The Texans and New Orleans Saints practiced against each other in the preseason for three years from 2008-10. They won't in 2013.
Because the game is in the third week of the preseason, Texans coach Gary Kubiak said he and Saints coach Sean Payton agreed not to have joint practices this year.
"Sean and I talked," Kubiak said Thursday at Reliant Stadium. "We would've loved to have practice against each other, but because it's our third game, we both kind of prepare our teams the same way from a standpoint of using that as the regular season preparation game. We'll stay away from each other from a practice standpoint, but I'm sure it'll be a very good football game."
The Texans and Saints' joint practices were typically highly competitive. Players looked forward to them because they broke up the monotony of facing their teammates every day in training camp. But those practices came in years in which the Texans and Saints met in the second week of the preseason, not the third like this year and last year. They didn't have joint practices in 2011 because of the NFL lockout.
Kubiak said he doesn't think the Texans will practice against any of their other preseason opponents on this year's schedule.
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