The Texans had one last practice before traveling to Ohio...and it was a doozy.
It was the hottest day of the entire training camp.
It was the longest practice of the 10 at the Houston Methodist Training Center.
It was the most grueling of the 10, and now it's time to recover and get on that bird for Cleveland/Canton.
So, let's dive into my Harris Hits from a steamy Tuesday practice.
1. The day started with some 1-on-1's, so naturally, I went to watch the big guys get after it. One of my favorite matchups was powerful and quick DT Khalil Davis against powerful and quick OG Shaq Mason. Man, watching these two go at it was like watching a regular season game. They landed proverbial haymakers against one another in their 2-rep sequence. That was good work for the two interior stalwarts.
2. On the first rep, Davis got on the right edge of Mason and was able to slide past with a slick arm over move. But on the second rep, Mason was able to keep Davis from getting his arm loose to get over the top and get to the QB. That's such a tough battle because both are strong as all get out and have extremely quick feet. Really stout battle.
3. Then it was time for DT Folorunso Fatukasi and OC Juice Scruggs to get after it. On the first rep, Fatukasi was able to get on the edge and get free from Juice's clutches. But on the second rep, Juice anchored and as Fatukasi tried to counter over the top, Juice caught him and stoned him on the spot. Again, two good reps from each combatant.
4. OG Kenyon Green and DT Mario Edwards Jr. locked in on the first rep as Edwards tried to overpower the former Aggie All-American. But Kenyon was anchored in tight and kept Edwards away from the QB. On the second rep, Green tried to quickly gain an upper hand, but when he overextended a bit to do it, Edwards was able to use his strong and quick hands to get to the QB cleanly on the inside.
5. When we talk about these defensive ends, we sometimes gloss over the impact of DE Derek Barnett. Man, I'm telling you, he's one of the most skilled pass rushers the Texans have ever had. He's got so many different ways to beat a tackle off the edge. During this camp, I've probably seen him use four or five different techniques flawlessly to get back to the QB. What I love is that he'll use one technique and regardless of its effectiveness, he'll use a different maneuver on the second rep. He did that against OT Blake Fisher. He used speed-to-power on his first rep, then went with a swipe move on the second rep. Barnett's moves always help his rookie counterpart as well but Barnett was a menace in 1-on-1's and team periods as well.
6. DT McTelvin Agim has been a consistent winner in 1-on-1's this week as well. I don't know how the numbers will shake out on the interior, but Agim has made a name for himself in these first two weeks in camp. He won his first rep with a sick arm over move as he slid to the outside of the IOL he faced on his first rep. This is going to be a big week for him, with two games to prove he belongs on this 53-man roster.
7. OT Killian Zierer had two of his best 1-on-1 reps in his first go-round. He completely latched up, and locked up, rookie DE Solomon Byrd on his second rep. Zierer is such a man mountain but he has soccer feet. So he keeps his base strong and doesn't often get rocked. But Byrd tried to bull rush him and when that didn't go anywhere he tried to redirect inside and Zierer was waiting to shut that down. Zierer was having this kind of camp last year until an injury in the preseason game against the Dolphins shut him down for the 2023 season. Here's hoping the big fella can stay healthy and make a bid for this roster this preseason.
8. Eventually, Davis got back to the front of the line against IOL Dieter Eiselen. After two intense reps, a win for each guy, a little fracas broke out between each side. Like I said, it was hot, long and intense and those two reps were certainly that for Davis and Eiselen.
9. Want to see a clash of wills and titans? OG Kendrick Green and Fatukasi went straight through one another on each rep. When those two collided, there were no moves or hand placement issues or pass rush moves; it was pure power from each guy. Fatukasi tried to drive Green out onto McNee Dr, while Green was going to make Fatukasi FEEL him. Two bulls in two head on collisions was fun to watch.
10. DE Danielle Hunter is good. This just in.
11. I joke, but not really. He's so good but it's sometimes hard to really encapsulate HOW good. He has so many different pass rush moves and maneuvers and he makes life miserable for OTs in these 1-on-1's because he can use any one of them on the way to the QB. He threw a sick euro chop on his final move, one that I've seen him use in a game in previous years. I'm glad he chose to come back home, man, I'm so glad for that.
12. On his first rep, DT Marcus Harris went clean by an interior OL for a sack. I mean, CLEAN past him.
13. A little while later, the DL turned up the screws. Barnett went inside spin-o-rama for an easy win. DE Ali Gaye followed that up with a nice counter redirect to get to the QB on the inside. Then, Agim won with an arm over. Those reps happened right in a row before I had to get back on radio. But this darn DL has some dudes that can rush the QB for sure.
14. A few periods later, it was time for team drills. On the second play of team, QB C.J. Stroud went to his guy Nico Collins on an in-breaking route. Great throw. Great catch. That was the best play of Stroud's early series. Two run plays and a false start didn't help the cause much on that series, but that Stroud-to-Collins pitch-and-catch was a sight for sore eyes.
15. Then the offense tried to run some sort of misdirection and Davis just ate it the you-know-what up. Davis got upfield quickly but when blockers pulled in his direction, he redirected, took them on and held up the whole party for his linebackers to tackle the ballcarrier for no gain.
16. My last two post-practice interview subjects then took over the next two plays. RB J.J. Taylor scooted through the line on a zone play and left a few linebackers/safeties grabbing air. Then, CB D'Angelo Ross broke up a Mills pass intended for WR Robert Woods. My guys making plays!
17. I've mentioned RB British Brooks a few times lately and he had my attention again as he ran over a linebacker in the hole on one of his runs in team drills. I didn't see the aggrieved party, but I saw a white shirt on his back and 44 on top of him three yards downfield. Brooks has really made some plays the past few days.
18. The next play proved that players have LONG memories. RB Cam Akers took a toss play and tried to navigate his way through the defense. He looked for a while for an opening and really couldn't find one. Eventually, he just put his head down and tried to get what he could. LB Jacob Phillips came across and tackled Akers to the ground as if it were a scrimmage or preseason game. Akers wasn't too happy about it because he was expecting a thud tackle and not a true take-a-RB-to-the-ground tackle.
19. So, after cycling back through the team periods, Akers caught a toss headed in the other direction and he looked up any white jersey he could find. It just so happens that CB Mike Ford was the unfortunate recipient of an Akers smash 'em up run. Akers put his shoulder down, and through, the Texans' defender and kept running like a man possessed. I mean, I heard the hit from all the way across the field. My first thought was that Akers wanted a piece of anyone in a white jersey and when that opportunity came up again, he was more than ready to go into destroyer mode.
20. When Stroud got back on the field, he drilled another one to Collins for a first down. Nico worked back to his QB and Stroud found big #12 for another completion between the two.
21. RB Dameon Pierce showed the juice getting outside with some help from his TE Dalton Schultz with a great block. But then the defense went back to dominating. Hunter was into the backfield almost before Stroud got his shotgun snap to force a disrupted pass play. Then, oh my goodness, S Jalen Pitre read a run the entire way and put his helmet through the 3 and 1 of Pierce for a TFL. That was a WOOOOOO lick as Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott loved to say, as in everyone just goes "WOOOOOOOOO" when they see a hit like that.
22. Liked seeing Gaye making a few more plays today. I mentioned him earlier in pass rush drills with a couple of wins and in the team drills, he did a beautiful job playing off a TE's block and wrapping up a RB for no gain.
23. One of my favorite plays of the day happened a few plays later. TE Cade Stover caught a short pass and turned into Earl Campbell up the far sideline. He was contacted by a couple of defenders along the way. Stover kept charging forward and that caused a little brouhaha with LB Del'Shawn Phillips. At some point, Phillips, or someone on defense, ripped Stover's helmet off which didn't seem to phase the rookie TE in the slightest. As this scrum continued, I looked up and Stover still had the ball in his outside arm (right arm) and wouldn't let it go. I just loved it. He continued to knock people around in that scrum and went all Darnell Jefferson in "The Program" on the football. (In other words, he didn't lose it).
24. When the team moved to a backed up (inside the offense's 5-yard line) team drills period, the defense really did its job. In fact, the offense couldn't do much until an Akers run later in the period. On the following play, QB Tim Boyle found rookie WR Jadon Janke on a bootleg.
25. Janke is going to be a guy that I have my eyes on during this first preseason game. He's got GREAT hands and plucks the ball out of the air as he did during one of the last team periods. Boyle launched one a little higher than he wanted during the third team period and Janke extended and snatched the ball out of the air for a wonderful catch. Once he came back to earth, he immediately took off running with some serious juice up the field. Janke is gaining the trust of the QBs a little more every single day.
26. During the next team period, Stroud made a couple of excellent throws under pressure. After an incompletion, he threw complete to Schultz on a great timing route on the sideline. Then he avoided pressure on the boot to find WR Stefon Diggs for a completion.
27. After that, it was the defense's opportunity to make some plays. S Jimmie Ward broke up a pass intended for Schultz on the first one. Then, Pitre didn't get sucked in by a play-action fake and forced an errant throw intended for WR John Metchie III. Finally, S Eric Murray went UP HIGH to break up a throw for WR Xavier Hutchinson. If this defense continues to play at THAT level, look out.
28. In the next series of plays, LB Jake Hansen went OFF. On four of the final six plays, he was involved, making a key play for the defense. He blew up a toss play from a backside LB position on the second play of the drive. After completions from Mills-to-Metchie III and Sims, Hansen ran through a TE's block to stop rookie RB Jawhar Jordan for no gain. Then, Hansen spied the eyes of Mills and jumped in front of a throw to WR Ben Skowronek for a PBU. The very next play, Hansen was in man coverage and broke up a pass for rookie Stover. MVP of that period, no question!
29. QB Case Keenum was back on the field today and it showed how important he is to this offense with his series of reps. He drilled TE Teagan Quitoriano on a bootleg, then threw a SEED to WR Johnny Johnson and just missed a completion by inches. But on the next play, the aforementioned Janke SNAGGED a Keenum pass over the middle for a big first down.
30. On the very next play, though, S Lonnie Johnson had one of the best interceptions in camp as he helped over the top of a deep ball from Keenum to Sims. Johnson tracked that ball EXTREMELY well and was able to make a tremendous catch for the INT.
31. CB Derek Stingley Jr broke up a pass intended for Collins a few plays later, but Stroud threw a wonderful pass to Collins for a completion on the next play.
32. I wrote in my notebook a few plays later "the offense can't block 94". That's Davis, who is perhaps even better than he was in last year's training camp. Disruptive as all get out on nearly every single play.
33. Then it was time for a late game situation. Down four. One minute remaining and one time out. Stroud went back to work. If there's one period in which Stroud has really dominated in camp, it's been these late game, clutch-gene-needed situations at the end of practice. Every single pass was on the money. He hit Diggs to start the drive and then Schultz, Pierce, Hutchinson and Schultz again on consecutive passes to get the offense in scoring position. Then with 10 seconds remaining, he hit Woods, who scooted out of bounds, and Diggs who did the same to give the offense one realistic shot at the end zone with three seconds remaining. Although a Stroud-to-Diggs connection landed just out of bounds to end the period, watching Stroud navigate through those late game situations is just a joy. He thrives in pressure-packed situations in games and practices. I love it.
Okay, that's it. It's time to head to Canton. Playing the Bears. AJ80 going into the Hall of Fame. Week of practice in Ohio. PS Game #2 in Pittsburgh. Busy nine days ahead for the Texans and I'll have all kinds of Harris Hits from all of these events as well. See ya' Thursday for PS Game number one!
