Oakland and Houston will face each other in a matchup of reunions this Sunday.
Shane Lechler spent 13 years as a Raider. Matt Schaub and Antonio Smith were a part of two-consecutive Texans playoff teams. Andre Johnson used to attend the middle school football games of starting quarterback Derek Carr.
The following are soundbites from Oakland Raiders about the Texans heading into Week 2.
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Quarterback Derek Carr:*
*(On what he remembers most about Andre Johnson) "Oh my goodness. He was just always so nice to me. I was always bugging him, telling him I was going to go to Miami, all of these things. I guess his school didn't want me though. I don't know. They didn't want me so I couldn't go there. I'm just kidding. I remember him always taking the time to see how my season was going or like I said, he went to some of games, which is pretty cool. Not a lot of kids have a Hall of Fame receiver come to their football games, so it was pretty neat."
(on his NFL debut last week and going against J.J. Watt this week) "I mean, honestly, it depends who you talk to. He's one of if not the best. I think he's one of the best players I've ever seen. I got to see him in college first-hand. I didn't play against him, but it was my first away game and that's who I got to see for the first time. Being able to play against a great Jets defense and now playing against the Texans defense, which is so talented, they have guys everywhere, it's awesome. You want to compete against the best. That's what you dream of your whole life. Honestly, I'm going to keep working hard and let the rest take care of itself."
(On playing against Toro and mascots during the halftime of a Texans game) "I remember TORO tearing through the 'A' gap and ripping my head. I'll never forget that. I remember he hit me and he started laughing. We used to hang out and play catch at practice all the time, obviously when he wasn't in costume. It was funny because he hit me and he let me know he was there, and it was hilarious."
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Oakland head coach Dennis Allen:*
*(On how to game plan for a player like J.J. Watt) "It's a tough challenge. You can't block him with all 11 of your guys. You've got to eventually, you got to single him up some, but the biggest things is just be aware of where he is at on the field and understand what they like to do with him and try to do as good a job as you can staying in front of him. Hopefully, not letting him get into the backfield, disrupt your running game or get back there around your quarterback. Hey, listen, it's a tough challenge. You watch the game last week and that guy is all over the place. It's not a whole lot different than what you've seen throughout his career. He's a hell of a player and really a dominant defensive force."
(On Shane Lechler and his impact on field position - via Raiders.com) "I think he's another one of those Hall of Fame caliber punters. He's done it for a long time, at an extremely high level. He's a pro in what he does and really he's a weapon for them. I think the key is hopefully, to be able to hold them back where he doesn't get in those down and punt type situations because we understand that this game, a lot of it is about field position."
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Defensive end Antonio Smith:*
*(On how Arian Foster looked in the Texans season opener via Raiders.com)
Smith: "He's [Foster] moving around pretty good. He's moving around pretty good, and I think it was a couple of chances he had to break some runs, but you have to give it to Washington's defense because they were closing some gaps pretty good, but they were open at first. I think if you give him a slight curtain he can hurt you pretty bad. We're going to have to play just as aggressive as Washington did, and put as many hats on him as you can, because just when you think you have him, especially in that zone scheme, they can break one big run on you."
(On facing his former team) "All masters always worry about how the progress of their young Padawans is doing. I'm looking forward to see how they've reached masterhood since I left them."
Kickoff for Sunday's game at Oakland is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. CT on CBS KHOU-11 and SportsRadio 610.
