Tuesday night brought the second episode of HBO's latest installment "Hard Knocks," giving us an all-access look at training camp with the Houston Texans. Here's what we learned about the Texans from the episode:
1) Bill O'Brien went to the Crash Davis school of media
O'Brien gave the Texans a lesson of how to avoid answering difficult questions from the media by giving them lines that don't actually give the media any information. “I’m just trying to be a good teammate” and “We’re just taking it one day at a time” were two of his favorites - he then quizzed several rookies to make sure they understood.
That got us thinking...where have we heard this before?
2) Jadeveon Clowney is BACK
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft was forced to miss almost all of last season after undergoing microfracture surgery, but he returned to practice for the first time at the end of the episode. We got a good montage of him working out in which we got to see his trademark speed and strength. Clowney was tossing around blocking sleds like they were made out of styrofoam...safe to say that he looks ready.
3) DeAndre Hopkins wants to own a Yorkie to put in his manbag
This was an actual conversation that transpired in a NFL locker room:
Hopkins: "I'm thinking about getting a little dog. I'm thinking about getting a little yorkie, so I can have like a manbag. I can put my dog in my manbag."
EZ Nwachukwu: "Please don't."
Hopkins: "That’s European. (Turns to other receivers) If I had a little yorkie and I had like a man bag would y’all judge me?”
Cecil Shorts: "Bougie"
Nwachukwu: "I wouldn't judge you, bro. I would delete your number."
Shorts: "I wouldn’t judge you."
Jaelen Strong: "I would judge you."
Shorts: "I wouldn't judge you, but I would just know you're bougie. You're high maintenance."
Nwachukwu: "You're trying to be great, you got a yorkie?"
Hopkins: “So I can bring it everywhere I go. I’m not at home all the time."
Unidentified voice: "You want to take care of the dog everywhere you go?"
Hopkins: "Yeah like, in the club with my dog."
4) Running back is still a big question mark
Now, back to some actual football talk. Houston is looking for one of their running backs to step up for injured starter Arian Foster, but no one has stepped up. Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard were both highlighted as playing well in the episode, though they were also seen struggling at times. O"Brien's frustration was highlighted when the Texans failed to score even though they seven (SEVEN) stright attempts to score a touchdown from inside the two yard line, showing the job is still very much up for grabs.
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