Once again, many have written the Houston Texans off before the season has even begun. But for safety Terrence Brooks, this just adds fuel to the fire.
"We know a lot of people kind of treat us like the underdogs and whatnot, but we kind of take that and let that be fuel for us each and every day," Brooks said.
The 30-year-old has returned for his second year with the Texans as part of a revamped secondary consisting of nine new faces, including two high-priced rookies in cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. and safety Jalen Pitre.
The latter, who will be competing with Brooks for reps, has left an impression on the veteran.
"We see his potential, we see what he can do, we're glad to have him on board," Brooks said. "We have a lot of great pieces back there. But with him, we're still hard on him as well, just like the coaches are hard on us, and he's still learning just like any other rookie but for me, I try to make sure I try to throw him any type of nod just to give him that one up and get him going faster."
Brooks appeared in 11 games last year including three starts. Now, with the likes of Justin Reid and A.J. Moore elsewhere, it will be down to Brooks and co. to step up and guide the next generation in the right direction.
Thankfully, Brooks and his fellow safeties appear to have a clear vision in mind, saying they want to be the "generals" of this defense.
"We know we're like the quarterbacks of the defense along with Christian Kirksey down there too," Brooks said. "We just want to ball, we've got to be some dogs out there."
One of the holdovers from last year's defense, Brooks emphasized his excitement at being brought back, pointing out his love for the city, the team, and the coaching staff.
"I feel like we really are gelling well," Brooks said. "We've got a lot of guys that come from different teams that have played together so you already have a little bit of chemistry in that sense. Just having guys like Rex Burkhead, Pharaoh (Brown), all those guys - they're core pieces for this organization. As long as we keep us strong and bring those other guys along, with the rookies as well, I feel like this is going to be a great season."
To be great, you need to be driven. The perennial underdogs - this team appears driven as ever to prove the doubters wrong.
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