TEXANS CAMP: Stronger players, defensive flexibility and superheroes at The Greenbrier
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, West Virginia (KTRK) -- With exactly a week separating the team from its first preseason game of 2018, the Houston Texans had an earlier than usual practice Thursday at The Greenbrier due to incoming weather in the area.
Nevertheless, the Texans are certainly coming into the season with some changes and some comebacks.
Romeo Crennel, who served as an assistant coach last season, is returning this season to his prior defensive coordinator role, taking over for Mike Vrabel, who left to become head coach of the Tennessee Titans.
With new additions like Tyrann Mathieu and Aaron Colvin, as well as mainstays like Jonathan Joseph, Jadeveon Clowney, and J.J. Watt, Crennel will have time to enjoy the multiple options at his disposal on defense.
"Every year is a new year. You have to find out what the new guys can do, how fast they can pick up on the system, and then you have to find out the guys who have been injured - what they can do," Crennel said on Thursday. "You have to go through that process. And then, once you get through the process, then you begin to know what you got. It's training camp, it's preseason games, and then we should be able to figure something out toward the end of preseason."
Elsewhere at camp, if you notice some of the players adding mass to their physiques, you can credit, in part, the Texans' new director of sports performance, Luke Richesson.
On the field, we saw bigger physiques out of wide receiver Will Fuller and quarterback Deshaun Watson.
While some players got bigger, running back Lamar Miller got leaner. He hopes the weight cut will provide him with longevity in the league going forward.
"I tried to change my diet," Miller explained. "I cut back on eating red meat. I focused on just eating fish and chicken, and eating more vegetables. Just trying to get right."
Miller also revealed that he hovered around 218 pounds towards the end of his tenure in Miami.
"I figured if I got back to my weight, I would feel much better," said Miller, who is now listed at 220.
There's no telling what a leaner Miller will mean to an offense that already boasts Watson under center.
In Watson's last five starts, the Texans averaged a mind-blowing 39 points per game. They averaged 34 in his six starts and he threw for 19 touchdowns.
Continuing that pace is probably unrealistic, but they have only scratched the surface with this offense.
Last season, Watson could have been confused with being a superhero for the Texans, winning four contests and nearly beating powerhouse teams like the Patriots and Seahawks.
It's that kind of ability that got us thinking about which comic book superheroes fit comparably with the personalities of the Texans.
Defensive end and admitted superhero nerd Christian Covington was put on the spot to compare the superheroes with his teammates.
