On Tuesday, Gary Kubiak spoke at the Touchdown Club Luncheon. I will put a link here if/when the Texans post it on their site. [Update: Video here] The main theme of the talk was that goals remain the same, even if they way you envisioned getting those goals didn’t go the way you planned. You know, without much of the services of Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson, Mario Williams.

There will be all sorts of talk this off-season hoping for this, predicting that, but usually football like life doesn’t go exactly as you plan.

He spoke a great deal about this year’s rookies, and here’s the sum up:

Whitney Mercilus. Impressive. Will see the field as part of a group of Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed. Bright.

DeVier Posey. Coaching him hard because he wants him to be prepared quickly.

Brandon Brooks. First guy off the bus fellow. Will push hard for a starting spot.

Keshawn Martin. He didn’t want to use the phrase because it isn’t quite right but called Martin a “pleasant surprise.” He knew about the return ability, but has been impressed with his WR skills.

Ben Jones. Coach forgot to mention him, but he was talking about the rookies off the top of his head. And mentioned out loud he was worried about missing someone. Oops.

Jared Crick. Best compliment he gets from other coaching staffs is about how hard the Texans play. Crick is a plays hard guy.

Randy Bullock. Not being given the job. Competing for it.

Nick Mondek. Raw. Learning. Compared him to Newton as a raw but athletic body that they can work with to improve for what they do.

What Kubiak went out of his way to say? He made a point to be very complimentary of the players no longer with the Texans. Players who were contributors. And that what this season is all about is finding out who the Next Man Up is in not just replacing injured players but the good players they no longer have.

Random thoughts for Tuesday OTAs:

Wide Receivers. Kevin Walter wasn’t at practice due to illness. So all the rest of the wide receivers doing drills were the inexperienced ones without NFL experience. Kubiak during OTAs watches QB/WRs pretty carefully.

Schaub. Matt Schaub was doing agility drills on a side field with a number of other players who were not practicing. Looks like he is moving very well. Not allowed to shoot video of recovering players, but the best way to explain is that I have two never-surgically-repaired feet, and am reasonably gym fit, and I don’t think I could be doing the drills Schaub was doing. He was moving very well. If you didn’t know he was injured last season, you wouldn’t know by watching him now.

Right Side of Offensive Line. Interesting comments on Brandon Brooks/Derek Newton today from Kubiak:

(on RG Brandon Brooks) “I see flashes that he’s capable of being a starter in this League. He’s got a great opportunity. He’s out there going head-to-head with Gump (Antoine Caldwell) every day. It will be interesting to see how he does once we put the pads on. With his size and stuff, there’s been talk about that he’s not our type of guy. That’s bull. He can do everything we want him to do. It will be interesting to see how he does.” (on T Derek Newton) “(Derek) Newton is a totally different guy than last year. He’s much more understanding of pro football and schemes, so his talents are taking over. He’s going to push the heck out of (Rashad) Butler. It’s going to be fun to watch. The best guy will come out of it, so he’s doing well.”

It might be a lot to ask for two guys who haven’t started to start together, but physically they are very impressive. They both physically look like they belong first team but it is the mental aspect that can be particularly challenging, especially to maintain form while being tested during games. Waiting for pads on time…

Cushing. No more details about Brian Cushing’s knee other than they may end up holding him out for the rest of the week as a precaution. For what it is worth, he doesn’t have his knees wrapped or iced or is favoring either one at all.

Houston. June. Hot. Duh. May have been hottest day of OTA’s on Tuesday. Start temperature of 86, with very little wind. When training camp comes, they will see those sorts of temperatures at 8:00 am in the morning.

Anything you wish to know in particular? I could keep writing but it’s easier to answer your questions.