Texans morning huddle: Jaelen Strong is driven, camp moving along
By Randy Gurzi
Good morning Texans fans! The Houston Texans training camp is a few days in now and the news surrounding the team is coming in fast, join the ‘Morning huddle’ to get caught up with all the feedback and analysis of what is happening on the field.
Jaelen Strong is driven and showing it this summer – by Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com
"A condition of human nature often causes us to use words in an aspirational manner. Saying things we hope to do, describing ourselves in ways we hope to be, not actually as we are.So when you hear a person tell you he’s motivated, tell you he wants to be great, those words need corroboration.That’s exactly what receiver Jaelen Strong offered when he returned from the break between the Houston Texans’ offseason program and training camp this year. He lost 20 pounds in the month off, and he lost them for a very important reason.“Thought about what I went through to get here to where I’m at today, how much of an opportunity the Texans gave me by picking me,” Strong said. “Just had to sacrifice and do whatever I needed to do.”Strong, who the Texans drafted in the third round, has looked quicker and smoother in the first two practices. He’s known for having good hands and has shown it so far."
Hard Knocks: First impressions – by Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com
"With the season premiere of “Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Houston Texans” just over a week away, HBO is hosting Monday night’s practice with the Texans. The Texans will have their first evening practice in over four years on Monday night. It will also be the team’s first practice in full pads of the 2015 training camp. HBO and NFL Films have been at NRG Stadium filming meetings, practices, and even visiting the hometowns of several players.NFL Films producer and “Hard Knocks” Director Matt Dissinger gave some insight to his early impressions of what the crew has filmed so far in an exclusive interview with Texans Radio.On Bill O’Brien:“I think the first thing that jumps out at you is Coach O’Brien. With his personality, I think he’s a great motivator. He’s a good leader.“We found him to have a great sense of humor. I think a national audience will learn what Texans fans probably already know about him, and what Texans media members know about him. He’s got a sharp wit. That’s going to be great. It’s going to be great to see for us. But beyond that, he’s a good football coach.”"
Breakfast: Texans top social posts of last week – by Jesse Clark of HoustonTexans.com
"Interested in keeping up with Texans players on social media? Want to see some of the best things they’re posting on Twitter and Instagram?Well look no further. This is the place for you.Every Monday morning here on HoustonTexans.com we will count down the top five social media posts from Texans players over the past week. The posts could come from either Twitter or Instagram and may or may not have anything to do with football. Most importantly, the posts will be some combination of interesting, fun, and engaging."
Ryan Mallett gets his day in Texans’ QB battle, looks good – by Tania Ganguli of ESPN
"When he balked at the presumption by some that he was out of the Houston Texans quarterback battle, Ryan Mallett hadn’t yet gotten his day.It came instead on Sunday, when Mallett spent most of his day with the first team, just as Brian Hoyer had done the day before. In an early first-team offense vs. first-team defense session, Mallett completed six of nine throws. One of those six might have been a sack, but as sacks aren’t allowed right now in training camp, Mallett got the ball out under pressure to Nate Washington.Among the three incompletions, one was nearly intercepted by linebacker Max Bullough, who dove for it. It wasn’t reaching a receiver one way or another. Another play was a win all around by the defense — Mallett threw the ball with J.J. Watt’s arm wrapped around his waist, running back Arian Foster dropped the pass and linebacker Brian Cushing essentially tackled Foster for good measure.The day’s crowd pleaser came on a deep throw from Mallett to DeAndre Hopkins — a signature Hopkins one-handed touchdown catch. The throw was nice and the catch was, too. In fact Mallett had nice touch on several of his throws — he had a good one that should have been complete to C.J. Fiedorowicz. (Aside: I wrote this offseason about how Mallett has worked on reining in his powerful arm.)"