The Texans held their second consecutive practice in pads on Sunday at the Greenbrier. The best part of practice was a goal-line drill where practice went into full-contact mode.
"It was good," O'Brien said. "Last year, I thought we probably had too many reps at it. This year, we tried to cut the reps down. Tried to be efficient with the reps."
Both offense and defense got the best of each other it seemed, with the defense getting a stop, followed by a rushing touchdown and vice versa. However, the very last rep ended in a big stop by Brian Peters, resulting in an eruption of celebrating by the defense.
"Oh, that was great," Benardrick McKinney said. "We've been watching film on that play. It's a hard play to try to stop because we're taught to key the fullback. The fullback went one way and the running back, which is called split flow, but we've been watching film on that play and he did an unbelievable job."
Bill O'Brien said all the celebrating on some of the other defensive stops didn't sway him. He still plans to let the film decide whether the offense scored on some of the other reps.
"Defense got us a little bit," O'Brien said. "We'll let the film decide on that, though. It seemed like on the field, a couple of questionable calls. You know, those quality control guys that are acting as officials, sometimes the players are really influencing their calls – but no, it was a good start."
Kareem Jackson said the transition to safety has been a natural one with a few changes in how he sees the field.
"Instead of getting calls, you have to give the calls," Jackson said. "You have to get guys lined up. You have to give the calls to the corner, the linebacker, whoever's on your side of the field. You have to get the guys lined up. Just seeing, being there, being able to see the whole field, the whole formation and stuff like that that's definitely one of the biggest changes."
Johnson Bademosi has also transitioned well to his new team. Last year, he was traded to the New England Patriots shortly after they wrapped up practices at The Greenbrier with the Texans. The Texans signed Bademosi to help improve special teams and bolster the secondary.
"Good guy, has really good size, good speed," O'Brien said. "I like the way he communicates. Smart player, practices hard, brings a good attitude to the field every day. Definitely a guy that has fit in really well here."
Bademosi also loves acai bowls (who doesn't?) and even has one named after him in California. He described the recipe for the famous Bademosi Bowl.
"Acai, blueberry, peanut butter, I think it has chia seeds in the mix," Bademosi said. "And then on top, you have granola, strawberries, blueberries, banana, put some cinnamon on top and then drizzle some honey. It's perfect."
After practice, J.J. Watt and Bruce Ellington found a soccer ball and played a few rounds of soccer golf, followed by kicking field goals with the soccer ball.
The Texans do not practice again until Tuesday. Many have plans to relax, rehab while others may explore West Virginia. If they do, O'Brien won't be joining them.
"I know I won't be river rafting or on an ATV," O'Brien said. "I'll be watching some film."
