Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Houston Texans

[HAWKAMANIA]

First episode aired last night. At first I thought it would be lame because it's the Texans but, as always, it was awesome. JJ Watt is not human. Also, whenever Bill O'Brien cusses, it sounds unnatural, like he's forcing himself to say the f word, and therefore, he sounds ridiculous. Romeo Crennell is a scary dude.

 

[dontbelikethat]

Half the episode was dedicated to JJ Watt. Personalities don't seem to be as entertaining compared to years past, but it's only the first episode.

 

[TheRealDTM]

yeah outside of watt pretty boring dudes. "We are the nicest team in the league" sums it up pretty well.

 

[hawknation2015]

One of the worst episodes of Hard Knocks I have seen.

 

[Brithawk]

At least it was better than last year.

That fat woman in the red jersey screaming at Watt, ugh. Maybe that's just my britishness but she needed to be rolled back into the sea

 

[HAWKAMANIA]

Wilfork seems like a funny guy. Hearing his wife call him "bae" was nails on a chalkboard though.

 

[JAGHAWK]

Must suck playing for the Texans and your name isn't JJ Watt. Lol

 

[RynoHawk]

I couldn't tell, was Wilforks wife black? light skinned? white? she acted all sista like but I wear she was about as white as me... believe me, it's white...

I know skin color is irrelevant but ... it bothers me when I see someone acting a certain way because culture dictates ... much like that white gal that ran Spokane's ACLU... I am not African American, but I'm black...... WTF does that even mean?

 

[Smellyman]

I couldn't tell, was Wilforks wife black? light skinned? white? she acted all sista like but I wear she was about as white as me... believe me, it's white...

I know skin color is irrelevant but ... it bothers me when I see someone acting a certain way because culture dictates ... much like that white gal that ran Spokane's ACLU... I am not African American, but I'm black...... WTF does that even mean?

:stirthepot:

:snack:

 

[SnoCoHawk]

I couldn't tell, was Wilforks wife black? light skinned? white? she acted all sista like but I wear she was about as white as me... believe me, it's white...

I know skin color is irrelevant but ... it bothers me when I see someone acting a certain way because culture dictates ... much like that white gal that ran Spokane's ACLU... I am not African American, but I'm black...... WTF does that even mean?

She seemed hispanic to me, but yes - not exactly a delicate flower of femininity and refinement. It's surprising to see who some of the players are with sometimes. Although most are just stereotypical Barbie doll types, so I guess good for Vince for going against the grain and marrying a truck driver.

Brit, I don't have your British sensibilities but I thought that screaming woman was an embarrassment to America and should be immediately bleached out of the gene pool. I guess she got his attention, though. Nothing like rewarding bad behavior.

 

[Popeyejones]

not exactly a delicate flower of femininity and refinement.

It would be weird if he was married to some elfin, shrinking violet, IMO.

For the limited purview of a couple scenes they seemed like a good match. I don't know what you guys are talking about.

Grantland had the best summary of that scene, IMO:

The Most Expectedly Funny Scene That Involved Vince Wilfork

Vince Wilfork was playing pickup basketball. It was the most interesting game of pickup basketball I’ve ever seen. It was five-on-five, and men and women of all sizes and colors were involved. It was incredible. Better still was that during just the minute or so of it being shown, Vince Wilfork referred to himself as Michael Jordan, Vlade Divac, and Tim Duncan, the last of which he shouted while shooting a bank shot that ended up not even touching the rim.

 

[HAWKAMANIA]

Holy crap, Bill OBrien stumbles over the F word like FDR stumbled over stairs.

 

[Hawk-Lock]

Hard Knocks is always a must watch for me. I'd tune in and watch even if it was even the Jaguars or Titans. This is probably one of the weaker seasons, as the Texans just don't have that many great personalities. There are no Richard Sherman's or Rex Ryan's on the Texans. All their premier players are pretty boring. The only guy I find somewhat entertaining is Wilfork.

Here are my observations through two episodes:

- Brian Cushing is still a huge D-Bag.
- The Texans front 7 is going to be really good, primarily the front 4.
- I think they are going to be limited by their QB play, whoever ends up starting.
- I can't really figure out what type of coach Bill O'Brien is. He isn't really a hard-ass and he definitely isn't light-hearted. He reminds me a bit of a toned down version of Rex Ryan.
- I wish we saw more of Romeo Crennel.
- DeAndre Hopkins is a really good WR. He would probably be a top 10 WR this year if not for the weak QB play. I'd be all over him in fantasy if he had a better QB.
- None of the undrafted rookies interest me. Usually they are the star of Hard Knocks. This year I could care less about them. I'm surprised they aren't keying in on one or two specific guys more.

 

[twisted_steel2]

Was it strange the coach grilling those kids about who the COO etc was? It just seemed insignificant to me, and petty to try and embarrass them because they didn't know someone they've never met before who they don't have daily contact with.

I'd want my rookies learning the playbook, getting acclimated to the facilities, their teammates, working out, getting a good nights sleep....

Learning who all the different McNair's are can wait. Was not impressed with Bill Obrien.

 

[Popeyejones]

Was it strange the coach grilling those kids about who the COO etc was? It just seemed insignificant to me, and petty to try and embarrass them because they didn't know someone they've never met before who they don't have daily contact with.

I'd want my rookies learning the playbook, getting acclimated to the facilities, their teammates, working out, getting a good nights sleep....

Learning who all the different McNair's are can wait. Was not impressed with Bill Obrien.

Yeah, I mean, it was to serve a larger purpose and message, but I wasn't much a fan of that either.

 

[hawknation2015]

I love the insight into the culture of a program that this show provides us. Last season, we had an inside look into the culture of negativity that plagued Mike Smith's tenure in Atlanta.

Now, we have a full glimpse into the fraternity culture or culture of embarrassment that will probably continue to wreak havoc on the Houston Texans. This style is not unique to Bill O'Brien, a lot of football coaches find it easy to run their team in this way. Humiliating under-performers, embarrassing rookies, and generally leading via a culture of fear. It's old school football that is only now beginning to give way to the culture of opportunity or idealism that Pete Carroll has pioneered.

 

[hieroglyphics]

Interesting to see Jalen Strong is sucking hard in camp.

I remember the disappointed people who were mad we took Lockett over Strong. No brainer by our FO in this short hindsight.

 

[hawknation2015]

Interesting to see Jalen Strong is sucking hard in camp.

I remember the disappointed people who were mad we took Lockett over Strong. No brainer by our FO in this short hindsight.

Absolutely, Lockett was a better prospect than Strong.

There is a big learning curve for Jalen Strong to improve as a route runner. On a team that is less focused on humiliating players who need to improve, i.e. Green Bay with Ty Montgomery, I bet Strong would have developed more to this point. But you also saw the TD he had in that first preseason game. The raw potential to be a red zone weapon is there.

 

[twisted_steel2]

The JJ Watt after practice segment was ridiculous...

What a fake setup, "Look at how hard he practices... he even keeps going for hours and hours after the rest of the team goes in! He must be the hardest working player in the league.... blah blah blah." :roll:

For a second I thought Rocky was going to show up and start working out in slow motion with bad 80's music playing.

A little over the top Hard Knocks.

 

[Smellyman]

Has Cushing and Watt been caught injecting each other yet?

(with needles you dirty minds)