HOUSTON -- Texans quarterback David Carr and his father
vowed last season not to cut their hair until the Texans won
back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history.
Since it didn't happen, David Carr and Rodger Carr are still
sporting hairy looks.
The younger Carr has neatened his new wavy coif from time to
time but hardly resembles the buzzcut look he sported as a rookie.
Rodger Carr is looking a little shaggier, with his straight mane
reaching beyond his collar.
"I stuck with it," said the elder Carr, a fixture on the
sidelines at Texans practice.
Unlike David Carr, who says he'll probably stick with the new
style because his wife likes it, every oppressively Houston summer
day makes Rodger Carr want to climb into a barber's chair.
"Hopefully it will be real soon," he said on a typical August
day, with temperatures in the 90s and a "feels like" index
nearing 110 degrees. "This Texas heat -- it's hot."
Rodger Carr isn't the only member of the family ready for him to
ditch the hair helmet.
"My mom is about tired of it," David Carr said. "It's getting
pretty bad."
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^PEEK'S PIQUES: The Texans have been pretty businesslike during
their first week of training camp, except when reserve outside
linebacker Antwan Peek gets mad. Then all bets are off.
Peek and fullback Moran Norris got into fisticuffs after a play
Monday night, costing each $500 in fines and reprimands by coach
Dom Capers.
Wednesday's main event was between the 250-pound Peek and
316-pound reserve guard Milford Brown. Peek threw a wild uppercut
before teammates separated them.
Another fight, another fine for last year's third-round draft
choice out of Cincinnati.
"He might be playing his first couple of weeks for free,"
Capers joked after practice.
On a serious note, Capers said he appreciates players who bring
emotion to the field. It's just a question of harnessing it and
avoiding devastating penalties.
"You've got to play with emotion," Capers said. "I won't ever
discourage guys from being emotional, playing hard, playing
physical. But you have to play with poise, and there's going to be
times where it's real easy to lose it and it can cost you a
football game in a hurry.
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^QUICK REUNION: It won't take long for new Texans right tackle
Todd Wade to get reunited with the only other NFL team he's known.
Selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2000
draft, he started every game for them over the past four seasons
and was beginning to think he'd spend the rest of his career there.
But the Texans lured him with a five-year, $25 million deal.
His old team will be in Houston to practice with the Texans on
Friday and scrimmage Saturday.
"It's going to be a lot of fun. I look forward to it," Wade
said. "I'm still friends with a lot of guys on the team and I like
them. That's something you have to move past, and I'm looking
forward to facing them."
In fact, all three of the Texans' major free agent signings will
square off against their former teams in some capacity.
Former Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Robaire Smith will
have two regular-season games against his old mates. Tight end Mark
Bruener, who spent nine years with the Steelers, has a preseason
trip to Pittsburgh coming up.
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^NAME GAME: Football and the name Butkus are practically
synonymous. And it's not just limited to the history books.
Texans center Luke Butkus, Dick's nephew, has been plenty busy
in training camp because of injuries on the offensive line.
"These guys that either have an uncle of a father who played
the game, everybody recognizes their name," Butkus said. "A lot
of people, that was back in their era, and of course everybody
knows who Dick Butkus is."
Luke Butkus spent last year's training camp with the San Diego
Chargers and signed with the Texans in June. He's considered a long
shot to make the 53-man roster because the Texans already have an
experienced stable of interior linemen.
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EXTRA POINTS: The Texans and Dolphins will practice together
twice Friday and once Saturday morning before a scrimmage at
Reliant Stadium on Saturday. ... No college is better-represented
on the Texans' roster than Nebraska. PK Kris Brown, ILB Jay
Foreman, FS Jammal Lord, DT Jeremy Slechta and RG Zach Wiegert were
Cornhuskers. ... Asked how he refers to polysyllabic OT Brad
Lekkerkerker, Dom Capers deadpanned, "Brad." ... The punt return
job is wide open. The incumbent, WR J.J. Moses, is battling RB
Jason Anderson, WR Albert Johnson, CB Vontez Duff and CB Rober'
Freeman. ... The expansion label is off the Texans for the most
part, but every now and then a reminder crops up that they're a
third-year franchise. One example is in the records section of the
media guide under "Largest Margin of Victory." In ninth place
(they've won nine games) is their opening-day victory at Miami last
year. The margin? One point.