Coach Gary Kubiak expressed concern about injuries to the offensive line as the team gets ready to face Denver on Saturday. Tackle Ephraim Salaam and guards Fred Weary and Scott Jackson could be on the sidelines.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on today's practice) "I don't know if you noticed (T) Ephraim (Salaam) is not out here this morning. His knee has been bothering him since he woke up this morning, bothering him a lot. So we're getting that looked at right now. We're probably doing more than we normally do a couple of days before the game, but we have to get a bunch of young kids ready to play. We'll back off this afternoon, do some special teams work, some pregame work and get them ready to go."
(on T Ephraim Salaam being the "swing guy") "He would be if the season started today. It is a big concern. We've got to go figure out what's bothering him number one, so let's wait and see what the problem is. But yeah, it's a concern because Scott Jackson - we were hoping would be back by this time. Once he had the injury, we thought it would take a week and we'd have him back on the field. That hasn't happened. And if we lose Ephraim here for a period of time, it's a big, big concern. We know those are the types of things we're facing."
(on G Fred Weary's test results from yesterday) "They did a CT scan on Fred and tried to look at, from my understanding, the screws placement in his surgery. That's what they were concentrating on. The bottom line with Fred and Scott (Jackson) is when we lost them, we thought we were looking at a short period of time. We thought they'd be back out here. And here we are, two weeks into it, and they're still over there on the bikes. That's not good for the team and it's not good for their situation trying to make this team. I mean there's nothing you can do. We're trying to get them healthy, but we're really down some bodies on the offensive line right now."
(on what they learned from G Fred Weary's CT scan) "You know what? I haven't really talked to (head athletic trainer) Kevin (Bastin) much about it. I know that's what's bothering him. So we're tying to get that isolated and do everything we can to get him back out here. So I know that's been the issue."
{QUOTE}(on the possibility of looking elsewhere for players to fill G Fred Weary's position) "We've worked pretty much the last six or seven days with 11 offensive linemen, so we've been very fortunate from that standpoint. But we are trying to have some patience. I guess that would be the best way to answer your question. At the same time, we do have a long, hard preseason ahead of us. So we have to assess where those kids are at right away and assess where we are heading with all this work. We'd be very fortunate to think we're going to make it with 11 guys at offensive line through this whole camp. So it is something we're addressing."
(on who will be starting QB on Saturday) "(QB) Matt (Schaub) will play with the first group however long they play, whether that's 12 to 15 plays or a quarter. However, that all depends (on the game). Sage (Rosenfels) will play the whole second quarter and will start the third. How long he plays in the third, I don't know. And then I plan on playing Shane (Boyd) from there. We'll hold (Alex) Brink this week. We will hopefully play him in New Orleans. We want to take a good look at Shane (Boyd). I want to see everybody, and I'm excited to get out there and compete against somebody else. But we've got a lot of tough, tough decisions as coaches. So we've got to make sure it happens in that stadium and not always out here. We've got to go let them play and sort the thing out."
(afternoon practice)
(on how assistant head coach Alex Gibbs came out of retirement to join the Texans) "Well, really just Alex, knowing that (Mike Sherman) had moved on and gotten the job at (Texas A&M), gave me a call late in December and told me that he was missing football and wanted to get back in full time. That's how it started, and then it proceeded after we got through with our season."
(on losing former assistant head coach Mike Sherman and gaining Assistant Head Coach Alex Gibbs) "Well, first off, losing Mike (Sherman) was very difficult because he did such a great job for us and (was)such a great friend. Although I was happy for him, it was a tough time. But when you start to get calls and people know you're going to have changes on your staff or something is going to happen, for one of those calls to be Alex (Gibbs) is very surprising and very gratifying."
(on the medical results for T Ephraim Salaam and G Fred Weary) "No, I haven't gotten them back on Ephraim. We do have results back on Fred (Weary). It would be hard for me to explain, really. And in all honesty I'd rather you guys talk to (head athletic trainer) Kevin (Bastin). It has to do with the screw placements that were placed in his leg when he had the surgery that are bothering him, but I know he's not close. That's all about I can tell you. Kevin could probably do a better job then I could with that."
(on the medical status of CB Antwaun Molden and if he is going to play this Saturday's game) "I expect him to play. I did hold him out today, but he's going through walkthroughs this afternoon as if he's expected to play. Hopefully, he practices in the morning."
(on if G Fred Weary's situation can be resolved anytime soon) "I don't know. Him and Scott (Jackson), it's kind of the same thing. We lost both of them and we thought we were looking at a short period of time for getting them back. We're holding on, so to speak, trying to wait for both of them to get back healthy and now that process is getting rather lengthy. Our problems have been compounded a little bit up front. It's just something we got to deal with and work through. It's taking a lot of our time right now, (General Manager) Rick (Smith) and my time, as we move forward here in camp."
(on there being any kind of "magic" to reducing the number of players on the roster) "I don't know if there's any magic. I think every day is a new challenge and right now the challenge is body numbers at offensive line that are out there banging and practicing every day and playing. Right now, we're going to this game with 11 and it's a little scary because we have a lot more preseason to play. We want to go practice against New Orleans and have some good physical practices against them, but at the same time we've got a football team to get ready to play for the season. It's just a lot of juggling acts going on right now, and we just got to keep doing it."
LB Morlon Greenwood
(on him being interested in seeing how defense plays as a team) "I am actually very excited about the game this weekend because it gives us the opportunity to go out there and see how our team has progressed thus far. Obviously, the starters are not going to play that much. But for the time that we are out there, we want to try to execute and see how well we are playing together and see what type of progress we've made from last year to this year."
(on how long he will go in Saturday's pre-season opener vs. Broncos) "We haven't really discussed that yet, but I am sure like the night before the game they (coaches) will tell us."
DT Amobi Okoye
(on what he is thinking going into his second preseason as compared to last season) "Last year, this time I was like, 'Geez, the NFL is here, the games are about to start.' Even though it was preseason, I still do look at is as a regular season game because it was my first game in the NFL. Now it is more relaxed. But at the same time, I am looking forward to seeing how we perform this year. So going out there and looking at the whole team, not just looking at me as an individual, is what I am looking forward to."
(on how much time he will play) "They haven't specified the actual time. I think that we're doing that this afternoon."
(on how game will look on Saturday) "I am sure it is going to be pretty much like every other NFL team where the so-called starters play the first quarter and the seconds (second team) play the second quarter and the thirds (third team) play the third and fourth (quarters). I am sure that the coaches have a way of sharing it equally where everyone can feel like they had enough reps."
(on feeling like he knows what to do and the routine) "I am looking forward to a quarter, a quarter and a half, whatever it is I have to play. I am ready to play that."
(on if it matters who he is going against with Denver's offensive line being good for so many years) "Not really, but Denver's offensive line scheme is pretty different. A couple of other teams have tried to emulate it or do the same thing, but we are just going to have to go out there and see what they've got."
(on Denver's offensive line scheme being similar to what Texans are doing now) "Right, most of our staff did come from Denver, so I am sure the coaching staff's are looking forward to the game because we have the edge right now because we won last year. We want to keep that whole win streak against them going."
(on Denver's run game giving Texans defense an idea where they are at against the run) "Yeah, it does. But at the same time, a lot of people don't really try to show what they have during preseason, you know. You just want to give the guys an opportunity to compete for a job. That's pretty much what I think it is going to be like, but at the same time, you never know. A team could really be preparing for what they are trying to do during the season; some teams don't. You just have to take it like a game and go out there and win."
QB Matt Schaub
(on his first hit) "I'm excited about it. I haven't been hit like (RB) Ahman (Green) has, but definitely I'm looking forward to getting one shot in there and just testing out because you know I haven't been hit since my injury. It's felt good during camp here going through all the throwing plays during practice, but it'll be another thing once I fall on it or something like that. I must just do that. Have one play where I'll just dive on the ground and let everyone know, 'Hey it's alright.'"
T Eric Winston
(on giving away 2,000 tickets to the Kenny Chesney concert at Reliant Stadium)
"Yeah it's neat. I had the chance to go see it and I thought it would be a great idea to get some tickets out to the local fire fighters, just all the people that serve the community that I think deserve a little payback."
(on the concert being fun)
"The concert is great. It's a great time. It's an all day event, tailgating, great acts. LeAnn Rimes, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Gary Allan. You can't beat that if you love country music. It's a lot of fun."
(on getting the chance to interview Kenny Chesney)
"Absolutely. Yeah, I got the chance to meet a lot of those guys, Keith Urban, LeAnn (Rimes); they are great people. It's a lot of fun. I hung out a little bit with Luke Bryan backstage there. They are all great people. It's a lot of fun. They really strive to put on a great show and I don't think people will be disappointed about going."
(on being able to give back like this as one of the cooler parts of his job)
"Absolutely. Being able to give back and being able to just do these little things like that, to go to the Shriners Hospitals and things like that. That's what's important, I think. Sometimes I think some of us lose perspective of that, and it's fun to do these things and see how much it means to everyone else."
