The heavens opened up on Friday morning and dumped oodles of rain on the Greenbrier Valley, most importantly on the Greenbrier's Sports Performance Center.
Here is the Harris Hurry-up from a wet Friday morning practice.
-- The Texans actually worked out longer than they had in a few days. Coach Bill O'Brien noted after practice that he wanted to keep the team out in the elements to get some work in inclement weather. You never know, right?
-- The most important aspect of the day was the multiple situational work that the team did on Friday. Coach O'Brien came up with as many different situations as humanly possible. Even in the rain, the team worked through a litany of end of half, end of game or specialty situations in the downpour.
-- The first play of team drills during situations was a red zone type drill and safety Tyrann Mathieu set the tone with a key pass breakup.
-- Then, on the next play, quarterback Deshaun Watson lofted a beauty to DeAndre Hopkins in the back left corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Hopkins dragged his back foot to ensure the touchdown snag.
-- On the next play, Watson threw a dime to tight end Ryan Griffin for another touchdown. That one had the defensive back seven congregating to figure out how they let that one get to Griffin so cleanly.
-- Rainy conditions are a kicker's worst nightmare yet Kaimi Fairbairn was more accurate than perhaps any other day in camp.
-- Fairbairn came up short on a couple of 57 or so yard bombs but was right on target. He hit the crossbar with one. He was a yard short on another, then he got some help from the crossbar on the last in the drill. He hit the crossbar and it propelled through the uprights.
-- I mentioned Mathieu earlier for work that he did with the first defensive crew. Later in practice, he actually stepped in on the scout team and recovered an onside kick. I love watching that dude every day because he loves this game.
-- The rest of the workout was specialized situational work that didn't really provide much in the way of information. Fairbairn did end the day with a "game winning" field goal, which was fun to see from a distance. As he made contact with the ball, water flew everywhere, spinning with the ball as it went through the air.
-- At the end of practice, the Texans turned into a bunch of young kids. The linebackers and defensive linemen took off for some standing water on the field near us and turned it into a slip and slide. The offense did the same on the far field. Nothing like a bunch of professional athletes going full slip n' slide before ending the day.
-- The weather forecast for the next two days looks beautiful after a couple of days of rain. That should allow the Texans to get some quality work in pads before an off day on Monday. So, we're getting close...
Saturday - Practice
Sunday - Practice
Monday - OFF day
Tuesday - Practice
Wednesday - Pack up and depart for Kansas City Thursday - Preseason Game No. 1 against the Chiefs.
It's almost here, folks. See ya tomorrow with more from West Virginia.
