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The Houston Texans are finished with training camp and preseason as they cut down to 53 players. Here are some awards from the past 40 days.
The Houston Texans are done with training camp and the preseason as they finalize their 53-man roster by 3:00 p.m. Central Time Tuesday.
The past 40 days has brought its own fulfillment of expectations and also a failure to meet such expectations. There were surprises of both the good and the bad.
Here are some training camp awards for the participants that took part in the daily grind at Houston Methodist Training Center.
The Houston Texans showed a bit of their true colors in the 23-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the preseason finale.
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans’ two-game preseason winning streak came to an end during a 24-16 defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Saturday night at NRG Stadium. The Texans had a difficult night taking care of the ball by committing five offensive turnovers against the Bucs — which unsurprisingly left first-year head coach David Culley a bit frustrated after the game.
“The first priority on offense is not to give up the ball, and we gave it up way too many times,” Culley said. “One is too many. It doesn’t matter how many you get on defense, when you turn it over on offense your chances of winning are very slim. And that was very disappointing, and that’s something we have been doing a good job of up until tonight.”
As the Texans look ahead to their season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept. 12, here are three observations from Houston’s preseason finale against the Buccaneers.
Position battles started to take shape after the Houston Texans’ 26-7 preseason win over the Green Bay Packers.
The Houston Texans opened their three-game preseason schedule with a 26-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers Saturday night at Lambeau Field. The Texans and Packers elected not to play a bulk of their presumed starters, which gave management a closer look at players who are on the verge of receiving quality playing time or on the bubble of making the 53-man roster.
It’s hard to determine how much separation each player has created after one preseason game, but the competition is starting to heat up at several positions.
Here are three position battles that saw a shift in their competition following a preseason victory against the Packers.
The Houston Texans were able to get a 26-7 preseason win over the Green Bay Packers to start the David Culley era. Here are three takeaways.
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans opened their preseason schedule in a 26-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers, Saturday night, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Presume starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor played one drive throwing for 40 yards — which ended in a field goal for the Texans.
“I thought Tyrod managed the game well during the one series that he had,” coach David Culley said. “It did not feel like we finished the drive. We cannot get field goals down in that situation. We got to have touchdowns. But other than not getting a touchdown, he did exactly what we wanted in that series.”
Here are three observations from the Texans’ preseason opener against the Packers.
Houston Texans running back Scottie Phillips scored a 5-yard touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the second quarter of their preseason bout.
Scottie Phillips FOR THE LEAD 🙌
HOU 10 – GB 7 | 9:08 2Q pic.twitter.com/UGbvydQE7w
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) August 15, 2021
Scottie Phillips didn’t have very many chances in 2020.
The undrafted free agent from Ole Miss caught on with the Houston Texans, but the impacts of COVID-19 nixed the Texans’ offseason program and the preseason, which is where he would have had hit shot at demonstrating his potential.
With the preseason back, at least for three games in 2021, Phillips showed what he had.
Phillips bowled his way through Green Bay Packers defenders to score a 5-yard touchdown Saturday night at Lambeau Field.
The touchdown moved the Texans’ ahead 10-7 past the Packers in the second quarter. The score also showed what Phillips can do inside the 10-yard line.
Scottie Phillips and Ross Blacklock had good days at Houston Texans training camp as Deshaun Watson made his return to the field.
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans held their 11th practice on the 13th day of camp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Monday was the first of four practices for the Texans as they prepare for their preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday.
“We are still in evaluation mode,” coach David Culley said prior to practice Monday morning. “When we went into training camp, we told all of our guys competition is wide open. The only way we are going to find [who can play on this team] is through a game-type situation. They will all at some point be able to play during this preseason schedule.
Here are five observations from the Texans’ practice.
The Houston Texans made a series of roster moves as they get ready for their Week 11 encounter with the New England Patriots.
The Houston Texans made a few roster moves ahead of their Week 11 encounter with the New England Patriots Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium.
Houston signed inside linebacker Nate Hall from the practice squad to the active roster. To make room for Hall on the active roster, the Texans placed safety Michael Thomas on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.
As part of the Texans’ two standard practice squad elevations for the Patriots game, the club will bring up interior offensive lineman Greg Mancz and running back Scottie Phillips, the undrafted free agent from Ole Miss.
Running back Duke Johnson was dealing with an illness throughout the week, and former All-Pro David Johnson is on injured reserve.
Houston also has guard Senio Kelemete coming back from a concussion and is listed as questionable.
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The Houston Texans have promoted running back Scottie Phillips to the practice squad.
The Houston Texans will be rolling with an undrafted free agent running back to start the 2020 campaign.
According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans have promoted running back Scottie Phillips to the active roster for Thursday night’s matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Coach and general manager Bill O’Brien spoke favorably of the former Ole Miss Rebel throughout training camp, and was particularly impressed with his ability to protect the football.
“You can see on tape, you can look at their vision, you can look at their cutting ability, you can look at their — you can judge whether they would have broken that tackle or not,” O’Brien said on Sept. 2 after the second scrimmage at NRG Stadium.
The elevation of Phillips could indicate the club is still iffy about fullback Cullen Gillaspia’s participation against the Chiefs. The former 2019 seventh-round pick made the 53-man roster, but he has been battling a hamstring injury that has kept him limited throughout practice this week. Gillaspia was listed as questionable on the final injury report.
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The Houston Texans held their second scrimmage at NRG Stadium. Here are four takeaways from the nighttime practice.
The Houston Texans held their second scrimmage of training camp Wednesday evening at NRG Stadium. Here are four takeaways from the scrimmage.
When coach and general manager Bill O’Brien was asked who stood out to him during the scrimmage, the former Seattle Seahawks 2018 sixth-round pick was a name that kept popping up.
O’Brien mentioned that Martin played well during the scrimmage, but also added that he has “has a good camp.” From O’Brien to defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver, Martin is a name that continues to appear when asked about top performers in scrimmage or throughout training camp.
Undrafted free agent running back Scottie Phillips has been catching the eye of Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien.
No one wants to end up in Bill O’Brien’s doghouse. Once there, players see decreased playing time and may find themselves looking for a new team.
There isn’t a term yet for where favorable players who are on the Houston Texans coach’s land, but undrafted free agent running back Scottie Phillips has been working to make that list.
“What really stood out to me about Scottie right away was that he doesn’t fumble very much,” O’Brien told reporters Aug. 15. “Knock on wood again. Hopefully he doesn’t fumble again today.”
According to O’Brien, the former Ole Miss Rebel had just one career fumble with the SEC West program. The ball security was a trait that stood out to the seventh-year coach.
Phillips is battling with Buddy Howell and Karan Higdon for the third running back job behind David Johnson and Duke Johnson, making for a competitive situation.
“I think that he’s in a very competitive position,” said O’Brien. “Karan Higdon has been practicing really well, too. He had a couple good runs yesterday that you probably saw. It’s a very competitive position but I do think that Scottie is working at it and he’s improving.”
Phillips’ sure shot to make the roster, or stay in the Texans’ fold as a practice squad member, is to maintain his ball security skills while also adding acumen on special teams.
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