Duck Tracks: with an off day at practice, time to check the video

Jeff Maehl had a special teams tackle but no receptions in the Houston Texans 27-14 home win over New Orleans. If Maehl's going to stick, it's his special teams toughness that will make the difference for him. ESPN's Paul Kuharsky, who is following Texans camp , wrote a very lukewarm evaluation of his chances:

"I expect the Texans to look closely at receivers when the league cuts down rosters. Dorin Dickerson currently looks to be fourth in line, but I saw him fighting some passes in practices and he’s still relatively new to the position. Jeff Maehl heads the undrafted group but didn’t look great, either. Receiver depth is an issue."

Chip Kelly cited homesickness as one of the chief reasons Lache Seastrunk elected to transfer. His grandmother, the chief caregiver in his life, is ailing. But the timing suggests at least mixed motives, as his homesickness became more acute when he reached fifth in the depth chart, with De'Anthony Thomas and Tra Carson passing him for practice reps. According to the Register-Guard's George Schroeder Seastrunk is seeking a hardship waiver from the NCAA to play right away at Baylor, who graduated a 1,000-yard running back, Jay Finley, now with the Bengals, who ran for 1218 yards and 12 touchdowns in the Bears pass-first spread offense. It's a good fit for Lache, but hardship waiver's a dicey proposition; Naderris Ward, a tight end from the University of Georgia, sought one when he joined the Ducks a couple of years ago (his family lived in Oakland and he said he needed to play on the West Coast to be nearer to them) and after a long delay the NCAA denied it. They are not an athletes-first organization. They are a money-first organization.

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