Texans morning huddle: Wilfork the mentor, Wilfork the kicker
By Randy Gurzi
Good morning Texans fans and a happy Friday as well. Let’s start this game day weekend the best way we can, by reading about Vince Wilfork serving as a mentor as well as competing as a kicker. Enjoy;
Breakfast: Texans-Chiefs series history – by Jesse Clark, HoustonTexans.com
"The Houston Texans (finally) open the regular season on Sunday at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.The two teams have some history with each other, having met on six occasions since 2003, with the series split 3-3.While the Chiefs won their most recent matchup, edging out the Texans 17-16 in 2013 in Kansas City, Houston has won the last two games at NRG Stadium.Sunday’s contest won’t be the first time the Texans open the season at home against the Chiefs, as Houston earned a decisive 20-3 victory over Kansas City at NRG in 2007.Expect a close matchup this weekend between two teams with stout defenses and balanced offenses. The last two games between these two teams have been decided by four points or less."
Wilfork on Clowney: “My little son, my baby brother” – by Deepi Sidhu, HoustonTexans.com
"Vince Wilfork’s presence in the locker room is felt by nearly everyone with the 12-year veteran doling out advice about football, life, and generally impressing with his humor and all-around athleticism.Wilfork has a lot of fans in the Texans locker room from J.J. Watt calling himself a small puppy following the bigger dog to Brian Cushing admitting he’s “excited” to play with him.But there’s one young player that the two-time Super Bowl winner has taken under his wing.Jadeveon Clowney.Wilfork’s locker isn’t next to Watt’s or the defensive linemen. It’s across the room next to Clowney. The two have bonded in Wilfork’s short time with the team, even though the second-year outside linebacker was in rehab recovering from microfracture knee surgery during a bulk of the offseason. Maybe it’s the physical proximity or the comeback story that even Texans fans have been following closely this offseason.Either way, Wilfork has been rooting for Clowney. In fact, when asked about his locker neighbor, Wilfork smiled.“My little son, little baby brother, he’s everything,” Wilfork said of Clowney. “You know what? He’s a hard worker, and that’s one thing I can respect about this team, not just JD, but I know a lot of times we have to talk to him because he’s so eager, we wants to play, he wants to get out, he wants to do all this.”The five-time Pro Bowler tells Clowney to pace himself, stick to the schedule, not to rush the process. It’s all life advice he’s picked up throughout his career. In 2014, Wilfork returned from an Achilles injury and recorded 47 tackles, one interception, one quarterback hit, two tackles for a loss, and two passes defensed."
Carli Lloyd kicks FGs with Vince Wilfork, has fan in EZ Nwachukwu – by Tania Ganguli, ESPN
"Vince Wilfork’s ‘Hard Knocks’ stardom culminated in a kicking competition.He took on Carli Lloyd, who had a hat trick for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team in the finals of this summer’s World Cup.Two things happened in this scene: 1) We saw Wilfork kick field goals. 2) We learned that receiver EZ Nwachukwu might be Lloyd’s biggest fan on earth.“Excuse me!” Nwachukwu says as Lloyd arrives to talk to the team. He pushes through his crowd of teammates so he can get a prime spot to watch. “Yess!!” he says when he gets it.“We had a lot of doubters in the beginning but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finished,” Lloyd says. “It’s just an incredible run and I wish you guys all the best.”Nwachukwu pretends to faint, apparently from being so close to her. Then the kicking competition begins. Lloyd and Wilfork each makes a 25-yard field goal. Lloyd then suggests they move back and Wilfork tries to get out of it with a, “My hamstring.” It doesn’t work and they both make their 35-yarders. Wilfork then quickly declares he’s got meetings."