What to watch for in Texans’ first preseason game
There numerous things to watch during the Houston Texans’ first preseason game.
Football is finally here. The Houston Texans will play their first preseason game on Wednesday night against the Carolina Panthers.
It’s exciting to finally get to the see the team that Texans’ general manager Rick Smith and head coach Bill O’Brien have assembled for the upcoming season.
I’ve come up with a few things to look out for.
Quarterback battle
Without any surprise Tom Savage will be starting at quarterback for the Texans against the Panthers. So far all reports have indicated that he’s looked the part in training camp. Now it”s time to prove it.
The real bullets will start flying and it will be interesting to see how Savage handles the pressure of being the starter.
Like Savage, rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson has been receiving plenty of praise this offseason. We will get to see just how far along he’s come after being taken in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft just three months ago and if he has a shot at winning the starting job.
Offensive line
Texans’ left tackle Duane Brown is still holding out and the Texans need someone to step up at right tackle this season.
While Brown will show up at some point prior to the regular season in order to get back on the field and not forfeit any of his game checks, Houston still needs to find a right tackle after failing to sign one in free agency or grab one early in the draft.
As of right now Kendall Lamm has been in getting work on both the left and right side. When Brown comes back Lamm will likely start on the right side.
Even with Brown missing the Texans’ first preseason game, I want to see what kind of depth this team has along the offensive line. They have to prove that they can protect Savage with or without Brown.
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Secondary
With cornerback A.J. Bouye now in Jacksonville, we will have a chance to see what Kevin Johnson can do as a starter. All expectations are that there won’t be a drop off at the cornerback position from 2016 to 2017. We will see.
Did the Texans finally find a replacement at safety for Quintin Demps now that Marcus GIlchrist is in the fold? Wednesday’s game will give us some insight into whether he’s the answer.