As most NFL teams go through their annual summer training camps in the cooler climes of the Northern or Western parts of the U.S..... once again this summer the Texans are sweltering through practices at Reliant Park. I understand why owner Bob McNair wants to have his team practice here in Houston so the fans will have more access to the players ..... but c'mon ....enough is enough.

This is no longer a "new" franchise where the team has to drum up support with all the new fans. True ...the Texans need to drum up support for their team because the team has been so bad in it's first few years of history ..... but it's time to either move the workouts inside Reliant Stadium or head to a cooler climate. How about California?? McNair can certainly afford it.

I was out at practice again today ....with the heat index at 100 degrees plus .... and even though there was a slight breeze .... it was still very hot. And the fact is .... you get less out of individuals if they're distracted during practice due to the heat. If a player is more interested in getting to the water station than the next play .... then you have a problem ...and the Texans have that problem now. Flat out .... practicing in the heat and humidity of Houston ..... when you play your games in much cooler conditions doesn't make a lot of sense. "We'll practice in this heat ....it's be 95 to 100 degrees heat index all during training camp and then we'll roll in Saturday night and it'll be about 72 degrees," said Texans offensive guard Steve McKinney.

Granted the Texans do play one potentially "hot" game outdoors ... that game is at Carolina on Sept 18th. But the next outdoor game will be in Jacksonville on October 14th when the summer heat has subsided some. The only other outdoor game in October is at San Diego...which is no problem.

So here's what I believe Mcnair should do. Set up another grass field for Reliant Stadium and have the team practice on it each summer. The fans could watch the team workout in air-conditioned comfort ..... and the players wouldn't be dropping like flies when the heat is at it's worst. The Texans would then use a different field for the games. They could still utilize the practice bubble at times .... but using the practice bubble once a day all during camp can eat up the players bodies .... especially the knees.

It would make economic sense also. Sure it would be expensive to buy an entire extra field full of grass just for training camp ....but it would certainly cost less than moving training camp to California or Wisconsin for the summer.

A few years ago .... the Texans won their season opener in Miami versus the Dolphins because they were in better shape. I was there I saw it happen ...the Dolphins were gassed on that last drive ... while the Texans were still strong. But anyone who endured the Pittsburgh home game two seasons ago .... knows that the Steelers pounded the Texans soundly in spite of the fact that they had been training in cooler temperatures while the Texans had been training in the Houston heat.

The fact is most NFL teams get out of the heat for training camp because the players attention span is longer when they're not thinking about the next water break. It's time the Texans came around on this issue.

What do you think?? Let me know ....at mmusil@khou.com

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