Today was a good day for the defense. The front 7 got after the QB, and the secondary had some really good moments.
Today's report:
The Good
CB Jason Allen - Jason had a great day. He jumped a lot of routes and made a lot of plays on the ball. He didn't intercept one, but he batted down quite a few. Also had a nice play on a deep ball thrown to Lestar Jean. Didn't make a play on the ball, but he stuck on him and forced Leinart to overthrow him.
CB Johnathan Joseph - Joseph did get beat by 'Dre a few times, but he made one spectacular play. Schaub had a nice PA fake, and threw it to AJ on a a nicely run curl route. JJo then jumped the route and nearly had a pick. He covered up Dorin Dickerson and Kevin Walter a couple of times too.
WR Andre Johnson - AJ had some fantastic catches today. Whenever he was on the field, Joseph was on him. The highlight of the day for him was a really nice post route. Schaub put it right on the money, and AJ snatched it out of the air. That was the one play where Joseph was a good 2 or 3 yards behind Andre.
DE/DT J.J. Watt - The right side of the OL, especially Eric Winston, continues to get abused by this guy. He's dynamite against the run. Also had some good pass rushes against Brisiel too.
NT/DT Earl Mitchell - Mitchell was the same as yesterday, except he was a little more violent with his hands. He consistently disrupted the line of scrimmage. Great camp so far for EM.
WR Lestar Jean - This guy might be a legitimate deep threat. He's got some speed, and he's 6'5". Matt Leinart threw a pretty deep ball to him about 30 yards down field and he caught it with Brandon Harris defending him. Jean also had a nice crossing route and got a 10-15 yard gain.
CB Brandon Harris - Aside from the play where Jean got the best of him, Harris was solid. The one play that stuck out was when Jeff Maehl ran a really nice in-and-out move, and Harris didn't bite on the first move. Harris has impressed me the most in camp aside from Watt.
DE/DT Antonio Smith - Antonio was a beast today. He was clogging up running lanes, and he was really getting after the QB. On a Nickel situation, Antonio got by Wade Smith and got to Schaub with ease. Then, a few plays later, Antonio got by Smith again for another sack. Our DLine on Nickel and Dime situations is scary. Watt and Smith are going to get up the middle, with Mario and Barwin coming from the edge.
ILB Darryl Sharpton - Sharpton shoots gaps like no other. He made a lot of plays in the backfield and at the line of scrimmage today. However, he struggled in pass coverage. OD continues to get the best of him. The only positive out of that is that OD is a top 3 TE when healthy.
ILB DeMeco Ryans - This was the Captain's best day of camp, IMO. He was covering a lot better, and he was very explosive, especially while blitzing on Nickel and Dime situations. One play that stuck out is when he just demolished Chris Myers and nearly got to Schaub.
DE Tim Jamison - Tim's going to be a solid rotation player for us, especially on running downs. He got by his man multiple times and made a few TFLs.
The Bad
RT Eric Winston - This was Winston's worse day of camp, from what I've seen. Watt constantly got the best of him on running plays. On a stretch play to Winston's side, Watt just bull rushed him and pushed him back, which forced Ward to cut back and run right into Shaun Cody. On another play, it was a stretch play to the left, and Watt got by Winston with ease and got to Ward at the line of scrimmage. Even Winston's pass blocking wasn't that great. I hope this doesn't continue.
LG Wade Smith - Wade had some good moments today, especially on running plays. However, Antonio Smith abused him in pass protection. Not a good day for Smith, or for the whole OL in general.
QB Matt Schaub - Schaub made good throws today, but he missed some too. He missed a WIDE open Owen Daniels up the middle, and missed Kevin Walter on a nicely run slant route. Shouldn't be anything to worry about though.
The Ugly
Thankfully, nobody is on this list today. Kareem Jackson played better today, and Brice McCain didn't get enough reps to earn a spot on this list. Like I said, this was one of the best days of camp, so not many players played poorly.
Standout Player of the Day: Jason Allen/Antonio Smith - I forgot to do this yesterday, so It feels fitting to give this "award" to two players. Both guys played very well today. Smith caused hell in the trenches, and Allen was on lockdown the entire practice.
