Day one of training camp recap; the down side.
Jul 26, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) warms up during training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The first work out of the Bill O’Brien era is in the books. Normally day one of camp is nothing to get excited about other than “Football is back!” however when your team is in transitional status to a new coaching regime it carries a little more weight. I like to get the bad news first, and there was some bade news from camp. Nothing earth shattering mind you, however concerns are to be had. First on our list is the quickly diminishing offensive line. Number 67, third year player and back up guard Cody White blew out his Achilles. That’s just not a good thing for someone who stands in at 6’3” and a respectable 303lbs. This leaves the Texans line down another lineman with David Quessenberry out ufn fighting a far more important battle with lymphoma cancer. We wish both men a speedy recovery.
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Then there is last years 6th round pick up at wide receiver Alan Bonner. He missed the 2013 season with a nasty hamstring problem. This season? Yes, he’s out for now with an undisclosed leg injury. While the receiver corp isn’t really a weak point for the Texans, you never like to see a young talent not get the chance to show his ability.
I would say we were intense today and we were competitive, but we weren’t as sharp as we need to be. We’re going to continue to work on that as a football team.
Finally D.J. Swearinger succumb to the muggy of Houston heat and needed to be taken to the sidelines. This wasn’t, fortunately, due to a lack of condition so much as skinny guys in Texas heat. He’s muscular, but no real fat to store the water. It happens, not gonna get excited at this point. Remember folks, hydration is key. Speaking of keys, the Texans were not were they need to be according O’Brien. When asked the progress the guys are making in handling the install of the new offense and defense O’Brien replied: “I would say we were intense today and we were competitive, but we weren’t as sharp as we need to be. We’re going to continue to work on that as a football team.” This isn’t really something that should come as much a surprise. Day one of camp with a new system, there is room to grow. If O’Brien is still talking about this as an issue towards the end of August then be concerned. Sadly reports are Fitzpatrick is still the starter. We’ll see how things progress on the quarterback front moving ahead.
That wraps up the “bad” of day one, we’ll have a recap of the highlights later today and a look at day two this evening. Thanks for reading the Torotimes!
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*All quotes provided courtesy of the Houston Texans PR Department.