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In front of a large and vocal crowd at the Texans training facility, the team took the field for a long practice in the scorching south Texas heat of August. The heat didn't seem to damper the fan's spirits who were loud throughout the two hour practice with chants of MVP for Arian Foster and many loud ovations for J.J. Watt who watched practice wearing a sling. Texans fans have been waiting for a season with this type of hope for a long time, so no amount of heat or even injuries to star players could bring them down.
On the field the defense is still ahead of the offense at this point. It seems a bit odd at first considering the history of the Texans defense, but I believe it's the stronger side of the ball for the first time since probably their inaugural season. Part of the slow start for the offense is no doubt due to Matt Schaub going through his first week of full practice in nearly eight months. His accuracy was off a little today but he's a veteran and he'll round into shape as we get closer to September. Also a factor is you have to remember he's throwing to a lot of receivers this week that he's only worked with for about six days now. With Andre Johnson out, guys like DeVier Posey, Keshawn Martin, and Lestar Jean have seen a lot of reps. Speaking of the young receivers, Keshawn Martin has looked great so far; I think he has a long future in this league. Jean also made a few plays; Posey didn't look great, had trouble getting off the line and dropped a pass that hit him right in the numbers.
Overall it's early, but the defense looks great and even if the passing game is a few games behind, the Texans have the luxury of leaning on the best running back tandem in the league.
Sound from practice:
kubiak-8412-injury (Johnson, Brown, Jackson)
walter-8412-receiver1 (young receivers)