One of the more enjoyable things to watch in training camp is situational work. Bill O'Brien will bark out a scenario and the team has to respond.
For instance – "First and 10 at the 50, no timeouts, down two with 25 seconds left. Go!" And the team will operate with those conditions. These types of situations always come up, so it's good to not only get physically but mentally ready for them.
I thought he could really make it interesting. 'First and 10 at the 45 with no timeouts. You're tired because you binge-watched Tiger King on Thursday and you're upset because a song played in the stadium during a time out that reminded you of your girlfriend breaking up with you in high school. Go!'
But he just sticks to football.
I've enjoyed watching Tim Kelly coach the offense. He's got the walkie talkie so he can call plays into the QB's helmet. He also likes to get the side view to observe things down the line of scrimmage and to 'say things to the defense.'
That's not to say Bill O'Brien isn't involved. He's practically in the huddle. But you get the idea that he's just trying to gauge what the communication is and to make sure everything is operating the way he wants.
Coaches have a lot of control over everything until the ball is snapped. Then it's up to the players to make things happen. This time of year if your offense is shredding the defense constantly, you might have a problem stopping the opponent in the regular season.
For the Texans, there appears to be a real nice mix of play making on both sides of the ball.
The team ran goal line plays on Tuesday and it was football bliss. This is another enjoyable aspect of training camp practice. They won't go this hard in the regular season. You save it up for Sundays.
Among the things I'm not crazy about watching in August is special teams practice. That's not to say it isn't important. It's absolutely crucial. But special teams practice is akin to seeing a classic rock band in concert when they say "now we'd like to play something from our new album." It's time to hit the concession stand for me.
Four days in pads and now a day off. Camp is cruising along. We've hit a stride. There's a lot left on the to-do list but the coaches are making their way through it as opening night is just over three weeks away.
Share your excitement for the season and send well wishes to the team for Training Camp by writing a letter to camp!
