**
**[Kubiak presser trancript
](/news/article-1/kubiak-monday-presser/E8276CBD-46DC-4F84-8575-17771B04FD06)* Carr review:* After yesterday's 40-7 loss to the New England Patriots, many fans pointed the finger at quarterback David Carr as the reason for the lopsided result in Foxborough. Coach Gary Kubiak didn't deny that Carr played a key role in the loss at his weekly press conference Monday, but he did say there's more than one person to blame for the Texans' struggles on offense Sunday.
"He made some mistakes with the ball," Kubiak said of Carr. "When you turn the ball over four times, one of them was unavoidable, that's the way I look at it when you get the ball tipped as quarterback. The other three, that's just making mistakes with the football in the throwing game. The execution has to be better, but I'll say this, as I said after the game: There's plenty of blame to go around. There's plenty of mistakes by everybody. What's that old saying? When you point a finger there's three pointing right back at you. There's plenty of mistakes to go around."
As the Texans' first draft pick, Carr has shouldered many expectations during his tenure in
's offense that struggled Sunday.
Kubiak pointed to busted protections as well as missed assignments, but in the end he knows the quarterback is going to be held responsible.
"The quarterback gets a lot of the credit and he get's a lot of the blame, but as a football team, we have to look in the mirror because there are plenty of mistakes in a lot of areas," Kubiak said.
He added that Carr will be evaluated closely these last two games, both at home. But everyone on the roster is being evaluated, not just the fifth-year starter.
"We have to sit back and evaluate a lot of situations and that's with every position, not just David," Kubiak said.
And if Kubiak were to make a holiday wish regarding his starting quarterback for the last two games of the season, it would be only to see him improve.
"As I tell you all the time, I want to see him continue to compete," Kubiak said. "I want to see him improve. I want him to go through games with, whatever the call is, with his footwork, that they are correct and we go from there with the reads and stuff. If you play the quarterback position, you have to be automatic in the mental situation. Your team has to see him be automatic. (David) can get better in that phase and we have to help him get better in that phase. I just want to see him get better."
And to perhaps sum up the last two weeks of Kubiak's first year in charge of the Texans, the head coach offered this simple statement as the questions about Carr finally wound down.
"There's a lot of eyes on all of us, not just David," Kubiak said.
Dayne not done: The lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak performance by
's offense yesterday was another fine rushing performance from Ron Dayne. Dayne gained 94 yards on 18 carries. It was the third-consecutive game that Dayne surpassed 85 yards on the ground, marking the finest three-game stretch of his career.
Kubiak thinks that Dayne can play even better.
"He's really been very good," Kubiak said of Dayne. "You know what, in my opinion, I'm hard on Ronnie, but I think he can even be better. I think he could have run even better yesterday."
When Dayne signed with Houston after being released from
.
"I feel like maybe Ronnie's career is starting to take off again," Kubiak said. "That would be a dang good thing for our football team, because if he can stay healthy and play like that, and we get him some help back there, from that standpoint, I think he'll only get better because he's very tough to tackle."
No split in the locker room: Much was made of cornerback Dunta Robinson's remarks following Sunday's loss. In the locker room, Robinson said there was a problem with the Texans and that it needed to be fixed.
Robinson wouldn't say what the problem was, but since
's offense.
Kubiak addressed Robinson's remarks on Monday.
"It's frustrating, you know," Kubiak said. "He's frustrated and when there's something good going on your side of the ball and there's a struggle somewhere else, that's the nature of the business. I have a lot of respect for (Dunta) because he's playing good football and he's frustrated, but we're all frustrated and we're a team. My message to him and to our team is just do more, do your job better."
Robinson isn't the only Texans player fuming. Kubiak said Monday that he's been frustrated at times with his team's play as well.
"It's frustrating," he said. "You want to fix things real, real fast. That's just the nature of this business. It's not that easy. I think there have been moments this season when I felt like we were making progress, and then there have been moments it just seemed like the wheels have come off."
That said, Kubiak has no doubt that things are going to turn around sooner rather than later.
"It's frustrating, it's difficult, it's hard, but the one thing that doesn't change is my desire to get it right," Kubiak said. "The only way we're going to do that is if we keep battling and keep plugging."
Pro Bowl for 'Dre?:Players who have earned a trip to
wrapped up.
His head coach said Monday that he was impressed with Johnson's gaudy receiving numbers, but that he had hoped for more from his top playmaker earlier in the season.
"I'm a little disappointed because I think the kid could have put up numbers this year that couldn't have been touched," Kubiak said. "I remember there was a time I was looking at it and thinking he could catch 120, 125 balls. That's just off the charts. He's still got a chance to catch 100. That's something special."
And, according to Kubiak, Johnson's numbers are even more impressive considering he's the number-one target of the opposition's defense week in and week out.
"I can't really begin to talk about the way he played because you see the numbers, and just to tell you, he's getting those numbers when everyone in the business is trying to take him away from us," Kubiak said. "It's a credit to him. We move him all over the place to try and get him the ball. He's been very sharp. He hasn't missed a day of practice. I challenged him. I think he can even be a better player, but I think he is very deserving of a trip to
with the way he's played this year."
A break for DeMeco: Normally a player being removed in a rout late in the fourth quarter would not be big news. But when linebacker DeMeco Ryans left the field late in the game Sunday, he missed his first defensive snap of the season.
In a debut year full of stellar accomplishments, the fact that Ryans had never left the field defensively before Sunday might be the most impressive. It was something he did reluctantly.
"The only reason he left is because we made him," Kubiak said of Ryans' removal from action. "He's banged up and he was hobbling around and (defensive coordinator) Richard (Smith) called down to me to get him off the field. We made him come off. We sent in a guy for him and he would not leave. He sent him back and then we made him come off. That's the type of kid he is."
Mathis status: Wide receiver/kick returner Jerome Mathis could be done for the season. Mathis, who already has missed most of the season, impressed when he was called into action in 2006, but missed Sunday's game with a sore hamstring and groin.
Not seeing more of Mathis is something that has frustrated Kubiak.
"Yeah, because I haven't really been around him much as a football player, from a standpoint of seeing him very much," Kubiak said. "We got him back and he did some good things that first week and he had the issue this week with the hamstring. It's frustrating because I would like to see him on the field as a kick returner as well as a receiver. If he can't go, he can't go."
