Head coach Gary Kubiak spoke to the media following Friday's practice.
Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on health at practice) "First off, we're the same today. Everybody's out there except (Tim) Dobbins. He will be a game-time decision. We'll work him out in Denver the morning of the game and see so that's where we're at."
(on if there are certain games that count more) "I really don't get into that. I try to keep as focused on just playing week-in and week-out. We know we're off to a good start. We know we're going to play in a very difficult place. We're going to have to play very good, but we got a darn good football team. We've had a good week, and you got to build to go on the road in tough environments. This will be a very difficult environment, probably one of the most difficult we've played in in a while, and be able to execute. It's the next one. Heck the next one's always the most important. I think the challenge here is knowing how good a football team we're playing."
(on this team's abundance of offensive weapons) "We've got some good young players on our football team. How they end up, what we end up being, there is still a ways to go there, but we're balanced and that's what you look for. When you're a play caller whether you're offense or defense you want to be as balanced as you can. I feel like we can throw it. We've got the people to throw it. I know we can run it very good. It seems like we've got different people each week chipping in and I think that's important because it keeps people from locking in, saying, 'I'm going to take this guy away or that guy away.' Not only are we balanced, but we have confidence in, 'Hey somebody else will make a play.' So that's important like I said, we got a lot of young ability up front and backfield, those types of things. We've got to keep going and let it run its course, but we got an opportunity to be pretty good."
(on WR Andre Johnson's unselfishness) "(WR) Andre's (Johnson) always been very unselfish to me. First off, you got a talent like him, you want to get him the ball. That's just the way it works, but Andre has always been a worker and he wants to win. Andre got a taste of the playoffs last year. Thankfully he made it back for those two games. I really think the measure of a team in the long haul, when I was in Denver we had some really good teams and the year we won a Super Bowl John Elway threw for 117 yards. You got to have a good team. You got to have a good team to be successful. He's a Hall of Fame player, but that team is the one that helped him win a championship so we're trying to build a good team and be balanced and Andre (Johnson) understands that. He's been the rock around here and the unselfish guy to stay here and stay the course throughout our going on ten year period now. He deserves a lot of credit for that."
(on WR Andre Johnson being a team player) "Well first off when you're a 10-year guy and you've been in the playoffs one time, the one thing you know is how difficult it is to get there. In (WR) Andre's (Johnson) course, he's been with the expansion franchise and all that stuff so it's been different and a lot of players may get drafted into some success right away so I think the importance of winning and you don't know how much time you have left to play, it overwhelms everything. I should say it overstates everything else that you play this game for. I've always felt Andre's been a team player ever since I've been around him I know that."
(on the team's mentality this week) "We've been really good. Practice-wise our guys I told them after the game the other day, it's kind of a strength to have as a team. Preparation week-in and week-out, the monotony of 16-game schedule, it's tough in this league. You got 53 guys trying to go practice every day. You got missing some of those. Our guys really enjoy being around each other. They enjoy the work. They have a good time. We have good practices, bad practices but the thing I'm impressed with them is they know when to lock in. They know when it's time to lock in. I can just feel it. I felt it today. I thought we practiced good today. We know what we're fixing to go face. I can feel it on Saturday nights before a game. So I just think that's the maturity of the team. We have a lot of guys now that understand that not just eight or 10. I think we got a big group of guys that understand that."
