Head coach Gary Kubiak and players spoke to the media during open locker room and after practice Wednesday afternoon.
*Head coach Gary Kubiak *
(on changes to the offensive line) "Well right now, as of today, we worked Eric Winston; Brad Bedell at tackle, Zach (Wiegert) will probably be a late week decision depending on how he's doing health-wise. We plan on starting Fred (Weary) at guard this week; he did a good job this weekend against Dallas. Steve (McKinney) had a few physical things but he's battling but he's out here practicing today, he'll be ready to play. Fred will start at right guard and the right tackle position we'll make that decision as the week goes."
(on what he's looking for in a right tackle) "First off, starting with Eric (Winston), he came in and played, I'm going to say 15, 18 snaps last week, did some good things. Dislocated a finger, struggled at the end but did do some good things. Brad Bedell is a veteran guy that came in and played against Miami, he's a winner, he plays hard, he gets after it. If those are the two guys that we go with, I would think they would both play, one of them would be the swing, one of them would be the starter but I would think they would both play in the game."
(on RB Wali Lundy practicing with the first team) "Yeah, he's going to play this week, there's no secret there. We need to get him back in what we're doing and he's been working hard and I feel comfortable with what he's doing mentally and he looked good at practice today so we'll get him the ball."
(on WR Edell Shepherd returning punts) "Yes, Shepherd will do both of them as we get going. David Anderson was activated, if he's active he'll be the back up and then Wali (Lundy) can be a back up kick returner, too. But Shepherd will handle all the duties."
(on LB Kailee Wong's status known by Friday) "As I told you all, I'll be really disappointed if Kailee and Petey (Faggins) are not in uniform on Sunday and playing for our team. We have to be smart and what that is, how much that is and what capacity that is. But they bring something to this team, today just being out here was very positive and I would expect them both to be in uniform on Sunday."
(on DT Lional Dalton playing this Sunday) "You know, I have to go back and look. I don't know it all would probably depend on how many we suit. I think he can, I think he could very well do that."
(on Dalton's bringing something to the interior) "Lional's played at a top-notch level in this league at that position before. He's hungry, he's been out there for a few weeks and I think he's very capable from a scheme standpoint, that's no problem. He knows what he's doing from day one. We'll see how he looked today and how he does tomorrow because anybody that comes in looks fresher than our other guys so we'll see where he's at on Friday."
(on the case that TE Jeb Putzier is out) "I've been a part of suiting only two tight ends many times, so we just have to find a way to make that work. You take an extra lineman and do something with him, so we'll see with Jeb. He's got a pretty good ankle and probably won't know anything until later in the week."
(on using WR Andre Johnson as an H-back) "He's played a lot in a one receiver set, not on a two-tight set. But we're fine, we've got enough people to do that."
(on DT Anthony Maddox starting) "Yes he will."
(on what he likes about Maddox) "Well I just liked what he did in the game last week. He played extremely well, played with a lot of effort; we were seeing that on the scout team these past few weeks and he deserves an opportunity. (He) had a chance last week and he took advantage of that opportunity."
(on DE Antwan Peek's status) "Yeah, he looks like he's going to be fine. You know, I'm keeping my fingers crossed on him because it looked that way last week and then he got nicked up on Thursday so hopefully he'll continue to progress and be ready to go."
(on what happened to LB Shantee Orr at practice) "I really don't know what exactly happened to him, something to his hip. I'll have to talk to (head athletic trainer) Kevin (Bastin). I'm sorry, I don't have that information."
(on whether CB Demarcus Faggins will start) "I wouldn't think so. I don't want to say no, but I wouldn't think so. I think we have to be smart in how we play him. We're probably looking at 30-50% of the game depending on how he looks in practice this week. And is that nickel? Is that base? What is that? We have to make that decision."
(on whether LB Kailee Wong will start) "Yeah, (LB) Kailee (Wong), the same thing, the exact same thing."
(on whether the defensive line will still rotate) "That won't change. We may do some things to make sure we got our best four in there starting the game. We're still going to play eight guys."
(on why DE N.D. Kalu started in Dallas) "Well, he's done a lot of good things. We actually moved him around against the Cowboys if you guys watched. He's playing good football. He's an older guy and the hardest thing for him is number of reps. Whatever reps, the 25 or 30 plays he gets a game is top notch. He just battles his body fromm week to week because he's been playing a long, long time."
(on DE Anthony Weaver dropping into coverage at Dallas) "We were zone dogging. We were doing a bunch of zone dogs and various things the last few weeks to try to create some pressure. He's one of the smarter players inside, and when you ask a guy to have to try to match up in certain situations, that guy has to know what he's doing. So we had to put him in those situations, but I think he can do a little bit of everything."
(on whether Jacksonville's defense is as good as they have looked) "I've been against them a couple times in the past two years in Denver. (They are) very stout. Those two big inside players are as good as there is in football. They've been together, that group's been together now for, I want to say, four (or) five years as they built that group. And (head coach) Jack (Del Rio) does a great job. They are the heart and soul of their football team, and you know you're going to get a very physical match up from those guys; and they have been dominant. They held Pittsburgh to 140 yards; they held the Jets to 165. That's total domination in this league. They've been exceptional."
(on Jacksonville possibly being a rival of Houston) "I think we've been up for all of them. Our guys are working hard, and I think our practice today was as good as any we've had this year. We need it to transfer to the field and be consistent on the football field. Our players are working hard, and I think Petey (CB Demarcus Faggins) and (LB) Kailee (Wong) brought something extra to this football team today, and I think they'll continue to do that the rest of the year."
**QB David Carr
(on if he considers Jacksonville a rival) ** "I think so, just because we play them twice a year. And we play Indy twice a year, but we haven't been quite as close. I had a chance to lose some big games against those guys. They have a bad taste in their mouth and we feel the same too."
(on facing Jacksonville again on Battle Red Day) "It just seems like the fans, and us, they take it to another level when we play this team for whatever reason. Maybe it's because we beat them in here one year on the last play of the game and we beat them out there when they were trying to make a playoff run. It just so happens that there have been some big games the last few years when we met."
(on potentially having CB Demarcus Faggins and LB Kailee Wong back this week) "It's nice seeing them out there, and hopefully getting them out to practice there this week. Those two guys have been players for us here in the past so we know what they can do. I'm confident in their abilities, so to get them back out there is going to be a plus."
(on struggling with the pass or run at different times) "Obviously, it kind of stands out. You have some good days, you have some descent days throwing the ball and then you have some off days running the football. It's kind of hit and miss. It makes it tough as an offense because you do in this league have to be balanced. You have to have to try as much as you can to…you can't be one dimensional especially against a team like this."
**CB Demarcus Faggins
(on the team looking for him to make an impact with his return)** "Oh yes, yes. They have been telling me all week, all last week that they can't wait for me to get back. I'll say right now, I just have to get back and get in and do my thing, just get in there and help the team win."
(on how much he thinks he was missed) "For me looking in, I would say that the guys that were out there, they were doing pretty good. They did what they were supposed to do. I'm just looking at coming in and adding a little bit to what we have right now."
(on how difficult is has been being sidelined with the injury) "It's been hard, watching us lose, watching plays being made, and then not being out there. I just want to be out there. Win or lose, I want to be out there to try to give us a chance, a little extra advantage."
(on being hurt so early) "Yeah, the first day of camp, I felt I came in and was playing pretty good. Coming in from the OTAs and coming from what the coach has been telling me it's been hard. Right now the mindset is just coming back in and just continuing to get better."
**RB Wali Lundy
(on whether his return will fix the running game)** "Like I said, one man can't do it all. I feel like I can make some things happen, but it's going to be a whole offensive effort."
(on what it has been like watching the past weeks) "Well, it was kind of good and bad. It was good to just sit back and watch what the defenses were doing, see how the game was played, sitting back. But as a competitor you always want to play and be out on the field."
(on whether it was harder to watch while the run game struggled) "Yeah, because you always feel like as a competitor you can get out there and make something happen on your own, but like I said before it's not a one-man game. It's going to take the whole offense to get this thing going."
(on getting a chance to possibly play again) "I'm definitely looking forward to the opportunity. Hopefully I'll take it and run with it."
**LB Kailee Wong
(on how quickly he feels he can get back up to speed) ** "I know what to do; it is just a matter of me going out there and doing it full speed. As far as the scheme, I understand what to do. I understand how the defense works; I understand all that stuff. It's just: can I go out there and execute my technique and get the job done?"
(on playing SLB after working in a 3-4) "I had a lot of fun playing sam linebacker in the 4-3 (at Minnesota). Actually a lot of my outside linebacker play is very similar to what you do when you're on the line of scrimmage, so with that being said I don't anticipate any hard transitions for myself."
(on coming back from his longest time away from football) "It was real hard; there was no doubt about it. It's what we love to do. Guys
that play football, this is what we love to do. We're kind of gluttons for punishment,
but with that being said I really missed it. I missed being out there with my
teammates."
