As left tackle Duane Brown got pushed one way and then the other by Mario Williams over the weekend, he tried to remind himself just how much easier Sundays will be if he survives the weekdays.

For the past three days, the Texans rookies got a crash course of what the NFL will be like. No one had more of a challenge than Brown, who saw an entirely different Williams than the one he faced three years ago in college.

In 2005, Brown was a sophomore at Virginia Tech making his first start at right tackle after converting from tight end. Williams, a junior at North Carolina State, had no idea he was just months away from being the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Texans.

Brown held his own against Williams in that game, which helped him jumpstart a journey that eventually led to him becoming a first-round draft pick three years later.

During his first NFL practice, Brown found himself again going head-to-head with Williams, a player he hardly recognized anymore.

"It's a lot different," Brown said. "He's gotten extremely better. His technique and everything is great. He's a lot faster. He's helping me though. It hurts me that I'm getting beat a lot, but it's helping me at the same time because I'm getting to learn on the go. He's third in the league in sacks last year, so it'll make it a lot easier for me on Sundays."

Williams is relishing the task of facing Brown. The third-year veteran practiced at almost an entirely different speed than the rest of his teammates all weekend, never slowing down to let the rookie to catch his breath.

It's exactly what the coaches wanted to see when they decided to start the offseason with Brown lining up with the first team.

"Going against Mario every day... Mario is impressive in this camp," coach Gary Kubiak said. "I tell you, he's an impressive young man right now. And y'all can see it, watching him practice and how he's going about it, and if Duane has to see him on a daily basis, he can't help but get there."

Williams understands how important it is for the Texans that Brown develops into the franchise's long-term answer at left tackle. And he likes that he will play a role in Brown's development.

He looks forward to also learning a few things from the rookie as their head-to-head matchups continue through the offseason.

"He's definitely picking up the scheme and the things he needs to do," Williams said. "I keep him going. I try to get him to work hard and push him to get better because I know he is a very valuable asset to this team. It's one of those things where I can have a hands-on affect on getting him to the point where we need him to be.

"It's good for me and it's good for him. The quicker he catches on to the things I do, that's going to make it harder for me to counter that, and so it's going to make me work harder. So it's a win-win situation."

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