Tag: nrg stadium

Bill O’Brien says the Texans have zero COVID-19 cases

Houston Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien says the team does not have a COVID-19 positive case.

The Houston Texans have been fortunate. They do not have a COVID-19 positive case to report.

The Texans are one of eight teams to not have a player on the COVID-19 reserve list, and are the only team in the AFC South to not have a player so far.

“So far, it’s been good,” coach and general manager Bill O’Brien said via the Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson. “I know it’s really early. We feel really good about where we’re at. We have zero positive tests. I think that’s a good sign.”

O’Brien is a big believer in masks, and stated they will be worn in team facilities.

“I don’t understand why it has been as politicized as much as it has been,” said O’Brien. “Mask wearing has been scientifically proven to reduce your chances of getting the coronavirus.”

Even though the Texans are taking measures to keep COVID-19 out of the building and away from their players, O’Brien knows the high transmission rate of the novel virus means a once safe space like the Texans have could turn into a Jacksonville situation.

Said O’Brien: “The key is a one-day-at-a-time attitude. We do think long term on certain things. Everybody is getting tested every day. So far, we’ve had 100% negative tests. That’s a testament to our staff and players.”

Here is a list of the Texans’ opponents and their opt-outs and players on the COVID-19 reserve.

Week Opponent Opted Out Players COVID-19 injury list
1 @ Kansas City Chiefs G Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, RB Damien Williams WR Aleva Hifo
2 Baltimore Ravens WR De’Anthony Thomas, OT Andre Smith DB Nigel Warrior
3 @ Pittsburgh Steelers N/A DB Arrion Springs, DB Justin Layne
4 Minnesota Vikings NT Michael Pierce OT Blake Brandel, DB Brian Cole, G Tyler Higby, WR Justin Jefferson, DE Ifeadi Odenigbo, LB Cameron Smith, OT Olisaemeka Udoh, LB Anthony Barr
5, 9 Jacksonville Jaguars DB Luq Barcoo, NT Davon Hamilton, G Tre’Vour Wallace-Simms, OT Ryan Pope, OT Jawaan Taylor, TE Charles Jones, DB Parry Nickerson
6, 17 Tennessee Titans DE Anthony McKinney OT Isaiah Wilson
7 Green Bay Packers WR Devin Funchess, TE Jace Sternberger, K Mason Crosby, DT Treyvon Hester, LB Greg Roberts
10 Cleveland Browns OT Drake Dorbeck, OT Drew Forbes RB Dontrell Hilliard, DB Javonte Moffatt, P James Gillan
11 New England Patriots RB Brandon Bolden, OT Marcus Cannon, RB Dan Vitale, DB Patrick Chung, G Najee Toran
12 Detroit Lions DT John Atkins DB Jalen Elliott, WR Kenny Golladay, TE T.J. Hockenson, DB Amani Oruwariye, P Arryn Siposs, DB Justin Coleman, TE Isaac Nautu
13, 15 Indianapolis Colts WR Malik Henry, DB Jackson Porter
14 Chicago Bears NT Eddie Goldman RB Artavis Pierce, TE Eric Saubert, DE John Jenkins
16 Cincinnati Bengals DE Kendall Futrell

Texans coach Bill O’Brien emphasizes social distancing outside the team facility amid COVID-19

Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien emphasizes to his players the concepts of social distancing even outside the team facility.

Houston Texans training camp has gotten underway at the team facility at NRG Stadium with the club heavily enforcing social distancing measures.

The team meets in their practice bubble, chair six feet apart, with coach and general manager Bill O’Brien standing in front of a makeshift video screen, inculcating them in the Texan way with a microphone and wearing a mask.

After practice is over, players can get away from the obsessive compulsive disorder germophobia and go back to normal at home and with their friends and loved ones.

Wrong.

In an interview with Albert Breer of MMQB.com, the seventh-year coach has had to emphasize to his players that the club’s strict social distancing measures need to still be practiced even away from the facility as Houston is a hot spot in the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of our major things here is to make sure our players know that, and to calm their nerves a little bit, let them know we have a very clean facility and that the big key is that when they leave the facility, they can’t really go out to eat,” O’Brien said. “They’ve gotta go home and they’ve gotta educate their families on how important it is to stay safe and stay healthy.”

The key for the Texans is to stay disciplined outside of the facility, a feat which O’Brien believes can be the case for his team. After all, if the Texans start suffering COVID-19 outbreaks, it could affect the whole season as Houston kicks off 2020 on Sept. 10 at Arrowhead Stadium versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

“The team that can leave the building and understand, ‘Hey man, for six months, can’t go out, can’t go to bars, can’t do the things that maybe I usually would do, even a Thursday night dinner,'” O’Brien said. “You’re going to have to be as disciplined as you can be when it comes to that. I feel really good about our team. We have a very, very professional team.”

If the Texans can stay healthy and safe during training camp, it will also give them a chance to reinforce their continuity and integrate new pieces.

[vertical-gallery id=52100]

Texans DE J.J. Watt arrives at NRG Stadium for training camp 2020

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt posted a picture Saturday of his arrival to NRG Stadium as training camp 2020 gets underway.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt posted a picture on Twitter Saturday of his arrival at NRG Stadium for the starting of 2020 training camp.

The NFL and NFLPA reached an agreement on COVID-19 adjustments, and the league appears to have found a way to bend pro football around a pandemic.

For Watt, the opportunity to get back to football and being around teammates must come as a welcome relief after a spring and half of a summer spent indoors and his soccer star wife, Kealia Ohai, in Chicago playing for the Red Stars.

“It’s just me and the dogs down here in Houston,” Watt told reporters on May 27. “They love that because I throw the tennis ball 650 times an hour and when I’m not training that’s literally all I do.”

Watt can now get with his gridiron dogs of war and get ready to defend the Texans’ AFC South title.

[vertical-gallery id=52186]

How will the Texans implement the NFL’s COVID-19 policies?

The NFL has fixed the COVID-19 problem on paper. However, teams such as the Houston Texans face challenges in implementing those policies in reality.

The NFL codified on paper their guidelines on how teams should address COVID-19. Problem solved.

For the teams, including the Houston Texans, the solution begats fresh new problems.

The Houston Chronicle’s John McClain presented a bevy of conundrums the defending AFC South champions will have to address starting with training camp in July.

One of the mandates from the NFL is lockers should be six feet apart. McClain masterfully outlined how that rule alone would be extremely difficult to honor.

One guideline that is going to be impossible to follow is keeping players 6 feet apart. Their locker room at the stadium is huge, but it’s too small for a training camp roster of 90 players.

Additional lockers have to be set up in the middle of the room, and players trip over each other and their gear trying to get to the shower, weight room and training room. It’s so crowded reporters aren’t allowed inside until the roster is reduced to 53 before the season.

The Texans can’t set up lockers outside in the hallway because they’d risk getting run over by golf carts, trucks and the occasional forklift that goes by.

According to McClain, the Texans also do not own NRG Stadium as they are co-tenants with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It makes the Texans’ ability to meet every one of the NFL’s criteria that much more difficult.

Coach and general manager Bill O’Brien has a desire to win games, but not at the expense of people’s lives.

“We can’t be in a rush,” O’Brien told reporters on April 16. “I think life as we know it is going to change and we can’t be in a rush. We’ll play football at some point. We will definitely play football. When that is, who knows, but we’ll just keep doing what we have to do to stay up with the competition and when they tell us to get ready to play, we’ll try to get ready to play.”

Expect the Texans to work with the league on COVID-19 safety.

NFL outlines guidelines for players return to team facilities

The NFL sent a memo that provided guidelines to allow players to return to team facilities.

It’s beginning to look a lot like football.

According to a memo obtained by the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero via NFL.com’s Kevin Patra, the NFL is taking steps to allow players to return to club facilities following the shutdown of facilities in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

There haven’t been any dates set on a return, and offseason practices are not planned at all. However, the NFL and the NFL Players Association is attempting to work out an arrangement to where rookies and veterans who have switched teams and need physicals can return to team facilities before June 26.

Essentially there is a heavy emphasis on cleanliness and sanitary guidelines. Players are expected to where masks at all times in facilities unless it interferes with working out or practicing. The onus is on the team to supply both surgical and cloth masks.

There will be three tiers of access inside the facility. The first tier is for players, coaches, trainers, doctors, and equipment managers. The second tier is for front office, operations, and PR staffers who have to be in contact with players. The third tier involves essential facility, stadium, and event staff who aren’t in contact with players.

Certain aspects of facilities will be restricted for player and staff use only, which includes the playing fields, locker rooms, training rooms, medical exam areas, dining rooms, and meeting rooms. As such, there will be six feet of social distancing, including locker room configurations where every other locker is used, which could mean additional lockers are added.

Helmets, shoulder pads, and other player equipment will be disinfected after each practice or game.

Strength and conditioning workouts are capped at 15 players, and it is up to the training staffs to stagger player appointments.

Team meetings are to be conducted on a virtual basis. If in-person meetings are required, clubs are advised to hold the meetings outdoors with social distancing. Communal use of materials during in-person meetings is prohibited.

All individuals entering club facilities must clean and disinfect cellphones, keys, and any other items that are frequently handled. Individuals are also discouraged from sharing personal items.

“We can’t be in a rush,” Houston Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien told reporters on April 16. “I think life as we know it is going to change and we can’t be in a rush. We’ll play football at some point. We will definitely play football. When that is, who knows, but we’ll just keep doing what we have to do to stay up with the competition and when they tell us to get ready to play, we’ll try to get ready to play.”

The guidelines seem stringent, but indicate the NFL is undertaking every step to keep the 2020 regular season on schedule.

Bill O’Brien is back at Texans team facilities

Houston Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien has returned to team facilities per a report from the NFL Network.

The coach and general manager is back at NRG Stadium.

According to NFL Network, Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien is back at team facilities. The Texans are a handful of NFL teams that have allowed coaches to return to their club facilities as the sports world continues to ease into reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to close team facilities in late March.

Players are still not allowed at club facilities, unless they are receiving treatment from an injury sustained at the end of the 2019 season. Teams will continue to meet virtually until they get the green light from the NFL.

“We can’t be in a rush,” O’Brien told reporters on April 16. “I think life as we know it is going to change and we can’t be in a rush. We’ll play football at some point. We will definitely play football. When that is, who knows, but we’ll just keep doing what we have to do to stay up with the competition and when they tell us to get ready to play, we’ll try to get ready to play.”

With coaches back in the building, it appears the NFL is getting to be on schedule for a Sept. 10 Opening Night in Kansas City when the Texans take on the Super Bowl champion Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.

Why the NFL keeping clubs at team facilities for training camp won’t impact the Texans

The NFL is keeping teams at their facilities for training camp. That won’t impact the Houston Texans much as they already planned to be home.

[jwplayer MaJSWNah]

The NFL has reportedly told teams they must remain at club facilities for 2020 training camp.

For the Dallas Cowboys, that is momentous as the NFC East team has held training camp for 13 of their past 16 seasons in Oxnard, Calif.

For the Houston Texans, who have had training camp at NRG Stadium and surrounding facilities since the team’s 2002 inception, save for two years in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., it’s not a problem at all.

From 2017-18, the team held training camp at The Greenbrier, a luxury resort in the Mountain State. While coach Bill O’Brien thought it was a “chance for us to bond,” on July 26, 2017, ultimately, camp returned to Houston.

“I think that Greenbrier was really good,” O’Brien said on July 25, 2019. “We got a lot of work done at Greenbrier last year. We did a decent job coming back in shape and all those things and then we were in the coolness of Greenbrier.

“Now, it’s cool out here today for Houston, but I think as it gets hotter and things like that, I think there’s something to be said for practicing in Houston. I would say the most important thing is we’ll be able to be here in front of our fans. I think that’s the big thing.”

Being in Houston also affords the Texans the chance to use their own facilities and resources to help players get through the grind of training camp. In 2019, the Texans debuted the “Cooling Recovery Zone,” a large, rectangular box players could use to cool off after practice.

In the 2019 offseason, the Texans also upgraded their training room, which will be at their disposal in 2020 training camp.

What the Texans will lose is the chance to practice against other teams. O’Brien has been a big proponent of joint training camps.

“I think it breaks up the monotony of camp,” O’Brien said on Aug. 3, 2019 ahead of the club’s joint practices with the Green Bay Packers. “This is, I think it’s eight practices now going against each other. Now we get two practices against a great football team up in Green Bay. A historic franchise, great quarterback, new coaching staff up there.

“We’re looking forward to it. Then, we have a chance to see how they do things and they have a chance to see how we do things, look at the rosters on both teams. I think there’s just a ton you can get out of it.”

The NFL has nixed joint training camps in 2020.

Report: Texans could lose $218 million of their annual revenue if games are played without fans

The Houston Texans could lose over 40% of their annual revenue if the 2020 NFL season goes forward without fans in the stands at NRG Stadium.

The whole NFL may be the 1996 Houston Oilers’ final season at the Astrodome with no crowd noise.

While the league may be considering pumping in fake crowd noise, there is no way to replace the revenue that real fans generate. According to an article from Mike Ozanian of Forbes using figures from 2018, the Houston Texans stand to lose $218 million, roughly 43.9% of their annual revenue, if games are played without fans inside NRG Stadium.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the sports world with suspensions of seasons in the NBA, NHL, MLB, college sports, and a lot more. The NFL has weathered the storm since COVID-19 has occurred during its offseason. It was not that big of a change to have the 2020 NFL Draft virtually since the draft is nothing more than a three-day reveal of a list anyway. The league and host city, which would have been Las Vegas, lost out on the event and economic benefit of having fans, but the operation went smoothly.

Take the games though. Fans generate revenue for teams with parking, concessions, tickets, and trips to the team shop inside the stadium. It goes beyond just being a part of the emotional factor in games. And the Forbes article doesn’t even take into account the loss of revenue NFL venues have had to face with the cancellation of concerts and other events.

The NFL allowed teams to reopen their team facilities on May 19, and the Texans were one of those teams. However, the players and coaches, who would have been in the middle of their offseason workouts with rookie minicamp already completed, are not yet allowed at team facilities. Until that checkpoint is reached, the 2020 NFL season is still wrought with question marks as to the feasibility of even playing it on time or at all.

[vertical-gallery id=48355]

Texans can open up team facilities as soon as May 19

The Houston Texans can open up their team facilities as soon as May 19.

The Houston Texans can open up their team facilities at NRG Stadium as soon as May 19.

According to an email from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell via the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, all 32 NFL teams are permitted to reopen their facilities as soon as May 19 if they meet certain criteria.

The Texans and the other 31 teams have to be in compliance with local and state regulations on public health. They also have to implement protocols developed by NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills.

The reopening of team facilities has limitations.

Coaching staffs are not allowed to return to the facilities as part of a competitive advantage; not all 32 facilities will be able to open on May 19. However, the strength and conditioning staffs can work in the facility if they are helping out with player rehab, and only players rehabbing are allowed in team facilities.

The staffing at team facilities is capped at 50% of the staff, and the staff number can’t go beyond 75 people.

If an incidence of COVID-19 occurs in the facility, teams have to report it immediately. The same goes if there is any change in government regulations.

The road back to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic is long, but at least the NFL is about to enter its first phase of reopening.

[vertical-gallery id=48355]

Texans’ NRG Stadium to ‘Make It Blue’ for first responders, essential personnel

The Houston Texans’ home, NRG Stadium, will take part in the #MakeItBlue and #LightItBlue campaign on Thursday, April 9.

New Houston Texans receiver Randall Cobb has said the world is experiencing “unprecedented times.” With the unusual circumstances comes uncommon heroism.

To show appreciation and respect for first responders and essential personnel working amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a nationwide #LightItBlue and #MakeItBlue campaign will light up cities across America in the color blue.

In addition to the Texans’ NRG Stadium, Minute Maid Park, the Toyota Center, Reckling Park, BBVA Stadium, TDECU Stadium, Rice Stadium, the George R. Brown Convention Center, Partnership Tower, and bridges over U.S.-59 will turn all their LED signage and/or exterior marquees blue from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 9.

Other cities that will take part in Thursday’s campaign are New York, Seattle, Boston, Kansas City, New Orleans, and many more. Hundreds of major sports, entertainment, and civic venues across the nation are expected to take part.

The #LightItBlue and #MakeItBlue movement started last week in the United Kingdom as major landmarks throughout the country were lit in honor of their healthcare workers. The goal is to show support and gratitude to the healthcare and essential personnel who are saving lives and keeping society stable in these trying times.