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          Texans Mailbag: 'Hard Knocks' and the offensive line

          Thanks, as always, for your questions for his weekend's mailbag.

          We'll kick off the weekend with some talk of "Hard Knocks," the NFL Films and HBO documentary-style program that will star the Texans this season. We'll also talk about the Texans' offensive line before moving on to quarterbacks Sunday.

          Ganguli: I think this isn't ideal, but in the long run isn't really a season-changer. Saints coach Sean Payton did admit that "Hard Knocks" was a factor, but seemed to downplay its impact. The fact is, these joint practices weren't just a consideration for the Saints. It was already part of the plan for both teams. The Saints even went on the record to confirm the dates of the practices. I know these joint practices are something Texans coach Bill O'Brien likes to do. I think there's a lot of value to them. They break up the monotony of training camp and allow for more real evaluation than you'll get playing against your own defense or offense. Those second and third weeks of the preseason are kind of the sweet spot for joint practices, so I don't think it's likely the Texans will get another together.

          Ganguli: I'd certainly like to get a behind-the-scenes look at how Brian Cushing is with younger players. He's a guy whose respect has to be earned -- J.J. Watt has talked about that in the past -- and he won't just put his arm around anyone in that room. I think McKinney will be a good player for the Texans, but I don't expect him to be a focus on "Hard Knocks." There will be more drama with a guy like receiver Jaelen Strong, who feels he wants to prove he's better than where he's drafted.

          Ganguli: Aug. 11, 9 p.m. CT.

          Ganguli: I spoke with David Quessenberry and have a post ready to go for next week about how he's doing. For now, I'll leave it at this: He is able to work out, attend meetings and work on his speed. He hasn't yet been cleared to play, so he's been sitting out OTAs so far. Right now Quessenberry is in the maintenance phase of his treatments. He has been in remission for several months, after chemotherapy and radiation treatments, but the Texans' medical staff and Quessenberry's oncologist will get together to decide when he's ready for football activities.

          Ganguli: My expectation is that Xavier Su'a-Filo will be the left guard and Ben Jones will be the center. Jones was drafted to be the Texans' next center, but Chris Myers' ability and knowledge of the offense kept him at bay until this year. Su'a-Filo has been taking some snaps at center, but he was drafted to be a starting guard for the Texans. As he grows into his NFL ability, he'll take over that spot.

          Ganguli: Right now the Texans have tackles Will Yeatman, Bryan Witzmann, Jeff Adams, Matt Feiler and undrafted rookies Kendall Iamm and Joseph Treadwell, outside of starters Duane Brown and Derek Newton. On the interior, the Texans have Cody White, who spent the last season on injured reserve after tearing his Achilles; James Ferentz, who mostly plays center and is nicknamed Brick; and they list Quessenberry as a guard, though once he's cleared, he can play guard and tackle. There are two interior linemen among the undrafted rookies: Chad Slade and Greg Mancz. I think one of them has a chance to make the roster.

          Ganguli: It was a combination of factors, like most things, the most pressing of which was his salary-cap number. The Texans saved $6 million by releasing Myers. The Texans were also ready to move on from him on the field. If they weren't, they would have figured out somewhere else to save the money.