The last one.
Man, that's tough to say out loud, but that's what today was at the Houston Methodist Training Center. This time, though, it was the last training camp practice and it included some friends from Los Angeles.
The Rams are in town for a 2-for-1: some joint practice work today and the last preseason game on Saturday. Awesome to see a different colored jersey on the other side and a good one at that.
Let's dive into my Harris Hits from today's joint practice with Sean McVay's crew from the West Coast.
1. Almost immediately, the teams went into team drill mode, with the Texans offense on field one and the Texans defense on field two. Overall, I thought the Texans defense probably had a better day than the Texans offense, but there were good things on both sides of the ball. I'd say that for the Rams as well. The Rams' defensive front is going to be a problem, even without future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald. If they HAD Donald…oh my gosh. Either way, good work on both sides of the ball. Let's dive into what happened in the practice.
2. After an incompletion and a penalty to start the Texans first offensive series, QB C.J. Stroud dialed up a pretty throw to TE Dalton Schultz. The one thing that continues to stand out when watching #7 is that he just doesn't seem to get stressed when he drops back. The Rams put some heat on him today with that explosive front, but he wouldn't get rattled, even if he didn't complete all of his passes.
3. RB Joe Mixon had a strong day. After that Schultrz reception, Mixon accelerated through an open hole on the left side and hit the gas when he cut that thing up. Whooooo buddy, now THAT is how the run game is supposed to look.
4. Then, Stroud hit Tank Dell on the out route right in front of me. Rookie S Kam Kinchens was in coverage and I could tell he thought he had a bead on that throw. But, it just kept moving to the sideline where only Tank could catch it. Brilliant route, throw and catch.
5. Then, the offense went back to Mixon on a wide run. Rookie DE Jared Verse got pinned inside and that opened up a wide running lane for Mixon who blasted upfield for a bigtime run.
(Note - Verse is an absolute stud and will be heard from early and often in this league)
6. During a quick break for the offense, I looked over to the defensive field and as I did Rams QB Matt Stafford put the ball in the air to one of his tight ends on a short corner route/sail route. As the tight end put hands on it, rookie S Calen Bullock arrived to stick his helmet on the ball, knocking it away for a SWEET PBU.
7. I looked back to the offense as Stroud ran a bootleg and the Rams played it perfectly. The OLB didn't get sucked inside and ran upfield at Stroud, so the Texans signal caller faded away from the pressure and flung one to the flat to WR Stefon Diggs, who caught it and burst upfield. That was brilliant QB'ing from #7.
8. On the next series, RB Dare Ogunbowale went to work. On the second rep of that series, he had one heck of a cutback run and froze a linebacker on the run. That was an electric move from Ogunbowale in the middle of the hole.
9. A few reps later, Mills drilled a slant route to WR Ben Skowronek for a completion on third down. That had to feel good for the former Ram Skowronek - nice pitch, nice catch.
10. Then it was time to watch the defense and I'm glad that I did because on the second play of the drive Rams QB Matt Stafford tried to fit a skinny post to one of his WRs (forgot to write his number down). Rookie CB Kamari Lassiter flew in out of nowhere and tipped the pass out of the receiver's hands…straight into the hands of rookie S Calen Bullock. Those two rookies are super tight/super close so it was cool to see them combine on one of the best plays of the day.
11. It's not the last time you'll see a Harris Hit on Lassiter today…whoooo, buddy, he was good all day long.
12. DT Khalil Davis burst through and shut down a Rams run, followed up by DE Danielle Hunter making a tremendous play, disrupting a pass from Stafford to WR Cooper Kupp that fell incomplete.
13. When Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo came in for his series, he beat the defense with one throw to talented TE Davis Allen. But on the last play of the series, CB Troy Pride Jr broke up a pass beautifully on a go route down the field.
14. Then, Stafford came back and immediately was "sacked" by DE Derek Barnett on a SICK spin move. I put "sacked" in quotes because he didn't take him to the ground, but had him, essentially, wrapped up for a sack.
15. I did look back to the jumbotron/video replay when I heard the crowd go crazy. Why? Well, Stroud threw the prettiest downfield pass to RB Joe Mixon who made one heck of a catch on the Rams LB. That was gorgeous, even watching it on the video replay board. Okay, back to defense.
16. Without Puka Nacua practicing today, WR Cooper Kupp was definitely in the sights of QB Matt Stafford. On the final play of that drive, it felt like Kupp was moving and motioning all over the field, but then he got open for Stafford who put a great throw on Kupp's person for a completion. That was one thing that stood out to me today - the Rams had a guy in motion on offense nearly every single play. Kupp was moving across the formation a ton. Thankfully, S Jalen Pitre disrupted a potential attempt to Kupp in that same series to force an incompletion.
17. Pitre has really picked up his play in this training camp, in particular the past two weeks since arriving back from Ohio. Man, he's so disruptive when he's at, or near, the line of scrimmage.
18. Then, I shifted back to watching the offense. On the first play, RB Dameon Pierce took off like a shot on a wide run where there was some room to run against the defense. He hit the BOOSTERS and took off. Even though there was a flag, I didn't even care, I loved seeing Dameon hit the gas out in space.
19. Stroud finished his series with a pretty quick out to Tank Dell for another completion.
20. I saw some things on special teams that stood out, including the style of kicks both Rams K Josh Karty and Texans K Ka'imi Fairbairn tried out during that kickoff period. Those were kicks that Joe Niekro would've been super proud of, for sure. IYKYK.
21. I stayed with the Texans offense for the next series after special teams. Right out of the chute, Pierce blasted through on an inside run and looked like the Dameon of 2022. No hesitation. See the hole. BLAST through the hole. Good start to the series.
22. Then, the OL gave Stroud all kinds of time to throw, but the Rams did a great job clamping all the Texans pass catchers. The Rams DL then came up with a sack on the next play (telling you, that front is nasty). Then, to close out the series, Stroud threw a frozen rope to Steven Sims, hitting that man right in stride perfectly. Problem was that about four steps into his run downfield, Sims just dropped the pigskin.
23. Former Rams RB Cam Akers then made an effective run on an outside running play. He cut that thing back and there were no linebackers there to make a stop.
24. QB Davis Mills then threw a laser beam to WR Ben Skowronek on an out route for another completion. OL gave Davis plenty of time to find an open wR.
25. Mills got great protection on the next play as the Rams blitzed and it was picked up beautifully. He then hit Akers in the flat for a quality completion. I liked all facets of that play - the protection, Mills' read and Akers catch-and-run. Beat the blitz, BABY!
26. On the second to last play of that series, OL Nick Broeker made a really nice kick out block to open a hole for Dameon Pierce. I could hear that collision and Broeker was able to get enough movement on the block to open a hole for Dameon to sprint through.
27. Okay, let's flip it over to the defense again and this time down in the low red zone. After a short Kyren Williams run for the Rams, they ran a reverse with Weapon X/WR/former Texas star Jordan Whittington. DE Danielle Hunter and S Jalen Pitre were waiting and ready to combine for the TFL. They saw that from a mile away and stayed disciplined to shut it down.
28. Even though Stafford missed a connection to WR Tyler Johnson in the end zone because of Derek Stingley Jr on the next play, he did connect with Kupp for a touchdown on the last play of that series. Kupp just ran at Lassiter, turned like he was boxing him out in basketball and Stafford put the ball between the 1 and 0 on his jersey. Nothing to really do but tip your cap on that one.
29. A little later, Stafford went to Kupp on a pylon out route and had Lassiter not stumbled, he would've picked that one off. Either way, Kupp made a strong two handed catch for the score.
30. DB Myles Bryant disrupted a Garappolo toss in the back of the end zone to WR Tutu Atwell, but the former Louisville star WR made one heck of a catch a few plays later for a TD. That was as good a catch as anyone had all day long.
31. But, when Stafford came back in, the first three plays were screen throwaway because of defensive pressure, stuffed inside run and a sack. Unfortunately, Kupp made his catch on the sideline on the fourth play for the TD.
32. Then, CB Mike Ford made an excellent PBU on a throw to WR Tyler Johnson on the sideline. Ford just kept punching at the ball, eventually knocking it away just before hitting the ground.
33. Once the team went to two minute situations, I stayed with the defense. Glad that I did because S Jimmie Ward was Jimmie-on-the-spot to force an incompletion to TE Colby Parkinson.
34. Stafford hit Tyler Johnson on a couple of shorties as he moved the Rams offense into field goal position, but the Texans defense stiffened for a bit with DT McTelvin Agim knocking down a pass. Unfortunately, Stafford hit Kupp at the sticks on the final play of the drive.
35. On the first play of the next series, S Lonnie Johnson made one huge play, knocking a Garoppolo pass away from a Rams pass catcher. GREAT break and play for Lonnie. Over the next seven plays…Rams drop, one completion, sack, coverage throwaway, false start, Agim pressure to force INC and a Myles Bryant PBU (almost a pick). The 2's defense was on it during that series.
36. Then, I went to watch the offense. Stroud drilled one to Stefon Diggs and then hit Mixon out in the flat who could've had a big gainer on that completion. Stroud finished the day with maybe his best throw of the day - a laser to WR Nico Collins for a completion at the sticks. Whooooeee, C.J. ripped that one.
37. As I turned back to watch the defense, I did see Davis Mills complete a pretty in route to John Metchie III and then one to Johnny Johnson on a crosser. But, the best was saved for last as Mills hit Steven Sims on the deep ball - out and up. Just wonderfully placed. Wonderfully executed. So, so pretty for a TD.
38. Okay, let's finish with CB Kamari Lassiter. On the first play of the final drive, Stafford, again, looked for Kupp on the far sideline. Lassiter stepped in front and broke it up. A few plays later on the last Rams offensive play of the day, Stafford, again, went to Kupp on the deep out route and it appeared, initially, like they would connect. But, Lassiter spun around in coverage and broke to the spot where Kupp's hand would meet the ball. He then swatted it away for another PBU to end the day.
39. Sims out and up for six. Lassiter's two PBUs in the final five Rams offensive plays. Great way to finish this joint practice and this training camp. That'll do it for this training camp and TC Harris Hits this year. I'll have Harris Hits for every game, but these TC Harris Hits are always a ton of work, yet so awesome to put together every single day. Thanks for reading, everyone! One more PS game on Saturday and then it's singular focus on those boys in blue up in Indy. Can't wait.
Much love to all of you and thanks again!
