Houston Texans' 2014 NFL Organized Team Activities (OTA's) Review

This article will consist of week-to-week reviews based on the the OTA schedule the Houston Texans currently use.

Week 1: May 27-29th

The first week was all about getting everyone (rookies and veterans) together, continuing on improving their craft, and continuing to get acclimated to the new regime and their system/culture.  Right away, you see changes when the offense took the field for the first time.

The biggest factor that head coach Bill O'Brien emphasized to his offense is PACE!!  Based from what we have heard to Bill O'Brien, the offense's tempo will be not be the same every time.  It might change game-to-game, offensive series-to-series, or even between offensive plays.  This increased pace will also help the Texans' defense since the biggest struggle they faced the previous two seasons were teams that ran no-huddle such as the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers.  With the up-tempo offensive style being run in practice, this will help the defense improve communication which is key against teams that run up-tempo, no-huddle offensive systems.  

The hands-on approach by this coaching staff will definitely help this team along the way.  Everyone on this coaching staff, from head coach to positional coaches, is out there on the practice field drilling the players on the little details that make all the difference in the long run.

Bill O'Brien, being the quarterback guru, takes his hands-on coaching approach towards his quarterbacks as he will give them more freedom within the offense.  As it has been explained on numerous occasions, Gary Kubiak's offensive system only allowed the quarterback to run one of two plays called in the huddle.  Well in this new offensive system, the quarterback will be responsible for protection schemes and call plays based from what the defense is showing him thus taking advantages of potential mismatches.

Speaking of adapting, that is exactly what Romeo Crennel's defense is going to be doing throughout the season.

Week 2: June 2-3, June 5th

The first week was all about everyone getting used to each other: players and coaches.  The second week was all about continuing to show progress while learning something new based on the installment schedule in place.  Everyone seemed to be more comfortable on the field and even in the classroom during this second week.  Two of the biggest names talked about this second week of OTA's are RB Arian Foster and CB Kareem Jackson.

There has been much talking about the slot corner spot which is THE key when playing nickel defense which calls for 5 defensive backs in the alignment.  This week, Kareem Jackson who looks as confident as ever was placed as the "nickel" corner.  Bill O'Brien and his coaching staff is all about versatility.  With the ability to move players around the formation on all sides of the football, it just creates several more opportunities to do even more things on offense and defense and get the best out of their players.

And speaking of moving players around, that is exactly what Arian Foster will be doing in this offense as head coach/offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien has plans to include Arian Foster in passing situations.  The first season where the Texans had the #1 rushing attack in the NFL (2010), Arian Foster not only led the league in rushing but also had the second most reliable hands on the Texans' offense.  Unfortunately, due to injuries and time missed, his overall numbers (passing and rushing) haven't been what they used to be despite the Texans' success offensively before the 2013 debacle.  But now with a healthy Arian Foster, who has been reported as looking better than ever, there is plenty of reason to be excited about the upcoming season for a guy like Arian Foster.

And the group that looked even more comfortable and in control this week were the quarterbacks.  All four of them had shown good progress based on how they demonstrated their better understanding of the offense.  Tom Savage did struggle his first day back this week since he missed the last practice from the previous week.  But just like the other quarterbacks, he started to get his feet underneath him once he got back out there on the field.

Overall everyone on the team seems to be getting more comfortable, even guys like Brooks Reed and Jadeveon Clowney, that are basically learning how to play a new position.  Even guys like C.J. Fiedorowicz look really impressive and are adapting well.  The sky is definitely the limit for all of these players as they enter the 3rd week of OTA's.

Week 3: June 9-10, June 12-13

The third and final week of OTA's were filled with headlines.

The first one occurred on Monday, June 9th where Bill O'Brien made it clear that the system in place is suited mainly for 3 quarterbacks at most.  So therefore the question concerning the quarterbacks is which of them will be gone before training camp?  The two that people immediately look at are T.J. Yates and Case Keenum.  Both have been alternating reps during the last two weeks.  Last week, T.J. Yates got all the reps with the second team.  This week, Case Keenum received all the 2nd team reps.  Tom Savage is set at the 3rd spot of the depth chart unless he outright beats out Ryan Fitzpatrick and whoever the 2nd string QB will end up being in camp.  Ryan Fitzpatrick is thought to be the starting quarterback at this point.  So overall it feels like a rerun of last year when Case and T.J. were competing for the backup spot behind Matt Schaub last year.  As we enter Mandatory Mini-Camp, we shall see which QB will be looking for a new team?

The other big headline reported on Tuesday was the one stating that OT David Quessenberry has been diagnosed with lymphoma.  This all began after it was reported that he "experienced fatigue and a persistent cough over the past week and sought a medical evaluation to find the cause."

With that being said, this brings us to the next big headline that came out of this week.  Derek Newton, who according to Bill O'Brien has had a solid offseason and looks much more healthier and in shape, has been named the Texans' starting right tackle.

The other big headline concerning #1 overall pick DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney.  On Thursday, he had sports hernia surgery.  Head Coach Bill O'Brien said that Jadeveon Clowney has experienced issues with his groin.  He will miss the Mandatory Mini-Camp scheduled for next week (Tuesday-Thursday June 17-19th).

Overall though, the team appears to be getting very comfortable with each other as well the system and culture that Bill O'Brien and his staff are putting into place.  And now that everything has been covered, the goal for Mandatory Mini-Camp is simply review and putting it all together: offense vs. defense.  At that point, we will definitely see how these competitions for roster spots shape out.

  

Thoughts on Houston Texans Town Hall Meeting

Yesterday (March 31), the Houston Texans held a closed Q&A session at the Houston Texans Grille located in City Centre open only to media and Houston Texans season ticket holders.  He was asked about various topics including the draft and free agency.  Most are addressed in this latest episode of Bulls On Parade Talk.

Will the Texans trade another of their current quarterbacks from last year's roster?

Now that Matt Schaub has been traded to the Oakland Raiders, that now leaves 3 quarterbacks on the current roster.  Those quarterbacks are T.J. Yates, Case Keenum and newly signed free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Bill O'Brien, in an interview with NFL Network, made it clear that the Texans will draft a quarterback.  The uncertainty remains about the spot at where the Texans will target a potential quarterback.  In addition, O'Brien stated in an interview with Marc Vandemeer on Texans All Access on SportsRadio 610 that all the quarterbacks will all compete for the starting job.

“I don’t see why we couldn't have four guys, including a drafted quarterback, in our camp.  Those guys have been told it’s a competition.  They’ll get reps and everybody is there to compete.  We are trying to put together a very competitive roster."

This does not, however, dismiss the possibility of T.J. Yates or Case Keenum getting trade before training camp.  The other possibility is that either of these quarterbacks could potentially be cut during the preseason as the roster is set to the final 53.  This leaves the question of where they could potentially land.

Two possibilities I can see are the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens.

Cleveland is looking for a quarterback.  While they are being patient with Brian Hoyer, I don't see why they can't look at either of these two as other potential "quarterbacks of the future."  One factor that people might forget is the current offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.  That man is Kyle Shanahan.  He was the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans when Matt Schaub first arrived on the scene in Houston.  Around this time, Matt Schaub was putting up good numbers resulting in more wins even though they never really gave us a playoff berth.  That, however, has more to do with the fact there wasn't much of a team around Matt Schaub at the time.  But Case Keenum and T.J. Yates have both spent their young careers learning the Shanahan West Coast system that Gary Kubiak continued running in Houston during his tenure.  This is the one reason I believe it would be a good fit for both of them.

Baltimore presents another possibility but not in terms of being a starting quarterback.  That job belongs to Joe Flacco.  However, the new offensive coordinator is very, very familiar with Case and T.J.  Either of them could potentially battle with Tyrod Taylor for the backup spot behind Joe Flacco.

So could we trade Case Keenum or T.J. Yates before or after the draft?  We most certainly could.  But the better question is: will we?