Wilson: Texans, Saints trade punches

It was supposed to be a joint football practice today between the Houston Texans and the New Orleans Saints, a workout emphasizing the fundamentals of blocking, tackling and kicking.

Instead, it degenerated into a series of heavyweight brawls with a bunch of haymakers, hooks and heated tempers highlighting a day of violence -- a routine football practice transformed into a scene from the bouncer movie, “Roadhouse.”

According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, the most prominent battles were waged between Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey and Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans along with Texans fullback Vonta Leach against Saints defensive lineman Rod Coleman.

APShockey and Ryans trading blows

The Shockey-Ryans bout was captured on video and featured Ryans catching Shockey with a quick left to the head before a wrestling and punching match ensued.

Shockey appeared to get the worst of the confrontation as the Texans' defense piled on him. The Saints’ offensive players were notably slow in coming to the aid of the heavily tattooed tight end.

“It was a fast play, and people started pushing and shoving,” Ryans told reporters. “I told our defensive guys that nobody's going to come in our house and push us around.

“They think they can take over when they come here to Houston, but this is our house and we have to let them know it. You can't allow it. We have to stick up for our guys. It just gets me more pumped up to go out there on Saturday.”

Of course, the Texans play the Saints in a preseason game Saturday in Houston at Reliant Stadium.

Expect some lingering chippiness as well as a quick whistle on the part of the officials in a reaction to today's episode.

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