HOUSTON – For an offensive line displaying some signs of progress, they have some big decisions to make.
Primarily, that involves deciding on a first-team offensive line configuration for the season-opener Sept. 7 against the Los Angeles Rams at Sofi Stadidum.
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Competing against the Texans’ defense should provide a boost for the offensive line, because few groups will have bookend pass rushers the caliber of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.
Some of the decisions will hinge on availability as far as health. Veteran left tackle Cam Robinson, signed to a one-year, $14.5 million contract this offseason after previous stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars, returned to practice from a lower leg injury Monday. Robinson operated with the second-team offense mostly because of the time he’s missed since getting hurt at The Greenbrier in practice.
“We’ll mix the guys up, throw them in there,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We’ll see how Cam does as he works his way back this week. I’m just happy that he’ll be back. That’s one thing about injuries, you never know. You never know with everyone when it’s your last snap when a guy goes down on the field.
“It’s always a sensitive topic with the injuries and how hard it is for all of our guys and what they go through as players. I’m happy to have Cam back on the field. However our lineup looks, it’ll shape itself out.”
The Texans’ first-team line was comprised Monday of rookie left tackle Aireontae Ersery, a second-round draft pick and former Big Ten Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year, left guard Laken Tomlinson, a former Pro Bowl selection, former New England Patriots center Jake Andrews, former Vikings second-round right guard Ed Ingram and right tackle Tytus Howard.
If Robinson is ready for the season-opener, the Texans could shuffle the line back to an original group of him at left tackle, Tomlinson at guard, Andrews at center, Howard at right guard and Ersery at right tackle.
Ersery has excelled at left tackle, his natural position where he shut down Penn State star edge Abdul Carter last season. Ersery stacked consecutively strong performances against the Vikings and Carolina Panthers.
“I think Ersery, in the game, did a really good job where he was, at left,” Ryans said. “That’s the focus. Wherever you line up, do the best with where you are. I really don’t worry about guys having to move around. When you’re called upon, can you go out and execute what’s being asked of you and can you do it at a consistently high level with high energy, high passion and he’s shown that over these first two preseason games.”
Blake Fisher suffered an ankle sprain against Carolina. It’s on the milder scale of ankle sprains, per a source.
After struggling against the Vikings and in camp with false starts, he was outstanding against Carolina as he graded out highly in pass protection. Now, he’s sidelined for an undetermined amount of time. He already lost the competition with Ersery, but could help the team as a viable swing tackle.
“Blake did a really nice job this past game of sticking on blocks, hat on a hat, working his feet, finishing blocks,” Ryans said. “That’s how it should look. He has it in him. Blake just has to be consistent with what we’re doing, consistent with training, consistently finish every single rep because physically he has all the tools that it takes to be able to do that. This game was representative of what he can do when he’s dialed in, and he’s focused on the task and he goes after the job with the right mindset.”
Against the Panthers, the Texans made strides as a line.
Running back Nick Chubb, the projected starter while Pro Bowl runner Joe Mixon continues to rehab a foot-ankle injury suffered working out away from the team and is on the non-football injury list, had his moments against Carolina. He rushed for 25 yards on five carries.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud was sacked just once and it was a coverage sack against the Panthers as he completed 6 of 8 passes for 44 yards and one touchdown pass to Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins.
“I think the offensive line did a great job,” Chubb said. “I think all camp, since I’ve been here, there’s been a focus point of being physical up front. Those guys come in every day. Nick prides ourselves on that. He makes sure we run the ball in practice to build the physicality of our team.”
“It’s very physical. Every day, guys come in with full pads, a lot of the time. That’s changing the culture. I think everyone had the mindset, ‘We’re coming in every day. We’re coming to work and there’s not going to be many days off.’ That’s the biggest thing of just getting everybody’s mind right. We’re in the building, we’re here to work.”
The offensive line has undergone dramatic changes after struggling mightily last season, especially during a playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
It was that kind of substandard performance that triggered watershed changes in the leadership of the position group and major personnel changes. If the Texans don’t allow eight sacks and 14 quarterback hits to the Chiefs, perhaps they would have made franchise history as the first Texans team to win a divisional round playoff game and advance to the AFC championship game.
That game may have marked the breaking point for the coaching staff and personnel department, leading to what coach Ryans called a reset of the line. Since that game, the Texans fired offensive line coach Chris Strausser and replaced him with Popovich, who was promoted from assistant line coach to head offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
Five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and his expensive contract were traded to the Washington Commanders. Right guard Shaq Mason was released. Left guard and former first-round draft pick Kenyon Green was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. And Robinson and Tomllinson were acquired as free agents, Andrews off waivers, reuniting him with Popovich, his position coach at Troy University, and drafting Ersery.
It’s a new day in Houston for the offensive line, and a new singular voice leading them in Popovich, a former Patriots offensive line coach mentored by legendary New England assistant coach Dante Scarneccia.
“I think the biggest thing is really just want to have a tough offensive line that plays the game in a way that the whole team can kind of see,” Popovich told KPRC 2. “There’s a toughness established from our group there, right? We’re not shying away from any kind of contact. And then, really, the other thing would be just a smart group.
“I don’t want missed assignments. That’s the biggest things. We’re trying to play clean football, trying to eliminate bad football. Play very tough, be assignment-sound, and I think we’ll be okay if we do those things."
Popovich’s primary tasks for next season will be upgrading the pass protection issues that the team dealt with last season as quarterback C.J. Stroud was sacked 52 times, up from 38 sacks when he was NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year two seasons ago.
Although the Texans haven’t specifically named any starters, the first-team offensive line is taking shape.
Popovich drew praise from Texans offensive linemen in his first season in Houston when the team improved to 12th in total offense after ranking 31st in 2022.
Popovich, 39, is a former Patriots assistant running backs coach and coaching assistant who has also coached at the college level.
During Popovich’s season assisting with the running backs in New England, Sony Michel rushed for 912 yards as the Patriots finished with a 12-4 record and won the AFC East. He helped coach the Patriots to a top-10 offense in four of his first five NFL seasons.
What Popovich believes in was largely built through a foundation of the teachings of Scarneccia.
“That’s the best coach I’ve been around and it was a very clear, simple teaching progression and just the same messages every single day,” Popovich said. “In terms of techniques, very, very simple. We do the same drills over and over again. We don’t try to reinvent the wheel. We just feel like if we can just get really good at these basic techniques, that everything will take care of itself. I wouldn’t be here without Dante, so kind of owe everything to him.”
Popovich coached at Minot State as an offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator and previously at Utah State, Fresno City College and Los Angeles Valley College.
He was a four-year starting offensive guard at Fresno State and a former freshman All-American.
“I really love coach Pop,’ said Tomlinson, a former Pro Bowl selection. ”He’s an offensive line coach through and through. Everything that he’s doing for the guys right now, I truly appreciate it because he has a vision for us and we’re moving full-steam ahead, working towards that.”
‘A special coach,’ Texans hire Nick Caley as new offensive coordinator
Ersery, who played for Brian Callahan with the Golden Gophers, is getting up to speed on the right side after primarily playing left tackle in college where he once shut down Carter, the New York Giants’ first-round draft pick.
Playing for Popovich is similar to Ersery’s college experience.
“I think having Cole Popovich is a great addition,” Ersery said. “Just his mindset and what he brings every day to the offensive line room as a coach, as a person and as a man. We don’t do anything but feed off of it, the energy that he brings, the details that he brings. Having vets in the offensive line room helps too.”
Ersery is 6-foot-6, 331 pounds and is athletic enough that he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.01 seconds at the NFL scouting combine.
"He’s a big, strong guy," Popovich said. “He’s a strong tackle that has good power, he can sink and anchor. We really liked a lot of the stuff that he showed and he played the game with some toughness. I think that stood out on the tape."
Popovich’s contract was expiring this offseason and now he’s back with the defending AFC South champions after they hired Caley as offensive coordinator. Popovich and Caley were assistant coaches on Super Bowl winning staffs with the Patriots under coach Bill Belichick.
“I have a lot of respect, I think he’s a phenomenal coach,” Caley said of Popovich. “He’s really smart. He’s an extremely hard worker. He really cares about the guys. He is a mentally and physically tough dude. Look at him, he looks like he could squat a house.
“I got a lot of experience with him. I’ve been through a lot of games with him in the past, dating back to New England, and he’s always growing. He’s always searching to be the best that he can be. He’s got a growth mindset and I’m really thankful that we get to work together again.”
Ersery has primarily been a left tackle in college, but has played both sides for the Texans. He’s regarded as more of a natural left tackle, but he could play either side as a rookie. What’s certain: He’s a starter.
“I’m comfortable at tackle, either tackle,” Ersery said. “So, whatever they put me at, wherever they want me at that’s what I want to do and try to be my best at. I really haven’t done anything, but we’ve still got ways to go.”
The Texans’ offensive line has had its issues during training camp competing against Pro Bowl bookend pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr.
It’s been a difficult situation at times for Stroud to run plays due to how disruptive the defensive line has been.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that progress isn’t being made by the line. It’s hard to know what they’ll be like in the regular season against some front sevens that aren’t as talented as the Texans.
“We’re in a little bit of a new situation where there’s so many new faces in that room,” Popovich said. “And so just trying to get everybody reps so they can show what they can do. At some point, we will be like, ‘Here’s our five, here is kind of the next guys in the game.’
“And we’ll have plenty of time to get to that. It’s a very long season in the NFL. And what usually happens is you don’t have those same five guys, unfortunately. Like injuries are part of the game, and so all this goes into that. It’s just helpful to get guys working with different people, different sides of the line. You just build some versatility in the whole group."
The real test for an offensive lineman is in live game reps, but, so far, Howard looks and feels comfortable as the Texans’ new starting right guard. It was a position of instability last season as Mason’s play regressed and he was released and former second-round pick Juice Scruggs didn’t solidify the spot
“I love it, man,” Howard told KPRC 2. “Just getting these reps in, Probably the first time I got a chance to get this many reps in at guard before the season started. So, I’m doing the best I can do to get the technique down. And the coaches have been doing a tremendous job helping me with that."
With this latest move, Howard is displaying his positional flexibility again. He’s played left guard, right tackle, left tackle and, now, right guard. He has played every spot but center. Could he do it?
“If I had to, if I had to,” he said. “The more you can do. I’m a guy who can play at every spot on the offensive line. I can play at a high level at every spot. I just gotta keep working and continue to get better. I feel like this year is gonna be my biggest year.”
The offensive line has been characterized as the biggest question mark on the defending AFC South champions’ roster. How all of the changes work out will have a large hand in determining whether this team can make a long playoff run. To say they’re hungry to prove themselves is a vast understatement.
“We’ve got a chip on our shoulders and people underestimate what we’re going to be this year, but, you know that’s their problem,” Howard said. “When that first game comes and we come off that ball and hit them in the mouth, like they’re gonna be, ‘These guys are for real.’
“Every day isn’t gonna be perfect. But I’m telling you when that game comes and they see what the offensive line is about, we’re going to be ready."
The Texans fired offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik and Strausser, hiring former Los Angeles Rams tight ends coach and passing game coordinator Nick Caley as offensive coordinator and promoted assistant line coach Cole Popovich to offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
Popovich is heading into his third season with the Texans. A former Fresno State starting offensive lineman, Popovich broke into the NFL as a coaching assistant in 2016 before being promoted to assistant running backs coach working with Sony Michel then being named co-offensive line coach when Scarneccia retired.
Howard has one word for the stamp Popovich is placing on the offensive line: “Nasty.”
Popovich left the Patriots in the offseason for personal family reasons related to mandatory NFL Covid-19 vaccine regulations and coached high school football in Franklin, Massachusetts. He was then hired at Troy University as their head offensive line coach before joining the Texans and winning two consecutive AFC South division titles as part of Ryans’ first two seasons in Houston.
“You gotta play with a lot of grit,” Howard said. “When offensive lines are physical that don’t take (expletive) from nobody and they just establish, the dominance up front, he exemplifies that every morning, every day on the field And you want that in the coach because you’re only gonna rub off on the offensive line and he holds us to a high standard."
Both Popovich and Caley are big believers in Scarneccia, who was known for his hard-nosed, fix-it, get-it-right approach to protecting star quarterback Tom Brady.
Inside the Patriots’ meeting rooms and practice fields, Caley and Popovich interacted for years while gaining knowledge from Belichick and Scarneccia.
At the time, Caley was the Patriots’ tight ends coach working with All-Pro Rob Gronkowski. And Popovich was a rising coach who helped replace Scarneccia when he retired after more than three decades in New England.
Now, the two longtime friends are collaborating on an important task for the defending AFC South champion Texans: fixing a reconfigured offensive line.
How Caley and Popovich implement a sounder plan to keep Stroud healthy and standing will go a long way toward upgrading an offense that dipped to 22nd in total offense and 19th in scoring last season for a Texans squad headlined by its aggressive defense led by Ryans.
“Cole as our offensive line coach to lead that room, just having one voice to lead it, I feel really strong about that,” Ryans said. “Cole helped a lot of our young players when it came to developing. He had a really great relationship with a lot of guys, and I think very highly of Cole and what he’s able to do.
“I think him having a prior relationship with Nick as well, and them being able to work together and them to hit the ground running instantly, I think that also lead to my decision, and I know we’ll be better for it.”
The Texans have a joint practice Thursday with the Detroit Lions. They’ll compete against a stout Lions defense that includes defensive end Aidan Hutchinson.
“Super beneficial,” Ersery said. “Going against a different team instead of our own guys who are super talented as well. But we get a chance to go down there and really just establish what we want to be this season.”
NOTES: Texans linebacker Christian Harris took snaps with the first-team defense as he increases his activity in a return from a calf injury that kept him out the majority of last season.
Running back Dameon Pierce practiced and moved well as he works his way back from a strained quadriceps that kept him out since the spring.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com