Texans work the Lions in last practice before preseason home opener
11 observations from Texans training camp for Aug. 15
Aug 15, 2019, 1:23 pm
Texans work the Lions in last practice before preseason home opener
Julién Davenport
If you missed Wednesday's observations from training camp you can find them here
The Texans worked the Lions today. They moved the ball and kept the Lions from moving the ball. The Lions looked like they didn't have any juice out there today while the Texans took care of business.
The Texans safeties feasted on the Lions today. Jahleel Addae had an interception on Matt Stafford. Rookie safety Chris Johnson from North Alabama had one as well. The Texans got him those two times in about a five play stretch. Later Johnathan Joseph dropped an interception. The team has a nice group of safeties and the Lions got a taste of that today.
Matt Kalil was given a day off and Roderick Johnson took advantage of the work. He looked really good and much better than Kalil did in the first joint practice against the Lions. There is certainly an argument to be made he could push Kalil. I'm not sure there has been a practice where Kalil wasn't up and down in a long time. Johnson was steady today. He might have made the left tackle spot a competition.
Davenport got some work at left tackle as well against the Lions. He also handled himself well. The tackle spot gets interesting with Kalil's spot being less sure each day. Kalil provides no versatility while Davenport has the ability to play on the right and left side. Davenport should be the team's swing tackle if Johnson pushes for playing time as the team's starter at left tackle. Obviously, in this scenario, Kalil isn't on the team. Davenport has done a great job making himself a factor.
J.J. Watt gave the Lions offensive line fits. He looked damn near unstoppable in some situations and seemingly was always affecting the play some way. He blasted past the Lions in one rep and tapped Matt Stafford on the shoulder as the play continued. Watt, of course, would have demolished Stafford but he let the play go. Lions head coach Matt Patricia was not pleased with Watt's actions and they exchanged some words.
The Texans linebackers can hit. My goodness. Zach Cunningham pulled up before making full contact with a Lions back and he still blew the guy up. Peter Kalambayi can fly around as can Dylan Cole. Of course, Benardrick McKinney isn't afraid to stick his nose in there. They are ready for the regular season today.
The ability to get the ball out fast is one of the best for Deshaun Watson and the offense. It feels like everyone can make it work too. DeAndre Carter, and eventually Keke Coutee, will get a lot of looks quick. Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins are also factors on slants and quick routes. Even the tight ends know to turn and look quick. Watson's decision making has been really solid.
Tytus Howard has a pass blocking drill today from the tackle spot and absolutely stoned the Lions player. I don't believe he will play tackle this year if the Texans can afford to play him elsewhere but there is definitely a future for him at tackle. His tackle pass blocking rep actually looked better than his guard blocking rep.
I have seen a few more jumps by the offensive linemen and offside from defensive linemen in the past two days. Maybe just having an opponent in camp has been an element of that. The Texans played it pretty clean from the defensive backs standpoint though. This offensive line can't afford penalties. Even if they're better, they can't overcome those.
The Texans fullback mad a great snag in the corner on the end zone but the journey there is what was almost as impressive. He came out of the backfield and was looking left, then he adjusted to look right as the ball came and he hauled it and tapped the toes for a score.
"Had a pretty good day today. I think we were six for six with the ones in the red area."
Bill O'Brien just casually throwing out how his team dominated the red zone. They stunk last year so this is a nice development.
Calder Hodge (@calder_Qb7), who lost both legs at age 2, was at #Texans today & got the chance to play catch w/ @JJWatt: "I got to throw with JJ.That was really awesome..Texans should throw him a tight end pass this year..He said come on let's play catch.U don't tell JJ Watt no" pic.twitter.com/PbDUe7V5rj
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) August 15, 2019
Former #Rockets star Steve Francis at #Texans camp pic.twitter.com/hkKdNKipdh
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) August 15, 2019
Isaac Paredes has been a steady force in the middle of the Astros’ order, but a tweaked hamstring suffered during Thursday’s win over the White Sox may force Houston to recalibrate, again.
If Paredes misses time, the most logical shuffle would see Jose Altuve sliding back to second base, with Mauricio Dubón stepping in at third. It’s a reasonable patch. But internally, there’s also some intrigue around whether Cam Smith—currently thriving in right field—could slide back to his original position on the infield. The idea isn’t without merit; Smith is the club’s best offensive option at third in Paredes’ absence. But defensively, it’s hard to justify moving him right now. Smith made several standout plays in the Chicago series, reinforcing just how important his glove has become to the Astros’ outfield defense. One thing is for sure, the Astros can't afford to play both Dubon and Brendon Rodgers in the infield regularly. The offense would take a huge hit.
Timing, however, might be on Houston’s side. The next stretch of games features the Twins, Athletics, and Angels—three teams the Astros can beat even while navigating lineup instability. It helps that Yainer Diaz and Christian Walker are showing signs of life at the plate. Diaz, in particular, has been red-hot, posting an OPS north of 1.200 over the past week. Walker is batting over .300 during that same span, giving the Astros enough firepower to survive short-term turbulence.
Elsewhere, the outfield presents its own set of choices. Jacob Melton has shown enough in the field to warrant a serious look as Chas McCormick’s replacement when he returns from injury. He’s still searching for consistency at the plate, batting under .200 in his first 10 big league games. But his arm and left-handed bat give manager Joe Espada a little more lineup flexibility—especially with Yordan Alvarez still out and the offense skewing right-handed.
For now, the Astros have room to adjust. But if Paredes ends up missing significant time, they’ll need more than just a few temporary solutions to keep their momentum going.
There's so much more to cover! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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