WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – It probably felt like the Texans were the visiting team today with stands packed with Patriots fans - but it was time to go work for the Texans defense going up against Tom Brady.
Brady showed several times why’s he’s still the best with strong early connections to tight end Rob Gronkowski and wide receiver Chris Hogan.
But that’s why the Texans want these workouts with the Patriots.
Video: Texans practice with Patriots
“It was good. We got a lot of good work done today,” Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said Tuesday after the first day of joint workouts.
“(We) ran a bunch of plays, lot of different situations. I just really believe in the joint practices, especially this time of year when you’re developing your team and you’re working on fundamentals. It’s really a good thing.” O'Brien said.
The Texans had their moments, too, defensively with both J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus finding their way into the back field on occasion for “sacks.”
Now, they can crank it up again tomorrow.
“It’s just a lot of fun. It gives you great film is what it does. It gives us a chance to go in tonight we’ll watch the film, we’ll learn,” Watt said. "Especially for the young guys, getting a chance to go against another team. They’ve been going against the same guys every day. Getting a chance to go against another team, now they have this on film, get to see what they did. Really, what’s cool about it, is you get to go out tomorrow and try and correct what you did wrong today. So, it’s really good stuff for us and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
While Brady is fine-tuning things for his 18th NFL season, it’s a totally different story for Texans quarterback Tom Savage, who is trying to remain the starter, and rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is trying to become the starter.
So the joint workouts are kind of a big deal to the Texans offense.
“It was good. It’s good to see a fresh, new defense and it’s good out there competing,” Savage said. “Obviously you’re going out there and you’re competing against new guys. We’re all alpha males out there. We want to compete, we want to beat each other. That’s the goal."
But did Savage also sneak a peek at Brady putting in work on the same field?
“We’re doing team periods where you get to watch the greatest quarterback of all-time play. What’s better than that?” Savage said. “I’m still a fan. Even though I’m a starting quarterback in this league, I’m still a fan of this game. It’s fun to watch.”
As for the competition with Watson that truthfully really has not yet developed, the two are still making each other better.
"I think Deshaun (Watson) learns a lot from how Tom (Savage) prepares and how Tom learns and how he watches tape and comes out to practice ready to go and things like that,” O’Brien said. "I think it’s been very productive for both guys.”
