MINI-CAMP REPORT
Cody Stoots: 11 observations from Day 2 of Texans minicamp
Cody Stoots
Jun 13, 2018, 4:13 pm
Bill O'Brien has elected to cancel the third and final day of practice. Tim Warner/Getty Images
The Texans wrapped up their final on-field workout on Wednesday before training camp begins in West Virginia. They will meet tomorrow and then reconvene as a team for training camp. Here are 11 observations from the final day of practice:
1. Aaron Colvin mentioned after practice that he plans to show off this year. He said he is past talking about his previous NFL stops and how he was viewed, and also said there is something burning inside him to show how good he can be. Colvin stated that some of the league may have slept on him, and he plans to play where the Texans need him, but the opportunity to play outside corner was attractive to him in picking the Texans. He played the slot corner position for the Jaguars last year with Jalen Ramsey and former Texans cornerback A.J. Bouye playing outside.
2. The line of the day came from Colvin. His response to what he was going to do until West Virginia was simple. "Grind my ass off."
3. Yesterday, rookie safety Justin Reid mentioned the veteran wide receivers help him get used to how NFL pass catchers will attack him. Today, Colvin said it doesn't matter how old or experienced anyone is when it comes to the advice shared between defensive backs and wide receivers. He mentioned rookie Keke Coutee and All-Pro DeAndre Hopkins as resources for him to get better. The goal he mentioned is for everyone to help everyone get better.
4. Speaking of Keke Coutee, the veteran corner Colvin said he believes Coutee will be "special" for the Texans. He said the skill set the rookie pass catcher possesses isn't easy to find, and his work in the short area of the field is something he can utilize in which some can't. Coutee and backup quarterback Joe Webb hooked up for a play over the middle where the 5'11" Coutee showed off his 34-inch vertical snatching a ball out of the air.
5. The wide receiver position is very crowded. Braxton Miller had an extreme display of athleticism in one pass catching drill where he jumped, extended his arms fully, snagged the ball, and was still able to land both feet in bounds in the back of the end zone. Undrafted free agent Vyncint Smith from Limestone College shook loose on a couple of plays today including a huge play in a team drill.
6. Sammie Coates, the former Browns and Steelers pass catcher, will have a tough time beating out the competition for a spot on the offense, but he showed today, a couple of times, his experience paying off for him. Coates beat Justin Reid on a deep ball for what would have been a touchdown in a team drill, but it was the adjustment that was impressive. Coates readjusted on the ball's trajectory whereas the rookie safety lost the ball. Coates is also the most psychically imposing wideout on the team by his look. He checks in at Hopkins' height, but has more mass than all the other wideouts.
7. Don't be fooled by the praise for the offense above because the defense won the day in most of the drills. With mostly guys competing for roster spots or playing time getting the reps, the secondary and even a little of the pass rush had a solid day. Will Fuller and Johnathan Joseph squared off early in a drill that saw the veteran defensive back victorious. Also, Justin Reid absolutely mauled Jordan Akins with a jam near the line of scrimmage taking the tight end out of the play. It would have been a completely legal play on a Sunday.
8. Some live reps in the team drills saw coverage sacks be the end result. A couple of times the quarterbacks had to make decisions after what would have been a sack from the pass rush. There was one coverage sack where the QB didn't even throw the ball. The offensive linemen and defensive linemen were pretty active for players who don't have pads on for practice. Romeo Crennel has to be happy about what he saw from the young and inexperienced players up front today.
9. The young tight ends, Jordan Thomas and Jordan Akins had the defense's attention today. Akins nor Thomas seemed to get as free as they did yesterday. Thomas had a tough drop after a pass hit him in the hands and fell incomplete. Matt Lengel, a former Patriots and Browns tight end who the team claimed in April, had a great route and got free by a few steps on Kurtis Drummond for what would have been a score. Ryan Griffin looks to be in incredible shape and is faster than previous years.
10. Yesterday, Troymaine Pope had a nice showing, especially in the passing game catching a touchdown. Today, Lavon Coleman got some reps in minicamp run situations. The room is very crowded though. Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue are veterans of the team, and D'Onta Foreman is supposed to be ready for training camp. Tyler Ervin is still on the team as well. Showing up in June and August could lead to one of the young players earning a practice squad spot.
11. Deshaun Watson and his knee are fine. Watson said in multiple ways that he feels good about his recovery from the ACL injury, and praised the staff and the plan put together for his rehab. With a year learning under his belt, Watson said he is "light years away" from where he was as a rookie quarterback in understanding the game. He said working on defenses is good, but knows you can only study so much before teams show you something new. He also said his plan to account for teams having film on him is to work "ten times harder."
Other Notes
The Texans will return from West Virginia after their preseason game with the Kansas City Chiefs as they get ready that week for joint practices with the San Francisco 49ers.
Second-year linebacker Zach Cunningham knows there are more eyes on him with the departure of Brian Cushing eliminating any potential obstacles to playing time. He also looks a little bigger than last year.
Brandon Weeden has an absolute rocket for an arm. Some of the throws he makes were misses from Tom Savage last year. I'm not saying to feel comfortable about the backup QB, but it could be better than the Tom Savage situation last year. Joe Webb and Stephen Morris are battling for the third QB spot. If I had to tell you who should make the team, I would say keep an extra wide receiver or offensive lineman and roll with two quarterbacks.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
If the Astros were going to win one series and lose the other on their six-game road trip out of the All-Star break, they got it right in taking two out of three games at Seattle then losing two out of three to lousy Oakland. Had they inverted those results, the Astros would not be alone atop the American League West starting this weekend’s series against the Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.
By the schedule the Astros’ sledding now gets tougher. The Dodgers are rolling toward their 11th National League West crown in 12 years, despite their pitching staff having been battered by injuries every bit as much as the Astros’. The Astros will face three rookie starters this weekend. National League Rookie of the Year candidate (non-Paul Skenes division) Gavin Stone goes Friday. Saturday it’s Justin Wrobleski making his fourth big league start, Sunday River Ryan makes his second. 325 million dollar addition Yoshinobu Yamamoto last pitched June 15. Tony Gonsolin is out for the year without throwing a pitch. Clayton Kershaw’s first pitch Thursday marks the first of his season. Tyler Glasnow’s Wednesday return from the Injured List means the Astros won’t face him this weekend.
Aside: Astros’ fan favorite Joe Kelly is back in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He was activated from the IL out of the break, so the opportunity to welcome him back to Minute Maid Park looms!
After the Dodgers, the Pirates hit town with Skenes slated to pitch Monday opposite Jake Bloss. Gulp. Hey, in one game, you never know. Skenes has been the most electric rookie pitcher since Dwight Gooden with the Mets in 1984.
Sleepless in Seattle
The Mariners’ unraveling has reached historic proportions. It’s not easy losing six straight matchups with the lowly Angels but the Mariners were down to the challenge and pulled it off. The M’s have stumble-bummed their way to a 9-20 record over their last 29 games. That’s actually a better winning percentage than the Astros’ had after staggering from the starting gate to a 7-19 mark. Like the Astros did, the Mariners can right their ship, though if they don’t add quality offense before Tuesday’s trade deadline it seems unlikely. Seattle has scored more than two runs in one of its last eight games, the only win among those eight when the Mariners got to Ronel Blanco and Seth Martinez Sunday to avoid an Astros’ sweep. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers whipping up on the laughingstock Chicago White Sox this week has their World Series title defense very much alive and a threat to overtake both the Astros and Mariners.
The trade deadline is this Tuesday
Tick-tock toward Tuesday’s 5PM Central Time trade deadline. General Manager Dana Brown is on the clock. Let’s start with starting pitchers. Tarik Skubal! Garrett Crochet! Jack Flaherty! Any would be a fabulous addition. If Brown acquires one, he will have done phenomenal work cajoling the trade partner into thinking the Astros’ offer the best. Frankly it seems impossible. The Orioles are in the starting pitcher market. Their farm system runs laps around what the Astros have. Numerous other teams on the hunt for pitching have higher rated minor league talent. The Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys are having a fabulous season, but until the Astros Thursday moved up soon to be 24-year-old Jacob Melton (who was batting just .248 with a .307 on-base percentage at Double-A Corpus Christi) there was not one non-pitcher of any consequence younger than 25 on the roster. Pedro Leon, Shay Whitcomb, Will Wagner, and include Joey Loperfido: it would be shocking if any of them can be the best player in an offer good enough to land one of the potential big trade fish. All four of them wouldn’t be enough to land a Skubal or Crochet.
On the hitter side, if the Blue Jays shop Vlad Jr. and/or the Rays take offers for Paredes, of course Brown better try. Either would be a sharp upgrade over Jon Singleton, and Guerrero can’t become a free agent until after next season, with Paredes under team control through 2027. Reality check time. Seattle’s offense is in dire straits. The Mariners have four prospects rated higher than any Astros’ prospect. If the Mariners didn’t make a winning offer over what the Astros proposed, Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto would look like a timid clown.
That said, there will be several second and third tier starters and relievers moved who would boost the Astros. If Spencer Arrighetti and Jake Bloss are both still in the Astros’ starting rotation after the deadline, Dana Brown will have failed. That said, the Astros could well stand pat and win the Mild, Mild West. They could also finish third.
Go for the gold!
With the Olympics underway, a medal podium-style ranking of the Astros’ greatest trade deadline acquisitions:
No medal but cannot be omitted: Randy Johnson. It was a brief fling with “The Big Unit” in 1998 but it was spectacular. It elevated Houston as a baseball city. In 11 regular season starts Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 earned run average. He threw shutouts in his first four Astrodome starts. He spiked attendance like no other player in franchise history. Even though the San Diego Padres beat Johnson twice (Johnson pitched fine, the Astros scored two runs total in the two games) and bounced the Astros in a National League Division Series, and prospects Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen included in the deal both went on to have excellent careers, it was a trade that in hindsight you make 100 times out of 100.
Bronze: Jeff Bagwell. Reliever Larry Andersen was outstanding in helping the Boston Red Sox win the AL East in 1990, but the BoSox got swept in the ALCS and Andersen left as a free agent. Bagwell has the greatest offensive resume in Astros’ history (I know, I know, postseason aside) and is quite arguably one of the 10 greatest first basemen of all-time.
Silver: Yordan Alvarez. He has longevity to prove but to this point in his career, while not the all-around player Bagwell was, Yordan is clearly the more destructive force in the batter’s box. Throw in his three monstrously significant home runs in the 2022 Astros’ title run, and his awesome 2023 postseason, and what could still lie ahead for him and the Gold could be his if we revisit this topic 10 years from now. Imagine the Dodgers if they hadn’t gifted Yordan to the Astros for Josh Fields.
Gold: Justin Verlander. Astros’ World Series championships pre-JV, zero. With him, two. Even though his World Series resume is terrible. The finishing piece to the Astros’ initial championship winner in 2017 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts ahead of winning the 2017 ALCS MVP, a second crown in 2022, two Cy Young Awards and a Cy runner-up. Interesting decision to make for the cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. Much more body of work with the Tigers but the championships and legend cemented with the Astros.
*Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and I discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.