The Friday Stoots Six-Pack starts with respect for Ramsey and has so much more

Hopkins-Ramsey highlights Sunday showdown

DeAndre Hopkins and Jalen Ramsey
Houstontexans.com

Have a great weekend, the Texans are trying to win their home opener and improve to 1-1.

Respect for the best

Jalen Ramsey rarely is tested as much as he is when DeAndre Hopkins is his opponent. Ramsey rarely loses as much as when Hopkins is his opponent as well. This is one of the best matchups in football. It is incredible to watch these two go at it.

Last year Hopkins caught 11 passes against Ramsey for 172 yards. That's pretty nasty when you think about Ramsey being the best corner, or one of the best, in the game.

"He's my favorite corner to play against," Hopkins said this week. "He's the only corner in the NFL that actually follows me everywhere I go, so you've got to respect that."

When pressed what he meant Hopkins continued to praise the Jaguars defender.

"No matter where I line up he's right there in front of me. A lot of guys claim they're number one DBs, but not a lot guys can do that."

If the Texans plan to win on Sunday, Hopkins keeping up his track record against Ramsey will be key.

Don't sleep on football Ron Swanson

I got to spend a few minutes with Gardner Minshew at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis earlier this year. He was engaging, funny, and honest. He was simultaneously the almost movie character and the future head coach. He almost used his last year of eligibility in college at Alabama to then earn a graduate assistant job to start coaching.

Instead he went to Washington State and kicked ass and now he's the starting quarterback for Jacksonville.

One of his quotes from the combine stood out when I looked back.

When asked about his ability playing quarterback Minshew touted one of the essential aspects of a good passer.

"I'd say elevating the guys around you," he said. "That's what it's all about playing this position. Taking this team, going 11-2, 11 wins for the first time in school history. That's what it's all about, making the guys around you better, that's how you come to work every day and how you lead."

Now, he has to lead and make the Jaguars better.

He wasn't bad at all coming off the bench when Nick Foles got hurt. He was actully, fearless. John DeFilippo is a forward-thinking offensive mind who isn't afraid to throw the ball. The Jaguars will test the Texans cornerbacks, especially if rookie Lonnie Johnson gets on the field.

Don't sleep on Minshew. He is better than quite a few quarterbacks who went ahead of him. And if he doesn't work out at quarterback, he can always open a restaurant to go with his coaching.

"Man, throw me on the grill, that's my specialty. Steaks, burgers, however you like it, I'll make it for you."

Likely season debuts for two key Texans players

Tytus Howard and Keke Coutee were both full participants at practice Thursday. Coutee should make his debut this season at the slot wideout spot. Howard should slot in a left guard.

Coutee was a dynamic asset to the offense last season in the six games he played. But, of course, injury already has him missing one of the 2019 games. If he plays Sunday the offense might finally be humming at optimal ability.

Howard was the best player at left guard in the preseason. He has his cast off his hand and has a great chance to make his season debut wedged between Laremy Tunsil and Nick Martin. The first round pick had his ups and downs in the preseason but there were far more ups. He is one of the most exciting things to watch on Sunday.

Chargers bad injury luck continues

The Texans will play the Chargers next week on the road. Well, some of the Chargers.

When the Texans take the field the Chargers will be without star safety Derwin James and their starting left tackle Russell Okung. Running back Melvin Gordon is holding out, but their backs looked fine without him so I'm not sure that's a positive.

They will also now be without stud tight end Hunter Henry. Considering how much Romeo Crennel's defense have always struggled against talented tight ends this is a slight advantage for the Texans now.

Obviously, the Chargers are still very good. It will be interesting to see how they fare on the road against the Lions after the Colts played them close, and nearly won.

Who is for real?

​With the Texans and Jaguars squaring off the other half of the AFC South is action as well with the Titans hosting the Colts. Tennessee surprised many when they pushed they upset the Browns in Cleveland and ended up winning in a rout. The Colts pushed the Chargers and without their self-inflicted mistakes they might have won their opener.

This game is early but if the Titans don't show more dominance like they did last week or the Colts don't show their toughness and hang with Tennessee it won't surprise me. I can't trust the Titans one bit and if the Colts fall flat that's just something that is going to happen from time to time. This is a hard one to call because I have no clue who is going to show up as themselves, much less win.

Cam Newton is done or injured but he isn't any good right now

Cam Newton and the Panthers fans have to almost hope Cam Newton is hurt at this point. If his foot injury is that serious he needs to take a seat because he is not anywhere close to his normal level. He consistently has accuracy issues and misses open wideouts. If he isn't mobile his game drops to a much lower level.

The Panthers could be in serious trouble with Cam potentially injured. Kyle Allen is their backup. Rookie Will Grier is also on the roster. Injured Cam is better than those guys but not by much. Management has done a poor job putting a capable backup on the roster. If Newton knew he was getting a little over two weeks worth of rest and the Panthers could trust their backup maybe they could sit him. They can't at 0-2 though. With the Cardinals next up, and the a trip to Houston right after Arizona, the Panthers might be digging themselves a hole they can't climb out of this season.

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How latest Astros news reveals puzzling path forward for Houston

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The future is bright! Composite Getty Image.

Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.

Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.

He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.

Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.

Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.

The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.

“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”

And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.

Astros plate discipline

Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.

Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.

Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.

Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.

What is Dana Brown saying privately?

Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!

We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!

The countdown to Opening Day is on. 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. Click here to catch!


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