Houston Texans morning huddle: Game Day vs. the Denver Broncos
By Randy Gurzi
It’s game day Texans fans! Let’s get ourselves ready for the event by checking out all the “need to know” news surrounding the Houston Texans second preseason game versus the Denver Broncos! Enjoy;
Reunion weekend for Texans, Broncos – by Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com
"The Texans host the Denver Broncos as a litany of familiar faces return to NRG Stadium this weekend.Coaches serving on both staffsHouston native Gary Kubiak returns to NRG Stadium in his first season as the Broncos head coach. Kubiak, Texans head coach from 2006 to 2013, will be joined by assistants who also worked on his staff in Houston: defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, offensive coordinator Rick Dennison, linebackers coach Reggie Herring, quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp, defensive line coach Bill Kollar, tight ends coach Brian Pariani, and assistant wide receivers coach Marc Lubick.Texans special teams coach Bob Ligashesky faces his former team. Ligashesky served as the Broncos tight ends coach in 2010.Former Broncos on TexansTexans safety Rahim Moore, signed as a free agent this offseason, played for Denver from 2011-2014. Linebacker Mike Mohamed spent 2011 to 2012 with the Broncos.Former Texans on BroncosSeveral former players will be back in Broncos uniforms: tight end Owen Daniels (2006-2013), defensive end Antonio Smith (2009-2013), fullback/tight end James Casey (2009-2012), and tackle Ryan Harris (2012-2013)."
Texans vs. Broncos: 10 things to watch – by Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle
"The Texans will try to make it 2-0 in the preseason when they host the Denver Broncos on Saturday at NRG Stadium. Here are 10 things to watch in the game:1. Quarterbacks Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer remain front and center as they attempt to convince Texans coach Bill O’Brien the starting job should be theirs. Mallett gets the start, but it’s unclear how much he’ll play. That may depend on how effective he is. When Hoyer directed a quick touchdown drive against San Francisco, he got the rest of the night off.2. It’s just the preseason and neither side will be game-planning, but seeing Broncos QB Peyton Manning operating former Texans coach and current Broncos coach Gary Kubiak’s offense for the first time will be as compelling as the latest installment of the Texans’ QB saga. Although Manning skidded off the road at the end of last season, he’s back for another go.3. Texans safety Rahim Moore knows Manning’s every armor chink from practicing against him daily over the last four seasons. Manning knows all of Moore’s flaws for the same reason. It’s an intriguing test for the both of them.4. Again, although the chess game will be rudimentary at best, Broncos defensive coordinator Wade Phillips won’t be able to keep himself from throwing a curve or two at the Texans’ still-gelling offense, hoping to remind Bob McNair and Rick Smith they hired the wrong guy."
Rahim Moore’s path might have saved his life – by Tania Ganguli of ESPN
"Reading the coverage of the Houston Texans…Having given the RTC a short hiatus, we’ll pack today’s with stories from the past few days.Texans safety Rahim Moore could have fallen into any number of pitfalls growing up in his gang-infested Los Angeles neighborhood, writes Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Instead, Moore stuck to football. “A lot of my close friends were gangbangers or in gang violence,” Moore said. “I just thank God I didn’t have to go down that route, because I could have easily done that. The experience I had is I could either hang out with them or go play football. My love and passion for football was so much that I couldn’t stray from that.”Jeffri Chadiha of NFL.com stopped by training camp this week and noted that Jadeveon Clowney’s biggest challenge might be taking it slow in his return to the field. “The plan is to string days together,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien told Chadiha. “There will be days when he will be a little sore. He will have to deal with that. We have to do a great job of easing him back into this. We can’t throw him out there for 60 reps in the first practice. We have to have a good plan for him and we do. And he understands that plan.”Dale Robertson of the Chronicle says receiver Travis Labhart is trying to get meaner. Well, maybe not meaner . . . I’ll let him explain: “I don’t know if this sounds shocking, but sometimes I’m too nice out there,” said Labhart, who played at Texas A&M and signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2014. “I’m not aggressive enough. But I think that’s something I’ve tried to learn this year, to be more aggressive in a helpful way. Coach O’Brien talks a lot about keeping a competitive edge and I think my competitiveness has gotten better. It’s something I’ve got to keep working on.”"
DeMarcus Ware eager to take on the Houston Texans – by Allie Raymond of HoustonTexans.com
"After sitting out the Broncos’ preseason opener at Seattle last Friday night, outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware is chomping at the bit to return to action this Saturday against the Texans.“We had just the jersey on today and me and Von [Miller], we were hustling around… saying, ‘Hey, man. We’re ready for the game. We’re ready to make those big plays,’” Ware said. “I think it’s a break of training camp for some of the veteran guys. We’re ready to go out there and play. We’re ready to really just get the job done and get the season started. That is what we’ve been waiting for and to get that bad taste out of our mouths from last year.”Ware will make his debut this preseason on Saturday in Houston along with other veteran players who sat out the first game against the Seahawks in order to stay fresh.The 11-year veteran will be closing in on new milestones this season including breaking into the NFL’s all-time sack leaders’ top-10 chart. Ware currently sits at No. 14 with 127 and only needs seven sacks to break into the top 10.“I think right now I’m ready for the regular season to really just get things going,” Ware said. “Training camp has been really on-the-go, really fast. Being in shape, that’s the main thing: getting ready for the season, but preparing for a team is what you need a whole week for when you play on Sundays."