The Houston Texans were back on the practice field Tuesday holding their first mandatory mini camp practice. They are looking to improve on their disastrous 2013 season.
Head Coach Bill O'Brien named Ryan Fitzpatrick the team's starting quarterback. Most everyone figured this
Fitzpatrick was named the Texans starting quarterback on Tuesday, the first day of mandatory mini camp.would happen by the start of the season, but O'Brien said he told the team Tuesday morning before practice and said that Fitzpatrick has earned the starting spot.
“He earned it. He definitely earned it. He earned it with his preparation. He earned it with his accuracy. He earned it with his command of the line of scrimmage, you know, to this point where we are, he’s got to, obviously like everybody on the team. We have confidence in his ability to lead our football team. He’s done a really good job in the offseason of picking up our system. He’s executed well on the field," said O'Brien.
Andre Johnson was a no show Tuesday and likely will miss the whole camp. O'Brien says that he has kept in touch with Johnson by speaking to him on the phone and through text messaging. O'Brien believes that the missed time will not hurt Johnson learning the new system.
“He has played a lot of football," O'Brien said. "He is a guy that has been in different systems, like I said a few weeks ago, I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he has done in this league. I believe that based on the different systems that he has been in that he would be able to pick up on our system. He’s a a very bright guy that has done a lot in this league. So, I think he’d be able to figure it out.”
Check out my article about how important it is for the Texans to get Johnson on board.
Rookie offensive lineman Xavier Su'a-Filo was back at practice today. Su'a-Filo is expected to battle Ben Jones
Su'a-Filo was a welcome sight back at practice on Tuesday.for the left guard spot vacated by Wade Smith, who the Texans did not re-sign.
“Yeah, that is hard because through no fault of his own he has had to miss some time because of the quarter system there at UCLA. But he is, like I said a couple week ago, he’s a guy that in the draft, in the preparation for the draft, we were impressed with his intelligence, his work ethic and his team-first attitude. I think just watching him today you could tell that he had done some studying on his own while away. I think that is a good sign, and he’s got to continue to do that," said O'Brien.
Clike here to view video of Su'a-Filo in college and my draft grade on him.
