Texans morning huddle: Watt to play through pain , Hopkins confidence
By Randy Gurzi
The morning huddle has all the Houston Texans news you need, today’s links include Hopkins boasting and Watt playing through pain
The Houston Texans are just days away from their big game against the Patriots. Here is the news you need to know to get ready for the matchup;
7 reasons Rob Gronkowski is effective – by Drew Dougherty, HoustonTexans.com
"He missed last Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia after suffering a knee injury the previous week at Denver. When the Texans met with the media on Thursday, many were asked about the prolific pass-catcher, who’s already pulled in 63 touchdown catches in 76 career games since 2010.“We’re preparing probably for him to play,” linebacker Brian Cushing said “If he does, he does, if he doesn’t, we’ll definitely just take some of those adjustments out, but we’ll definitely know that we have other options as well.”"
J.J. Watt plans to play through broken hand – by Tania Ganguli, ESPN
"Watt said he broke his hand during Wednesday’s practice but will be on the field when the Texans (6-6) host the New England Patriots (10-2) on Sunday night at NRG Stadium.More from Toro TimesHouston Texans: Can Sean Payton really be the next head coach?Houston Texans Draft: Michael Mayer should be a no doubter at pick 12Houston Texans already telling fans the Davis Mills era is overHouston Texans have hand forced, waste no time in firing Lovie SmithHouston Texans: Pros and Cons of keeping Head Coach Lovie Smith“People are going to try to make a big deal out of this, but I’ve played with worse than this before, even this season,” Watt said. “This, I’m not very worried about. My elbow a couple years back was way more painful. This was painful when it happened, but it’s football. In a game of football you’re going to play with pain.”"
DeAndre Hopkins: ‘I’m the NFL’s best receiver’ — with the hands to prove it – by Stacey Pressman, ESPN
"“I THINK I’M the best wide receiver in the NFL. I work hard. I’ve wanted to put myself in that position to be the best wide receiver in the NFL, and I definitely think I’m putting my foot forward to make that claim. I think I have the best hands in the NFL. Not because I’m full of myself, but I think if you look at drops over the past three years, I’d say I’m at the top of that list. (Hopkins is right — he grabbed 97 percent of catchable passes from 2012 to ’14, best in the league.) When people say I have the best hands, that means you’re the most consistent person at catching the football in the NFL. Most footballs that come your way, you’re going to come down with the completion. That’s exactly what that means.”"