Rockets play Game 5 (Will Westbrook play?). Oakland A’s at MMP to face the Astros in a double-header. But first, check Dana Kunze as he attempts a 172-foot high dive. Have a great weekend everyone.

Texans hold a Thursday night scrimmage at NRG. PJ Hall, AJ Moore, and the Texans Defense reportedly had a decent outing in the scrimmage. It won’t be much longer until, Durga be willing, we get to see the Texans vs. Chiefs in a primetime slot to kick off the 2020 NFL season.

Observations from Houston Texans scrimmage at NRG Stadium
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt from article: Watson was also deliberate in his efforts to spread the ball around. The two-time Pro Bowler hit four different receivers, and went 5-for-5, according to KTRK’s Greg Bailey. It wasn’t the only perfect drive that Watson engineered, as he had another drive consisting of 4-for-4 for 69 yards and a touchdown pass to Kenny Stills.

Stills wasn’t the only receiver who had a good connection with Watson. Wilson from the Chronicle says that new addition Randall Cobb also managed to show off his cohesion with Watson.

The defense had their studs as outside linebacker Jacob Martin scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown. Reiss noted that safety A.J. Moore was omnipresent with 1.0 sack, two pass breakups, and an interception.

If plans hold there will be NFL games in the near future. RJ White with CBSsports.com lists game times (in Eastern Time, by the way). As the storm rolls in, Houston Texans will meet virtually and reassess plans for a Thursday scrimmage.

2020 NFL schedule: Date and time for all 256 games of 2020 NFL season, including Texans-Chiefs opener
By RJ White, CBSsports.com

Excerpt from article: For months now, we have known who each NFL team will be playing in the 2020 season. But it’s been an open question of when we would get a full 2020 NFL schedule as sports leagues around the world continue to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. Much like the league did with the draft in April, the NFL stuck to its plan of releasing a full 2020 schedule in early May, and the entire 256-game slate dropped then. While contingency plans must be kept in mind should COVID-19 force a delayed start to the NFL season, we now know each team’s full schedule if the league is able to start on time.

Texans adjusting schedule as Houston braces for Hurricane Laura to make landfall
By Kevin Patra, NFL.com

Excerpt from article: Hurricane Laura is expected to barrel into Eastern Texas and Louisiana.

In response, the Houston Texans will leave early Wednesday to ensure everyone gets home safely, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. The team will meet virtually on Thursday and reassess the report time and planned scrimmage after making sure it’s safe to return to the stadium.

Laura is intensifying into a Category 3 hurricane as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico. According to the National Hurricane Center, it is strengthening into a Category 4 as it prepares to make landfall beginning early Thursday morning.

Warring has a breakout performance in Day 9 of Texans training camp. Two Reids are better than one: Justin Reid we know about, and now rookie CB John Reid is making a name for himself in Texans camp thus far.

Training Camp Day 9 | The Harris Hits
By John Harris, Texans Analyst

Excerpt from article: A few drives later, Warring was on the field with Deshaun Watson and the quarterback looked him up in the end zone. Warring ran a corner route near the back of the end zone while the defense was in man coverage. Watson lofted one to the back corner and Warring leapt above the defensive back in coverage and snatched the ball out of the air as if that was the last pass on earth. Touchdown! His teammates went crazy and I’m not really sure if Warring realized what he’d done. He kind of had this quizzical look on his face after he came down with the touchdown but his teammates all knew – that was a DUDE Play.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien says CB John Reid may have had ‘best camp of any rookie’
By Mark Lane, TexansWire

Excerpt from article: Reid, who famously turned down a recruiting barbecue at Penn State in order to study more film, has the genus of maturity that lines up with what the Texans are looking for in “dependable, tough, smart” players.

“He’s got a routine already,” O’Brien said. “He’s in here early. He’s taking care of his body. He’s studying tape. He’s in the meetings. He spends extra time with his coaches. He’s taking advantage of his reps. He’s just a really focused.”

Instead of links to Texans stories, today we’ll spotlight a YouTube video by TexansFilms that features Deshaun Watson’s six 4th-quarter game-winning/comeback drives in 2019 (regular and postseason).

The Decline of Earl Thomas. Brandin Cooks impresses John Harris in Day 7 of Texans camp. Chat it up, chatter heads. Yeah that sounds lame, I know. :/

The Decline Of Earl Thomas: What Did The Texans Know?
By Mike Fisher

Excerpt from the article: A year ago, it was the assessment of none other than Earl Thomas himself that the Houston Texans’ evaluation of him was that “he didn’t want to play football.’‘

Thomas made the Pro Bowl following his 2019 campaign with the Baltimore Ravens, so if that was truly coach/GM Bill O’Brien’s post-phone-call impression of the then-free-agent Thomas, it wasn’t exactly right.

But maybe O’Brien knew something else about Thomas … something beyond on-field will … something the Ravens are now painfully dealing with.

Training Camp Day 7 | The Harris Hits
by John Harris, Texans Analyst

Excerpt from the article: A little while later, Cooks made a catch on an absolute laser from Deshaun Watson as he crossed the field. I texted Marc Vandermeer up in his perch to say “yeah, that’s good enough – wrap him in bubble wrap”. That’s what Marc, Andre and I talk about during preseason games when we’ve seen enough to know a guy is ready “Wrap him in bubble wrap – we’ve seen enough”. I want to see more every day from Cooks because I’m greedy that way. What I saw today, though, was enough for me to be giddy about what he can do for this Texans squad this year.

Hang out at Texans Chat. Let me introduce you to one of my favorite ‘Tubers. His name is Mark Wiens, and he travels the world eating street food and making us all very jealous of it.

Below is his video from Oaxaca, Mexico. If you don’t want to go on the entire journey, at least watch the clip below which starts at the 31-minute mark to watch some amazing elote/elotes being prepared. So the guy at the stand slathers mayo with lime juice squeezed onto the mayo, then rolls the cob of corn in cotija cheese (crumbled in the big plastic container), and then it’s on to the sauces (I know one of those is Bufalo sauce, which is available in a lot of stores) and tajin seasoning salt which is also a regular item in stores, in Texas and the southwest at least.

Anyways, thought I’d share a cool video. Next weekend I’ll post something else. Have a great weekend, Chat Heads!