Time flies

Wasn't it just a few days ago when we were all excited about getting our training camp tickets?

And now it's over.

The Texans held their last public training camp session on Wednesday night before a packed house. The players had an extra bit of spring in their step since it marked the last of two-a-days.

The weather even cooperated as some of the extreme outer bands of Erin blew through earlier in the afternoon, cooling the furnace down to enjoyable outdoor levels.

The team was in shorts and helmets and ran extended 11-on-11 drills, focusing mainly on the passing game and red zone situations. Considering their poor performance in the red zone Saturday night, I'd say that was a good thing.

All five QBs saw action. Most of the carries were shared by Samkon Gado and Darius Walker. Ahman Green got in a few carries, but it was clear that coach Kubiak was resting some players.

Speaking of Ahman Green, I'm all in on this guy. He looks to be in tremendous shape and extremely smooth when he carries the ball. There's no wasted motion as he cuts through holes and glides into the second level. He obviously still has a good set of wheels and appears to be the fastest of the backs.

Jacoby Jones welcomed Tyrone Poole back to the NFL, beating him soundly on a nice deep ball thrown by Matt Schaub. We'll cut Poole some slack because going from the couch to trying to run with JJ is a little bit of a tall order.

You can tell that Jacoby is becoming a fan favorite by just listening to the crowd as they watch practice.

The team spent several minutes on kickoff drills and onside kicks.

Jones, Dexter Wynn, Bethel Johnson, and Andre' Davis took turns returning kicks.

Practice was cut short so that players could interact with the fans and sign autographs. Nearly every Texans player came over to the sideline and signed footballs, shirts, etc., for fans who lined the fence along the sideline.

Even the cheerleaders got into the act, handing out rosters and posing for pictures for fans in front of the bleachers.

The public address guy told everyone to stay in their seats until the end so Kubiak could be honored for his birthday, but they weren't able to pull that off for some reason.

A special treat for the older fans in the house was the appearance of Bum Phillips. Bum said hello and interacted with fans as he made a pass along the sideline in a golf cart driven by Texans vice president of communications Tony Wyllie.

You can email Alan Burge at: ajtexans@yahoo.com