Priority One: ‘Come out of it healthy’
After losing McCarron, O’Brien hopes to avoid injuries in preseason opener
GREEN BAY, Wis. — When the Texans begin preseason Thursday night at Lambeau Field, they have a lot of players to evaluate, and they hope to leave Green Bay without another significant injury.
Backup quarterback AJ McCarron hurt his right thumb in Tuesday’s practice against the Packers andmay not be able to return before the regular season begins at New Orleans. With McCarron unable to play, Joe Webb will do the heavy-duty work at quarterback against the Packers. The Texans also will have rookie Jordan Ta’amu, an undrafted free agent from Mississippi who was signed Wednesday.
Losing McCarron will have no effect on coach Bill O’Brien’s plan to prepare Deshaun Watson for the regular season.
O’Brien didn’t disclose this week how much Watson will play against the Packers. If he does play, it
will depend on the circumstances, but don’t expect himto play more than a series or two before turning it over to Webb.
For O’Brien and first-year Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur, avoiding serious injuries is their No. 1 goal in preseason. Player evaluation is a close second.
“Let’s come out of it healthy,” O’Brien said. “It’s hard to do that. Guys are playing hard. It’s a competitive contact sport, but we want guys to be healthy.”
The Texans and Packers had two intense, competitive practices this week at the Don Huston Center across the street from Lambeau Field. Tempers flared during both practices.
Besides staying as healthy as possible, O’Brien knows what he wants to see against the Packers.
“We want guys to get good repetitions in different situations,” he said. “It’s different now without the coaches right behind you yelling at you, telling you what to do all the time. You’re out there on your own.
“How do they perform with a bunch of fans in the stands? Because it’ll be packed. See how everyone handles that. And play with poise, and play hard and see how it goes.”
Other than training camp and practices against the Packers, this is the Texans’ next test to see how much their two-biggest problem areas — offensive line and secondary — have improved.
When the game begins, fans will want to watch guards Tytus Howard and Max Scharping, the first- and second-round picks who also have played tackle in practice.
Left tackle Matt Kalil is a veteran to keep an eye on after he missed last season at Carolina. Howard and Scharping could get more playing time against Green Bay than a lot of players because the coaches want to measure their progress.
As for the secondary, rookie cornerbacks Lonnie Johnson Jr.
and Xavier Crawford should get significant playing time. Johnson, in particular, has to show improvement because the Texans need the second-round pick to contribute as a rookie.
Johnson was kicked out of Monday’s practice against the Packers by O’Brien after he leveled rookie tight end Jace Sternberger, then stood over him and flexed his muscles. O’Brien was infuriated. Johnson has to be smarter and more disciplined while continuing to be physical with receivers.
The coaches also have to evaluate the running backs behind Lamar Miller and receivers after the top three — DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller and Keke Coutee.
One of the most competitive positions is tight end, which could turn out to be a position of strength. With Jordan Thomas out because of a hamstring injury, veterans Jordan Akins, Darren Fells and Jerell Adams have looked good.
Rookie tight end Kahale Warring had terrific practices against the Packers after missing the first week of camp with a hamstring injury. It’ll be interesting to see if Warring can transfer his performance in practice to the playing field.
The Texans are expected to keep three tight ends — Akins, Thomas and Warring. They could end up with four because Fells has put together an impressive camp. Adams, a three-year veteran signed last year, has made a lot of good plays in camp.
“That’s going to be a tough one to figure out,” O’Brien said
about the tight ends. “How many do you want to keep? Special teams will be a part of that (and), obviously, blocking will be a part of that. It’s a very competitive position.”
Deciding on the 53-man roster is an ongoing process. The Green Bay game is the next step in that process before the Texans return to Houston and practice against Detroit before hosting the Lions in the second preseason game.
“It’s building blocks,” O’Brien said about using preseason to determine the 53-man roster. “Every day’s an evaluation. There’s certain guys that are on the team, no doubt about it. But there are also a lot of spots up for grabs, so it’s a day-by-day, gameby-game evaluation. We watch a lot of film, and we spend a lot of time talking about it.
“We’ll try to make fair decisions. It’s not about just an allstar 53. It’s about the right 53, so we’ll keep working on that.”