STOOTS ON TEXANS

Houston Texans training camp: 11 observations you need to know about from Day 3

Texans Lovie Smith, Davis Mills
Davis Mills bounced back Monday. Composite image by Brandon Strange.
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The Houston Texans took to the field with pads on for the first time. Here are 11 observations from the first padded practice.

1. Davis Mills had a much better day today than he did on Saturday. Saturday saw Mills struggling to quickly decide and beat some solid coverage. Monday saw the offense chipping away at the defense with short and quick completions. Mills is much speedier than last year’s version in deciding.

2. Davis Mills has yet to throw an interception. This is a fact that delights and perturbs Lovie Smith who is the head coach but also calls the defense. In fact, Mills hasn’t really gotten close to throwing an interception.

3. Davis Mills has still yet to hit a clean deep ball. This isn’t a concern, Mills had some of the best deep ball numbers last year, but it would be nice to see him hook up on one of these plays.

4. Kyle Allen tossed a touchdown in the two-minute drill. He hit Chad Beebe on the sideline for a score. This came after Davis Mills led an unsuccessful two-minute drive.

5. The best play of the day from Davis Mills was in the red zone. He surveyed the field after the snap and tossed a dart only where a fully stretched Brevin Jordan could catch it. Jordan landed in the end zone. Touchdown offense.

6. Brandin Cooks is so good. Nobody can consistently cover him. Steven Nelson had a very physical win early in practice against Cooks, but later Nelson was yet another Cooks victim.

7. The most regular victim of Brandin Cooks’ skills was Derek Stingley. The rookie cornerback found himself on Cooks a ton and rarely “won” the rep. After practice Cooks and Stingley were working 1-on-1 on the practice field.

8. Jalen Camp had a few nice plays Monday. The second-year player from Georgia Tech is long and athletic. He skied for a pass early in practice and later hauled in a deep pass. There is competition in front of him but there is an opportunity for the youngster as well.

9. Rasheem Green is set to be a factor for this defensive line. I need more time to watch him in pads, but he blew up a play today that would have been a quarterback sack in a live rep. His physical stature stands out among the defensive linemen.

10. Nico Collins has a best friend that helps him a ton: the sideline. It is rare to see a player in just his second year use the sideline as much as Collins does, but he frequently makes plays on the sideline. Collins was practicing sideline and back of end zone catches with Mills and his footwork was very clean.

11. The running backs have a little more than you think they have. Marlon Mack is shifty and looks a lot closer to the player he was that rushed for 1,999 yards over two seasons in Indianapolis. Rookie Dameon Pierce has plenty of burst and vision to his game. When asked how the team improved the running game left tackle Laremy Tunsil said “we went and got Pep Hamilton and we’re fixing to get this (expletive) rolling.”

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The Cubs beat the Astros, 12-3. Composite Getty Image.

Kyle Tucker launched a three-run homer and matched a season high with four hits against the team that traded him in December, and the Chicago Cubs routed Houston 12-3 on Saturday night to stop the Astros' five-game winning streak.

Tucker also scored four times to pace a Cubs lineup that pounded out 15 hits, including three by Dansby Swanson. Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner also went deep.

Chicago hit three homers in an inning for the second time this season during a seven-run fourth. Busch and Hoerner had back-to-back solo shots to put the Cubs on top 3-2, and Tucker’s drive made it 7-2.

The offensive outburst came in support of Colin Rea (5-3), who allowed two runs and five hits over five innings. The only blemish on his line was rookie Cam Smith’s two-run homer in the third, which briefly gave the Astros a 2-1 lead.

Smith, part of the package Houston received for Tucker, finished with two hits and has homered in consecutive games for the first time in his career.

Lance McCullers Jr. (1-3) came off the injured list and allowed eight runs on seven hits over 3 1/3 innings.

Isaac Paredes, also part of the Astros' trade return for Tucker, hit his 17th home run.

Key moment

Tucker’s three-run homer in the fourth that put the Cubs ahead 7-2.

Key stat

McCullers has a 10.89 ERA in five home starts this season, but hasn’t allowed an earned run in three road starts.

Up next

Houston LHP Framber Valdez (8-4, 2.88 ERA) opposes RHP Jameson Taillon (7-5, 4.77 ERA) when the series concludes Sunday.

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