After watching film from their loss to Baltimore, Texans players answered questions from the Houston media about who or what was to blame for the 41-13 defeat.
WR Andre Johnson
(on the support Coach Kubiak still has from the locker room and his feelings on coach Kubiak) "When thins are going bad, the first thing everyone is always going to talk about is the head coach. When things are going bad, there's going to be a lot of finger pointing and people are going to be saying things. But when you're winning, it's the opposite. You're the best in the world. So, we just have to deal with this adversity that we're facing right now."
(on if there was anything he could pinpoint that was wrong with the offense when he watched film) "We just can't turn the ball over. Like I said after the game, that's just been pretty much - it just seems like the same thing every week. There were mistakes there, guys making mistakes. I made a few mistakes. Those things happen, but at the same time, we were in the game for the most part of the game. But after the turnovers happened, they were able to capitalize off of them. We put our defense in a bad position."
{QUOTE}(on what the key is to rebounding from such a bad loss) "Going to win the game in Indy. That's the only thing you can do. There's nothing you can do about what happened yesterday. All you can do is go and try to win the game next week. We go and win the game Sunday, then it's a different feeling."
(on if the team considers how they finish the season could determine people's jobs) "You try to go out and try to do everything you can to win, help the team win games. You never want to see anyone get fired or anything like that. That's not something that you want to see happen. But, a crazy example, you look at Marty Schottenheimer. He goes, I think it was 13-3 or 14-2, and he still got fired. The crazy thing about this business is you never know what can happen. So, you definitely go out and try to win every game you can because, like I said, you don't want to see anyone lose their job or anything like that."
CB Dunta Robinson
(on if it baffles him that a team with this talent is struggling) "Yeah. It's ridiculous. So, if you would have told me at the beginning of the season, with the talent that we have on this football team, that halfway through the season we would be 3-6, I would have laughed at you. So, I'm totally amazed in the position that we're in, but this is the situation that we're in right now. We can still change it and we can still come out of this thing on top. Everything has to be better. Like I said, I'm not putting it on players. I'm not putting it on coaches. We've just got to be better. Everybody has to be accountable from the players to the coaches. Once we get that done, we'll be alright."
(on if it is troublesome that the Ravens offense confused before they go against Colts and Peyton Manning) "It's troubling, but the difference between the two teams is the Colts don't move much. They don't run unbalanced sets and all of that. Maybe after watching this film they'll (throw) in a couple, but that's not their m.o. They're basically set. They really don't even run a lot of motion with their wideouts. So, if there's any confusion in this game, then that's on us as players because we're about to go face a team that we see often and they give us the same thing every time we see them. So, it really shouldn't be that confusing."
(on how frustrating it is that the AFC is so wide open and the Texans haven't taken advantage of it) "In this league, the games that you have a chance to win, you've got to win them because week in and week out it's always going to be a different story. It's frustrating, but like I said, we've got to put that in the past. We've got to move forward. Yeah, we should have beat them (Colts) a couple of weeks ago. We should have beaten a lot of teams, but should of-could of-would of. You can't depend on that. You've got to actually go out there and do it. We didn't get the job done for one reason or another."
(on if there is anything he can say to the defense as a leader or if they know what needs to be done) "No. They know everything that needs to be done. Talking doesn't win football games for you. So, I have nothing to say to them. We've got to go out and get it done on Sunday. That's the bottom line. You can have all of the rah-rah guys you want on the football team, but if you're not going out there and producing and getting the job done on Sunday, then (there's) nothing else to be said. That's when guys are going to earn their paychecks. That's when coaches are going to earn their paychecks. As players right now, we've got to figure out a way to try to turn this thing around. A couple of weeks ago, coming off of three straight wins, things look great for us. Now, coming off of two straights losses and this one being one of the most embarrassing that I've been apart of, 41-13, we've got to look at ourselves and we've got to figure out a way to go out there and get it done."
(on if this has been the lowest point of the season) "I wouldn't say the lowest point of the season because like I said there's still a lot of football left. So, we can take it; we've just got to put it behind us. I wouldn't say it's a low point because—yeah, getting beat 41-13, that's pretty bad. That's the worst of the worst, but if we go back and look at all of the things we did wrong, we have to realize that it shouldn't have been that way. But, every loss that we've had, that's pretty much been it. That's pretty much been the theme—if we do things better, then the outcome may have been different but that story's getting old. Now it's time to start doing and stop talking about what we should have done and how many opportunities we missed in certain situations. That's old. So, like I said, everybody has to be accountable from the 53 men in this locker room to the coaches upstairs. Every guy has to be held accountable. Until that happens, we're going to be in this same situation. Like I said, players can't throw coaches under the bus and coaches can't throw players under the bus. Until every man looks himself in the face and looks at himself in the mirror, we're going to be in this same situation. It's all about accountability in this game, and until we become more accountable, it's going to be a long, uphill battle."
QB Sage Rosenfels
(on how life is today) "Well, the sun rose this morning, and we've got a very, very good team, Indianapolis, this week. They came off a big win up there at Pittsburgh and they're playing great football right now. So, we have our work cut out for us."
(on how much time he spent looking at yesterdays game and what did he see) "We saw a lot of good things and we saw some bad things. We know the things that aren't correctable. We moved the ball fairly well against the best defense in the league, but little things here and there by all positions. But I only can control myself and I need to do a better job."
(on how meaningful is it to him that he gets another chance against the Colts) "I think that we all have confidence that we know that we can play right with this team. It's not like the last time we played, they blew us out. So, we know that they're going to be ready. They're not going to take us lightly like they may have two or three years ago. They know that we can play right with them, and we've got to bring our A game if we're going to have a chance to beat them."
(on if it took him longer to get over what happened against Indianapolis than normal) "It took a little longer just because I wasn't playing the next week. If I was starting the next week, I think I would have done my best to put it out of my mind within the 24-hour rule. But I'm sure it lasted a few days longer last week, but I'm playing this week so the Baltimore Ravens are no longer on my mind. It's on the Indianapolis Colts."
(on if the last Colts game was harder because of the replays of the mistakes were shown so much) "I wasn't watching much TV those few days. So, I made a rule for myself not to watch any of it. It wasn't going to help me with my future preparation for our next game. So, I'm over it and I think the teams over it. I just think the team wants to win. We're just going to try to get a win this week. It doesn't matter who we're playing, but we happen to be playing, historically, the best team in our division."
(on if the finger pointing outside of the organization towards coach Gary Kubiak is expected) "Yeah, the head coach usually gets the fingers pointed at him and the quarterback usually gets the fingers pointed at him as well for the blame for the offense. That's the way it goes. I'm sure in charge of the offense and he's (head coach Gary Kubiak) in charge of the team. That's the way it is. The president's in charge of everything—the economy, the welfare system and everything. So, when things aren't working very well, things are struggling, tops guys always get the blame. As players in here, we're not pointing fingers. We know how well we can be, and we've just got to keep grinding it out and one of these weeks, we're going to get a big win."
(on what is the key to rebounding after such a tough loss) "Just to go back to work. We have confidence against this team. We've played them well this year, and we beat them two years ago. So, I think we've got some confidence going into this game as far as who we're playing against, but we know that they're as hot as any team in the AFC right now."
(on what he learned about himself this past week) "I think that we all know that we can play right with teams when we're playing good football and we can beat teams when we're playing good football, but when we start making mistakes, it can go from a loss to a blowout pretty quickly and that's what really happened at the end of that game. We were in that game for the most of three quarters, maybe even into the fourth quarter, but I made some critical errors there at the end that we were down 14 to go to down 28. I don't know if those plays cost the game, but it definitely made it a blowout at the end."
(on what head coach Gary Kubiak does that allows the team to stick together) "Well, the type of guys that he brings in here are blue-collar type of guys. I think that type of attitude that he sort of instills in us and that he looks for when he's looking for players to bring in here is going to help us in times like these. You've got great character on this team. Everyone gets along really well. Especially offensively, everyone gets along great. I think everyone is in it for the long run and wants to figure out a way to get it done. No one is pointing fingers on the offense; I know that."
(on what it means to him that coach Gary Kubiak takes the blame for the game) "He's (coach Gary Kubiak) a coach that players all love playing for. He's hard on us quarterbacks, but I think he's fair. When we don't play well, he'll tell us. When we play well, he'll tell us. So, he's a guy that's always been a standup type of guy and I think players will always respect that and always play hard for a coach that's like that."
(on if there are any worries about this team rebounding) "It's always hard to bounce back, but you just have to keep fighting. We've got another game this week. We've got seven more. Thinking about the past isn't going to help us win the next one. So, we're just going to move on to the next one and see if we can get this one this week."
LB DeMeco Ryans
(on if after watching the film if the game was worse) "It was still as bad as it was out there yesterday. We had a lot of mistakes and some things that I think we have corrected now. That's what you do on Monday, but the game is over with now. So, corrections don't really matter now. That game is over and done with. We have a new set of problems with Indy coming in now."
(on as players how they deal with the heat that is pointed at defensive coordinator Richard Smith) "We don't look at it. We look at it as players and we feel like we all have to step up and play better. We don't play for the coaches. We play for each other when we step out there on the field and that's what I tell the guys that it's about. It's about us sticking it up and sticking it out there on the line for each other. That's what it's about. If we play with that type of attitude, then that's when we'll be a lot better."
(on if he thinks there is any scheme problems) "No matter what the call is, no matter what (defensive coordinator) Richard (Smith) calls, we have to play. We have to line up and play the right technique and play with a lot of energy and play with a lot of passion and make plays happen."
(on if there is still a strong belief in head coach Gary Kubiak) "Oh yeah. We still believe in (head coach Gary) Kubiak and the coaching staff. There's no doubt about that. We believe that we can get it done under Kubiak. There's no doubt in my mind that we can. I know we can."
(on what he thinks the key to rebounding from such a tough loss is) "It's just everybody just taking these two days to take a look at yourself, to examine yourself, to see what you've been doing, see how you can do better as a player. I know that's what I'm doing. That's what I told all of the other guys to do—just look at ourselves and see where we can get better, not talking about a call or anything like that or where we were put in a position on the field, no matter what the offense does or whatever, it's all about us stepping up and looking at ourselves and making plays when we're out there on defense."
(on if there was something that stood out to him on film) "There's no one particular thing. Like I said, it's just a combination of different mistakes, different alignments. It's just us being more aggressive."
(on not being able to overcome the mistakes) "I think we just have to find a way like I think last year, I think we have to find a way to get turnovers. We didn't have a turnover yesterday. We have to find a way to overcome those penalties that we were getting. A big turnover would have turned that around, but we didn't get any yesterday and that hurt us big time. Still, we have to find a way to capitalize and make big plays ourselves instead of giving up so many big plays and just giving them yardage and penalties."
(on how much it helps the team that they played the Colts well last game) "I think we can lean on that a lot, but I think the Colts, they are playing a lot better now. I think they kind of have things going in the right direction. It's always tough going to Indy, playing in Indy. But with the job we did in that first game and the way we had them as a defense, I think we had a bead on what they were doing. We were honed up on it, and I don't think they're going to change much. So, I think we still kind of can have the edge on them by that first game we played. We can look at that tape and capitalize on the things that we did good in that game and do them better. I think we have a good shot."
(on if the players think about the way they play can determine if coaches lose their jobs) "The only thing we as players can control is how we step out there and play on the field. We can't control what goes on upstairs with the coaches and everything. We just control how we play, and that's the kind of attitude that we take when we step out on the field."
(on if he thinks its unfair that the coaches are receiving such criticism) "I think it is. I think players have to step up and be men. You were brought here for a reason and that's to step up and ball out when you're out there on the field. I know we're not doing that at a consistent level out of everyone, but once we step up as players and do that on a consistent basis then it will be totally different."
(on if he is healthier because his tackles were up yesterday) "I wish I could say I was healthier. I'm still a little banged up, but that's football. That happens. I just keep pushing through injury after injury, just keep pushing through and that's just playing, being a football player."
OT Eric Winston
(on if the team took a step backwards yesterday) "I think we just haven't taken enough steps forward. We haven't corrected mistakes, and we weren't good in a lot of areas that I thought we have been good on - third down conversions and we've gotten a lot better in the red zone and we weren't good in those areas yesterday."
(on if there is a quick fix) "Yes and no. You can always not turn the ball over. But probably long term, it's just going to be a process of just doing things better and just out executing other people."
(on what he thinks about the coaches receiving so much criticism) "I think we're all to blame. I think we're all to criticize. None of us are doing our jobs well. We've got to figure out how we can execute better, how we can all do better. We're all in it together. It's not just the coaches. It's not just the players. We're all in it together. We've got to figure out a way to be better and be a finished product on the field."
(on if head coach Gary Kubiak is the type of coach that can keep a locker room together) "Absolutely. I think the locker room stuff usually ends up on the player's shoulders, but I don't think anybody's questioning him in here or anybody's worried about him."
(on why the team still believes in coach Gary Kubiak) "I think the guys that have been here that came in when he came in, I think we all know what we all inherited. When I got drafted here and when he came on and starting this process, to me, we've made a lot of progress. Sometimes these growing pains are painful, to say the least. That's not good enough right now. That's not fast enough, but there has been progress and to say there hasn't been, I don't think you're kind of watching the same team."
(on if he worries about how the team finishes could cost people jobs) "Absolutely. It could cost us all of our jobs. We're all in it together. It's not just coaches or players. We're all in it together. We're all an extension of each other. I'm sure he's going to be coaching better. We've got to play better, and we'll go from there. We've got a lot of opportunities left. We've just got to go out there and just play for each other and play as hard as we can and not worry about the other stuff that we can't control."
(on how much he can take form the last game against Indy) "That's the thing about playing division opponents. That's a good and bad thing; you won't be surprised by anything. Bad thing is is they won't be surprised by anything you do. We know what we're going to get. We'll get a good pass rush; cover two. And they are going to do a lot of stunts to stop the run. They know what we're going to do; what kind of game plan we're going to operate. It's going to come down to who's executing. Thought we executed really well against them the first game here. Now, we get to go up to the new stadium and play them there. So, we're going to have to play them tough. We're going to have to just execute our game plan, just stay on rhythm and do what we've done pretty well this season - just make short, manageable third downs and run the ball."
