The second day of practice in Richmond was framed by gloomy weather. But the gray skies, cooler temperatures and periods of light drizzle did little to temper the enthusiasm on the field between the Texans and Washington.

"It got intense out there which is good," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "That's always good during training camp. It's just been really good work with the Redskins."

After a day in pads on Thursday, both squads wore helmets and shoulder pads on Friday. Ryan Mallett got the reps at quarterback with the first team offense, flip-flopping with Brian Hoyer, who worked with the starters on Thursday. General manager Rick Smith was encouraged by what he saw from the Texans at the Bon Secours Training Center.

"Obviously when you come out in pads one day and then you come back the next day follow it up with just shells, you might expect it to be a little bit of a drop off, but I thought our guys competed," Smith said. "I thought they brought energy today and looking forward to another good day tomorrow."

Defensive end J.J. Watt, like O'Brien and Smith, said he's a fan of practicing with another team.
"It's a lot of fun," Watt said. "The competition has been great. I really enjoyed it so far. The people of Richmond have been unbelievable."

The Texans and Washington will practice versus each other one more time on Saturday morning.