Texans training camp report: Day 1

The Texans play a little 7 on 7 at Day 1 of training camp 

Texans training camp 2009 kicked off on a wonderfully muggy Friday morning at Methodist Training Center, aka the Texans Practice Facility.

Instead of crafting this into a story, I'll just give you some random thoughts and observations on the proceedings of the day.

First and foremost, it was good to hear on the drive in that Connor Barwin had signed his deal.  I expected this one to get done in time, and likewise the terms were right in line with the players drafted near his slot.

I arrived at the facility at about 7:20 a.m. and the line to get in had already snaked around the corner about 100 yards down Kirby.  If you don't want autographs, there's really no need to get there so early.  Just wait until 10 minutes after the gates open and you can walk right in.

As for the rest of my random thoughts and observations, remember not to read too much into it all.  It's Day 1 of training camp.

Connor Barwin signs for fans only hours after signing his contract 

I won't get into the DeMeco Ryans and Owen Daniels comments that everyone else is jumping on.  Obviously nothing has changed in their negotiations and hopefully the Texans will eventually get long term deals done in both cases.

I can't help but think that the labor uncertainty and the lack of progress in negotiations of a new collective bargaining agreement have made owners antsy in striking long terms deals now - especially with an uncapped year looming and the threat of a lockout in 2011.

Dan Orlovsky signs for fans after practice

What follows is a collection of semi-chronological thoughts and observations from the roughly 90 minute practice

• Practice started with defensive unit walk-throughs on Field 1 (the field closest to the bleachers).   QBs and WRs worked on Field 2 while the Hogs worked in their corner of paradise on the north end of Fields 2 and 3.  Fans are able to stand beyond the endzones of Field 1 and 2, or sit in the bleachers along the east sideline of Field 1 (where the photos above were taken).
• Brice McCain won the 'first on the field' award for Day 1.  He was accompanied by Glover Quin, Matterral Richardson, and John Busing.
• Troy Nolan and John Busing stood out size-wise among the safeties (similar to Brandon Harrison).  We'll see if they can cover and run.
• Individual unit walkthroughs were followed by the 'movement' warm-up routine that was put in place last season.  I saw no organized stretching after practice.
• Johnny Holland put the linebackers through agility drills along the lines of three-cone drills.
• Frank Bush had the look of a coordinator as he did his MBWA's (managing by walking around) among the defensive units.
• The Hogs are back in their little corner of heaven, trying to out-finesse and out muscle one another.  Duane Brown appears to be ripped up compared to this time a year ago.
• David Gibbs tossed long balls to his DBs in simulated coverage.  The first ooh-ahh of the day went to David Pittman who made a great one handed snag of a ball well over his head.
• The first groans came when Busing and Nolan consecutively brick-handed balls on simulated 10 yard outs thrown by Gibbs.
• The first look at the first team defense in a unit walk-through on Field 1 had Antonio Smith, Deljuan Robinson, Amobi Okoye, and Mario on the line with Chaun Thompson at Sam, DeMeco at Mike and Diles at Will.  Smith and Mario flip flopped depending on offensive set.
• Tim Bulman and Shaun Cody shared second team reps behind Amobi.
• Second team LBs were Cato June at Sam (surprise), Kevin Bentley in the middle and Adibi at the Will.
• Barber and Harrison were second team safeties.
• The RB pecking order appears to be Slaton, Moats, Chris Brown, and Foster.
• Orlovsky throws a pretty tight ball.  Strong arm.  There's tools in that toolbox.  It will be interesting to see if Kubiak can get the consistency he wants out of the U-Conn kid.
• Rex looks lost, but remember he's working with third stringers and throwing outs to Boomer Grigsby.
• Sighted:  Some guy wearing a Favre Jets jersey and cap.  When will it end?
• Connor Barwin made his dramatic entrance about 40 minutes into practice.
• First team offense and defense spent a lot of time running 7 on 7.  Andre Johnson literally left Jacques Reeves in the dirt on a 50 yard bomb/TD.
• Heard in the crowd:  "Mario just has this other gear" as he blew by Eric Winston and Duane Brown on consecutive pass rushes.  Yes, Mario looked like an All Pro today.
• Heard in the crowd II:  "He's a lot quicker than I thought" as fans watched Arian Foster take a screen down the far sideline.
• Not heard:  Bill Kollar.  I was waiting for something Richard Smith-like out of him but never really heard him over the curious soundtrack which featured Michael Jackson, Queen and The Who.  Same with David Gibbs.  He appears to be more of a teacher and less of a screamer than his predecessor Jon Hoke.
• Unfortunately, backup running back Clifton Dawson suffered what appeared to be a serious knee/leg injury.  He was in a short pattern and went down without contact - looked like a knee giving way as he made a cut.
• The first team punter today was a Juggs machine operated by Kris Brown.  Obviously they are saving Matt Turk's old leg reps.
• Jacoby, David Anderson and Andre Davis fielded punts.
• The practice ended after full team 11 on 11. 

On the drive home I heard that two of the joint practices with the Saints will be open to fans.  This seemed like a no-brainer and I'm glad the Texans decided to open up the kimonos for more than just five practices.  It's not like they're giving away state secrets during these sessions anyway.  It's too much of a fan friendly practice facility to exclude fans for all but a week of camp.

The team looked sharp today - but again, there's not a lot you can conclude from these sessions - other than it's great to be out at camp again.

More tomorrow.