After practice number six, I was asked by some great Texans fans who I thought won the practice. I had to think for a few seconds and then I said "They both did." This was one of the most intense and fun practices in a while and it was a stalemate with great plays on both sides of the ball…and, well, a fracas too.
Let's dive into my Harris Hits from the last practice before a well-earned day off.
1. The Texans went with four different team periods, each with a different focus. But the first team period started as a regular 1st-and-10 at the 25-yard line. Alright, let's rock, right? Well, as soon as the ball was snapped on the first play, the defensive calvary, led by Will Anderson Jr. completely blew up a run play in the backfield. I'm not sure RB Dameon Pierce was able to move six inches before Anderson Jr. and company snatched the Texans RB up in one fell swoop. Anderson Jr. took off like a shot and no one was going to block him on that play.
2. On the next play, though, Pierce "GOT VERTICAL" in a hurry on an inside run play. As a result of being decisive and getting vertical, he was able to make an effective cut to get to the third level. At that point, it hit me that this offensive interior can probably do a better job holding the point of attack than those in recent memory. That should allow these Texans running backs to be able to make effective, and clean, reads as Pierce did on this successful run.
3. On C.J. Stroud's first throw of the day in the team period, he zipped a beautiful fastball, low and away, from the defenders. But WR Tank Dell couldn't corral the ball as he slid into the throw. Tank beat himself up on that one but he made up for it a few plays later.
4. LB Jake Hansen has always had excellent instincts on the football field and he flashed those traits on a run stuff on the final play of the series. Hansen, now healthy, has been consistently good in practice the past few days and that play was a great way for the defense to close that series of plays.
5. Remember that throw that Tank couldn't hold on to a few plays prior? Well, a few plays later, he SKIED over the middle for a throw by QB Davis Mills, snatching the rock for a big first down. I wasn't surprised at all because the one thing that stands out about Tank is that if a play doesn't go his way for whatever reason, he's going to 1000% make up for it on the next one. He was up in the air for a bit, too, on a similar route to the one he ran earlier.
6. On the next play, RB J.J. Taylor completely froze a couple of linebackers in the hole on an inside run. Taylor split the A gaps on an inside run and as soon as he did, he squared up on a LB. As soon as he did, the LB stopped his feet thinking he had Taylor dead to rights. Taylor shook that linebacker in a blink. That was a wicked move and it was so subtle too. Just a little shimmy and Taylor was clean into the secondary.
7. A few plays later, RB Jawhar Jordan hit a seam on the right side courtesy of a great down block by RT Charlie Heck. Charlie stayed on that block and Jordan cut right off that block upfield.
8. RB British Brooks wasn't about to let ALL the RBs have fun without him. I couldn't see what the Texans ran, but it was an inside run that POPPED wide open and Brooks took off on a leisurely sprint up the field before he was even touched.
9. DB Desmond King sniffed out a run his way that basically was one block from potentially going the distance. But King fought off a receiver's block and stopped the wide run in its tracks. That's not the first time King has made a big play against the run in training camp, games or otherwise. He's so valuable in this defense and this play exhibited one reason why.
10. A few plays later, WR Johnny Johnson made a BRILLIANT catch on the far sideline. QB Tim Boyle ran a bootleg to the right side and had two WRs out in the route: one short and Johnson longer. Boyle has a cannon and as he rolled right, I knew that fastball was coming. He lasered one to the sideline and Johnson laid out and made the diving catch that was even more difficult because of the velocity on Boyle's throw.
11. A couple of run plays ended the first team period, so when the first groups came back on the field, Stroud tested the defense deep down the field. He had Tank on his right side and it was a straight nine route from Dell. GOING DEEP, BABY! But CB Derek Stingley Jr had that play on lock. INT! What I loved about it was that Stingley Jr's ball skills got him that interception. He knew that he was in phase so when he looked back for the ball, he played the ball like a receiver and snatched it out of the air. Tank did get his hands on it and they tussled with one another on the ground for a little bit, but it was a pick, no question. THAT play is the kind that maybe one or two other CBs in the league MIGHT make. Sting is the truth, no doubt.
12. On the next play, Stroud looked up WR Nico Collins on the other side of the field. Stroud threw a laser shot to Nico on the out route on the money. Nico didn't even have to break stride and as a result, when he caught it, he planted his outside foot and EXPLODED upfield. Rookie CB Kamari Lassiter was in great position, but I think it surprised him how fast/explosive Nico turned that pass route into a run play. Nico burst upfield with the rock and plenty of green grass in front of him. That throw/catch/run definitely got the attention of the fans on hand. They gave Nico a huge ovation.
13. The defense then sent the house at Stroud and was fortunate to knock down his pass at the line of scrimmage. The next throw from Stroud was over the head of TE Brevin Jordan who showed off the vertical jump but couldn't come down with the catch.
14. On QB Davis Mills' first rep of the second period, he immediately saw some version of man coverage and eyed his second year WR Xavier Hutchinson in the slot. SLOT FADE TIME! Off the snap, it appeared X might have CB Jeff Okudah by a step but by the time the ball arrived, it was the proverbial 50/50 ball. Hurrying over to help out was S Calen Bullock and the two defenders were able to break up the well thrown pass to Hutchinson. Bullock covered some serious ground to help Okudah. I wrote in my notebook that this was one of my favorite reps of the day to that point because of how those three competed for that throw.
15. Mills drilled Dell in the 3 on his chest for a completion on the next throw, but LB Henry To'o To'o disrupted the next throw to RB Jawhar Jordan. The fourth play of that series was an interesting one and it stood out to me. The offense used some shifts and motion and it seemed purposeful to get TE Dalton Schultz isolated on one of the linebackers. When the ball was snapped, that linebacker was Jacob Phillips. Immediately, I was like "go to Dalton", so Mills satisfied my request. But Phillips was in perfect position and, in such great shape, that Mills couldn't go throw to Dalton. I don't even remember what happened on the play because I had my eyes on Phillips/Schultz. Regardless, it's not the first time that Phillips was in a great position in coverage during this training camp.
16. On the final play of Mills' series, the defense HEATED him up with some pressure. The offense didn't have enough to block everyone, so in that case, the QB MUST "block" one defender. I put that in air quotes because he doesn't really block him, but he accounts for him with a quick decision to throw to his hot route. Mills did that perfectly as King was the one guy the offense couldn't block on the blitz. Mills didn't flinch, stayed calm and drilled a throw to RB Jawhar Jordan for a first down. That was some really good QBing by the fourth-year veteran.
17. I used that phrase on the next series too as QB Case Keenum stepped under center. He first hit rookie TE Cade Stover on a shallow crossing route. He did miss TE Dalton Keene on the next throw, but found Keene on the next play, throwing on the run, dotting Keene for the beautiful completion. On the final down of the series, Keenum ripped a throw to WR Quintez Cephus on an intermediate route for a first down. That connection would come up again later in the practice as well.
18. To start the third team period, the defense's penetration blew up a run by Pierce. On the next play, the defense, feeling its oats a bit, threw some pressure at Stroud, but he deftly connected with Dell for a first down. Great QBing from Stroud on that throw.
19. The defense came up with a coverage sack on Stroud throwing clamps on all of the receiving options downfield a couple of plays later. But what stood out was OT Tytus Howard and OG Jaylon Thomas executing well on a E/T game/stunt. They handled that well to give Stroud some time to throw, but no one was open. A W for the LB/secondary.
20. On the next rep, Stroud and WR Robert Woods did a wonderful job reading the disguise and deciphering zone coverage. Woods settled into a void in the zone and Stroud put the ball right on the #2. Perfect. Wonderful…then Stingley Jr. punched it out and recovered. Textbook punch out too.
21. A few plays later, the offense ran a toss crack at veteran DE Denico Autry. He's probably seen that play a few million times in his career. What makes it so tough for those DEs is that a WR or TE type has the perfect blocking angle on said defender. As such, the DE can really only just muck it up by running that blocker in the direction of the RB. Autry did just that, mucking it up as best he could to allow the pursuit to get there to slow the run.
22. Okudah put a wicked lick on Woods on a quick screen on the next play. The secondary definitely was not holding its water today, delivering a number of big hits throughout the day.
23. On the second-to-last play in that period, Mills dropped back and threw to Stover before the rush enveloped him. Stover immediately turned upfield with speedy LB Jamal Hill in pursuit. The rookie TE hit Hill with a stiff arm in the face mask and sprinted up the field. I don't even know if Stover hit Hill with everything he had, but I could absolutely see Stover throwing that stiff arm on an opponent during a game. THAT would send fans/teammates into hysterics.
24. I mentioned Keene earlier and he had a solid day on Wednesday. He had another completion on a throw from Boyle in team period three.
25. On the next play, Boyle brought out the big gun and threw a ball with as many RPMs as has been thrown by any QB in this training camp. He had WR Steven Sims open on the dig route. At the time of the throw, Boyle was probably 22-24 yards or so from Sims and when he let that thing go, I could see it HUMMING. Sims snatched it with both hands, secured the catch and still picked up some RAC yards after the catch. FROZEN...FREAKIN'...ROPE.
26. I moved over to the other side of the field for the final part of practice and as I did, I saw another great competition for a deep ball right in front of me. Cephus was locked up with CB Kris Boyd on a deep route and got some help from S Lonnie Johnson. Boyle couldn't have thrown the ball any better but the DBs were able to get a couple of hands on it to knock it away. Good throw. Better competition for the rock down the field.
27. The final team period was a 2-minute/hurry up situation for each offensive group. On the first rep, Stroud threw a gem to Dell on a dig route for a wonderful completion. The next throw was to Tank as well, but THAT MAN again Stingley Jr went over the top to knock it away for a wonderful PBU.
28. On the next play, Stroud maybe threw the ball as far as he could, similar to Week 18 against the Colts, to his man Collins, for a touchdown. A majestic parabola in the air that found its way into Collins' hands for a touchdown. Play of the Day.
29. Stroud then tested the rookie CB on the other side. CB Kamari Lassiter was in man coverage on Dell, but Lassiter was step for step, in phase with the fastest Texan, forcing an incompletion.
30. But the intensity of this practice culminated on the next play. Stroud hit Diggs across the middle and because it was an end of half/end of game type of play, he slid down to stop the ball for a spike. As he did S Jimmie Ward put a wicked lick on Diggs. Then, all you-know-what broke loose. Camp Kumbaya disappeared on the spot as each side of the football convened to, uh, beef like Kendrick and Drake. It was not Euphoria, that's for sure, but hopefully after it was all done, they squashed it, hugged and made up like David Alan Grier and Eddie Murphy in Boomerang.
31. When they returned to action, Mills hit his first pass to Sims, but the defense came up HUGE on the next three plays. Henry To'o To'o broke up the next pass on a seam route to Jordan. DT McTelvin Agim's rush pretty much disrupted the next throw and CB Mike Ford broke up Mills' final pass of that series on the far sideline with a fine break up.
32. Phillips then broke up a throw to Stover, again showing his prowess in coverage that's been evident in this camp.
33. Mills' BEST THROW of the day was his last one. With 0:20 on the clock, he had to make the completion, sprint up to the ball and spike to stop the clock. The first part - the throw - was brilliant. Mills hit WR Ben Skowronek in a void in the coverage 20-22 yards downfield. I mean, that was as good a throw as Mills has made - in between four defenders where only Skowronek could make a catch. Then, everyone sprinted to the ball and Mills got the spike with a second left. Great way for Mills and that offensive group to end the day.
34. The best two minute series was conducted by Keenum. The first play was a fastball to Cephus (again) for a catch-and-run TD. Keep an eye on Cephus, everyone, he's starting to get comfortable and Keenum is certainly comfortable looking for him.
35. Then, Keenum hit WR Jadon Janke on the sideline on first down. Case hurried the offense up to the line of scrimmage, throwing to RB Jawhar Jordan for a completion on the far sideline. He then hit Quitoriano on the sideline to stop the clock. Keenum then drew the defense offside with the hard count. Then, he finished the drill with another excellent throw to WR Johnny Johnson on the in route down the field. SUCH a GREAT throw. Johnson was marked down at the 3-yard line, in perfect position for the chip shot field goal to "win" the game.
Okay, that'll do it, everyone! RB Dare Ogunbowale said it best after practice to me when I asked if the offense/defense kissed and made up after the brouhaha. " Yeah, tempers got a little high, but it's all love at the end of the day". Yep, it's time for a day off and the guys will get a much needed one tomorrow. See you on Friday, everyone!!
