HOUSTON -- Bill O’Brien cancelled the last day of minicamp for the Houston Texans on Thursday, but not before having a team meeting to stress the importance of the next five weeks.
With the Texans’ offseason program officially over, the players have off until July 25, when they will check in for training camp in Houston and fly as a team to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia to begin camp.
“The biggest concern I have is the five weeks they have off when we’re not around them,” O’Brien said. “Especially the younger guys. With our rookie development program, we really try to guide them as to what they should be doing. One of those things is having their iPads and being able to watch the tape, their playbooks and being able to read their notes and not just head to the beach for five weeks and try to get a good tan. I mean, that’s not what it’s all about.
“You’re trying to make the team; you’re trying to make the team better. I think that’s a big time period for them so that when they come back for training camp it’s not like we’re starting over again, it’s more of a refresher course, and they’re ready to go.”
Because O’Brien knows the importance of the second half of the offseason, he and the Texans’ coaching staff have put processes into place to help the players -- especially the rookies -- stay focused in late June and July.
“We have a rookie development program that has a lot to do with when they’re not here with us,” O’Brien said. “What are they doing? What is their plan? What is their plan relative to football? What’s their plan relative to not being around football?
“Our training staff and our strength staff will be here to work with these guys every single day -- lifting, running, rehabbing in the training room. So, there’s a lot of things in place for these guys to be able to be here and train. … It’s all about being ready to go on July 25th.”
The message had gotten through to quarterback Tom Savage, who has a plan in place on how he is going to maximize the next five weeks with his teammates.
“They say this is a little offseason break, but this really isn’t a time for a break. I’m going to get some of the guys together, [and] we’re going to throw and kind of just keep moving forward. We can’t plateau here. Go into training camp running.”
While O’Brien mentioned the potential difficulties an NFL offseason presents for rookies, he is confident in the team’s veteran core to keep them on the right track heading into training camp.
“I think we do a good job here of telling everybody the concerns and worries [of] being a rookie, being young in the NFL, having a bunch of time on your hands,” wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. “We do a good job here and everybody takes care of everybody. This is a close team. If we see somebody doing the wrong thing, we’re going to let them know. I think they have good leadership ... to look at and what they do in the offseason.”