One last workout before the Texans head to Green Bay

11 observations from Texans training camp, Aug. 3

Cody Stoots
Aug 3, 2019, 1:00 pm
Eddie Clarke

If you have missed any of the previous looks at the Texans observations you can find them here

Light day but work day

The Texans are deep into working against themselves and with the work against the Packers a couple of days away the team didn't hit it super hard. They got some really solid work in though. Plenty of situational work and even some goal line work. I would say the offense and the defense each had elements of they day they could be proud of Saturday.

Stout. Just stout. 

Texans defensive line at Texans Training Camp 2019

Cody Stoots/SportsMap

I am not sure who will be scoring on the Texans defensive line. They have rarely been pushed by the Texans offensive line on the ground. When Watt and Reader are leading the pack they just smash people. I can't wait to see them work against other teams and better offensive lines. Green Bay could be a fun test. If you want to score on the Texans in the red area you better throw.

Picking on Roby

The Texans offense picked on Bradley Roby a bunch today. He got a couple of wins but DeAndre Hopkins is a tough cover for him. Lamar Miller also put a nice move on him in the open field to score a few more yards. The Texans have to have Roby play well if they are going to succeed this season.

Surprising find

Jahleel Addae has been a real camp standout. The safety has spent the last few years with the Chargers and he's easily one of the best safeties on the team with Justin Reid and Tashaun Gipson. He earned some praise from Bill O'Brien after the workout as well. The Texans' defense has always relied on a third safety to a large degree and Addae has been a really nice find by the Texans staff.

Tytus and Thomas down

Jordan Thomas at Texans Training Camp 2019

Eddie Clarke

Tytus Howard didn't work out again today despite Bill O'Brien hinting earlier in the week he expected the first round pick to be ready today. If it is nothing too serious I would expect him to work against the Packers next week. If he misses those workouts there will be cause for concern. Jordan Thomas has been down but again, if he works out against Green Bay he hasn't missed a ton.

Pass blocking woes

The running backs had a decent day against the safeties earlier in camp but they worked against the linebackers today and it wasn't pretty. Lamar Miller has the absolute best rep, as he should he's the expert on the team, stuffing Benardrick McKinney. D'Onta Foreman had a solid rep too but the rest of the backs struggled.

Watt vs the world

J.J. Watt showed off for his parents at practice today working over just about everyone he faced. I feel bad for the Packers linemen. Watt bull rushed Matt Kalil almost into Deshaun Watson on one play. He has looked great in camp and frankly needs some days off so the offense can actually work. Kalil looked solid on his other reps. He's had a nice camp.

Baseball Watson

Deshaun Watson

Eddie Clarke

This may sound weird but I bet Deshaun Watson would have been one hell of a baseball player. His lower body moves like a shortstop sometimes and his ability to get the ball out from angles reminds me of a middle infielder. He's smooth and it is apparent he knows so much more than previous years. He makes it look easy.

Fairbairn's first miss is no issue

Texans kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the first kick I saw him miss in camp. He hit the upright and it bounced back. Again, this was the first miss I have seen in camp. Later when the A.J. McCarron led Texans offense stalled out Fairbairn hit what would have been a kick good from it seemed like 60-plus yards.

Play of the day

It felt like the first goal line rep of the day and the Texans defense was fired up after forcing a fumble. It looked like a few different defenders ended up contributing to the play. On offense, Keke Coutee kept moving when Deshaun Watson extended a play and extended out to make a great snag.

Quote of the day

Bill O'Brien

Cody Stoots/SportsMap

"Greg Mancz has done a good job, but we need Nick back out there. From a leadership standpoint, from the whole deal. Taking nothing away from Greg Mancz. We think very highly of Greg Mancz, it's just from a depth standpoint and getting Nick back out there, for Nick, it's important."

Texans Head Coach Bill O'Brien on his injured center Nick Martin. Martin will go to Green Bay with the team hoping to practice.

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BUYER'S REMORSE?

How the media in New York could make Rockets fans feel better

The media has mixed feelings about the James Harden trade. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

James Harden was 100-percent exactly right earlier this week when he said the Houston Rockets were "just not good enough."

How could they be? Not when their moody superstar scorer, who makes about half a million dollars per game, shows up chubby, looking like a kielbasa about to explode in the microwave. Hey, some people eat when they're unhappy, it's a defense mechanism. In Harden's case, the only defense he's exhibited this season. At least he had a good excuse for missing pre-season training camp and alienating his teammates - he was busy partying with Cinnamon and Cherish in Atlanta and Vegas without a mask. Worst of all, he went into the tank his last four games in a Rockets uniform, standing around, arms folded, scoring fewer than 20 points each time, all Rockets losses. Fans in the front row were asking him to move, he was blocking their view of players who cared about winning. James Harden sabotaged his own team, a team that offered him $50 million a year to stay. Something that crazy could only happen in professional sports these days.

There's a saying that drives the American labor movement: "a fair day's wage for a fair day's work." It's the motto of the American Federation of Labor. The National Basketball Players Association is not a member. Harden's sulking on the court, cheating the Rockets and their fans, was unforgivable.

Harden, sitting out games while somehow being on the court, forced the Rockets to trade him - and quick - to Brooklyn. The trade, when you ignore the fine print and unindicted co-conspirators Cleveland and Indiana, sent Harden to Brooklyn in exchange for Caris LeVert (immediately flipped for Victor Oladipo), Jarrett Allen, three first-round draft picks and four swapped first-rounders. It's true, when you trade a superstar, you never get back equal value. The other team wins.

If it makes Rockets fans feel any better, the media in New York already has problems with their new problem child. I should say newest problem child. Kyrie Irving plays for the Nets.

"They (the Nets) gave up everybody! There's nothing left now. I just want to cry, It's awful," weeped WFAN Radio talk host Evan Roberts. For those who don't subscribe to weekly Arbitron ratings reports, WFAN is the most powerful, top-rated sports talk station in the Apple.

"You're leading down the road of doom. Harden and Durant could be gone in a year and a half. I'm not convinced this gives them a better chance to win a title. I'm living a nightmare again. They better freaking win."

Circle March 3 on your Rockets schedule. That's when the Brooklyn Nets, with their Big 3 of Kevin Durant, James Harden and possibly Kyrie Irving visit Toyota Center. I hear talk radio salivating over the record jeers that will cascade over Harden's name, although I'm not buying it. Fans don't think like the media does. I'm thinking that Rockets fans will welcome Harden back - one night only - with cheers.

Toyota Center public address announcer Matt Thomas: "Usually when former Rockets come to town for the first time since leaving, I give them a positive introduction. It's up to the fans how to react."

James Harden spent eight seasons with the Rockets. He is a spectacular player who watched other NBA players engineer trades so they could compete for a title. Harden didn't think the Rockets were good enough, and he's right. So he wanted out. We've all been there, a job we didn't like for a company we didn't like, for a boss we didn't respect. Harden wanting to be traded is understandable. How he went about it was deplorable. He hurt his co-workers.

Houston will make Harden pay for his disrespectful departure. He has an upscale restaurant set to open here. The name of the steakhouse will be "13." Harden's business partners may want to change that number ... before the restaurant's telephone number is disconnected. There are plenty of other restaurants in Houston. Rich people who can afford steakhouse prices hold grudges.

Rockets fans searching for a silver lining say, "We got two decent players and a whole bunch of precious first-round picks" for a malcontent who would rather be anywhere (except maybe Sacramento) than Houston." Yes, a bunch of first-round picks does bode well for the future. Anywhere, except maybe Houston.

Houston's draft war room isn't the most successful operation in the NBA. Over the past decade prior to 2000, under the direction of general manager Daryl Morey, the Rockets made 16 draft picks. Not one of them is still in a Rockets uniform, many of them have sought employment outside of America, some outside of basketball. Among their first-round whiffs: Nikola Mirotic, Terrence Jones, Sam Dekker - all out of the league. Best of all, Royce White, who played three whole games in his NBA career and finished with a scoring average of 0.00 points per game.

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