Dunta Robinson can't wait to face the New York Jets.
Texans head coach Gary Kubiak and a handful of players spoke to the media after Sunday morning's practice.
Head coach Gary Kubiak LB Brian Cushing LB Zac Diles CB Antwaun Molden QB Dan Orlovsky CB Dunta Robinson
Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on CB Dunta Robinson being back with the team) "We had some things to get done. We had to get the contract signed. We had to go take the physical. What I told him and I told the team this morning, what we did today, was we went over there and put him through a little conditioning, just so that (strength & conditioning coach) Ray (Wright) and Kap(head athletic trainer Geoff Kaplan) can see where he's at physically. If he's where I think he is and where he tells me he is, then he'll be right back here on the field Tuesday to go and play his spot. We'll see how much he can handle as we go. That's what we're doing today. I haven't talked to anybody but it sure look good from afar."
(on what it means to have Dunta back out with the team) "When you look at the guys that have been here with the organization through all of the growing pains and everything, you start to look at (G) Chester (Pitts), you look at (WR) Andre (Johnson), and then you look at Dunta. I know there is a few more but they've been the cornerstones and we've built the team around those guys. I know they're counting on him and I know he's very upbeat and ready to go. It's very positive and I'm just excited to have him back.
(on if Dunta will start against the Jets) "He will go to his spot, you bet. Like I told him, it's up to him to basically show us how he is physically, how far he can come in this next week. I don't think you're looking at a player that's going to go out there and play 60-70 plays, kind of like (LB Brian) Cushing. Whether or not he'll be there on gameday, we'll see. He will let us know by how he practices."
(on if he is okay with Dunta showing up today) "I'm fine with it. I told him that this morning. Heck, I've wanted him here since March so that hasn't changed. I understand the business and I understand what he went through and I understand the franchise—I understand all of that. I've been around it, but hey that's over. He's here today. It's time to go play football. We've got a big game here in seven days and none of those things are an issue right now. Football is the issue."
(on if there is any gap between teammates for Dunta showing up today) "I think players understand the business too so I think they respect that. Now if a player walks in here and he's not physically ready to go and something like that, that's another issue. He's been, supposedly, taking dang good care of himself and it sure looked that way. I know he's been in contact with his teammates. They know what he can do for them. It's time to play. We need all the help we can get. We need everybody on board and I know his teammates are ready for him to do his part."
(on if Dunta showing up provides a spark) "Yeah, obviously, because you're missing a great player the whole time as you go through camp regardless. It's going to make our team better because we've got some young players like (CB Glover) Quin and (CB Brice) McCain and some of the things they did, but it's good to have him back."
(on if the team is regular season ready) "Well, we'll find out in seven days. You know, its easy to sit here and say yes. We've had a good camp. But we're fixing to get into a tough 16-game grueling schedule against a great team on opening day. We've got some questions out there because we've been missing some people from the standpoint of being out there on a regular basis. That's part of the NFL. We have to get to opening day and we're there and for the most part, we're healthy."
(on LB Brian Cushing looking healthy) "Yeah, he's fine. We needed to bang on each other today. Our ones haven't hit anybody really in about five days so we're out here beating each other up a little bit. So we're getting tomorrow off and then we'll get to work."
(on how much film study he does of the Baltimore game from last year in preparation for Rex Ryan and the Jets) "Obviously, that's his scheme. So you study what they did all last year, not just that game. He's taken that scheme to New York, and he's taken a couple key players with him that know it very well in (LB) Bart Scott and the safety (Jim) Leonhard. They are very talented. The Jets were a couple plays away from being a playoff team last year and then you bring his defensive mentality, his football mentality to that team, they've been very good in the preseason."
CB Dunta Robinson
(on what he did to compensate for not being in camp) "What I did, I usually worked out in the morning. My day started at seven o'clock every morning and I worked out in the morning. Twelve-thirty, I was on the field, conditioning, doing a little bit in addition to that. Two o'clock, I had Bill Bradley, who was the defensive backs coach last year for the San Diego Chargers, he came down, and also Matt Jones was there getting ready for his tryout for Tennessee, and we got a lot of work done. I did a lot of football oriented stuff."
(on if that was enough) "No, it's never enough. I need to be out here, put the helmet on, put the pads on, run around a little bit. Last year, after my injury, I came right off PUP and practiced for three days and I was playing by Sunday so that's a situation I'm familiar with."
(on starting and if he'll be ready to go against the Jets) "Yeah, I think so. I feel I'll be ready to go. I'm just going to take it day by day. If I can feel a little bit better tomorrow than I did today, then I'll be fine leading up to Sunday."
(on what kind of greeting he is getting from his teammates) "Mostly hugs. High fives. 'Glad you're back, man. ' My relationship with my teammates has always been a great relationship. I missed these guys and they've missed me. So as soon as I walked in, the first guy I saw was Chris Brown, the running back. He gave me a big hug like, 'Man, I missed you.'"
(on if he watched the team during the preseason) "I watched all four games, except for the New Orleans Saints game and after I saw the score, I was glad I didn't get to watch that game. But yeah, I checked them out and I wanted to be out there so bad but like I said, it's a business and I had to take care of my business."
(on his thoughts about the secondary) "They looked good. I thought the young guys out there that were running around, I thought they got some quality experience in the preseason and they did a good job. As a whole, the secondary looked good. I was kind of glad in the Minnesota game that I didn't play. It was on the right side and I saw (FS) Eugene (Wilson) take that chopblock to his right knee. I was kind of glad because that could've been me on that right side of the field and I wouldn't have been to happy about that situation. All the guys did a great job."
(on if it was worth holding out) "It was definitely worth it. I did what I believe was the right thing to do. Things don't always work out in your favor, but you can let people know that this is how it's going to be and I think that's what I did."
(on if he got his point across to the franchise) "I think so. I didn't get what I wanted but it is what it is. Now, I've just got to prove it on the football field."
(on if there is any gap to bridge) "No, no gaps that have to be bridged. These guys, they see me on the field. They know what kind of competitor I am and they know how hard I work. They understand that it's a business. That's one thing about the guys in this locker room, they understand when it's time for you to take care of your business and that goes for any other guy in this locker room that feels they're doing the right thing. You've got to let guys do what they're doing. Once the come back, if you're a good person, everything will be the same. If you're a person that causes a lot of problems in the locker room and something like that goes on, guys probably won't greet you the way I was greeted coming into this locker room because the guys know what kind of person I am, what kind of character I have."
(on what they have to do against the Jets to play the run better) "We've just got to play more physical. That's from the start of the game to the finish, the end of the game. We gotta play fast and we gotta play physical. As DBs, we've got to get our blocks in. We can't come in and olé guys. We have to come up and make tackles and let them know that it's going to be a long night and the guys on the outside are willing to tackle. So, just playing physical and playing fast. Just go out there and give it all we've got and we'll be fine."
(on his thoughts on the upcoming season) "I'm hoping we can all stay healthy for the first time in a long time. I think if we can do that, we'll definitely be a playoff team. I want to win this division for the first time, something that hasn't been doing around here. Guys just have to continue to work hard and put everything together and let's go out there and make plays."
(on how it feels to be back with the team) "It feels great to be back. Walking in this locker room this morning, I saw all the smiling faces; it's like guys were waiting on me, and that's a good feeling. Because like I said, they know how hard I work, they know how hard I prepare and they know that I'm a big part of this thing. So it felt good to come in here. No one had a bad attitude, just a lot of high-fiving a lot of hugging. It's good to be back where I belong."
(on how he felt during conditioning at practice today) "I felt good. Honestly, I couldn't believe I finished it. It was three reps of 10, so 30 reps total. I told them, if I get 30 straight passes in the game, I'm coming out of the game, so no need to work me this hard right now (laughs). But no, it was a lot of fun. I got a lot of work in. I finished the tough workout, so I feel pretty good."
(on if he's looking forward to getting on the field with his teammates) "I definitely am. It's been a long time coming. My knee feels a lot better. Physically, I feel great. I'm in really good shape, so I'm excited and I can't wait to get out with those guys on Tuesday."
(on how he spent his offseason) "I started at Parisi's Speed School out in New Jersey dong some things out there. And then I went to IMG down in Sarasota, Fla. I started that as soon as camp started, so I basically went through my won two-a-days down there – myself; Bill Bradley, who was the DB coach last year at San Diego; and Matt Jones, who played in my divsion last year at Jacksonville. So we went at it every day. I went at it two times a day – like I said, my own personal two-a-days – so I feel like I'm prepared. I feel like I'm in pretty good shape."
(on if was tough watching the team from afar) "It definitely was, especially when you know you're supposed to be out there. But business had to be handled, and I handled it the way I felt it needed to be handled. So like I said, that's what comes with this business, and sometimes you have to let bygones be bygones and get back to work, and that's what I plan on doing."
(on if he worries about any lingering animosity) "No, I think it's all smoothed over. I think what people don't understand is that it was never that serious to the point where I was going to come to blows with somebody. We agreed to disagree. And now I'm back and the tender is signed, and now it's time to play football. Everything else is out the window. It was never really that serious that I think people wanted to make it out to be."
(on facing the Jets in Week 1) "I'm excited, man. I've just got to come out here and keep working, try to catch up as best I can. I'm about to go see (David) Gibbs right now for a meeting, so I'm excited. It's been a long time since I saw an opposing team and lined up against another receiver on another team, so I'm excited about that."
LB Brian Cushing
(on how he feels) "I feel good. I'm ready to go. I had a real good practice. In the pads, it was physical. I moved around and no tenderness or anything wrong with the knee."
(on if he thinks he will be ready for the Jets) "Oh yeah. No, I will be. I'm feeling great. Still have a couple days left. I'm a hundred percent now so I'm happy about where I'm at."
(on if he looks forward to going up against Jets QB Mark Sanchez) "Yeah I do. That's my roommate. We spent some time together the last four years. We really grew up in that S.C. (Southern California) system together and we're both really looking forward to this opportunity."
(on what he knows about Sanchez based on being close) "He's a real competitive kid. He's done a great job in his four years developing as a quarterback. He's in the perfect system and he flourished. He's doing well already which has surprised a lot of people, but not me. I expected him to do well. He's a great leader and he'll be ready come Sunday."
CB Antwaun Molden
(on what it's like to have Dunta back) "It's real good. You can just tell throughout the locker room when he comes back, he's a great leader. He's going to add to our secondary. He's a fast, quick player and we learned a lot from him last year. It's definitely good to have him back."
(on T Eric Winston saying he was jealous of Dunta) "You know it's just a business. As players, we're just happy to have him back in the locker room. You can see everyone was excited, you know, with him breaking down the huddle. He's a great player and we're excited to have him back."
LB Zac Diles
(on Dunta being back) "It's good to see him back here. I haven't seen him for awhile. He will bring an added element to our defense. We all know what D-Rob does when he's out there, so I'm excited to have him back."
(on Dunta making the team better and the type of leader he is) "Yeah, exactly. There's a whole different aurora around here. I'm just glad he came back and joined us. It's been awhile. It'll be good to see him back out there and holding down a corner spot and coming up and hitting somebody."
(on how he feels about Dunta missing all of training camp) "It's a business. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. He's here now. He's back now. He told us all as a team that he'll be ready, so I have faith in him that he is."
(on T Eric Winston saying he was jealous of Dunta) "He probably added a couple years to his NFL career, missing training camp. But like I said, it's the way business goes sometimes, and he's here now, so that's all there is now, and we'll focus on that."
QB Dan Orlovsky
(on if he is concerned if he is the No. 2 or 3 quarterback) "No. I've never been too concerned with that, no matter what my position was. I know what Coach brought me in here to do and that is my responsibility and job to do that. Until something gets said to me, my mindset is going to be preparing to take the first snap against the Jets. I know that (QB) Matt (Schaub) is going to be that guy, like I said that is just my mindset. My teammates count on me to have that mindset so I'll prepare that way."
(on what he has done well and what he needs to improve on) "Well I'm always a believer that you improve on everything. Just running the huddle, running the offense. Learning. Trying to adjust to be the quarterback that your coaches want you to be. Things you need to work on, just making the correct play one hundred percent of the time and trying to maintain a mindset of being perfect. Perfect doesn't mean going out there and throwing a touchdown pass every single play. It's making the right play on every play. It's a growing process. It's one that I feel I have made really good strides on, but I know there is room to grow. The thing I'm confident in is that I've always been a worker. I've always taken the opportunity to when there is room to grow, to grow so I'll just continue to do that."
