Yesterday we addressed some questions about the Houston Texans' secondary. Today we'll dive into some other topics.
Let's get right to it.
@taniaganguli #texansmail Closest position battle you see shaping up during training camp
— GILES LAMONT (@GilesGman) June 19, 2015Ganguli: Right now it's hard to tell what battles are closest, so I'll give you the three I will be observing most closely when training camp starts. First, Texans coach Bill O'Brien told me last week there isn't much separation between quarterbacks Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer, which put that one at the top of my list. O'Brien has indicated both that he will choose the starter early in training camp and also that he might wait to choose the starter until after seeing the quarterbacks against an opponent -- whether that be against Washington in early August or against San Francisco in the teams' preseason game. Second is the battle at receiver. The early lead goes to veteran Nate Washington, who played well during the Texans' offseason program. Washington's experience and knowledge of the game has likely helped him get a head start. This will be his 11th year in the NFL. I think you'll see challenges from Cecil Shorts and Jaelen Strong during training camp. Strong was injured for most of organized team activities and minicamp. The third battle I'll be very interested in is that at inside linebacker next to Brian Cushing. When a team trades up to take an inside linebacker in the second round, their hope is that he'll start and soon. The Texans have historically shown patience in high draft picks starting, but Benardrick McKinney does have a chance to win that job. He'll have to beat out guys like Akeem Dent, Mike Mohamed, Justin Tuggle and Jeff Tarpinian.
@taniaganguli So we now have the 'Fitzpatrick line' (see Mendoza line)... which QBs are above that standard this year? #TexansMail
— AsleepT (@AsleepT) June 18, 2015Ganguli: I think for this offense, both of them are. Ryan Fitzpatrick had a learning curve with this offense that neither Hoyer nor Mallett had. Both players have a better understanding of what they're expected to do and will be able to operate a little bit more smoothly. That knowledge will also help them make fewer mistakes than Fitzpatrick used to make. Check back later this week. I'll have a piece about how O'Brien and offensive coordinator George Godsey view a quarterback's decision-making skills and how they believe that can be fixed. Hoyer and Mallett's skill sets are also more suited as they're true pocket passers. That said, familiarity can do a lot for a quarterback, and because of that I think Fitzpatrick will have a better year with Jets offensive coordinator Chan Gailey than he did last year here if he wins that starting job.
@taniaganguli #TexansMail what new player appears to make all interview team?
— LENNON (@LPRINCELAW) June 18, 2015Ganguli: I've enjoyed talking to all of the new players the Texans signed this year, though we haven't had a chance to speak with all of them yet. Safety Rahim Moore has been insightful and interesting every time we've spoken to him as has nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who proudly wore his "World's Greatest Farter" shirt to his news conference last week, a father's day gift a few years ago. Hoyer's insight on the Texans' offense has been very interesting for me and Shorts gave me a very colorful explanation of just what it would have meant to his hometown, Cleveland, if the Cavaliers had won the NBA championship.
@taniaganguli #TexansMail What did BOB think coaching a team before joining, learned during the year, and what changes if any is he making?
— Ron C (@rcyriac) June 19, 2015Ganguli: It's hard to get inside his mind and know exactly what he was thinking, but he did have the goal of making this team tougher, smarter and bigger. I'll have a story coming tomorrow midday on how O'Brien has worked with the Texans' personnel department to reshape the roster. I do know that his coaching process has evolved and he's listened to some of the veteran players about how he was operating things. It's not a formal system so much as a constant process of conversations. "I don’t think you can ever sit still and think that OK we got it," he said. "It’s important to continue to talk and say how can we do a better job here."
