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Head Coach Gary Kubiak**
(on the status of WR Andre Johnson) "He did have a concussion and he's obviously in the protocol. He's doing great today. He rode the bike today. He's doing great, but he's in the protocol."
(on if he expects WR Andre Johnson to play this week) "I think obviously it will be an end of the week decision because he's got to go through the process, but I think, after the game talking to him and seeing where he's at today, obviously he's doing really well. I would expect the progress to go pretty quickly if it goes like it has the last 24 hours."
(on if he can say right now if FS Ed Reed is going to play Sunday) "No, I wouldn't say that. I say he's doing great. He ran with the team today. I think he's right where we kind of thought he would be and we're still in a day-to-day process, but he's doing very well."
(on being successful on offense in the red zone and if there have been any changes this year) "Yeah, that's one thing with our team right now, obviously offensively, I don't think we've missed. We're seven-for seven. Defensively, I think we've given up six-for-six or something like that. We've got to hang on to one and fix the other. I don't know. We've made some plays down there throwing the ball, made some big plays down there throwing the ball. Our tight ends have come up big and (WR) DeAndre (Hopkins) comes up big yesterday. I don't know. I know it comes with winning. When you're good in the red zone and you stop people in the red zone, usually you find a way to win. Hopefully, we can hang on to that, but we've got some things to correct defensively."
(on the progress WR DeAndre Hopkins continues to make) "Yeah, that's fun to see. To see a guy get, especially in such a tough situation, make all the big plays he made at the end of the game. He was our offensive player of the game, but I think the most encouraging thing is you watch the film and, God, there is so much room for improvement. For us, as coaches and for him as a player, we've got to hang onto the good things he's doing and we've got to fix the mistakes and some of the things he's struggling with offensively. But I think those things will come and confidence can only help them come even faster."
(on winning five consecutive one-score games and the key to winning games like that) "Somebody asked me that on the practice field. I think, first off, understanding that that's what this league is all about is the first big step as a football team and an organization. If every week, you know how good the players are in this league and how tough the games are, what's the percentage of one-score games in this league each week. I think, when you expect to be in those situations, then you don't panic if you're the one down. Then, you just stay poised if you're the one up. I think it's really just over and over again being put in those situations and learning how to respond to them. Obviously, two very difficult situations to respond to. You don't want to be doing that too much, but we've got confidence that we can if we have to."
(on if he's had the team work more on practicing for close games the last few years) "I would say we talk about them more. We're always working on having to speed up games, what we've got to do in certain situations to get something done. I think we've improved from that standpoint. The fact that our quarterback's been running our offense now for how many years has it been? What's Matt been here now, five or six? Heck I don't even know. I just think him being so comfortable in tough situations is getting us through these things. It's a big credit to him and obviously the defense put us in position to get the ball back a couple of times."
(on his successful challenges yesterday) "The play coming out of the end zone, we thought was a pretty easy challenge. The one with (WR) Andre (Johnson), I think I told you guys after the game, I hate to say Andre getting nicked up probably helped us, but it did give us a long time to look at it. So I compliment the league because you do have to finish the play, finish with the ball all the way to the ground. We understand that. We've been shown that enough, but I felt like Andre did finish the catch. The play was over before the guy reached over and knocked the ball out. I think (Referee) Jeff (Triplette) did a good job of handling that situation, but I got give the extra time I got a little credit there."
(on how important WR Keshawn Martin is to this team) "He's important. What we're doing right now, he's obviously our three. If (WR) DeAndre (Hopkins) comes out of the game, he plays Z. If (WR) Andre (Johnson) comes out of the game, he plays X. He's handling two spots for us as a player. He makes a big play in the game. We've got a lot of confidence in him. I think he's getting more confidence as a returner. I think touches on a week-to-week basis are important for Keshawn. He deserves some more. To step up and make the play he made in the game, he did a heck of a job."
(on if there's something specific he's looking for to say FS Ed Reed is ready to go) "Me, personally? No, there's nothing specific I'm looking for. I think it's a combination of everybody looking for those explosive movements from the middle of the field to the sideline, breaking on the ball. Those type of things. To where it looks the way it has in the past and the way Ed knows it's supposed to look. There's a lot of people involved in the process. We were very, very close yesterday. I can tell you that. It was along conversation, but we thought we made the right decision to continue to move forward. It's going to be a long season and we want him there for the long haul. Like I said, we'll just keep going. Today's another good day and we're very close."
(on if he had a view on the hit WR Andre Johnson took from Titans S Bernard Pollard) "I really haven't been able to watch some slow replay or anything. It happened so fast. Nowadays in this game, it just seems like there's so many of those hits, targeting or crowning, just seems like every game's got five or six of them. It's a big point of emphasis with the league. We had one of our own. (CB) Kareem (Jackson) got a big penalty in the game. I know one thing; I think it's just difficult on players because the game has changed so much from the target. The reckless abandon they play with in certain situations, I think is very difficult. It seems to play a big part in each game."
(on how it went between RBs Ben Tate and Arian Foster and if he'll stick with splitting carries for the future) "No doubt. First off, I think Arian got better this week. No doubt it my mind. I think Ben was exceptional too. We're pretty close there until the end of the game once again. I think they're both playing real well, I think Arian is catching up so to speak from what the time he has missed, but I think Ben's playing at an extremely high level right now. It's important that we continue to give him his touches and we will."
(on starting off well with the first drive on offense and then struggling after that and what changed) "We just didn't make any third downs. After the first drive, it was as good as it can be. We get the ball back. We have another good possession. We go right down the field. I think we've got third-and-four and we've got a really good play set up, and we miss a situation. We miss a cut that (RB) Arian (Foster) would make most of the time. It's a big play. Then, all of a sudden, we miss third-and-three, we miss third-and-five, we miss third-and-seven. There goes 12 more plays you're going to run as an offensive football team. Third downs are the key to staying on the field and being balanced. We were very, very poor from, well, the first quarter, we really only had the ball what three or four minutes, something like that, but that second and third quarter, we were very poor on third downs."
(on Ravens RB Ray Rice's injury and how that affects things) "We're just get started on them. He's a great player, obviously. But I tell you what, the one behind him is a tremendous player, too. I mean, he's played extremely well. So I don't think it's going to change anything they do. Our focus has got to be on ourselves. Our focus has got to be on ourselves. To go on the road, play the world champs, the type of game we're going to have to play, we're going to have to correct our own stuff and stay concerned with what we're doing."
(on what QB Matt Schaub has to do to bounce back from Sunday's performance) "Yeah, he's fixing to play in a tough place against a really good defensive football team. I think Matt's (Schaub) off to a good start. He's made a couple poor decisions that he's made up for, that's the good thing. We've got to get rid of those and he knows that. I think the word for this week as we left our meeting today, the word is consistency in what we're doing and that's part of the NFL battle. We've got to get more consistent in what we're doing."
(on K Randy Bullock's struggles) "We talked about a lot. What is he, one-for-five? I think I was wrong yesterday. I said he was one-for-four yesterday or whatever. I knew he kicked a bunch of balls yesterday. I don't know how many he kicked at the end. Yeah, there's disappointment because obviously we think he's a heck of a kicker. He's got plenty of leg. Of the four misses, three of them are 50 yards. So it's not like I'm giving him chip shots. I'm sure he'd be much happier if he got to kick some 30- and 35-yarders. We take that into consideration. But he's got to make that kick to end the game yesterday. That's his job. But there are three people involved in that: the snap, the hold and the kick. And we've all got to take responsibility and get better and they will. We've got confidence in Randy (Bullock). We'll see if we can get him a little bit closer. But we expect him to step up and be strong here and work through this and do a good job for us."
(on what happened on QB Matt Schaub's pick-six against Tennessee) "It's a misread. It'd take me a while to explain. There's an adjustment on a route, whether a guy is in bump or whether a guy's off and it's a misread from a quarterback standpoint. Just a mistake."
(on if there any other injuries) "No. We've got some nicks and stuff, but other than that, we're okay."
(on if FS Ed Reed will still be coming off the bench if he's ready to play at Baltimore) "We're going to listen to him. I think we're at the point right now where he's really strong in his movements and what he's doing and when he's ready to go, it's time to go. Let's take it a day at a time. Let's get there first. I think the arrow is pointing way up right now."
(on how important it is that he told K Randy Bullock that he and the team have confidence in him) "Well, I think it's important. Heck, I know Mr. McNair said something to him, too, because he told me that today. But you watch your locker room as a coach and I know our guys respect Randy (Bullock). He's a worker. He's not some guy who comes in here and kicks his few balls and calls it a day. He works really hard at what he does and he's young. We're going young with him and we're going to stand behind him. Like I said, he's got a job to do. He's responsible for his job. But we're going to give him a lot of help. His teammates are going to support him. I'm going to support him and we've got to get him going in the right direction here."
