Tag: NFL Week 1

Chiefs back to representing the Texans offensive line with trash cans

The Kansas City Chiefs used trash cans in practice to simulate the Houston Texans offensive line.

The Kansas City Chiefs have entered a whole new phase of training camp, and could be getting ready for Week 1.

According to an image from Adam Tiecher on Twitter, the Chiefs put five trash cans on the practice field to represent the Houston Texans offensive line. How is anyone sure it is the Texans’ offensive line? Because plastered on each individual trash can are Houston’s mainline starters from last season.

The Chiefs used the trash cans to simulate the Texans’ offensive line ahead of their Week 6 showdown last year, which Houston got the better end of the encounter, 31-24. It isn’t clear if the Chiefs employed the same tactic ahead of their AFC divisional matchup, or at least it wasn’t as widely reported.

Houston’s offensive line is hardly garbage with all five starters returning for the first time since 2011, and left tackle Laremy Tunsil earning his first career Pro Bowl. Additionally, right tackle Tytus Howard earned a place on the Pro Football Writers of America’s all-rookie first team. The Texans’ offensive line may have been suspect in years past, specifically 2018 when quarterback Deshaun Watson took a league-high 62 sacks, but those days are in the rear view mirror.

The Chiefs will get an up close experience with the Texans’ offensive line on Sept. 10 at Arrowhead Stadium. They can find out with the rest of the NFL if the blocking unit stinks.

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Texans’ Bill O’Brien says ‘anything is possible’ regarding an NFL player walkout

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says “anything is possible” regarding players staging a walkout and postponing games as the NBA, NHL, and MLB did.

Houston Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien is not ruling out the possibility of NFL players staging walkouts during the NFL regular season.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, O’Brien is keeping an open mind when it comes to the chance that NFL players could walk out of games as the entire NBA, the NHL, and some of Major League Baseball did on Thursday and Friday.

“I would say anything is possible,” O’Brien told reporters on Saturday during his meeting with the Houston media. “Just speaking for the Houston Texans, I’m really proud of these guys that are on our team. We have a lot of really good veteran guys that are really passionate about football, really passionate about what’s going on in the world.”

The Texans’ first scrimmage at NRG Stadium took place during the first night of walkouts. While the team had a discussion earlier that day about the circumstancing plaguing the country, most notably the turmoil in Kenosha, Wisconsin, stemming from the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in the back.

“The thing that really strikes me as a coach is you’re always in a rush you want to make sure everything is going well you’re thinking about the next play, the next three plays from now, but these players they’re not in a rush,” said O’Brien. “Our players are really thoughtful. They want to think about things. They don’t want to rush to make any decisions on anything. It’s been really enlightening to me.”

For NFL players to have a walkout would be impactful as there are only 16 such games throughout the entire season. If NFL players were to have a walkout during sweeps for television, it would be even more of a hit than the NBA and NHL playoff games being postponed.

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Saints announce no fans for 2020 season-opener vs. Buccaneers

Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will kick off against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints in an empty Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

The New Orleans Saints will kick off their 2020 season in an unusually quiet Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The team announced Wednesday evening that their Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be played without spectators in attendance due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though whether fans will be allowed at subsequent home games is still under discussion.

After hosting Tom Brady’s Buccaneers on Sept. 13, the Saints will not return for another home game until Sept. 27 — when they’re scheduled to play Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in prime time on Sunday Night Football. Louisiana has been a hotspot for COVID-19 infections throughout this public health crisis, leading decision-makers to make tough calls like this one.

It’s a big blow to the Saints, who have enjoyed an unparalleled streak of success on offense over the last two decades in their home venue. That’s thanks in large part to a welcoming crowd, with the rowdy Who Dat Nation making communication difficult for opposing squads.

But at the end of the day, its been Drew Brees and his Saints teammates scoring points. And that’ll remain the case no matter how many fans pack the stands. It’s just a shame that few people will be part of the beginning to such a highly-anticipated season.

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Bill O’Brien: Key to the Texans’ fast start will be ball security and tackling

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien says the key to having a fast start in 2020 will be whoever can tackle and protect the ball the best.

Bill O’Brien coached the Houston Texans through an 0-3 start in 2018 and turned it into an 11-5 finish and an AFC South title.

Like surviving a car wreck, it can be done, but it would be better to find ways to prevent future accidents than repeat history in any fashion.

The Texans seem destined to have a slow start with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Minnesota Vikings right out of the gate. However, coach and general manager Bill O’Brien knows the best prophylactic for a slow start.

“I think early in the season, I think the team that does the best job with tackling, with penalties, with ball security is going to be the team that has the advantage,” O’Brien told reporters Thursday.

Houston is still in Phase 1 of the offseason program. When the Texans are able to start Phase 2, which still doesn’t permit padded practices, O’Brien believes they will have the opportunity to start working on tackling.

“We have a plan in place, really starting with Phase 2 even without pads, to really start honing in on angle tackling and proper tackling and things like that — as much as we can do,” O’Brien said. “We can’t actually do it, obviously. Leading up to when we have pads on, continuing to work the same drills although they won’t be live, so to speak. We don’t do a lot of live tackling.”

The Texans have been able to work on pre-snap penalties on both sides of the ball, which are penalties O’Brien believes the team can control, unlike a judgement call such as offensive holding or pass interference.

“We’ve worked a lot on operation in all three phases and we’ve got to do a better job than we did last year on that in that phase,” said O’Brien. “Once we get to Phase 2, we’ll begin to work more ball security drills, takeaway drills and things like that. That’s going to be a big part of the early part of the season.”

If the Texans can be one of the teams having already found its legs in September, it should give them a head start while the rest of the league adjusts to pro football in the new normal.

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Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly looking forward to play-calling against the Chiefs

Houston Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will get his first shot at play-calling in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs.

When coach Bill O’Brien named offensive coordinator Tim Kelly at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, the expectations was Kelly would have four preseason games to ease into the role.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Then, preseason games were slashed from four to two, then from two to none.

Kelly will have to play-call when the downs count on Sept. 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

“Being a first-time play-caller is obviously — as elementary as this may sound, you’re doing everything for the first time,” Kelly told reporters on Wednesday. “Being able to put yourself in those situations with live bullets — okay, the first time that happens in Kansas City is going to be the first time that I’m doing it where it actually counts.”

When Kelly was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2019, there were rumblings that he could take over play-calling duties from O’Brien. The former tight ends coach was even seen during preseason games with the play sheet, mouthing plays into his headset. However, it was only practice, as O’Brien ultimately took the reins in the regular season.

Nonetheless, the experience was invaluable.

Said Kelly: “We were able to get some experience doing that last year during the preseason, but now doing it in a regular season game — that’ll be the first time.”

While the Texans get ready for the regular season, Kelly will also be taking a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Chiefs’ defense and figuring out how to create the best matchups for quarterback Deshaun Watson to exploit.

“Knowing the roster, it’s good to be able to know what the strengths and weaknesses are of the different players so you can take advantage of what they do well, try to capitalize on their strengths and the different matchup issues that they may present,” said Kelly.

Kelly will be the second offensive play-caller in the O’Brien era. Offensive coordinator George Godsey took over play-calling when he was the offensive coordinator from 2015-16.

What is the Texans’ toughest 4-game stretch of the 2020 schedule?

The Houston Texans have a challenging four-game stretch to start the 2020 season. What are their chances for victory in each game?

Every team has a challenge four-game stretch to their season, and the Houston Texans are no different. In fact, their four-game straits are easy to identify as they occur in the first quarter of the 2020 season.

According to NFL.com’s analytics expert, Cynthia Frelund, the Texans’ have a 37% or less chance to win each of their first four games.

“The Houston Texans’ toughest four-game stretch of the 2020 season comes right out of the gates starting with the season kickoff on Thursday night against the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead.

“My model gives Houston a 35.6% chance of winning that game. It does not get any easier for the Texans from there as they return home to host reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the 14-2 Ravens.

“After opening against the last two MVPs, the Texans travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers and a healthy Ben Roethlisberger. Houston’s toughest stretch is capped off by hosting the Minnesota Vikings. Starting the season with their toughest stretch puts Houston at a disadvantage considering they will be revamping their offense this season after trading DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona. I project the Texans with less than a 40% chance to win any of these games.

“If Houston can get through this incredibly difficult start where they face three playoff teams from a season ago and a future Hall of Fame quarterback in tact, they will have a chance to win the AFC South for the third straight season.”

Frelund gave the Texans a 36.5% chance at the Chiefs, a 37.1% chance in the home opener against Baltimore, a 36.9% chance at the Steelers, and a 37.0% chance against the Vikings at NRG Stadium.

The games that give Houston a chance to win the AFC South are actually the division games, not the intra- and inter-conference games. In the Bill O’Brien era, a 4-2 division record has been good enough to win them the division two out of three times, and a 5-1 division record has secured the AFC South on two occasions. The non-division games help a division winner’s playoff seeding more than anything else.

The Texans started 2018 1-3 and won the AFC South with an 11-5 record. Houston may start out flat in 2020, but how they respond will tell the tale for the rest of the season.

NFL chief medical officer optimistic Texans-Chiefs kicks off 2020 season

The NFL’s chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, believes the season kicks off on time, beginning with the Houston Texans at the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs appear to be on track to commence the 101st NFL season on Sept. 10 at Arrowhead Stadium.

According to Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, via an interview with NBC Sports’ Peter King, the league doesn’t anticipate having their regular season delayed to the the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I remain very optimistic that we will play the season as scheduled,” Sills said. “None of us has a crystal ball. Three months is a long time.”

Sills also went on in his interview with King to note that the league is still hammering out its testing, which Sills referred to as a “surveillance program.” COVID-19 testing is an issue the league and the NFL Players Association is working through.

One of the biggest parts of the new normal in the NFL will be “infection control officers,” which are typically the head athletic trainers.

“We feel the Infection Control Officer is going to play an important role,” said Sills. But he wanted to be clear about this: “Everyone’s going to be responsible for a team’s environment. Everybody’s got to be conscious about wearing masks and hand-washing and social-distancing away from the facility. Everyone has a role to play. Everyone shares the risk. Testing, cleaning, separation in physical distancing — it’s not a one-person job.”

By September, there will be copious example of mass gatherings and live events that should help the NFL get a better feel for where the world is at with COVID-19. The NBA is set to return on July 31 with a 22-team format in Orlando, Fla. If that sport is able to finish its altered regular season without sustaining any infections, then it should provide more optimism that the rest of the sports world can finish its business in 2020 and provide a safe framework for the future.

Texans-Chiefs kicks off in 100 days to start 2020 NFL season

The Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs face off for an AFC divisional playoffs rematch in the first game of the 2020 NFL season.

In 100 days, the NFL returns with a rematch of the 2019 AFC divisional playoffs as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans.

Houston returns to the scene of the crime where they blew a 24-0 lead over the Chiefs only to find themselves on the wrong end of a 51-31 blowout. The dramatic loss led coach Bill O’Brien and his staff to look at the roster and determined that “layers” of productive players would help the team get out of mid-January.

Week 1 will be the first substantive look at Deshaun Watson and his new receiving corps. With DeAndre Hopkins now with the Arizona Cardinals, Watson will have a variety of receivers to choose from in Brandin Cooks, Will Fuller, Kenny Stills, and Randall Cobb. Stills was able to get behind Kansas City’s secondary for a big touchdown in the playoff game. Can the rest of the receiving corps similarly threaten the Chiefs’ defense?

New running back David Johnson will also be behind Watson to carry a few times as Lamar Miller and Carlos Hyde’s successor. Johnson is also known for his pass-catching skill set, which should add to the potency of the offense.

Second-year offensive coordinator Tim Kelly will also become the first person other than O’Brien to call plays since offensive coordinator George Godsey in 2016. Godsey was on the New England Patriots staff with O’Brien in 2011; they were from the same coaching tree but equals. Kelly has been an O’Brien disciple since 2012 at Penn State. Will Kelly continue O’Brien’s stale play-calling or bring a different feel to the game?

Anthony Weaver will also make his debut as defensive coordinator. It will be the first time since 2017 that someone other than Romeo Crennel will call the defensive plays. It worked out well for that year’s defensive coordinator, Mike Vrabel, as he parlayed the experience into a coaching gig with the Tennessee Titans the following year.

It is all 100 days away.

The Chiefs game in Week 1 is the toughest game on the Texans’ 2020 schedule

The Houston Texans versus the Kansas City Chiefs is the toughest game on the 2020 schedule according to the Touchdown Wire.

Bad news: the Houston Texans get the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 of the 2020 season.

Good news: This may be the toughest game on their entire schedule.

According to Mark Schofield of the Touchdown Wire, who compiled the toughest game for all 32 teams, made the case that the Texans returning to Arrowhead Stadium may be the most challenging game on their 16-game slate.

Having the honor of paying on the opening night of the NFL season is usually a tremendous opportunity. Unless you are the visiting team. If you are making the road trip to kick off a new season, it usually means your opponent is going to be raising a banner in front of a celebrating, raucous crowd.

That is exactly what the Houston Texans face in Week 1, when they help usher in a new season by facing the Kansas City Chiefs on the opening night of the new year. Arrowhead Stadium will be rocking as they honor Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the 2019-2020 Super Bowl Champions. You can expect to see many reminders of the lead the Texans blew in the Divisional Round a season ago on the video boards in the pregame ceremony as well. In all, a tough way to start the season.

The game will also be a great opportunity for the Texans to remind the Chiefs of the 31-24 win in Week 6. That Oct. 13, 2019, encounter featured the Texans rallying from a fourth quarter deficit amid key injuries to their secondary, including starting cornerbacks Jonathan Joseph and Bradley Roby, along with stellar rookie right tackle Tytus Howard leaving the game on a cart. 2019’s two-game series between Houston and Kansas City ended ignominiously with the Texans blowing a 24-0 advantage to end up losing 51-31, but it isn’t like the Chiefs just had their way for both games.

If the Chiefs game is the hardest game Houston faces all year, 2020 should be a cruise into the playoffs.

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Justin Reid is fired up for Texans-Chiefs in Week 1

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid can’t wait for the rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season.

Justin Reid is waiting all year for Thursday night.

That is Sept. 10, and that is when the 101st season of the NFL kicks off with the Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs hosting the AFC South champion Houston Texans at Arrowhead Stadium.

Houston and Kansas City had exciting battles at Arrowhead twice in the 2019 campaign. In Week 6, the Texans executed a fourth quarter comeback and beat the Chiefs 31-24. In the divisional playoffs, the Chiefs rallied from a 24-0 deficit and embarrassed the Texans 51-31.

Reid indicated in tweets Sunday night that his wearing a shoulder brace in Week 6 and the divisional playoffs compromised his ability to challenge jump balls.

“Yeah we gone see what happens just throwing the ball up when I have my shoulder brace off this year,” Reid quote-tweeted of a video from the NFL’s official Twitter account hyping Texans-Chiefs in Week 1.

Reid followed up with another tweet.

Reid wrote: “Just to clear up any confusion… HELL YEA I’m mad about this play and HELL YEA I’m mad about the playoffs! We are all pissed about it. I haven’t stopped being upset since January & this exactly how I’m supposed to feel. I refuse to let it go. I’m taking it with me all 2020.”

If Reid is a representative sample of the Texans’ defense, then the Chiefs may not have as easy of a time picking apart Houston in the rematch.

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