Tag: A.J. Cann

PFF suggests Colts add OL depth as ‘one last offseason move’

PFF suggested the Colts should add some OL depth.

The Indianapolis Colts have gotten to the portion of the offseason where they focus more on preparing for the upcoming campaign rather than adding players to the roster.

But as general manager Chris Ballard has said several times, roster construction is a year-round job. It’s likely they will continue to add pieces to the roster throughout the coming months.

In looking at “one last offseason move” every team should make, Pro Football Focus suggested adding some depth to the interior offensive line.

The Houston Texans released Cann after just one season, with his prior seven years spent with another division rival in the Jacksonville Jaguars. An MCL injury limited Cann to just 198 snaps in 2021, but he logged at least 775 in every other year of his eight-year career.

Over 2020 and 2022, Cann earned a 70.1 pass-blocking grade. And while he may be better suited as a depth option than a starter at this phase in his career, Indianapolis started Will Fries down the stretch, and he earned a 44.4 pass-blocking grade with 15 quarterback hurries allowed. It can never be a bad idea to add some offensive line depth for new franchise quarterback Anthony Richardson.

As it currently stands, Fries is the starting right guard. He will likely get some competition from Danny Pinter and undrafted rookie free agent Emil Ekiyor, who fell in the draft due to medical concerns.

Cann would be an interesting addition to the offensive line as a depth piece or potential spot starter. It wouldn’t be a terrible idea to add some more competition to the position.

We’ll see if Ballard has any moves coming up over the course of the next few months, and the right guard position is one they should have their eyes on.

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Report: Texans part ways with G A.J. Cann

The Houston Texans are releasing guard A.J. Cann following the trade for Tampa Bay Buccaneers guard Shaq Mason.

The Houston Texans traded with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for new guard Shaq Mason, which means they needed to make room on the roster.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans are releasing A.J. Cann after just one year with the team.

Regime familiarity may play a part in Cann’s release. The former Jacksonville Jaguars 2015 third-round pick came over from the AFC South rivals after Houston hired offensive coordinator George Warhop, who held the same job in Jacksonville from 2019-21.

Mason has more familiarity with general manager Nick Caserio as both spent time with the New England Patriots; Caserio as director of player personnel from 2008-20, and Mason as a 2015 fourth-round pick who stayed through the 2021 campaign.

According to Over The Cap, the Texans incur a $2 million dead money hit against their salary cap by releasing Cann, but save a little over $4.2 million in 2023 cap space.

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Texans QB Davis Mills says G A.J. Cann ‘has been extremely consistent all year’

Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills says that guard A.J. Cann has been one of the more consistent players throughout 2022.

A.J. Cann earned a game ball for his efforts in the Houston Texans’ 19-14 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 16 at Nissan Stadium.

The 31-year-old right guard was instrumental in providing a clean pocket for quarterback Davis Mills, who was sacked just once. The Texans scored nine unanswered points in the fourth quarter to upset the leaders of the AFC South.

Mills has noticed that what Cann brings to the offensive line is consistency.

“A.J. has been extremely consistent all year, securing the inside of the offensive line and being a really good leader out there,” Mills said. “He’s a veteran in this league, and we know he’s going to do the right thing.”

According to Mills, Cann can be relied upon to take care of the man in front of him.

Said Mills: “He’s been winning his one-on-one matchups. This past Sunday, he played extremely well. I think he had one of the highest grades on the offense throughout the game. We’re excited.”

The surging Jacksonville Jaguars, Cann’s former team from 2015-21, feature a dynamic defensive line with Dawuane Smoot, DaVon Hamilton, and Adam Gotsis. Controlling the line of scrimmage will be key against the Jaguars, but Mills believes Cann will be ready for the challenge.

“We’re going to need him again this week versus a talented defensive front,” said Mills. “Props to him, he’s playing extremely well.”

The former 2015 third-round pick from South Carolina has played 14 games for Houston and started in each game.

Texans not affected by cold weather, focused on big game with Titans

The Houston Texans aren’t focused on the cold weather; their sights are clearly on the Tennessee Titans and the big Week 16 matchup.

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Football weather is finally here, and the Houston Texans players are very aware of it as the Texans prepare to take on the Tennessee Titans in Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Game time temperature will be in the low 20s, a considerable rise from the 10 degrees it was projected to be at kickoff.

The Texans defenders have no time to worry about the wind chill factor when going up against the Titans and running back Derrick Henry, who torched Houston for 219 yards rushing and two touchdowns the last time the two teams met in late October.

“I am well aware,” said Texans defensive lineman Jonathan Greenard when the media reminded him of Henry’s performance. “We all know what the main objective is. 22 (Henry) is back there, and ultimately, we all know what they want to do when he is back there.”

On the offensive side of the ball, Houston wants to be more effective and build on the games they have played the last two weeks against playoff teams in the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs. The weather could factor in how the offensive plays will be called, especially with rookie running back Dameon Pierce on the sidelines for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

“The conditions are always something you have to think about, but in the back of your mind, you have a job that has to get done,” said Texans offensive lineman A.J. Cann. “You have to go out there and play ball no matter the conditions; you still have to go out there and do what they pay us to do. So, when it is cold, you are going to feel those hits a little more than normal.”

Things become more difficult in cold weather for position players like wide receiver Amari Rodgers, a returner on special teams.

“The ball is harder,” said Rodgers. “But once you catch it and feel it, and get used to feeling it, you get used to it. In warmups, you have to catch as many balls as you can so you can tuck it and get used to feeling it in the cold.”

Tennessee will be without the services of starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill and will call upon rookie Malik Willis who is making his third start. Houston will try and force him into passing the ball and limit him from escaping out of the pocket.

Even though the Texans’ record is 1-12-1 and the Titans are in a position to win the AFC South, all the records are out the window when the two rivals meet.

“This is still a big game despite the season. I don’t care what no one says; this is still Tennessee,” said Greenard.

Texans saw the fourth down call work on film against the Cowboys

Houston Texans guard A.J. Cann says the team saw their fateful fourth down call work against the Dallas Cowboys in film study going into Week 14.

The most bizarre call of the Houston Texans’ 27-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys was the fourth-and-goal run from the 3-yard line.

Quarterback Jeff Driskel took the run-pass option and cut it inside for a 1-yard gain, resulting in a turnover on downs. Houston still had a 23-20 lead with 3:21 to go in the game, but Dallas marched 98 yards in 11 plays to score the go-ahead touchdown.

If Houston had scored a touchdown, they would have made it a two-possession game and next to impossible for the Cowboys to tie them 30-30, even with Dallas having all three timeouts.

According to guard A.J. Cann, the Cowboys showed a vulnerability to that play-call in their film sessions throughout the week.

“We worked that play,” Cann told reporters after the game. “We saw it work against them on film. It’s a copycat league. We tried it. They were on it. They figured it out. They saw it and they made a great play.”

Driskel said that the intent for the play was to run to the edge, but the Cowboys defense had already beaten him there, which forced him to cut inside where he only picked up a yard.

The goal-to-go opportunity was the only wasted Texans takeaway of the afternoon as cornerback Tremon Smith got his second interception and setup Houston as the Dallas 4-yard line with 5:37 to go in the game.

“Defense gives it to us on the five and everybody on our sideline thought there’s no way we don’t get this ball in,” Driskel said. “I thought every snap we were going to be able to get it in. I thought Chris [Moore] was really close on the naked [bootleg]. We’ve just got to find a way to punch it in.”

Houston falls to 1-11-1 and goes back to NRG Stadium to host the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.

Texans are ‘Showing Up and Showing Out,’ but only for three quarters

The Houston Texans’ 2022 mantra is “Showing Up and Showing Out.” The problem is the Texans are doing it for three quarters only.

During the 2021 season, the Houston Texans mantra was “That Football Feeling!”

They only won four games that season. I don’t know what feeling the Texans were expecting to have, but it was not football.

This season, first-year Texans head coach Lovie Smith addressed the fans at training camp and asked them to join in with the 2022 mantra of “Show Up and Show Out!”

After the first two weeks of the season, the Houston Texans mantra that should be plastered all around NRG Stadium is one word.

“Finish!”

The Texans lost another lead in the fourth quarter in their 16-9 loss to the Denver Broncos on Sunday. It was the second consecutive week where Houston led going into the fourth quarter and couldn’t finish (pun intended) the job.

“You just have to finish,” said offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil on Sunday. “Just have to go out and fix our mistakes, it’s as simple as that. Just have to get better at finishing games and once we do that, we’ll be a great team.”

With an 0-1-1 record, the only thing it seems the Texans have been good at is giving the fans three-quarters of respectable football before it all collapses in the fourth quarter.

In Week 1, the Texans held a 20-3 lead over the Indianapolis Colts before squandering it in the fourth quarter by allowing 17 points and salvaging a tie. In Week 2, Houston held a smaller lead of 9-6 heading into the final period against the Denver Broncos but was unable to sustain any momentum, and the Broncos put up 10 points to win their home opener.

“Just us having to finish,” said Texans offensive lineman A.J. Cann about the fourth-quarter woes. “We’ll be up most of the game, competing most of the game, and somehow something just switches. We have to figure out what’s causing us not to be able to finish games. The past two weeks, we haven’t been able to finish and that’s one thing we really need to get better at.”

Is it the Smith-led defense that can’t get the job done? Houston has held opponents to nine points combined in the first three quarters of both games but has surrendered 27 total points and 418 yards in the fourth quarter.

Before placing the blame solely on the defense, the Pep Hamilton/Davis Mills-led offense also must take some responsibility for these late-game collapses. In the fourth quarter of both games, the offense generated 120 yards and no points.

Whatever the problem, the Texans need to find the answer soon, or they could be looking at a very long unproductive season and a fan base calling for the jobs of Smith, Hamilton, and Mills.

“We’re working on it,” said coach Smith at his press conference on Monday. “I know the guys are competing hard. We haven’t made some plays. Sometimes it’s just that. The opportunities we just haven’t handled some of those situations well.”

“We’ve been in games throughout but just haven’t been able to finish it. I talked about the improvement you normally make from Week 1 to 2, we made some. Now, I’m excited about Week 2 to 3, to see if we can clean up some of those things and finish better.”

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G A.J. Cann wants Texans run game to ‘pop a hundred every single game’

Houston Texans guard A.J. Cann hopes the run game can crest 100 yards rush each game, but knows it is a tough goal to reach in the NFL.

The Houston Texans’ run game was putrid in 2021.

The Texans’ were at the bottom of the league with 3.4 yards per carry and 83.6 rushing yards per game. Not only did Houston have just one performance where a back went over 100 yards rushing, but there were only three games where the team went over 100 rushing yards.

A.J. Cann wants to change that. The former Jacksonville Jaguars guard knows that churning yards in the NFL is difficult, but his expectations are lofty.

“You know, that’s hard to call right now but of course we want to pop a hundred every single game,” Cann told reporters after the sixth day of training camp at Houston Methodist Training Center Saturday.

Cann isn’t naive, not with 95 games played for the Jaguars from 2015-21. The former 2015 third-round pick from South Carolina is well aware that teams can focus their resources to take away a run game.

“That’s what we looking to do as an offensive line, as an offense, as a team, of course we want to go over a hundred every game but these are the teams that are going to be trying to watch film and compete with us as much as we compete with them,” said Cann. “That’s a challenge and that’s what we want to get. It’s a tough league but trust me we want to pop a hundred every game.”

Burkhead had Houston’s only 100-yard rushing game for a back in 2021 in a 41-29 Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. The Texans appeared to have a strong run game to start the season as they compiled 160 in the 37-22 win over the Jaguars at NRG Stadium. The Texans also had a 100-yard game against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6 with a 31-3 loss at Lucas Oil Stadium.

OC Pep Hamilton impressing Texans with attention to detail

The Houston Texans decided to invest in Pep Hamilton as their offensive coordinator in the first season with coach Lovie Smith. Hamilton, who had previously been the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator under then-coach David Culley, who …

The Houston Texans decided to invest in Pep Hamilton as their offensive coordinator in the first season with coach Lovie Smith.

Hamilton, who had previously been the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator under then-coach David Culley, who lasted only the 2021 campaign, is taking the reins as an offensive coordinator at the NFL level for the first time since 2015 with the Indianapolis Colts.

Guard A.J. Cann signed with the Texans after the Jacksonville Jaguars allowed their former 2015 third-round pick to hit the open market. What Cann has been able to gather about his new offensive coordinator through organized team activities is the level of knowledge and attention to detail Hamilton has.

“He knows his stuff,” Cann told reporters May 24. “He’s a very detailed coach. He shares a lot of information, but he makes sure we all know what we are doing, each and every day.”

Receiver Brandin Cooks has worked with top offensive minds from Sean Payton to Sean McVay, and the former New Orleans Saints 2014 first-round pick can tell Hamilton is unique.

“Pep, he is special and a great mind,” Cooks said. “I’ve got a lot of trust in him and just trying to help him be right. We love going to work with him every day.”

According to Cann, Hamilton deliberates over the details to ensure that everyone is working cohesively and understands the assignments.

Said Cann: “It doesn’t matter what it is. Something small going in. Something big going in. He’s going to make sure we have a meeting to make sure everyone is on the same page and that’s what you need in an offensive coordinator.”

The Texans are saddling up second-year quarterback Davis Mills — a Stanford product and of the David Shaw philosophy same as Hamilton — for the 2022 season. Houston is hopeful Hamilton’s attention to detail will help the Texans win more than four games, which has been their cap the past two years.

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Texans’ A.J. Cann says Texas A&M G Kenyon Green will be ‘a hell of a player’

Houston Texans guard A.J. Cann says that first-round guard Kenyon Green from Texas A&M “will be a hell of a player.”

The Houston Texans drafting Kenyon Green solved a couple problems for the offensive line.

Houston shored up the interior of their line with one of the top prospects. For the next four years, one of the two guard spots would be taken care of from a nasty mauler from Texas A&M.

The Texans also answered the question of the offseason as to what would happen with former 2019 first-round pick Tytus Howard. The Alabama State alumnus would be staying at right tackle — no more experimentation inside at a guard spot.

Before the Texans had a shot to grab Green, the club signed former Jacksonville Jaguars guard A.J. Cann in free agency. The 30-year-old provides a veteran presence along the inside, and is also a disciple of new offensive line coach George Warhop.

When the Texans grabbed Green, a nearby Atascocita High School product, they gave themselves a decent five-man combination along the offensive line with left tackle Laremy Tunsil and center Justin Britt to go along with Cann and Howard.

Cann has confidence that Green will be able to translate well from the SEC West to the NFL.

“A guy being drafted where Kenyon was there is going to be a lot of expectations for him, but I’ve just been telling him to take it day-by-day,” Cann told reporters on May 24 after organized team activities at Houston Methodist Training Center. “Try to get better each and every day. They are going to expect a lot of him but be who he is every day and that’s who he’s been.”

After getting to see Green go to work for two weeks, Cann describes him as, “a humble, quiet kid.”

Said Cann: “He’s been working hard for the past two weeks he’s been here and I think he’s going to be a hell of a player.”

If the Texans can get high quality talent out of Green starting with his rookie season, it should provide adequate pass protection for second-year quarterback Davis Mills and also clear out space in the running game.

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Texans G A.J. Cann says Lovie Smith reminds him of himself

Houston Texans guard A.J. Cann says that coach Lovie Smith reminded him of himself when he talked to him about signing with the club.

When A.J. Cann spoke with Houston Texans coach Lovie Smith about coming switch sides in the AFC South, it was as though the 30-year-old was hearing an echo.

Cann told reporters after organized team activities at Houston Methodist Training Center Tuesday that Smith shared some of the same traits he has.

“He reminded me of myself a little bit: really laid back, quiet coach,” Cann said. “He really doesn’t say much but you can tell he’s got a little spark about him.”

Smith’s spark comes when talking about the defensive side of the ball and the Tampa 2 scheme — or old school R&B music. Having previously won NFL Coach of the Year following the 2005 season and leading Chicago Bears to a Super Bowl berth at the end of 2006, Smith naturally has an appreciation for the other two phases of the game, particularly the trenches.

Smith referred to Cann as “another veteran presence that’s done it at a high level.”

“For him, comfort in his offensive line coach also being here,” Smith said. “Everything I’ve seen from him, another pro. Every time we’ve opened up the building since he’s been with us, he’s been in the building. That says an awful lot.”

Part of the reason why Cann has showed up consistently in and around team facilities at NRG Stadium is his diligence that allowed him to start 94 of his 95 games played for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2015-21. The former 2015 third-round pick from South Carolina missed just five games for his whole career until an MCL injury nixed his 2021 campaign four games in.

With Cann focusing on being the best version of himself and forming cohesion along the offensive line, it also keeps Smith laid back.

“I kind of like him to stay cool and quiet,” Cann said. “You don’t want to piss him off.”

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