Houston Texans Training Camp Photo Essay

I love going to training camp. I see a bunch of friends, and it means that the season is around the corner. It also means that we start seeing breathless speculating accounts of who is doing what in camp, but you know, it is just practice in shorts.

You really can't tell much watching a team practice versus reading about it. Often all you can really see is the excitement of the fans, and what sort of condition players appear to be. But most of all, it is an excuse for the team to talk football, so you get that.

So with such caveats in place, this will be my Texans training camp report from the practice fields across from Reliant Stadium with picture goodness. To get the best information from the coaches and players, I strongly suggest checking out the HoustonTexans.com camp quotes and Texans TV.

And to see better pictures than mine, please check out Andy Martin's pictures at TexansBullPen.com. I am no good with action shots, and the one nice one I had of a Schaub to Johnson pass, I accidentally deleted. Grrrr.

According to the Day 2 Training Camp transcript, wide receiver Andre Johnson is reporting no pain with his knee at all, and from my eye, looked like his normal abnormally fit self:

"My knee is feeling fine. I haven't really had any problems with it. When I am out running routes, when I break down, I have no problems, no pain and no nothing. I still go in and do some things just for precaution. But other than that, it is feeling fine. I'm just trying to get ready for the season."

This is a relief to the reported record 3,354 fans in attendance and those with Johnson on their fantasy teams.

Texans corner Dunta Robinson was put on the preseason PUP list yesterday for the injury he suffered last year in the game against the Raiders. He did some of his own work on the side, and throughout camp was animatedly talking to members of the secondary and defensive backs coach Jon Hoke.

Lance Zierlein in his Chron.com Z Report column said that there is optimism about his recovery and how quickly he might return.

On camp arrival day, Robinson discussed where he is with his movement:

"I'm doing a lot of mobility work, shuffling, backpedaling, pretty much everything; it's just not full speed. It's probably three quarters speed. It's feeling fine; I could play if I wanted to right now, but mentally, I'm not ready and I still have some pain in my knee and I'm just going to keep working on that and getting myself better."

If you are curious about such things, here's what his leg looks like:

Before offense went against defense, I spent a lot of time watching the defensive and offensive linemen do drills. Offensive line guru, Alex Gibbs was very hands on with his players. Left guard Chester Pitts revealed Gibbs' nickname:

"You know what? He's an angry little Cherokee. That's what he calls himself, and that's what I'm going to call him. But I enjoy his passion. He's always like that – always ready to coach, always ready to get the most out of you. I want to be the best, and I think he can help me get there. "

I think Pitts and right tackle Eric Winston will have great seasons this year. because of their fit for what Gibbs wants them to do and their ability to do it.

The starting offensive linemen appeared to be fairly fit, with the exception of first round rookie left tackle, Duane Brown. I noticed it at the time, and it was interesting to read Gary Kubiak make the same observation:

"Just got gassed, you know. Taking a lot of reps, which he's going to do, and he's a little bit overweight right now. So we've got to push him, and he's got to catch up with the rest of his teammates. In this business, you've got to be able to go all day and he's figuring that out, and we've got to catch him up with everybody else."

They are going to work on Brown hard this training camp, but it would not surprise me if he is not starting at the beginning of the season. He's getting the first team reps because the Texans already know what Ephraim Salaam can do. Three of four on the road isn't the easiest start for any left tackle's rookie year, and Kubiak acknowledged as much:

"Yeah, [Brown will] work with the first group. We have a long way to go before we play Pittsburgh and who's out there opening day. But he'll continue to work with that group and (T) Ephraim Salaam and (T) Rashad Butler will push the heck out of those two tackles that we have. So, we'll see what happens."

Young players have to earn Kubiak's praise which he certainly does not hand out based on draft order and contract value. He knows all the players have some level of ability, but he gives out praise based on them making the effort he wants to see from each of them.

A lot of fans come to training camp to get autographs. Out of the different events that the Texans hold, training camp isn't usually the easiest to get signatures. I want to thank the players who spent the time walking through the rope line on a 90 degree day after practice. Often players skip the rope line to hurry back to the stadium on carts.

Backup quarterback, Sage Rosenfels has always been very cordial about signing autographs after practice and was the last player to finish the rope line today.

I know I covered a lot of ground here, but if you have any particular questions about camp or the team, please feel free to leave a comment.