Just an update on some players from what I can find:
JAMES FERENTZ, C, HOUSTON
JAMES FERENTZ, C, HOUSTON
- Played 75% of the teams offensive snaps in the last preseason game
- 2nd on the depth chart at Center, behind Ben Jones
- Ben Jones on backup center JamesFerentz, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz's son: 'Great kid, brings it every day, you can tell he's a coach's son.
- Ben Jones was bad at LG. I mean bad. Brutally bad.
- "O’Brien said backup center James Ferentz did some good things and could play guard if needed"
- Bill O'Brien says it's not going to be easy for JamesFerentz to make the #Texans roster but "he's making a case for himself.
- OBrien on backup OL mentioned C JamesFerentz. He's the only backup O'Brien singled out. They need depth in o line
- I keep wanting to say James Ferentz can't be a starting C because of his size but he keeps anchoring down. Had some miscues in this game too
- James Ferentz was at fault for no less than two of those goal line carries not getting in. His first sin was getting jettisoned off the line of scrimmage before Brandon Brooks could establish his combo block from the back side, which then allowed enough penetration for a crucial tackle for loss. After that, Ferentz whiffed on a second level and let a linebacker stop Kenny Hilliard cold right at the goal line. As for the other four failed runs, one of them was due to C.J. Fiedorowicz not getting quite enough push to help Jay Prosch punch it in off tackle,
- CJ Fiedorowicz was another guy who stood out for the Texans today. Night & day from last year. Looks so comfortable, effortless now
- yes, not on Kelce level but 40-50 rec 500 yds 5-6 TDs
- Really? Cuz I hear McFarland looked better. CJ dropped multiple passes, got drove by Merc & Simon
- With each and every opportunity in training camp, C.J. Fiedorowicz
is flashing in the passing game. He made a great grab on a back shoulder fade down the perimeter and has gotten open consistently
- Ryan Mallett is in the game now. His first throw was a quick little out route to C.J. Fiedorowicz against an inside leveraged linebacker. The decision was fine as a drive starter just for the sake of keeping things on schedule, and the placement of the throw was good as well, but what really stuck out to me was Fiedorowicz’s route. He did a nice three-step break and really rolled his hips into the cut so that he could immediately flatten the route down and put his body in between the ball and the defender. With Fiedorowicz having such a huge frame and catch radius, the linebacker had ZERO shot at making the play on that ball. I love seeing that the "gimme play" to a big-bodied tight end might actually be a legit option to keep the chains moving this season. We haven’t had that since Owen Daniels was in his prime
- Still, don't expect to see too much of Cushing on Saturday night. Instead, behind him andMike Mohamed, a group ofBenardrick McKinney,Max Bullough, Justin Tuggle,Jeff Tarpinian andAkeem Dent are all in contention to make an impact. (Tarpinian didn't play - injured)
- It appears that Andrew Gardner is the front-runner to win the starting right-guard position over John Moffit, Matt Tobin, and Julian Vandervelde. Gardner, entering his eighth NFL season, got the start on Sunday in the preseason opener against the Colts and played well. He’s the consistent, safe play and it’s Gardner’s job to lose.
- The bigger surprise was that Matt Tobin, one of the prime competitors for the right guard job, played 60 percent of the offensive plays — at tackle. It was unclear whether that was merely an anomaly created by Stoutland’s rotation system, or if Tobin is being prepared to be a swing player.
- Asked if he thought Gardner is separating himself from the other three candidates, right tackle Lane Johnson said: “Yeah, I would say so. Still a few games left to go, but he’s doing a fine job so far.”Another telltale sign that perhaps the job is Gardner’s is that his primary competitor for the spot, Matt Tobin, played exclusively at second-team left tackle against the Colts on Sunday and was still there on Tuesday.Tobin made seven starts last season on a line that was banged up. Two of those were at right guard, the other five at left guard. He isn’t ready to concede anything to Gardner.“I’d say he’s playing well, but I wouldn’t say he’s separating himself,” Tobin said. “He’s playing well and I’m happy for him.”
- There is still another serious challenger left (for Gardner) and it probably isn’t Julian Vandervelde. It is John Moffitt. Moffitt, however, was inconsistent running with the second-team line against Indianapolis, according to Kelly
- Brandon Scherff may have solidified his hold on the right guard position with his performance versus the Browns. After his move from right tackle, where he lined up during the off season practices, Scherff has looked at home at guard. He did not miss a block versus the Browns and graded out with a very good 1.00 rating matched only by Trent Williams among the starters.
- “Pretty safe, pretty safe. He’s really taken that role on,” the coach said. “You can see him play with a lot more confidence, a lot more juice in there. He’s a lot more comfortable in there, and that’s fine. It’s not so much that he couldn’t play right tackle, it’s because Morgan Moses has done outstanding at right tackle. We have a great option at right tackle with Morgan and obviously, a great option at right guard in not only Scherff but Spencer Long, who’s also a good right guard. We have some good depth on the offensive line I’m happy about. I feel good about the positions that they’re in.”It’s rare in the NFL that a team would spend such a high pick on a guard. But both Gruden and general manager Scot McCloughan have said that they didn’t believe the fifth overall pick was too high a price to spend on a guard. They saw Scherff as such a quality talent that they wanted to land him first and then figure out his position afterward.“Getting the best five on the field,” McCloughan said on Sunday, explaining his goal. “Its doesn’t matter to me, like I said, [Scherff] could play center. He’s one of the five. We want the best five out there.”Like Gruden, McCloughan said on Sunday that he was encouraged by Scherff’s play at guard, and that he liked the tandem of Scherff and Moses on the right side.“A lot of power. A lot of size,” McCloughan said with a smile, when asked what he liked about their performances. “If you saw the game, it was impressive. They’re still learning; they’ve got a ways to go. But it was impressive. But it was very cool to see, especially on the second series, to see them coming off the ball and move people.”
