in 2016 but as has been said before it is all about Brock Osweiler. This article from Texans.com speaks to concerns over how he is doing as he and the team march on toward the new season.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Brock-Osweiler-impressing-DeAndre-Hopkins-team/7171eebd-fe86-4510-ac4f-38fb612603f0

 

In the above article there is a press conference video with Bill O'Brien. In the interview O'Brien talks about a new system Houston has brought to the team called the Catapult System. In the link below there is some interesting info about what this system can do to help with the health and conditioning of the players.

 

http://www.catapultsports.com/media/sports-wearables-are-the-wave-of-the-future/

http://www.catapultsports.com/sports/american-football/

 

Yesterday was the first of the 3 practices in the Texans mandatory mini camp this week. In the link below Texans.com's John Harris gives us his 13 observations of yesterday's practice. There is also a video of the practice that accompanies the article.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/13-observations-Mondays-minicamp/f0984019-d504-4205-a3a7-0e370c43b35e

[eagle eye]

With the 4-1 win last night Houston swept the St Louis Cardinals in their 2 game mini series. After coming off the beating they took from Tampa last weekend it was a totally unexpected result especially considering the Cardinals were on a 5 game win streak coming into Tuesdays first game with Houston. The good Collin McHugh showed up as he battled all game getting some really good defense particularly from George Springer who threw out a runner at the plate by 4 steps and should have had another assist if not for a missed tag by Luis Valbuena on a play at first base. On offense Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa both had 2 hits in 3 AB's, in fact, the middle of the lineup carried the team last night. Altuve and Correa set the table for, of all people, Carlos Gomez who drove in 2 runs on 2 of 3 hitting. Gomez also made a couple of nice plays in the field. Gomez has been pretty good the last couple of games going 4-7 against St Louis and the only discernible difference was he was wearing glasses, prescription glasses, because he ran out of contact lenses. Gomez actually likes wearing the glasses more than contacts but in certain climates the glasses tend to fog up. In St Louis fogging up glasses was not an issue. Since coming off the DL a couple of weeks ago he has hit better including hitting his first 3 HR's of the season. He is currently hitting .198 but that is a good thing as it has been a while since he even sniffed the Mendoza line. Besides his work in the field George Springer tacked on a 2 run home run to give Houston its first 2 runs of the game and also gave the Astros the lead in the top of the 8th. Houston scored their other 2 runs in the 9th to give Will Harris some breathing room to get his 5th save in as many opportunities. Props really have to go to McHugh who was coming off a bad start his last time out. He battled St Louis' Adam Wainwright for 6 innings as both men were throwing a shutout. McHugh blinked first as he gave up a run after three straight hits pitching 1/3 of the 7th inning. Tony Sipp came in and shut the door on the Cardinals in the 7th and Ken Giles pitched a scoreless 8th. Springer's assist in the fifth inning is worth a look so the video is linked below.

 

http://m.mlb.com/hou/video/v818340583/houstl-springer-cuts-down-piscotty-at-the-plate/?tcid=mm_hou_vid&c_id=hou

 

Houston has today off as they conclude their 9 game road trip which they finished with a 4-5 record. Losing the first two games of the Rangers series when they had a good chance of winning hurt then losing 2 of three to Tampa really sucked. That is one place the Astros must hate to go to because they just can't seem to win there. They really salvaged the road trip with the Sweep of the Cards and they return to Houston and get a day off before playing the Reds. The day off on Monday obviously did the team some good and hopefully the day off today will do them even better. On Friday night Houston will send Lance McCullers (4-3, 4.54 ERA) and Cincinnati counters with John Lamb (1-4, 5.14 ERA). Lamb's last start on June 12 was against Oakland as he only lasted 4 innings giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 BB's with only 1 K. McCullers is going to be trying to come back from his last start as well. Against Tampa last weekend he gave up 4 runs on 7 hits and 4 BB's with 7 K's. McCullers has to figure out a way to get in the groove earlier because he gives up all of his runs in the 1st and 2nd innings. After the 2nd inning he settles down and pitches well but at times the hole he digs is too deep for Houston's so-so offense to overcome as was in the case in Tampa last Saturday.

 

Houston has signed 6 more players from the recent draft including 3rd round pick C Jake Rogers out of Michigan.

 

http://m.astros.mlb.com/news/article/184224382/astros-sign-six-2016-draft-picks-to-deals

[eagle eye]

Houston is in the "dead zone". You know, the time between the end of summer practices and the beginning of training camp. That dreaded 5-6 week period all teams cross their fingers and pray to the All Mighty that their player don't do something stupid during their time off. It will be all over the NFL, stories of players arrested for DUI or possession of something illegal. Maybe it's getting into fights or being shot or stabbed at somebodies party. Somebody, more than one for sure, will do something completely brainless to get themselves into trouble. Happens every year. Fortunately, the Texans have avoided player dumbassery and the hope is that will continue.

 

The Texans closed out their summer offseason work a day early when Bill O'Brien cancelled the final mini camp session last Thursday. This is the second year in a row O'Brien has rewarded the players for their good offseason work. This year, unlike last year when an offensive lineman had to field a punt cleanly to get dismissed, O'Brien just cut the team loose a day early. As hot as it's been so far this summer I'm sure the players were loving the extra day off.

 

Vince Wilfork got some love from ESPN's The Body issue when he was one of the athletes featured in the annual tribute to how good athletes look naked. We'll see about that but in the meantime here's a preview from ESPN.com.

 

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/16333965/the-body-issue-dwyane-wade-conor-mcgregor-von-miller-jake-arrieta-christen-press-athletes-baring-all-espn-magazine

 

Texans.com writer Deepi Sidhu asks, and answers, the question, "Why Vince Wilfork isn't ready to retire?"

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Why-Vince-Wilfork-isn’t-ready-to-retire/51193120-16ab-4514-8d53-3f72860e3345

 

What are the top 5 stories as the Texans await the start of training camp? Texans.com writer John Harris gives us HIS top five and I have to say I pretty much agree with all 5.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Breakfast-5-training-camp-questions/25394cd4-9ecc-47c3-afc7-9c6bafd0038d

 

Here is this week's edition of the "Dear Drew" segment of the 'Texans Huddle' show from Fox Sports Southwest and, in this case, Texans.com. This is the blooper edition and it's pretty funny.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/tv-media/videos/Dear-Drew-Blooper-Edition/2897b594-1017-4061-80c3-c69f2091ff98

[eagle eye]

The Texans have all of their draft picks under contract now. Over the weekend the Texans and their first round pick WR Will Fuller agreed on a deal that will keep him in a Texans uniform for the next 5 years. The deal is for 4 years but like all first round picks the team has an option for that 5 year. It is not an option available to picks in any other round but the 1st.

 

http://nfltraderumors.co/texans-sign-first-round-wr-will-fuller-four-year-deal/

 

According to Bill O'Brien LB Bernardrick McKinney is a very improved player. Even more so than the guy we saw last season step in to the weak side outside LB role in relief of Jadeveon Clowney. If that is true then Houston has some serious depth a their LB position especially if Clowney, 2 years removed from microfracture knee surgery, makes the comeback everyone expects him to make.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/ILB-Benardrick-McKinney-really-improved-in-2016/1756474c-03c0-4a7f-b14f-03bc15484492

 

Another player that is showing a lot of improvement it's the Texans 2014 2nd round pick OG Xavier Su'a-Filo. Su'a-Filo was highly sought after in the 2014 draft but he just didn't seem to get it in his rookie season. He played in 13 games but only started one. Last season he was better last season playing in 11 games starting nine. He missed 5 games due to injury but so far in OTA's and mini camp he has made a good impression on his head coach. Coming out of college he was acknowledged at a good, if not excellent, run blocker but his pass protection skills needed work. After his rookie season it appeared Su'a-Filo was a bust but he has gotten steadily better and in this 3rd season he may be ready for a breakout season of his own.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/OBrien-Xavier-Sua-Filo-has-definitely-improved/b5823462-790f-4bcd-8dd6-35b3e4cf4bd2

 

It was a big weekend for JJ Watt. On Friday night he was on the Jimmy Fallon late night show in which he and Mr Fallon had a Russian roulette contest with eggs. Here is a link to NBC.com with video of the showdown between Watt and Fallon. Watt also revealed he listens to Adele to get psyched up before a game. Adele????

 

http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/guest/jj-watt/275056

 

Watt also unveiled his new personal shoe from Reebok with his own logo. There are videos of his new Reebok commercial and his new logo in the article from Chronicle.com linked below.

 

http://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Texans-J-J-Watt-unveils-personal-logo-new-7940308.php

[eagle eye]

You might want to keep this name in mind when training camp starts a month from now. Stephen Anderson. He's a tight end and it appears, according to Chron.com, Houston Chronicle's web site, that the Texans are looking for big things from Anderson. As written by Aaron Wilson he talks about the chances of Anderson making a positive impact on the Texans roster.

 

http://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Texans-bullish-on-rookie-tight-end-Stephen-8327175.php

 

For the first time in his 3 year tenure as the Texans head coach Bill O'Brien has done something to help his rookies make the transition into the NFL by having his assistant coaches and even veteran players participate in rookie symposiums. From May 6 through June 23rd the Texans held 39 such symposiums for the benefit of the new players coming into the league. This link from HoustonChronicle.com talks about the new program geared to give rookies some very valuable information to help them avoid the pitfalls of sudden wealth and fame.

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texans/article/Inside-the-Texans-Preparing-rookies-for-more-8323254.php

 

Finally, an article from NFL.com about Peyton Manning. What's he got to do with the Texans? Nothing, unless you count mentoring current Texans QB Brock Osweiler for the first 4 years of his career. Manning says he is rooting for Osweiler and he's sure he will do well.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000671339/article/peyton-will-root-for-many-nfl-teams-and-brock-osweiler?campaign=Twitter_atn

[eagle eye]

As I said in an earlier post Texans nose tackle Vince Wilfork was going to be in the 2016 The Body issue in which famous athletes from a wide variety of sports pose nude with the private parts ingeniously covered. Now, Vince is a really good nose tackle but you wouldn't think a guy who weighs in at around 325 pounds would be a candidate for a magazine article like that. ESPN took it one step further putting a photo of him in all his glory on the cover of the magazine.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/PHOTO-Vince-Wilforks-bares-all-in-Body-Issue/6fe39d60-8e5c-4f75-8080-5eb71ad0a5b0

 

It's just 32 days until the August 1st beginning of training camp. That sounds short but it will feel like a millennium.

[eagle eye]

The Texans have been blessed with a quiet hiatus so far prior to the start of training camp but there is still 3 weeks left so the ride isn't nearly over just yet. But it is refreshing to see a Texans team that historically doesn't have off field problems with their players. Good team without the drama. The Texans are the anti-Cowboys and it's really kind of nice to relax and watch Wimbledon or the Olympics without worrying about the next stupid thing the Texans players come up with. I love my Cowboys but they just wear you out with all the drama, don't they? I think so. I'm here to testify that being a fan of the Texans is a big plus because there is not a big soap opera factor to deal with. Now, if Brock Osweiler is the guy we hope he is it is very possible the Texans could pass the Cowboys as the most popular team in the state. It's for sure the Texans will not have 25% of their starters on defense suspended to begin the season like the Cowboys do. The biggest controversy is the debate as to whether Jadeveon Clowney will finally live up to expectations being the 2014 number one pick in the draft. That's all the controversy I want out of my team and it seems like we will never ever have that again in Dallas.

 

NfL.com talks about how much of an impact Jadeveon Clowney will make this season. According to Sam Rosenthal Clowney will bust a move on the NFL for the Texans this year. He is two years removed from the microfracture surgery he had to have in 2014 and based on the promise he showed late last season Rosenthal says Clowney is ready to have a Terrell Suggs-type impact for the Texans this season. To be honest I like what Rosenthal had to say.

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000673319/article/making-the-leap-texans-olb-jadeveon-clowney

 

NFL.com also looked at how the Texans plan to use one of their newest weapons, Braxton Miller. Mark Sessler delves into the possible ways the Texans can use this former QB-turned-WR in their offense. Sessler does nothing to dispel the high hopes for an explosive, high octane Texans offense this season and for years to come if....................

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000672995/article/texans-plan-multidimensional-role-for-braxton-miller

 

..................if Brock Osweiler is the real deal. I've said it before and it is no less true now and will continue to be true until the season begin and we see whether or not Brock is the real deal. I don't think we should expect Joe Montana right out of the box, okay? Despite his being a 4 year veteran in the NFL he has a grand total of 7 starts. He is still wet behind the ears in terms of on-field experience. What we need is for Brock to be better than Brian Hoyer or Matt Schaub or any of the other QB's the Texans have run out over the last 4 or 5 years. Houston has been a playoff caliber team since 2011 and the main thing holding them back has been their QB play. TJ Yates led Houston to their first playoff win in 2011 against the Bengals but he either didn't show enough promise or the coaches didn't give him an adequate chance. Either way he's not in the conversation any more. Here are the starting QB's for Houston since 2011. In order they are, Matt Schaub, TJ Yates, Matt Leinart, Matt Schaub, Case Keenum, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Case Keenum, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Mallett, TJ Yates, Brandon Weeden and Brian Hoyer. Pretty underwhelming wouldn't you say? If I was setting the roster my QB depth chart would be Osweiler with either Yates or Weeden as the backup and Braxton Miller as the 3rd string emergency backup. Trouble is Yates tore his ACL and likely won't play in 2016 and Tom Savage, the Texans 2014 4th round pick, is coming off a season ending shoulder injury suffered in the last preseason game of 2015 against the Cowboys. The only QB's on the Texans roster are Osweiler, Weeden and Savage and I'm happy with that. I think Savage could actually leapfrog Weeden as the primary backup based on how good he looked prior to his injury last year. Couple that with the fact Savage has spent the offseason cloned to Osweiler as they worked in private workouts with their wide receivers prior to the draft and OTA's. I like Tom Savage at QB. He had lots of potential coming out of college and he was seen as a draft day steal when Houston picked him up in the 2014 draft. It's kind of ironic that both Savage and Jadeveon Clowney came to Houston in the same draft and both have been plagued by injuries ever since. If Osweiler fails to live up to the hype I am all in at giving Savage his shot. Brandon Weeden is 32 and isn't the long term answer for the Texans. Savage is 26 and he could be a long term answer should Osweiler stumble. All that said, Brock Osweiler is the man right now. All the Texans eggs are in his basket and, so far, he has said and done all the right things to give Texans fans hope that he is the franchise QB they have been looking for. You ever had a friend try to set you up on a date and when you ask what she's like your friend says something like 'she's got a great personality' or 'she's a really nice person'? You know for sure that the girl isn't the prettiest thing to come along and you're friend is trying like hell not to tell you the truth about her. I get that feeling sometimes when people talk about Brock. You never hear about his strong arm or how accurate he is. All you ever hear about Brock is what a leader he is. Even his old teammate in Denver Emmanuel Sanders said, "Brock is a leader!". Almost sounds like people are trying hard NOT to say something, doesn't it? Maybe I'm just paranoid because all you hear about is how hard he works and studies the playbook. Also how he is always involved with the team in the community and how he invites teammates on outings to help build a team chemistry. These are all leadership qualities I'm sure he learned interning under Peyton Manning in Denver but it will all be a moot point if Brock can't play. The Texans also have an O-line with a lot of question marks which won't help but he's got a bevy of weapons which should help take a lot of heat off him. In the final analysis the monkey is still on his back. Can Brock find the open man on 3rd and 5 and keep the chains moving? Can he read single coverage and hit DeAndre Hopkins on a 9 route for a TD? Can he avoid throwing up a prayer into triple coverage with he's under pressure? Can he hit the open man on the hot route when the other team blitzes? Those are questions that won't be answered until the games begin for real. We could see glimpses of him in preseason, in fact, we could see a little more than most veteran QB's play simply because he's on a new team in a new city but it still won't matter until he shows what he's made of when games begin to matter in September. Speaking strictly as a fan, I hope Brock Osweiler is THAT guy.

[eagle eye]

There is thankfully no real news coming out of the Texans headquarters. This time of year if there is news it is usually bad. Either somebody has messed up and gotten in trouble with the law or they somebody has injured himself that requires surgery and a lot of time off. Nothing like that has happened as yet (knock, knocking, knocking on wood!) and the hope is it won't. One thing for sure is Bill O'Brien is anxious for training camp to start. He won't have to wait too much longer, less than three weeks. Texans.com has an article about why O'Brien is anxious for TC to begin.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Why-Bill-O’Brien-is-excited-for-training-camp/d7694a32-177e-497d-a1bd-36eb17ef78e9

 

Speaking of why Bill O'Brien is excited about TC here's look at some social media from Texans players who are also ready for TC to begin and they are showing it by posting video of some of them working out to stay in shape for TC.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Checking-In-for-Training-Camp/10a7ae14-e8c3-45f0-b623-bdd2018b4b86

 

With all the firepower Houston has at WR and RB the tight ends might be a forgotten bunch or at least a group flying under the radar. This article from Texans.com talks about what the expectations are for the TE's this season. There is also a video previewing the Texans by NFL.com analysts. Their concerns are mainly centered on just how good Brock Osweiler will be.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/What’s-expected-of-Texans-tight-ends/5b44cda9-ce5e-4c6b-84d8-e1cc0b0a12f4

[eagle eye]

What has hampered the Texans the last couple of years is the dreaded slow start. Last season Houston began their season 3-5 and it almost looked like they were out of contention in the division by the end of October. They rebounded nicely and because nobody really played well down the stretch but Houston the Texans won the division and made the playoffs with a 9-7 record which means they finished the second half of their season with a 6-2 record. In 2014 the Texans were 4-4 in their first 8 games. They ended up the season 9-7 after going 5-3 in the second half of the season. Let's just forget all about the 2-14 2013 season. By contrast, the Texans went 12-4 in 2012 as they went 7-1 to begin the season and they ran away with the division, won in the wild card round and lost to eventual Super Bowl Champion New England in the divisional round. My point and the point of the article from Texans.com is a fast start is really important if the Texans want to repeat as division champs and get a 1st round bye in the playoffs.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Breakfast-The-importance-of-starting-fast/ef2a5827-aff6-4bfd-afc1-cdbc92bff3df

 

The Texans went for speed and offense in this year's draft. One of the guys Houston selected was 3rd round pick out of Ohio State Braxton Miller. Could be he could be the one player in this draft who makes the biggest impact for the Texans in 2016. Drew Dougherty of Texans.com takes a look at Miller in this article from the Texans website.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Breakfast-Braxton-Miller-is-just-a-playmaker/d3f7f9ed-5a3f-4d91-a0b7-19c59efeaba0

[eagle eye]

Now for some Texans related news since there really isn't anything to talk about regarding the current roster. Except for one thing, the Texans have announced dates and times for training camp which, BTW, is only 12 days away from the July 31st start.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Texans-announce-datestimes-for-TexansCamp/6ad264d1-de02-40b3-8e1d-d05cc53450f0

 

First of the non-roster news. Arian Foster has been signed by the Miami Dolphins to a one year $1.5MM deal that includes $2MM in incentives. Foster got a $400K signing bonus which seems like a pretty sweet deal for a player who has missed most of the past 3 seasons with injuries and just turned 30 years old. If Foster can stay healthy and return to his old form the money the Dolphins will pay Foster will be a bargain. A heckuva bargain.

 

The good news for Houston is that Tom Brady gave up his legal battles over deflate-gate and has accepted his 4 game suspension. Brady and Patriots are not happy how things turned out but for Houston, they won't have to face Brady in their Week 3 game in New England they will get 3rd year man Jimmy Garoppolo. It's time for the Pats to find out what the kid is made of when he will have JJ Watt and Jadeveon Clowney in his face for 60 minutes.

[eagle eye]

Here's an instagram that you may like.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BIDMt2ZDKhJ/?taken-by=bleacherreport

 

The other news is non-football related as Jadeveon Clowney has gone into business in his home town of Columbia South Carolina. He opened a business called KURE Columbia Vaportorium and Lounge.

 

http://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/1062019?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

It is only 11 days until training camp!

[eagle eye]

Training camp is just over a week away and it's getting real people! For those of us who are football starved this is like cool drink of water before we dive head first into the water of the 2016 season. Beginning next weekend there won't be a day without news for the next 7 months and if Brock Osweiler is all we hope he is that will mean a legit shot at Super Bowl LI!

 

Every bit of news has been about either the QB or WR's for Houston but the Texans made a big free agent signing this offseason when they got former Miami Dolphin Lamar Miller. For people on this site rooting for "Lamar" is nothing new but it will be in connection to the Texans. For his part, Miller is planning on a big season for the Texans and don't we all agree we hope he's right?

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000675586/article/making-the-leap-texans-rb-lamar-miller

 

One the other side of the ball, for a long time it looked like Houston's 1st round draft pick in 2012 was pretty much a bust. He did nothing to speak of in his first 3 seasons as a Texan. Then, something woke him up and he helped led a dominant Houston defense into the playoffs with career highs in tackles (52) and sacks (12.5). This year he is looking to make another big leap in production for this year's version of the Texans D. The article linked below also includes a discussion of the recent firing of NFL medical advisor Elliot Pellman.

 

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/texans/article/Texans-Whitney-Mercilus-has-become-complete-8398400.php?t=b9552cc195438d9cbb&cmpid=twitter-premium

 

The Texans have made a slight changes in their roster when they waived/injured 5'9'' CB Richard Leonard and they signed Purdue DT Ra'Zahn Howard. No other info available at this time. Leonard has been rehabbing since undergoing surgery earlier this year for a torn hamstring (ouch!) and if he clears waivers he will revert to the injured reserve list. Howard is nose guard who look to make a spot for himself behind Vince Wilfork. You can't ask for a better mentor than Wilfork that is for sure.

 

http://www.chron.com/sports/texans/article/Texans-waived-injured-Richard-Leonard-sign-8399467.php

 

With training camp right around the corner Texans.com gives up some instagram posts. http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Checking-In-for-Training-Camp/b7f4c758-5842-4fda-94cc-58ec7b5525f6

 

JJ Watt makes dreams come for one young fan, 9 year old Will Martinez. Young Will has been battling leukemia for the past 3 years and in as part of the "Make A Wish" Foundation all Will wanted was for Watt to come to his house for dinner. The article linked below is about making that little boy's wish come true. Well done, JJ, well done.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/JJ-Watt-fulfills-9-year-old-fans-wish/cc40f618-4c81-4d53-b777-41ef57f9cd17

 

Here's a video of MY WISH with Will and JJ Watt from ESPN.

 

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=17099363

[eagle eye]

The latest from the WTF News Desk is word that JJ Watt had back surgery yesterday and will be out anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks depending upon the news source you look at. Why now, a mere one week from the beginning of training camp, does Watt decide something like this? It has been reported that Watt played part of the 2015 season with a herniated disc in his back but he never missed a game. In fact, Watt has never missed a game in his career but now there is the real possibility that Watt will miss one or two games to begin the season. I get it, nobody wants to have surgery. Rehab, rest and medication is the preferred method for most of us as an alternative to going under the knife. However, a herniated disc isn't going to heal itself and surgery was probably an eventuality anyway. Why not get this done in April or March or May when there is sufficient time to recover from the surgery and complete the rehab process? It could be Watt did go under the knife early in the offseason to deal with torn muscles in his core and his groin. Maybe he's just getting truly healthy from that ordeal. The timing of this is just weird. This news is so fresh there isn't even mention of it on the Texans website! You'd think the leadership of the Texans flagship would be just a little embarrassed that they were scooped like this. The link below is from Bleacher Report. I guess it will be a while before we get to hear all about the decision to have the surgery now as opposed to earlier from Watt himself. I know somebody will ask him and I will be very interested to hear his answer.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2643918-jj-watt-injury-updates-on-texans-stars-recovery-from-back-surgery

 

From ESPN NFL analyst Tania Ganguli come a list of who she predicts will be the Texans starting lineup when the season begins in September. That article is followed by another one in which she examines the top storylines to follow during Texans training camp.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/houston-texans/post/_/id/16535/lamar-miller-should-be-one-of-five-new-starters-on-texans-offense

[eagle eye]

Yesterday the Texans announced that they have placed 5 players on PUP to begin training camp. This means that the Texans can use those 5 roster spots for other players but any of the 5 can return at any time during training camp. If they begin the regular season on PUP the player, or players would miss the first six weeks of the season. Here's a link to an article from nfltraderumors.com. It also includes news of the Texan signing of WR Quentin Bundrage and the waiving of WR Richard Mullaney to make room for Bundrage. Also, LB Brennan Scarlett was put on the active non-football injury list.

 

http://nfltraderumors.co/texans-place-5-players-pup-list-including-de-j-j-watt/

 

Thank goodness the news out of Houston isn't about sex, lies and video tape! Is it me, but aren't we all tired of the soap opera in Dallas?

 

Training camp begins this weekend.

[eagle eye]

UFA Ra'zahn Howard out of Purdue was signed by Houston and he apparently just got his deal done. It is a standard 3 year $1.625 MM contract with a $5K signing bonus. The bonus is the only guaranteed money Howard will receive. For his part Howard is geeked and he's ready to show the Texans how good he can be. Howard is a nose tackle and depth at this spot is critical for the Texans future because Vince Wilfork isn't getting any younger. In fact, he is much closer to the end of his HOF career than even he would like to admit. Having guys in camp who could very well be the future of the nose tackle position learning from a guy like Wilfork is priceless.

 

Again, the calm before the start of training camp is boring but it's a good boring because there isn't really any drama. Talks about how DeAndre Hopkins still hasn't "arrived" because he still needs to work on his game is very cool. The news that JJ Watt is still targeting Week 1 for his return from back surgery makes fans cautiously optimistic about his rehab. Continued reports of teammates praising Brock Osweiler's work ethic is very encouraging. No suspensions, no domestic violence charges, no DUI's just football news and THAT is a totally good thing.

 

Training camp is so close you can almost smell the grass and the leather.

[eagle eye]

I've been thinking about this for a while because I have noticed that I'm pretty much the only one who posts on the SportsCenter forum. I wish this wasn't so because I never wanted this to be my own domain. I was hoping to spark discussion and comments pro and con but it hasn't happened in a while. That's why I have decided to back off posting on this forum because I want others to post here and have some fun with it. Thank you to everyone who took a look at my posts. Nearly 8,000 views is pretty awesome for the 4 saved threads I have had ongoing. I know you guys are out there, please take up the torch and make this a true fan forum again and not just Eagle Eye's blog. I'll still show up on Inside the Birdcage forum but, for now, I am leaving SportsCenter to you guys. I appreciate Mike and the other administrators for providing such a cool website and for not kicking me off because most of my posts are just too darn long. I'll be around and I'll be watching.

[eagle eye]

I have been thinking about this for a while now because I have noticed that I am pretty much the only one who posts in this SportsCenter forum. I have hoped to spark discussion and debate both pro and con but it hasn't happened in a while. I never intended this forum to become my own domain. So, I am going to back off from posting in this forum for a while in hopes that all you BRI people will make this a true fan forum again. I appreciate the folks to who have checked out my posts, almost 8,000 views on the 4 pinned threads I have going is pretty awesome and I thank you for giving my ramblings a look. The downside of that is I know you're out there so I'm challenging you all to step up and make this continue to grow. Thanks to Mike and the other administrators for giving us all this opportunity to talk Lamar and sports in general and thanks also for not kicking me off the site because my posts are just too darn long. I'll still be around posting on the Inside the Birdcage forum and I'll be watching SportsCenter to see what comes up. Go Cards and Go BRI!

[eagle eye]

The Texans keep rolling along. As usual no controversies, no major injuries outside of JJ Watt and no bullshit. It makes for a rather boring camp except for the fact that Brock Osweiler may be somebody the Texans can really count on. Osweiler continually projects himself as a veteran QB who's been there before and after 4 years in the NFL and a starter for the eventual Super Bowl champs you would expect that. The thing is, I've never heard what I'm hearing from Osweiler out of anyone else in the Texans QB carousel all the way back to Matt Schaub. What I'm trying to say is Osweiler acts and talks like a real leader. He has won over the team with his work ethic and leadership skills. It also appears he can also walk the walk as he's been getting a lot of compliments for his performance so far in training camp. I will be excited to see him and the rest of the first unit on Sunday evening when they play their first preseason game against San Francisco in San Fran. We will get a glimpse of what we have in Brock in these preseason games. Now, it's no guarantee he will be all that when games start to count but if it looks good in practice and it looks good in preseason games then you'd have to think there may be a good chance he will look good when games are played for real.

 

Look out for Bernardrick McKinney. He seems to have turned a corner and he's becoming a force for the Texans. That is a good thing after he had a breakout season of sorts last season recording 12 sacks. Not bad Bernie, not bad.

 

In this look from Texans practice it show the passing offense working including a one handed catch by DeAndre Hopkins on an out route. If you notice every pass shown in the clips is right on the money from Osweiler.

 

Y'all, this team is going to be good. Andrew Luck and Blake Bortles be damned, this team is looking soooooo good!

[eagle eye]

It's pretty clear that the Texans D missed JJ Watt. The defense also seemed to have taken some tips from the Cowboys on how to tackle badly because that's just what they did. It wasn't as bad as Dallas pitiful efforts but it was frustrating. The defensive backs could have done better especially Andre Hal who looked lost some of the time. Brock Osweiler's first game action as a Texan wasn't great but it wasn't terrible either. What could have helped him a lot would have been better play by the O-line. They certainly missed not have Duane Brown and Derek Newton not to mention rookie Nick Martin. Hopefully, this unit will get better because if they don't the Texans will need to keep 3 QBs on the roster because Osweiler and Tom Savage will end up hurt so Brandon Weeden will need to play. Speaking of Tom Savage, he did a really nice job. Osweiler only played a couple of series and then it was the TS show until Weeden came in during the 4th quarter. Savage was 14-24 on the night with 2 TD passes and no picks. Most of what he did was under severe pressure by the 49ers who seemed to be unstoppable by the Texans O-line. He was sacked just two times but he was hurried, hurried and hit and just plain hit a bunch of times. Braxton Miller had a nice game catching 4 balls for 34 yards and Jalen Strong also caught 4 passes for 42 yards. One guy who made a good impression was WR Ian Lenz who had 3 catches for 52 yards. The guy seemed to come out of nowhere and he really hasn't been mentioned much during training camp but he sure showed up last night. I'm glad Houston beat San Fran because I don't like the 49ers much and I also think Chip Kelly is overrated. I'm glad when things work out like I want them to. Osweiler was decent for his first game action which is what I'd hope would be the case. I just didn't want him to suck basically and he didn't. I also think Tom Savage is emerging as the legit backup to Osweiler based on what I saw last night. I also saw just how much JJ Watt means to this defense but we all kind of knew that already, right?

[eagle eye]

The Texans got some good news when Bill O'Brien announced yesterday that Jadeveon Clowney and Nick Martin will likely return to practice this week. If all goes well both could see action in this week's game against the Saints. The Texans and Saints are practicing together this Thursday prior to the game on Saturday night. Clowney has been out with some knee soreness and Martin because of a back issue. The Texans are being cautious with both players but they both need to get back on the field asap.

 

According to Bill O'Brien the Texans accomplished 3 goals they set before the game but he's also quick to point out they still have a lot of work to do. While Brock Osweiler wasn't the reincarnation of Joe Montana last Sunday night he didn't stink either. NFL.com's headline about Brock was that he "underwhelmed" in his debut as a Texan. He had a so-so game and that's that but there is plenty of room for Oz to get better and there are things he can build on. If that's underwhelming I suppose he's guilty as charged. I will say some of that underwhelming was because the O-line wasn't exactly stellar giving him protection so I'm tapping the breaks on judging his performance just yet. I need to see a bigger sample size before I throw him under the bus. Here's an article from Texans.com about what Houston did do right in the eyes of their head coach.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Texans-achieve-3-key-goals-still-have-work-to-do/8523f869-cfa2-4b80-b78e-771bc40885e3

 

Texans.com's John Harris goes a little overboard when he gets to jotting down his observations. In this article from Texans.com Harris has a whopping 33 items he noticed in the Texans win over San Fran.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/33-observations-from-the-Texans-win-over-SF/de466f16-a915-4316-be6c-a93c5ebd0d05

[eagle eye]

The Texans have made a big move by signing former Bills 2010 3rd round pick DE Alex Carrington. Carrington played his first 4 years in Buffalo before moving on the Rams in 2014. Last year he went back to Buffalo where he made one start and appeared in 6 other games before tearing a quad and ending his season on IR. Carrington gives Houston some experienced help on the D-line as they wait for JJ Watt to recover from back surgery. To make room for Carrington the Texans waived/injured FB Soma Vainuku.

 

John McClain has been a beat writer for the Texans and before that the Houston Oilers before they moved to Tennessee. Jadeveon Clowney was supposed to do an interview with the media yesterday but cancelled prompting McClain to make a snide comment on Twitter. McClain got some backlash from the Texans and they didn't appreciate the injury jokes by McClain. Check out the article below for whole scoop.

 

http://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/1079449

 

Nick Martin returned to the field on Tuesday after missing time because of a back issue. I just got an alert on my phone saying that Martin was seen limping off the field favoring his right leg in today's practice. More on this as details come out.

 

Jadeveon Clowney is back at practice and he claims that the soreness in his knee that kept him out of practice last week feels fine. Aside from pissing off John McClain Clowney seems to be good to go to play in this week's game against New Orleans at NRG Stadium after missing their opener in San Fran last Sunday.

 

After a nice season in 2015 DL Christian Covington is back to build on his success last season. In this article Covington claims he is "....lighter, faster and confident" as he and Texans move toward the beginning of the 2016 season.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Christian-Covington-Lighter-Faster-Confident/3835bd64-d294-4469-ac77-3bc8755ba5c3

 

The last item today is an article from Texans.com about what's new at NRG Stadium this season. The article linked below also includes a link to a photo gallery of those prosed changes that are meant to enhance the fan's experience at the stadium. Looks pretty good to me for sure!

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/Breakfast-What’s-new-at-NRG-Stadium-this-season/48231bae-bcb1-41ec-834d-bd73cff50b35

[eagle eye]

Bill O'Brien announced yesterday that Tom Savage will be the primary backup for the Texans based on his time and familiarity with this offense. Where that leaves Brandon Weeden but Savage hasn't had too much luck avoiding injuries so Houston had better hang on to Weeden until after the final preseason game just in case Savage gets hurt again.

 

Houston had a joint practice with the Saints yesterday and they will again today as they prepare for their game against each other on Saturday night. Texans.com analyst John Harris went crazy with 34 observations from yesterday's practice. I think Mr Harris needs to switch to decaf or pop a valium before attending Texans events.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/34-observations-from-Texans-Saints-joint-practice/1bb5fd4b-7dc2-4f8f-a3fb-b441e3673315

 

Houston didn't update the status of Nick Martin who limped out of practice yesterday. No mention was made of any no-shows at practice but I'll keep looking although it appears as though he may have sprained his ankle. That's not all that bad as long as it's not the dreaded high ankle sprain.

[eagle eye]

The Texans will play the Saints tonight and the one thing I will looking at will be the play of Brock Osweiler. Word is everyone is very happy with Brock's leadership and impressed with his work ethic he's apparently been good in practice. In last week's preseason opener against San Francisco Osweiler wasn't all that great. He wasn't terrible though so it gives me hope that he will bounce back this week and show fans what coaches have apparently seen in practice. So much of the Texans success depends on his play I will watch him very closely. I want to see better play from the Texans O-line than I saw last week. I know that the Texans are missing 3/5 of their projected starting line right now with Duane Brown and Derek Newton rehabbing injuries and rookie Nick Martin nursing a sore something in his lower leg that caused him to limp off the practice field the other day. All that doesn't matter, what does matter is the next man, or men, up need to perform. They have to give Osweiler time to load up and fire to his receivers and the RBs need a hole to run through.

 

Here is a preview of tonight's game from Texans.com writer Drew Dougherty.

 

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/article-2/First-Glance-Texans-vs-Saints/11117633-109a-4709-abb8-be68ba6dd7b9

 

It's possible Jadeveon Clowney will play tonight. That would be a good thing as long as he's healthy.