Starters to sit this one out … with exceptions
Limited time for Watson, Miller behind line that needs the work
49ers.
O’Brien loved the work his players got against San Francisco in the heat and humidity at Houston Methodist Training Center. That sounds like enough for the week for many of the veteran starters who have experience in the system.
“We ran about 150 plays in two days, and most of those guys got probably 50 reps, so that’s just really good work,” O’Brien said.
After all the hard work the Texans put in this week in joint practices with San Francisco, I wouldn’t blame coach
Bill O’Brien if he limited a lot of his starters to cheerleading duties against the 49ers on Saturday night at NRG Stadium.
In the first preseason game — a 17-10 victory at Kansas City — O’Brien kept nine starters, including seven on defense, on the visiting sideline. He could adopt that same philosophy against the
After watching J.J. Watt destroy 49ers’ pass blockers in practice, there’s no need to see him in a preseason game. Put him on ice and thaw him out for the regular-season opener at New England.
When a quarterback like Deshaun Watson is playing in his second preseason, recovering from knee surgery and requiring some snaps, he needs to play a series or two.
So do veterans in an overhauled offensive line. Communication is crucial to success up front, and the linemen need as much playing time together as O’Brien will give them.
Against the Chiefs, the starting line played well. Backup quarterback Brandon Weeden, who replaced Watson early in the first quarter, was kept upright and led two touchdown drives.
Seeing more of Akins, Pope
According to Pro Football Focus, Weeden had the NFL’s second-highest grade throwing from the pocket on the first weekend of preseason games. A big part of that was Weeden’s protection and him making quick decisions and getting rid of the ball in a hurry.
Fans should want to see more of two more backups — rookie tight end Jordan Akins and running back Troymaine Pope.
Akins caught two touchdown passes from Weeden against the Chiefs. Pope, who has a legitimate chance to earn a spot on the roster, showed his receiving ability against Kansas City. Now the Texans want Pope (5-9, 205) to show some running ability against San Francisco.
“Pope does some good things,” O’Brien said about the two-year veteran who was signed last year. “It’s hard to make a 53-man roster.
“At that position, you have to be versatile. You have to be good on special teams. He’s a hard worker, and he’s in the hunt.”
Against the 49ers, Pope should be second off the bench behind Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue. Because O’Brien said he would play the starters close to what he did in the first game, that means Miller should get a few carries before turning it over to the reserves.
O’Brien knows the Texans have to work on the running game — the backs and all the blockers.
Tough encore for Ejiofor
The Texans’ defense, which gave up one touchdown against the Chiefs and put up a tremendous goal-line stand to preserve the victory, should be missing a lot of starters again. And that’s fine because backups need playing time.
Second-year inside linebackers Zach Cunningham and Dylan Cole had terrific games. Cole started with Benardrick McKinney on the sideline. Cole’s performance made him the league’s highest-graded linebacker during the first round of preseason games.
The coaches are excited about competition in the defensive line, which could be limited to six players on the 53-man roster.
Among the linebackers to keep an eye on is rookie Duke Ejiofor. The sixth-round pick had a team-best three quarterback hits in the first game — all when he lined up at end.
Against the 49ers, the coaches expect to see more young players produce like Ejiofor did against Kansas City.