With the 2016 preseason underway, the Texans immediately begin preparations for the New Orleans Saints. The two teams will hold joint practice at the Houston Methodist Training Center, leading up to their preseason matchup on Saturday.
"The Saints arrive here sometime Wednesday night," head coach Bill O'Brien said Monday. "We'll get together with their coaching staff—great coaching staff to work with. I've already had a bunch of communication with Coach (Sean) Payton. I know a lot of guys on that staff with Joe Vitt and Pete Carmichael and all those guys, so we're really looking forward to working with those guys. They're going to come in, we're going to meet with them, kind of iron some things out for the next day's practice."
Last week, O'Brien and the Texans traveled to Santa Clara a few days early and held a joint practice on Friday with the 49ers. This week, the Texans will practice twice against the Saints. The teams will be in full pads Thursday but will hold a lighter, non-contact practice on Friday, according to O'Brien.
"Friday, the day before the game, we're going to get together and we're going to practice against them in kind of what we would call a 'shadow tempo', maybe like an OTA-type tempo where we work a bunch of different situations: end of game, end of half and different types of situations that come up," O'Brien said.
Players, after a day off Monday, will practice Tuesday and Wednesday leading up to the Saints arrival in Houston. The Texans will host the Saints in Week 2 of the preseason. Kickoff at NRG Stadium is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. on ABC-13 and SportsRadio 610.
Take a look at the best pictures from the #Texans preseason opener against the 49ers.
