Going into this season, the Houston Texans have a young offensive line, withleft tackle Aireontae Ersery entering his second year in the league and rookie Keylan Rutledge starting at left guard after getting reps at center during the preseason.
There can be some growing pains with a young offensive line. The players need time to develop chemistry with each other as well as adjusting to the speed of the NFL and figuring out how to defend some of the league’s top pass rushers. However, Texans’ offensive coordinator Nick Caley said he has seen a lot of progress from Ersery and Rutledge so far and feels they will continue to grow as they get more reps.
“I think every player's a little different. Every situation is a little different,” Caley said Thursday.
“Keylan's done a really good job. Aireontae has done a good job. He’s gotten better through the year. Those guys have been working hard. I don't see any glaring issues in terms of, if there's a fundamental thing like all players have at times, shoot, we got to get better here or there. But those guys have worked hard. It's time on task, continue to get reps, putting those guys into situations and there's growth in that.”
This young unit will not have it easy in the season opener against the Buffalo Bills who had one of the best passing defenses in the NFL last season although they did struggle to get sacks with only 36 sacks last season. Houston will need their offensive line to hold up if they are going to come away from this game with a win.
Kickoff is set for Noon CT on Sunday at Reliant Stadium. The Texans enter the game as a 1-point underdog at home.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans OC Nick Caley says "time on task" will help young offensive line
