GOAL LINE WORK FOR TEXANS
11 observations from Texans training camp, July 31
Jul 31, 2019, 1:40 pm
@edclarke03/Eddie Clarke
Will Fuller Texans Training Camp 2019
If you missed the observations from Monday, you can find them here
No more worry about Warring
Kahale Warring getting work in his first practice for the #Texans pic.twitter.com/lVt5w4pwsy
— Cody Stoots (@Cody_Stoots) July 31, 2019
Texans third round draft pick Kahale Warring made his debut for the team today. It was his first practice with the team. He is a physically imposing tight end from the looks but his development will be interesting to watch going forward. He will need to make strides in a hurry after missing almost a week's worth of practices.
Ok, maybe worry a little bit about Warring
Bill O'Brien was not willing to praise Warring just yet. He mentioned he didn't feel like he moved around as well as some have said he did today. O'Brien stressed he thinks being available and on the field is one of the most important factors for the young players.
I was impressed with the little we saw Warring work. He didn't have any awful blocking reps from what I saw. He had one really bad drop that would have been a nice play. It hit in the hands and bounced off of them to the turf. He might be one of the patented members of Bill O'Brien's rookie doghouse.
D.J. Reader is a scary monster
“Great day to be a Texan.”@Djread98 | #TexansCamp pic.twitter.com/4UpvaXzz9N
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) July 31, 2019
The coaches on defense have to be smiling ear to ear when they see Reader work in camp. He has been fantastic in all his reps. Rarely is a lineman beating him or pushing him to a draw. He wins rep after rep. If Reader keeps this up, the Texans defensive line could be even stronger than it has been.
Pads down, have fun
The Texans finally did goal line work with a full complement of their offense and defense. It is later than some years for the first goal line work but it was still very entertaining. I would say the offense and defense each had things they should be proud of but also a few things to work on here or there. It was the most fired up we have seen the players in a few days.
Damarea Crockett's good day
A really solid day for Damarea Crockett the rookie from Missouri. He had some juice to his runs and in the goal line work he really shined darting through whatever holes he could find to gain yards or score. He is in a dog fight for the chance to make the roster and there have been a few backs taking turns at that third running back spot. It was a good day for Michigan rookie Karan Higdon too as he had a nice jump cut to the crease and took off.
Know the name
Angelo Blackson's contract was a bit of a surprise this past offseason but the defensive lineman has had a nice camp so far. Today he announced his presence with authority in the goal line drills. He darted past the offensive line cutting through blocking to blow up a play. Blackson needs to be a factor for this team's rotation.
Physical vet
Matt Kalil wasn't an exciting addition to the Texans, but he has been more than solid at camp. He got smoked by Whitney Mercilus on one rep today but held his own for the rest I saw. One play saw him throw a defensive lineman down, then block another downfield as he cleared the way for the running back. If the Texans had to play a game tomorrow, he would be the left tackle.
Peter do-it-all-ayi
Peter Kalambayi is making this team and could have a key role. Wednesday saw him do a little bit of everything. He was running step for step with backs in coverage, filling the hole in the rushing attack, and darting through the line to make a backfield tackle. He was perhaps a surprise addition to the roster out of camp last year but there will be no surprise with his status going forward.
Not Rankin real high so far
Martinas Rankin is struggling in camp. He is getting work on the interior of the offensive line but he has yet to put together an impressive or solid performance. He disappointed last year after getting hurt and missing some camp. He has seemingly been healthy, but he hasn't shown much. The numbers game is getting tight on the offensive line and Rankin might have to hope the investment, a third rounder last year, gets him some leeway.
Play of the day
There are two today really so I will cheat a little here. Angelo Blackson's huge stuff in the goal line drills is the first one. The second one was rookie on rookie crime as Tyron Johnson put Lonnie Johnson in a blender and cut outside for an easy catch.
Quote of the day
"It was alright. They miss all this time and they come out there. What you may think is moving around well, I'm not sure that I would agree with you...Getting him out there, that was a miracle in and of itself."
Texans Head Coach Bill O'Brien on his third-round tight end who practiced for the first time today. O'Brien was obviously joking with the last part but Kahale Warring clearly has some catching up to do.
With overnight temperatures dipping into the 20s this week in Houston, it seems good timing to have the warm thoughts of baseball being back, at least spring training games. The Astros have more shakiness about their squad than they have had in nearly a decade, but the Astros still have a nucleus of an American League West contender. With the exits of Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman, it’s just a notably different nucleus than in recent years.
Jose Altuve is the last remaining mainstay of the greatest era in Astros’ history, and he is one of the biggest stories of their preseason as he for the time being at least is left fielder Jose Altuve. By every indication he is embracing the challenge with class and energy. The obvious impetus for test driving the move is the soon-to-be 35 years old Altuve’s defensive deterioration. It can be tough for the player himself to notice that his range has declined. The voiding of defensive shifts after the 2022 season shined a brighter light on Altuve’s D decline. Still, last season Altuve made his ninth All-Star team and despite also displaying some offensive decline remained the clearly best offensive second baseman in the American League. It’s part of the tradeoff of reducing the defensive workload on Yordan Alvarez, and hoping to upgrade defensively at second with some combo of Mauricio Dubon, Brendan Rodgers, or other.
The natural comparison in Astros’ history of a franchise icon losing his defensive spot and making a late-career position change is to Craig Biggio. Biggio’s All-Star days were behind him when the Astros moved him from second base to center field for the 2003 season because of the signing of free agent Jeff Kent. It spoke to the athlete Biggio was that at 37 years old he could make the move at all. After not quite a season and a half in center, Biggio moved to left when the Astros traded for young stud center fielder Carlos Beltran. Both Kent and Beltran left in free agency after the 2004 season, and Biggio moved back to second for the final three seasons of his career.
Second basemen are often second basemen and not shortstops in part because of their throwing arms. Altuve’s throwing arm will be an issue in left field. Even though Daikin Park has the smallest square footage of fair territory in Major League Baseball because of its left to left-center field dimensions, Altuve’s arm will be a liability. In understandably wanting to put an optimistic spin on things, manager Joe Espada and general manager Dana Brown have talked of how Altuve will be able to get momentum behind throws more so than when playing second. That’s true when camping under a fly ball in the outfield. That is not true when Altuve will have to cut off balls hit toward the left field line, or cutting across into the left-center field gap. There will be balls that would be singles when hit to other left fielders that will become doubles when Altuve has to play them, and baserunners will go from first to third and second to home much more readily. As an infielder Altuve has always been outstanding at running down pop-ups, so there is reason to believe he’ll be solid tracking fly balls in the outfield. However, the reality of a guy who is five feet six inches tall (in spikes) is that there will be the occasional fly ball or line drive that is beyond his grasp that more “normal” sized outfielders would grab. Try to name a good outfielder who stood shorter than five-foot-nine...
Here’s one: Hall of Famer Tim Raines (also originally a second baseman) was (and presumably still is!) five-foot-eight.
Here's another: Hall of Famer Hack Wilson was five-six. Four times he led the National League in home runs topped by a whopping 56 in 1930 when he set the still standing record of 191 runs batted in for a single season.
And another: Hall of Famer five-foot-four “Wee” Willie Keeler. Who last played in 1910.
Just a bit outside
Another element new to the Grapefruit League in Florida (and Cactus League in Arizona) this year is the limited use of what Major League Baseball is calling the Automated Ball Strike System. The ABS is likely coming to regular season games next year. This spring will be our first look at its use in big league games. Home plate umpires making ball and strike calls will not be going the way of the dinosaur. Challenges can be made until a team is wrong twice. Significantly, only the batter, pitcher, or catcher can challenge and must do so within two seconds of the pitch being caught. No dugout input allowed. No time to watch a replay.
The Astros’ spring park in West Palm Beach is not among the 13 facilities set up with ABS cameras. That seems silly given that the Astros share the place with the Washington Nationals. More use would be gotten from, and more data collected there than will be from a park with half the spring games played in it.
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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