Texans head coach Gary Kubiak addressed the media in his weekly press conference, a day after his team's 16-10 victory over Kansas City. A transcript of his press conference follows.
Texans head coach Gary Kubiak
(on injuries) "The significant ones, Joel Dreessen may miss a couple of days but I'll think he'll be back once New Orleans gets to town. We'll be ready to play against New Orleans. The most significant ones, Boomer Grigsby severe high ankle sprain it could be six weeks, which is what I was told today. Rex Grossman has a pretty good hamstring, could be four or five weeks with him. Troy Nolan broke his hand, rather fractured his hand and will be having surgery on Monday. We have a decision to make on him depending on how long he will be out. Other than that we just have a bunch of just a few nicks and things where people should be back next wee, so those are the biggest ones."
(on TE Joel Dreessen coming back for the Saints Game) "Yeah I think so. They told me Joel hyper-extended his knee when he caught that ball up the seam and they think he's just real sore today. Hopefully today and tomorrow will give him the rest he needs so he will be able to get back on the field when New Orleans gets to town."
(on needed another fullback and quarterback) "Well with the fullback with the situation there we'll continue to evaluate (tight end) James Casey, he did a lot of good things in the game. He has flexibility in moving around for this football team so that's a first option and we'll go from there and make that decision. From a quarterback stand point, obviously I'm not going to go into this game with just two quarterbacks we're looking around right now and talked to a few people so we'll see how that goes. But obviously I have to continue (quarterback) Matt (Schaub) along his pattern for the preseason and (quarterback) Dan (Orlovsky) needs all the work he can get. But to go through the rest of training with two would be a little scary."
(on Alex Brink being a possibility for quarterback) "Yeah, he would be a possibility."
(on Dan being a better pick over Alex) "I think we will look at both and make a decision from there."
(on what he thought of Schaub and the number one offensive unit) "I was impressed. They, of course the first down on the first series along with the punt on the sack, they brought a blitz we couldn't pick up. Then they were going 95 yards in that weather, handling the ball, and making the plays they made. Kasey (Studdard) probably made the biggest play on the drive. But I thought they were pretty sharp in some tough circumstances out there. I really like what Chris Brown did. I thought out front we were sharp and on top of what we were doing. I thought that if Chris White and Kasey could continue to play like starters then they would be given a heck of an opportunity, so I was impressed."
(on how he felt about RB Chris Brown's performance) "I think it made the whole team feel very good. I don't think anyone felt worst than Chris Brown did last year. He came here to do a job with this team and naturally had the back issue. But he came back in the off season and he really paid a price above and beyond. He wants to finish his career the right way playing good football. I think our guys are rooting for him because he very well liked in locker room and very respected. The work he put in during the off season,
to see him step out there last night and look like that player that we brought in here I think was exciting for all of us. We'll just keep going with the program we had him as far as practice and stuff have been beneficial to him. He can help this football team so hopefully that will continue, but that was a step in the right direction."
(on G Kasey Studdard recovering the fumble) "I tell you John, it's typical. He's getting a tremendous opportunity. Chester is missing a great deal of time so he's been asked to be a starter. Was he going to play like one, I think time would tell, but everyday has gotten better. He's an effort player, he's made some mistakes as young player but he makes up for a lot of those with his effort. I think his team his responds to how he plays the game. He plays it with an attitude and he'll give you everything he's got. You know he's been looking for an opportunity like this and his taking advantage of it."
(on DT Frank Okam) "Frank did some good stuff, Bill (Kollar) was impressed with his work. I think the key thing with Frank is to use him and DelJuan (Robinson) the right way. We're getting the right amount of reps out of those players and not too many at one time. I think that's a secret that would be good up front defensively overall, you gotta rotate players. Frank did some good things on the field. DelJuan did some good things, between those two guys we need them to produce like a good starter in this league. So far so good, they're making progress."
(on impressions of defensive line) "Connor Barwin stood out with some of the athletic plays that he made. He actually had a sack and almost picked off a ball. With his effort in playing,he stood out. The young kid from Michigan (DE Tim Jamison) really did some good things late in the game with some good rushes. He did some things not only defensively but for Joe (Marciano) a little bit. Timmy (Tim Bulman) continues to come along. He struggled with the growing pool but, he's coming along. Shaun Cody showed flashes of pass rush ability. The first group only played ten plays but I liked the effort. I like what Antonio (Smith) brings to the group. We'll get in more work this week but I thought they all took a good, positive step last night."
(on DE Connor Barwin being most effective of the young players) "No there were a lot. There were two young corners that were very impressive. They played a lot of football on not only special teams but defensively with nickel everything. I really liked the way Glover Quin plays physically. He made some great plays on special teams. I think he had five or six tackles. He's a very aggressive player. There were a lot of young players. James Casey on special teams showed up and did some good things. There were a lot of surprises across the board. I liked our effort. I thought we played very physical as a football team."
(on CB Antwaun Molden's return) "Yes, there is a real good chance. We were talking about that this afternoon. There's a real good chance that he comes of PUP and starts to get some work. Now will he go out there and be full go? No, I think he would come off, do certain periods with the team and bring him along slowly this week. I don't think he works against New Orleans but there's a good chance that he comes off and starts to practice with us."
(on CB David Pittman making plays) "One thing about right now is, if you're a young player and you're looking for reps to get on film and try to make it in this league, they have them. We had a couple of our young DP's play fifty plus snaps in the game. He took advantage of his opportunities and actually had a chance for a couple interceptions. He did some good stuff. (Matterral) Richardson did some good things. The whole group played a lot. They got put into two minute situations and handled them pretty good. Those kids are getting a lot of work due to us being down with (Antwuan) Molden and Dunta (Robinson) out and they're taking advantage of it."
(on C Antoine Caldwell) "Inconsistent but, he shows flashes of what we drafted. He played guard and he played center so that makes it difficult on him. We just have to find some consistency in him and what he's doing. It's not a lack of effort; it's just a lot of things going on with him right now learning two spots."
(on weather effecting throwing on target) "It was obviously very difficult to throw the ball especially there late. If we had a couple of guys make a couple of those throws we would have ended the game on the field offensively for what you would like to see. I don't think he got frustrated, I think he kept battling. He learned a great deal from Kyle (Shanahan) and I this week of what we expect him to do to get ready to play for this team as far as preparation, the way we tested him the night before the game, the way he'll see his grade sheet today when he comes in and what we expected to come out of that game. His role and what's expected from us is settling in. I think you'll see him continue to improve."
(on RB Ryan Moats) "He played a great deal. He did a good job running the ball. Ryan has always been a very active player. He did some good things for Joe (Marciano). One of my disappointments in the game from a running back standpoint was we have to get better at protecting the quarterback. That has been a point of emphasis for us as a team this whole training camp and I did not think we got better doing that last night and we'll go back to work on that tomorrow. It will be an interesting battle. (Arian) Foster should be back on the field tomorrow. There are plenty of reps to go around so it will be interesting to see how this pans out but we are going to protect the quarterback. We're not doing it well enough at that position right now."
(On LB Brian Cushing) "He's making progress. He had a good weekend of rehab; he did not travel with us. Everything is on schedule but he's not going to play this week. I think it was mentioned that he may be back to play Minnesota. I don't think we'll know that until next week but, he's on schedule and should be ready to go this season with no problem. Do we get him back on the field for Minnesota or Tampa Bay? That's going to be a week to week process. We are going to be smart with him. We know what he's capable of doing and we're going to make sure that he is good and healthy."
