Houston Texans 7-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson is back! He arrived at training camp Friday off Kirby Drive but something was amiss. Almost from the moment he stepped foot in the Texans practice facility, Andre detected something different, something palpable in the midst of the soaring heat & drenching humidity, something more than just the variations in offensive terminology and formations.
“The few hours I spent with my teammates, just the whole atmosphere of just being here the past few hours, it’s totally different than it’s been in the past,” Johnson said at the team press conference this morning. “Guys are excited. The atmosphere is more upbeat probably than it’s ever been. I think this staff that came in they’ve just brought in a winning attitude. They make you feel like you can go out & do that. They’re giving us the confidence that if we go out & do what we’re supposed to do, we’ll be successful.”
Johnson was greeted by a standing ovation by his fellow teammates when he entered the facility, and it was more than genuine. By the sound of it from some of the players, the applause was more like: “Finally, Andre! Thank goodness you’re here! Now let’s get to work!”.
So what was all the fuss about, Andre? We all know the saying that when it’s not about the money, it IS about the money.
But let’s take Andre at his word. It was also about pent-up frustration that finally boiled over after 11 non-Super years with the Texans.
“What I said in the offseason had to do with things that have happened over the past 8, 9 years or so,” Johnson said. “I never really just voiced my opinion on it, but I think at times there comes a time when you don’t agree with something, things need to be said. That’s pretty much what it was.”
Last year’s 2-14 season was “frustrating for everybody” Johnson said, a truth we all hold self-evident. “I felt the way I felt. It is what it is. But none of that really matters now because I’m here.”
The most frustrating thing was “not being around my teammates”, he said.
I know you want answers why Andre skipped OTAs & mini-camp. Well, whatever was said between Andre & Texans HQ — ie general manager Rick Smith & team owner Bob McNair — it’s staying behind closed doors.
“We talked about everything,” Johnson said. “I’m comfortable.”
Andre used that word “comfortable” several times, especially referring to his new head coach, Bill O’Brien. I have a hard time describing hard-nosed, all-business O’Brien as anything like a soft, snuggie fleece wrap, but Andre’s comfort with him began at a Houston Rockets basketball game where they met for the first time.
“The more we talked the more comfortable I got with him,” Johnson said. Since then “we’ve had great dialogue.”
Now Johnson says he’s more than “comfortable” with the direction O’Brien is steering the entire organisation.
No doubt the man pitching to Andre, starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, must quietly be thrilled that his number-one target is back. Andre’s presence on the field can translate to at least one or two victories alone with his ability to fight for yards after the catch & convert first downs. Maybe there will even be a fade or back-shoulder throw to Andre in the end zone now & then, something that was rarely seen in former head coach Gary Kubiak’s offense & a main reason for Andre’s more pedestrian yearly TD quota.
It’s a “great thing” to have Andre back, Fitzpatrick said, and now it’s time to play catch-up.
“I haven’t thrown to him at all,” Fitzpatrick said. However, he said he is sure that he & Andre can get on the “same page pretty quick”.
“I’ve thrown to a lot of guys in my career & I’ve seen a lot of tape on (Johnson),” Fitzpatrick said. Learning a new system together will require some time & plenty of communication. “That’s a big deal for us,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
A lot of work, including four preseason games, but it’s still football, and fortunately Andre still loves playing the game for the Houston Texans.
“If everything works out in a perfect world, I hope this is the only place that I play,” Johnson said. “I don’t plan on walking away from this.”
“I’m going to work my butt off, like I always do,” Johnson said. He promises he will learn everything in the playbook O’Brien’s staff has drawn up for him, and be ready “when it’s time for the real bullets to start flying.”
-HST Correspondent Anthony Guegel
Here’s more on Andre’s return in this Robert Land feature video.
