The Texans have nearly one month until the start of training camp in late July after wrapping up minicamp on Thursday. While it's the biggest break players will have until the end of the season, the hard work has to continue, according to head coach Bill O'Brien. Players are expected to report back for camp in top physical condition and primed on the playbook.
"It's a crucial time," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "It's not really a vacation time. They need to make sure that they stay in condition, that they stay knowledgeable with the playbook, stay strong and do the things necessary to come back here in the best shape of their lives. They know that. These guys, especially the guys that have been around, they're pros and they understand that."
The new coaching staff, working since January, will also have time to spend with families before reporting back for the start of early training camp. On July 21, rookies, first-year players, and quarterbacks will arrive for their conditioning tests.
Overall, O'Brien is pleased with how much of the playbook was covered these past few months. Even with ten OTA practices and three minicamps, the true test of the playbook install will come during training camp when players are wearing full pads.
"We've got a lot in," O'Brien said. "I would say the things that we need to get really moving on would be things that require pads. The running game, we don't know much about our running game right now because we haven't had the pads. We know what runs we've put in and worked on, but we've got to get the pads on. Same with our run defense, we've got to see where that's at. Goal line, short yardage, you know things that you really can't practice without pads. We feel good about where we are with those schemes being installed, but then we've got to go in there and have a good training camp with those things."
