Here’s everything Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said following Day 14 of training camp, including his thoughts on the team’s joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders, the potential of quarterback C.J. Stroud and the future role of wide receiver Tank Dell.
Question: On going up against the Las Vegas Raiders in a joint practice during Training Camp
DeMeco Ryans: “With the joint practice tomorrow, we’re trying to accomplish two good teams going out competing against each other and going against different schemes. That’s the biggest emphasis. Being able to see some different things, tendency-wise, play-wise, going against different players. They have a lot of good players there, starting with the defensive end, Maxx Crosby, it’s going to be great for our guys to go against him. At the quarterback position, having Kirk Cousins and [Fernando] Mendoza, two really good quarterbacks, so we’re excited to see our group going up against those guys. Can’t forget Brock Bowers as well, one of the best tight ends in the league. Personnel is different; the scheme is different. It helps us to continue to develop and grow our team throughout training camp.”
Q: On WR Tank Dell’s ramp up process
Ryans: “With Tank, he’s on his own plan. So however that looks, whatever it entails, it’ll be all geared toward what’s best for Tank Dell.”
Q: On the offense and defense going against each other in practice and trying to change up the playcalling
Ryans: “We have a lot of variety to what we’re doing offensively and defensively. There’s never one rep that’s the same. Guys have to be on it, you have to be deliberate in what you’re doing. You have to trust your eyes, trust your techniques and be where you’re supposed to be. We had one play we had yesterday, with [CB Alijah] Huzzie playing the nickel position. He’s gotten better, he got beat on a similar route a couple times and yesterday he was able to play his technique a little bit better, a little tighter. He was able to step in one and make an interception. That’s the type of growth you see. Although it may be a different route, different look, different formation, can you just trust your technique, be where you’re supposed to be and make a play? Huzzie was a good example of that yesterday.”
Q: On if he uses preseason games or practice more to evaluate roster cuts
Ryans: “There’s no percentage to me. I take everything into account. It’s not just one is heavier than the other. I just look at how guys are working every single day. How are they improving every single day? That’s what I’ll take into consideration. You get towards the end, you’re talking about backup guys, role guys, how many things can that guy do for us? Where is his versatility? Versatility helps a lot when you have to limit the roster. You have unique guys who can do multiple things on game day, so that definitely helps.”
Q: On what value going up against a different team in practice does for QB C.J. Stroud
Ryans: “The value for C.J. is you get to see different coverages. You get to see different players and how are they responding and reacting to your movements. You stay discipline, keep your eyes down the middle, being able to move, hook players to your advantage. See if can he go out and still execute his discipline, his techniques the proper way. For him, it doesn’t matter who you’re going against, but it’s also, are you trusting your process every single time that you go out? He’s done a great job all camp and I don’t expect anything different tomorrow. I expect him to come out and have a good day.”
On what he tells players to focus on
“For me, consistency is key. You want to be a really good player, the great players in this league, one thing you can say about all of them, they’re consistent. They were consistent in what they did and the plays that they made. It wasn’t about the wild plays, but they make the wild plays because they’re consistent. You add in great instincts and anticipation with being consistent on your technique. That’s when you become a really great player. It can get monotonous and boring at times just by an offensive lineman, for instance, just being able to stay inside, protect inside out, inside out. You may hear the same thing over and over again, but the one time you don’t do it, then disaster happens for the play. You just have to remain consistent, have to remain confident in what the coaches are telling you is right. It works when you try to do it the right way, so consistency is key.”
Q: What goes into scheduling joint practices with other organizations
Ryans: “Ideally, when I’m going through and picking a joint practice, it first starts with our scheduling. We don’t get to pick our schedule, but it works out a lot of times in our favor where offensively, we’re consistently going against a four-man down front, which we run defensively. If I could get the opportunity to go against teams that present five-down fronts and different structures, different coverages, that works out great for us because again, it’s developing our offense to make some different calls, different communication checks up front, making sure they’re on it. We know we’re going to see a ton of five-down teams throughout the season. If we are able to get that work early on in August, that definitely prepares us for the season.”
Q: On the addition of QB Brett Rypien
Ryans: “Brett has played in this league, he’s done a really good job. He’s won a couple games in his league, so he has the experience. I’m not worried about that from an evaluation standpoint. His track record has proven that he can go in. He’s a smart guy, picked up the offense already, done a great job with the plays that we’ve given him. There are no worries there at all.”
Q: On young players earning responsibilities
Ryans: “When it comes to the responsibility for all of our guys. Whether you’re a young guy, old guy, how can you help us on game day? We only get 48 guys on game day, so who can go out there again and do multiple things. If you’re a receiver, you can’t just line up and be a starting receiver. You have to be able to provide something for a special teams-wise, whether that’s returning or helping out in some of the other phases. The more you can do, the better.”
Q: On conversations with the opposing coaches to coordinate joint practices
Ryans: “With the joint practice, we definitely communicate with the other coaches. Myself and the other head coach communicate; also our coordinators are talking. You want to try to get some things schematically that we haven’t seen a ton of. We can do that, we want to work that for sure. From my mindset, let’s put the ball down and let’s go to work. It really doesn’t matter, throw your playbook at us. Let’s see how our rules and things we’re teaching our guys, how do they hold up? It’s not a lot of coordinating, ‘Hey, I want to see this, I want to see that.’ There are some one offs here and there. For the most part, we want to see our guys go out and just compete. Let’s go against a really good team.”
Q: On if ball skills can be developed
Ryans: “From my perspective, when you talk about taking the football away, in my short history of doing this and coaching, evaluating guys who have taken the ball away in high school and college, they tend to take the ball away in the NFL. Calen Bullock, for instance, he’s done it at a high level in college, going up, taking the football away. Of course, I think his baseball background has something to do that, playing center field, being able to track the football. He has really great hand-eye coordination and confidence in his hands. Derek Stingley, another guy, we’re doing our ball meeting a couple years ago and Coach Dino [Vaso] pulled up old high school clip of Stingley picking the football off. He picked it off exactly the same way he picked it off versus Denver. Overhead, going up, picking the ball. Did I coach Stingley to do that? No? It’s just a great ability that God has given him, that he has a knack for going and taking the football away. I’ll try to find guys who have production in their history, high school, college and it will definitely translate to the NFL. Same way, if a guy hadn’t caught any in college, I can’t give him too much of a hard time when he doesn’t catch one here.”
Q: On what goes into taking the ball away as a defensive back
Ryans: “When you take the ball away, you know and know you know. You have to have that confidence: ‘When can I step in front of a route and really take the ball? Or do I just need to play it safe and just bat the ball down?’ There’s a fine line for players and you just know in those split seconds. That’s why these guys are as great as they are: because they can make those split-second decisions that only they feel in their mind and they can make. You talk about taking the ball away. I’m thinking about Stingley last year versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. He has a shallow route. He’s chasing him backside. Most players are probably just going to try to, ‘Hey, I’m kind of behind the route. I’m kind of just going to play the ball,’ but Stingley and trusting his hands and his ability, he goes and snatches that ball one-handed. One of the best plays I’ve ever seen.”
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said after Day 14 on training camp
Reporting by Cole Thompson, Texans Wire / Texans Wire
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By Cole Thompson, Texans Wire | USA TODAY Network
