TEXANS CAMP REPORT
Cody Stoots: 11 Observations from Texans training camp for Wed., Aug. 15
Cody Stoots
Aug 15, 2018, 12:50 pm
Deshaun Watson and the Texans got in some work against the 49ers. Zach Tarrant/Houstontexans.com
1. DeAndre Hopkins and 49ers DB Jimmie Ward fought after the first rep of joint practices. Ward jammed Hopkins hard and went under the chin and dislodged Hopkins' helmet. After the rep was over Ward swatted at the ball eliciting a shove from Hopkins. The Texans wideout shoved Ward in the face and the fracas was on. Ward took some swings at Hopkins and the two tangled and went to the ground. Hopkins ended up on the bottom of the pile with Ward on top of him and coaches and teammates pulling the two apart. Both were sent off, though Ward returned to the sidelines. Oh, and Hopkins caught the ball.
2. “Ridiculous. We gotta move on from that quick" was Bill O'Brien's response. 49ers head man Kyle Shanahan lamented the missed opportunity for those two in practice. Tuesday O'Brien said anything eliciting an ejection in the game would see a player leave practice. In a game, both would have been ejected.
3. The defenses were the big winners today with the offenses having minimal consistent success. Not to say there wasn't any, Jimmy Garoppolo and Deshaun Watson both threw some beautiful passes today, but chalk up a win overall for both defenses.
4. The Texans had no luck running the football today against the 49ers. The team lacked consistent gains on the ground and often found themselves with the line of scrimmage as their best result. The offensive line struggled to protect Watson a few times in the middle of practice but picked it up near the end where Watson was able to stand and deliver a few nice passes.
5. J.J. Watt is no stranger to being the driving force behind a "welcome to the NFL" moment and today he was at it again. 49ers rookie tackle Mike McGlinchey had very limited success against Watt. He was mauled in a one-on-one drill by Watt and in some team reps Watt flew by the rookie for what would have been the end of Garoppolo. Watt has looked fantastic this preseason and much closer to pre-back Watt than last year's version.
6. Angelo Blackson again had a solid day as he works into the defensive line rotation. He won a few reps in line drills and in some team drills flashed penetration which would have ended with a sack in a game. He even batted a ball down as well. He has a great shot to make this team and could easily be one of the backup defensive linemen for the Texans.
7. With no Jadevon Clowney or Whitney Mercilus in team drills, the Texans have to be thrilled with that their pass rush looked like today. Watt was a monster as usual. Brennan Scarlett is making the most of his opportunities and is annoying offensive linemen. Rookie Duke Ejiofor flashed a nice pass rush move or two today as well. It may not be until the season debut against the Patriots, but watching this Texans pass rush is going to be fun.
8. The Texans wide receivers had one heck of a day in drills and even in some of the team portion. Even without Hopkins, they should count today as a big win for them over the 49ers secondary. Almost every wideout had a play or two to be proud of in drills.
9. The Texans secondary can chalk up a win as well for today. Though they had a few breakdowns in the latter portion, they did well against a fairly talented 49ers group. Marquise Goodwin is a freak for the 49ers and seems like he will end up the No. 1 target there. He didn't have a lot of success today though. Kurtis Drummond had a pick-six for the team and Tyrann Mathieu took a Garoppolo pass back to the house in a team session.
10. Sammie Coates and Braxton Miller didn't do anything to separate themselves from each other in their quest to round out the pass catchers. Miller shook loose on more than a few 49ers and left them looking for their jocks. Coates ran right past a DB catching a beauty of a pass from Brandon Weeden for a touchdown in a one-on-one drill. Bruce Ellington had a shake on a 49ers defender than nearly broke his ankle as Ellington ran free. A good day for the pass catchers on the Texans.
11. Ryan Griffin seems like he could end up being an under the radar fantasy option from the Texans. Watson found him again and again and Griffin hauled in some tough catches. The two linked up a little last season and with Griffin the clear-cut No. 1 he is creeping up the rankings of Watson's favorite targets. Rookie Jordan Thomas is huge and it almost looks awkward but he's very athletic. He caught a pass off his shoelaces today that was an absolute bullet from Watson.
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Reynaldo López struck out seven over six scoreless innings, Orlando Arcia homered and the Atlanta Braves won their third straight, 6-2 over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
López (2-0) allowed four hits and walked one in his third straight sterling outing to start the season.
“It’s like I’ve always said, for me, the important thing is to focus,” López said through an interpreter. “To have the focus during the outings and then, to be able to locate those pitches.”
He has given up one run in 18 innings for an ERA of 0.50.
“He threw the ball really well against a really good hitting club,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “Another solid one.”
Arcia hit a solo home run to left in the second and a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
Luis Guillorme and backup catcher Chadwick Tromp each hit a two-run double in the ninth to put the Braves ahead 6-0.
“Tromp has done a good job ever since we’ve been bringing him in these situations and filling in,” Snitker said. “I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him back there. ... He’s an aggressive hitter. He’s knocked in some big runs for us in the limited time that he’s played.”
Kyle Tucker homered for the Astros leading off the ninth against Aaron Bummer, and Mauricio Dubón had a two-out RBI single to cut the lead to four. After Bummer walked Chas McCormick to put two on, Raisel Iglesias induced a groundout by Victor Caratini to end it and secure his fourth save.
“They pitched well, and our guys are grinding out at-bats,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “Even in the ninth inning there, we’re grinding, fighting until the end.”
Hunter Brown (0-3) yielded two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks in six innings. Brown allowed nine runs in two-thirds of an inning in his previous start, last Thursday against Kansas City.
Brown said he executed better Tuesday than he had in his previous two starts.
“He mixed all his pitches well,” Espada said. “The breaking ball was effective. He threw some cutters in on the hands to some of those lefties. He mixed his pitches really well. That was a really strong performance.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Braves: 2B Ozzie Albies was placed on the 10-day injured list with a broken right big toe. IF David Fletcher had his contract selected from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Albies’ place on the roster.
Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (right shoulder inflammation) threw a side session Tuesday, but Houston will wait until Wednesday to see how Verlander feels before deciding whether he will make his first start this weekend against the Nationals, Espada said. ... RHP Luis Garcia (right elbow surgery) threw around 20-25 pitches off the bullpen mound, and RHP José Urquidy (right forearm strain) also threw off the mound, Espada said. ... LHP Framber Valdez (left elbow soreness) played catch off flat ground.
UP NEXT
Atlanta LHP Max Fried (1-0, 8.74 ERA) starts Wednesday in the series finale opposite RHP J.P. France (0-2, 8.22).