The return of the 'big three' at Texans practice
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The return to practice of the Texans "Big Three" puts everything else in a distant second place. Brian Cushing, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster all practiced with the Texans today.
Cushing's return is particularly significant. He admitted afterwards that he didn't do much in terms of drills, but he told us that joining his teammates on the field and suiting up is a meaningful step forward on his road back from surgery on his leg and knee. It's the first time Cushing has been suited up and on the field since his season ending injury last fall in Kansas City.
He was obviously amped up and excited to be back, even in a very limited role today. I asked how he had learned the new defense without practicing and he detailed a lot of extra work with his position coach, Mike Vrabel.
A limited return but a really good one for Brian Cushing.
Arian Foster also returned today, smoothly running through drills with his teammates before taking off his pads early and calling it a day. Foster didn't do any contact work from what I saw but he looked great catching passes and running through drills, very quick and assertive. Foster's pass catching abilities can be a huge weapon for an offense that needs all the help they can get.
Andre Johnson did similar, limited work before staying late to work on the mechanical Jugs machine. Johnson ran through most of the drills at three quarter speed, but that's how everyone worked when it wasn't Falcons against Texans in live drills.
Now to the Falcons and Texans work in a joint practice. A few observations:
A&M product Jake Matthews looked great in the team work I saw. Really gifted and it showed as he held his own against JJ Watt in a couple of 1 on 1 battles. Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews told me afterwards it was great to see his son again. Bruce also mentioned that he loves HBO's series "Hard Knocks" that's embedded in Falcons camp. Good day for the Matthews family.
Hot and cold for the Texans offense. Ryan Fitzpatrick started hot in the team drills, beating the Falcons defense with a couple nice throws. But that was followed by a stretch of misfires.
Still work to do for Case Keenum. When he was on, it looked great. The U of H product threaded the needle with one of the passes of the day to CJ Fedorowicz. Keenum also dropped in a perfect TD pass to DeVier Posey. But Keenum also had stretches when he simply wasn't on the same page as his receivers. It's clearly a work in progress.
Falcons QB Matt Ryan saved special praise for JJ Watt. #99's work ethic jumped out at Ryan and so did his talent. Everybody who plays the game takes note of one of the game's great players.
Texans DB Elbert Mack broke up a pair of passes against Atlanta's offense. Mack looked like he was having a great time working against somebody new in camp.
Albert Blue does something every day that catches your eye. Again today with a run that gashed the Falcons defensive front. Could have been a long TD in a game situation.
