(SportsRadio 610) - This is year two of the shortened preseason (3 games) and extended regular season (17 games).
With those changes still very new, and coaches and players across the league still adapting as to how they’ll use the preseason for regular starters, Texans head coach Lovie Smith is seemingly using it as a ramping up process.
“As far as the game (Friday against the Rams), we're going to play some of the guys a little bit more, but the third preseason game is when we'll play the guys the most," Smith said. "I'm not going to get into how much every guy is going to play. We'll show up at the game and see that."
Typically, for years, teams would use the third preseason game to play most of their regulars and treat it like a regular season game. Some team may still opt to use that second to last game if the preseason as an opportunity to get their starters the most reps, but that remains to be seen.
As for Smith and the Texans, they’ve got their plan and their sticking to it.
Here's what to watch for Friday against the Rams:
Pep it up
Texans offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton didn’t show his hand much at all against the Saints. Don’t expect things to change too dramatically Friday night against the Rams. Hamilton told the media earlier this week his plan wasn’t to showcase too much.
“The plan for us was to come out and really try to establish a physicality, a physical nature in how we want to approach the game and we feel like for the most part our guys came out and they played hard for four quarters,” Hamilton said.
We are likely to see Davis Mills and a good chunk of his starting offense get an additional series or two under their belts and opportunity to extend drives as the two series Mills had last Saturday ended almost as soon as they began with two quick three and outs.
Pierce solidifying a starter role
It may be a little premature, but after an already strong showing in training camp and his performance last Saturday against the Saints, it seems clear rookie Dameon Pierce is the best running back on the team right now. Pierce ran the ball five times for 49 yards and impressed pass blocking.
As the mantra for the Texans goes though, it’s about stacking more good days together than bad. Pierce putting together back to back good games could help him solidify a stiffening competition in the running back room.
The Texans have five running backs on the roster, including Marlon Mack, Rex Burkhead, Royce Freeman, Dare Ogunbowale along with Pierce.
The rookie out of Florida, Pierce, didn’t get into the game Saturday until the third quarter. It’ll be interesting to see and telling if his performance last weekend earns him some reps with the first unit Friday.
Opportunity is knocking
There is competition at every position group. Within the secondary, it’s poor timing for Tavierre Smith to be dealing with injury. He has an injured quad and is out indefinitely and will not play against the Rams. He’s had a solid camp and remains to be seen if someone else can step up and seize the opportunity for more reps.
Texans first round pick, rookie offensive lineman Kenyon Green just returned from a concussion in recent days after missing nearly two weeks. Head coach Lovie Smith said he’s on schedule.
“Eventually we'll get him out there," Smith said. "The biggest thing was to get him back into the mix.”
Green was an observer at practice Tuesday but practiced with his team Wednesday, but ran with the backups for much of it before eventually getting reps with the starters, next to left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
Don’t expect to see much of Green Saturday if any at all, though he needs reps as the time he’s missed due to concussion has been invaluable.
Lovie Smith said he doesn’t feel the need to rush anyone back, especially Green.
“It’s not like we’re just throwing him out there, cold turkey,” Smith said. “We kind of like the way he’s going.”
Keep an eye on who the Texans start this week. Against the Saints last Saturday they went with Charlie Heck, Justin Mcray, Scott Quessenberry, AJ Cann and Tytus Howard in the first two series with Mills under center. Max Scharping was getting reps with the starters Wednesday before giving way to Green.
Throw me the ball
The Texans were being led for much of the game last Saturday by quarterback Jeff Driskel, who did lead a comeback that ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Johnny Johnson III in the final minute to win it 17-13.
However, while Davis Mills and his receiving core have worked tirelessly during and after practice on routes and timing, they need game reps. receiver Chris Moore talked about the importance of those reps earlier this week.
“He's got to trust that I'm going to be in the spot that he expects me to be in, and I've got to trust that he's going to throw it there,” Moore said. “Just consistently seeing each other being in those spots is going to help a lot.”
As Mills and the offense are expected to get more time together Friday night in LA, look for Nico Collins, Chris Moore, and Jalen Camp, who caught a touchdown from Driskel last weekend, along with Johnny Johnson III, to garner some targets from Mills.
It’s a late one Friday night from LA, the Texans and Rams won’t kick it until 9 p.m. CT. Make sure to listen to the pre-game show (6pm-9pm) and postgame show, immediately following the game on Sports Radio 610, or on the Audacy app.