Linebacker Morlon Greenwood has totaled 10 tackles through the first three games after finishing second on the team with 111 last season.
Members of the Houston Texans spoke to the media on Thursday as they continue to prepare for their trip to the Georgia Dome to take on the Atlanta Falcons.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on injuries) "Ahman (Green) did not practice, so like I said, it'll just be a bonus if he's ready to go on game day. We'll see tomorrow. Other than that, nothing new."
(on WR Jerome Mathis) "Oh, ok, I did forget one. Well, you know, I really don't know. He didn't say anything about his leg after the game. Monday morning was not a problem. He came in Monday after the meeting, said his lower leg was sore. Did a little bit yesterday, continues to say it's sore today, so (head athletic trainer) Kevin (Bastin) thought we should hold him, so we'll see. We took the x-rays, MRI, we didn't see anything, so we'll just play it day to day."
(on if WR Harry Williams would be called up) "We'll suit you up; you want to play? Well, we have a tough decision. We'd have to pull somebody up from the practice squad or sign another player. We're working with that. We're trying to figure out what's the best way for us to go play Atlanta, so that's we've got to solve as coaches if he can't go."
(on how RB Ron Dayne is feeling) "Good. Practiced the whole practice, knocked the heck out of him a couple of times, he's ready to go."
(on if part of his job is trying to convince players to put everything behind them) "You know what? It's really not, because it's a great challenge. It really is. As coaches, you're sitting there trying to find the right personnel to go play with. I think the guys see it as a great challenge. We've got players stepping up out here; it's really fun to watch. You watch, André Davis is going to be a heck of a player for this team. Von Hutchins already is. And we're going to find some more because of what we're going through. And our attitude's very positive and that's why we've got a chance to move forward."
(on if André Davis' finger is bothering him) "No, he's been fine. Boy, he's practiced well and I really think we're going to find a heck of a player before we're all said and done here with him, I really do."
(on the increased importance of TE Owen Daniels because of injuries) "He's very important. He's definitely more involved in what we're doing. When you've got a guy like Andre Johnson, you're trying to set things to get him the ball. Right now, Owen becomes more of a factor of what you're doing because people are playing you a little bit different than when Andre's on the field. He played well the last two weeks, (and I) would expect him to become even more involved. Him and Jeb (Putzier)."
(on how much TE Owen Daniels has improved since last season) "He's a much better all-around player. He's always been able to do both, line of scrimmage and catch the ball. I think he's starting to run with the ball a little bit better after the catch, but one thing that we forget about O.D. is we play him all over the place and he handles it. You know, he's a young kid, a year-and-a-half player. I think he's just going to get better."
(on if he will decide on RB Ahman Green tomorrow) "No, no; we won't make that decision 'til game day. I'm just saying I'm hoping that he does something tomorrow that helps us have a little better feel for where we're at. Of course, if we're playing today, he's not playing, but he knows his body, he's been doing this a long time and if he tells us he can do it, then we'll go with it. But we'll see. We'll know more tomorrow."
(on if he will decide on WR Jerome Mathis tomorrow) "Yeah, that's a very difficult one because a big special teams presence there and then you've got to make a decision, do you got into a game with three wides? Or do you sign another guy, bring another guy up? It's not like we have other active receivers that we can just plug in; we have to make a move to get that done. We can make that move as late as Saturday, so we'll wait and see."
(on his son's health) "He's doing good. He's doing well, thanks. He's back in school. He'll be fine."
LB Morlon Greenwood
(on if there's more weight on the defense's shoulders with the injuries to the offense) "You know, week in and week out, the defense has to play well, because you know that if they don't score, they don't win. That's the bottom line with defense, so we're always going out there and we always have the mindset that we have to stop the opponent, and so that's always the mindset."
(on what the defense did differently in the second half against Indianapolis) "Nothing, really. I think in the second half of the Indy game, we just executed better and as you can see, we were able to get off the field."
(on Atlanta's personnel) "We could start with the running back, Warrick Dunn. He's a very shifty guy. They have the other guy, (Jerious) Norwood, who is also shifty and has a lot of speed, and Joey Harrington with the arm to spread the ball out to his wide receivers. But the bottom line is, as a defense, we've just got to come out there and we've just got to play well, play close together as a group, just like we've been doing and just like play fundamentally sound. Because especially in the running game, Warrick Dunn's a very shifty back and he can hit that home run on you. So you have to make sure you play fundamentally sound."
(on the improvements he's seen in LB Eduardo Castañeda) "You should have seen him out there in practice. He's moving better, he's playing harder, he's giving a great look for the offensive guys, so I think so far his progress is doing pretty good."
(on if he has given LB Eduardo Castañeda any tips) "Yeah. I give him a lot of tips and also, I give Eduardo a lot of tips and any advice or anything he needs, whether it be as far as on the football field, but also if he needs like advice as far as where to get a place and things like that."
(on any particular area LB Eduardo Castañeda is excelling in) "I think each week, it's getting more physical. I think each week when we do our inside runs on 9-on-7s, I see him in there plugging the holes and plugging the gaps and he's getting better and better, so that's real good to see."
(on if LB Eduardo Castañeda will keep improving and be able to make the team next season) "Yeah, you know, I think all he needs to do is focus on his technique, day in and day and day out, and continue to learn the defense and learn his technique, and I think he'll be fine."
TE Jeb Putzier
(on being able to bounce back from a loss and injuries) "Well, you know, we need to, because that was a big loss for us and they're a hungry team. They're 0-3 and they really shouldn't be. They're much better than their record indicates, so we're going to have to play our best game against this team."
(on what stands out about Atlanta's defense) "They're fast. This is a fast defense and they do a lot of things that can be confusing to an offense, so we're going to have to make sure we get all our p's and q's straight and go out and do our job right."
(on what they do that's confusing) "They just play a lot of coverages. And they have good personnel over there, so it makes it tough."
(on what kind of tone Bobby Petrino seems to be setting in his first season) "I don't know. It's tough – I noticed that last year with Coach Kubiak here is you try and get that right mentality for your team, what you want, and I don't know what theirs is yet."
(on if the mentality is starting to settle in here) "Definitely. Our work ethic is where he wants it and how we prepare ourselves in practice and what we need to do in order to be successful, all that stuff's coming together."
