Here's everything Houston Texans head coachDeMeco Ryans said following the final day of training camp practice in Houston before the team's trip to Charlotte, including an injury update on Jaylin Noel, a guest appearance from J.J. Watt and the plan for starters.
Q: On WR Jaylin Noel’s recovery
DeMeco Ryans: “Jaylin’s done a good job of bouncing back, getting back into the swing of things, just continuing to get reps to build up his stamina to get out there. He's done a great job of progressing on the side, and he's looked fine as he's been out there with the team during the team reps.”
Q: On the balance of the offense and defense making plays throughout practice
Ryans: "As a team, for us, the way we practice is not good enough. Today wasn't good enough from
the standpoint of how we move the football. It wasn't good enough. I challenged our guys to make sure we pick it up and operate that way. We have a lot to improve upon. We're not there yet. We still have a lot of work to do.”
Q: On the benefits of joint practices in the preseason
Ryans: “I think a lot of people try to put a quantitative measure on how joint practices are equivalent to a game. I don't think anybody really knows that, but I feel like you get really good reps with your ones in joint practices. You can manufacture certain situations that you may not get if we just lined it up and played in a game. That's the purpose of joint practice. I think it breaks the monotony; you go against a different scheme and you get good work versus different schemes. That's the purpose of it. I think one gets a lot of value out of doing those reps. I was here playing; I did a joint practice with Coach [Gary] Kubiak when we were here. I thought it was very beneficial. A lot of times when we did it, it was two days of practice. The second practice was more scuffles and fighting for whoever got the best of the team the first day. But now, doing one practice session, I think, is more efficient. It cuts down on a lot of the foolishness that goes on in some of the joint practices. When you have like-minded people who can come together and get good work in, joint practices are beneficial.”
Q: On what contributes to days that aren’t good enough at practice
“For me, I think it's a culmination of guys coming off of an off day, trying to get back into the swing of things. It starts with us as coaches. Our coaches got to have the guys ready to play. They got to have the guys ready to practice, have to bring great energy so we don't waste days. We have a lot to improve upon, a lot to make up after today.”
Q: On J.J. Watt attending practice
Ryans: “I'm very fond of J.J. Watt. Everything he stands for, the type of player that he is, the man that he is, everything he's doing post-career. He's just a guy I always keep an eye on, always just proud of the work that he's done for himself. I remember the young rookie coming in, living across the street from me. My old neighbor, just to see him grow now into a husband, family man, a businessman, I’m just proud of everything he stands for and everything that's ahead for him. He has the Hall of Fame waiting on him; he has a gold jacket waiting on him. Whenever you can have a guy like that come out to your practice and coach up our defensive line to help him out, that's always a good thing.”
Q: On DE Jadeveon Clowney’s status
Ryans: “We expect Clowney to be back. He’s dealing with a lower leg injury. He'll be back soon.”
Q: On the importance of the final week of preseason
Ryans: “Week 3 of preseason is a huge week for all the bubble guys on the roster. They get an opportunity to make one last case for themselves of why they should stick around. It's not just on the teams that they're on. You get a chance to go put out great film for the entire league. That's one thing I try to encourage our guys about, even if you don't make the Texans per se, can you go put good film out there to where other teams may want you on their team? I'm proud of guys. If they don't make it here, they make it somewhere else. Just making the NFL, fulfilling that dream, I think it's a huge deal for those guys. I'm always pulling for the guys we're able to work with.”
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said following Day 17 of training camp
