The Texans practiced Monday at the Methodist Training Center and after, head coach Gary Kubiak and some players answered questions from the media. The following is a transcript of their respective interviews.
Head Coach Gary KubiakT Duane BrownRB Justin ForsettCB Kareem JacksonWR Andre JohnsonCB Johnathan Joseph
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Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on having the injured players back at this morning's practice) "Yeah, we got our guys back today on the field and also that group you said included (Jesse) Nading, it included (Brandon) Brooks. (Jared) Crick is not back yet, but, yeah, we came out in shorts today, tried to get going again after the day off. I thought we were sluggish early, but I thought we got better as the practice went along. Got some good heat going on today, so got to push through, and get ready to play this week."
(on how WR Andre Johnson looked) "I thought he looked good. We put a play count on him, so we're going to do that as the week goes on. It's about getting him going again and not expecting him to go the full board on the first day out. I thought he held up well, and we'll move forward tomorrow."
(on if WR Andre Johnson will play in the preseason game this weekend) "I don't know. We'll sit down and talk about all that probably Thursday. So I don't know."
(on T Duane Brown returning) "He was fine. He was one guy that came back, went back to his full allotment of reps. We're very fortunate with Duane. He's a hell of a player, good to see him back out here and go on."
(on CB Kareem Jackson returning) "Kareem took half the reps, but looked fine. So all indications are we got through this morning heading in the right direction."
(on any health issues this morning) "We had a couple of guys, couple heat issues. Mister Alexander, I think our young defensive lineman from U of H, (David) Hunter, got a little heat issue, but other than that I think we're okay."
T Duane Brown
(on returning to practice) "It feels great. You hate to see these guys go to work and sit on the sideline watching. I felt good today. I'm still out here trying to perfect my craft, get as good as I can. It felt great and it's just good to get some work."
(on returning to practice) "Felt good to get back and get some work with my teammates. I had to sit out a couple days and get better. But it was good to get back on the ground with these guys."
(on injuries during training camp) "It's the nature of the beast. You just got to grind to get back. I got lucky. A few of us got lucky out here to avoid some major injuries. You just get back and get back to it. You just try to go as hard as you can and prevent it and if something happens, you just got to work to get back."
(on if he's completely back) Yeah, I'm 100 percent. I felt great out here, moving around well. I'm ready to go Saturday."
(on if he's rusty) "You get a little winded with this Houston heat. This is one of the hottest days we've had all year. So coming back and getting out in this heat it starts to wear on you, but that's what makes you tough and makes you a man, coming out here and persevering through this weather."
(on if he was limited at all in practice) "Not at all. I was out there from start to finish, every individual drill, every team period. I got a full day's work today."
RB Justin Forsett
(on if he played volleyball with his wife) "I did, I did. Back in California we'd go down to Santa Cruz every once in a while, got on the beach court and me and my friend we beat her, her and her teammate. She will deny that but that's the truth.
(on how tall his wife is) "She's 5-7. I'm 5-8 on a good day. So, no, she's very explosive like I said, she has a 36-inch vertical, she can dunk a tennis ball. Yeah, she's pretty explosive.
(on the projected due date for his baby) "January 8."
(on his wife expressing any sadness not being in London for the Olympic Games) "You know, it's definitely natural that she would want to be out there with the team and have a chance to go out there. But just with this baby, we're so excited, we're so blessed to have this opportunity."
(on how his wife broke the news about being pregnant) "Yeah, she was out at Olympic training facility in Anaheim, California, and just working out and then all of a sudden she's like 'I'm not feeling right.' This was about four months ago, and went up and told the coach, took a test and she told the coach."
(on the pregnancy not being planned) "Right, it just happened."
(on if his wife was disappointed or happy) "She was happy. She was happy because of the baby. We know that it's a blessing, like I said. And just me starting new with a new team and having an addition to our family, it's only fitting."
(on if she can bounce back into volleyball) "We still got to talk about that but right now we're just concentrating on the family."
(on his wife playing volleyball again after the birth of their child) "Yeah but volleyball is a thing that- she's got a teammate that's playing right now that's 39, 40. So, you can play a while."
(on if his wife will try for the 2016 Olympic Games) "We don't know yet. We still got to talk about it but right now it's just family, it's just family stuff."
(on the climate in Houston compared to that in Seattle) "Oh, man. Today I think it might be 60 in Seattle. I don't know what today is, it just says 'hot' on the temperature."
(on where they did their training camp in Seattle) "In Renton (Wash.), right at our facility. Right on the lake, nice cool breeze."
(on if his wife would have been on the Olympic team if she had not gotten pregnant) "Yeah, I mean, they still had to go through some more trials or whatnot for it. It's like training camp, but she was down to 20, last 20. They cut it down to I think about 13. She still had a chance but it was just too close."
CB Kareem Jackson
(on what he's learned from CB Johnathan Joseph) "I learned a lot. To have a veteran guy like J-Joe in the room with you, it's obvious for you to pick his mind. Just learn some of the little tips and what to watch for so, I learned a lot."
(on if CB Johnathan Joseph has said anything to help deflect criticism) "Yeah, in certain situations but, at the same time, I come out every day and I work. J-Joe has seen the work that I put in, as does everybody else that's out here with me. I'm not really afraid of the criticism. I'm facing it every Sunday that I go out on the field. As long as I'm accountable to these guys on the field with me, that's all that matters."
(on how much talking him and CB Johnathan Joseph do back and forth during a game) "Definitely, definitely. It's all about playing the game. At some point, we're going to have to face the same guy throughout that game. We talk about little things we see in the receiver, little things he's doing, the space we're getting, what to watch for, things like that. We definitely talk throughout the game."
(on what he is going to be working on most during camp) "Like J-Joe (Johnathan Joseph) said, all last season a lot of passes that were caught on me, I had perfect position. I just got to progress to that next level, that next stage and that's to make the big play in certain situations that could possibly turn a game around. So that's one of the things that I definitely want to work on in training camp."
(on if he'll work on turning around and finding the ball) "Definitely, definitely. Kind of timing it up and being in the right place at the right time in the right position to turn around and make those plays."
WR Andre Johnson
(on how he felt returning to practice) "It felt good. It's always good to be back on the field. You don't want to be over doing rehab while your teammates are still working, but it felt good to be back out here."
(on if it was business as usual today on the field) "Yeah, that's the only reason I step out here, to try to get better as a player."
(on if he was limited at practice) "They didn't want me taking whole bunch of reps. They just wanted to work me in. I took probably about 20 reps today, but they were kind of mixed in. Sometimes I went in for two or three plays in a row. They did a great job of mixing it up. The practice went fine."
(on how practice went) "I felt fine. I had a couple guys telling me I looked like I'm moving well. They asked me how I was feeling. I felt fine running out there and didn't feel anything."
(on how eager he was to get back out practicing) "I'm very excited. You never want to be sitting on the sideline watching your teammates play. You want to be out there working, just like they're working. I'm glad I can be back out here and I'll keep on working."
(on the flow of practice with the offense) "I think it went well. The first period I was able to get in, I was able to catch a pass on the first play. Matt (Schaub) looked at me and it was just like riding a bike. It's a lot of fun. My teammates make it fun for me. They know I've been struggling and down at times, going through injuries and things like that and they've done a great job with keeping me upbeat."
(on sitting out of practice) "I hate it. I always want to be out here working. I always want to do everything I can to better my game. I'm never satisfied with where I'm at as a player. While I'm out here right now, I'll just keep working and hopefully we don't have any more injuries."
CB Johnathan Joseph
(on what he sees in CB Kareem Jackson that will improve this year) "It was about being consistent before, he was consistent all of last year. Now it's probably about just making more big plays, and that comes with time. Like I told him myself, I dealt with injuries early on in my career and faced the stigma on and off the field. And for him, there's different reasons for whatever, and I overcame. And within him I see the same thing."
(on how much confidence they have in the defense after last season's success) "Confidence is swagger. The more you build your confidence up, the better you play and the better you play, the more swag you have. For us, we're just going to go out and practice and improve each and every day. Once we get out on Saturday and make some plays, that's when we open up the can of swag and just go out and be ourselves and play hard and show the fans and everybody else what we're made of."
AFTERNOON
The Texans practiced inside the Methodist Training Center in the afternoon and head coach Gary Kubiak answered questions from the media aftewards. The following is a transcript of his interview.
Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on DE J.J. Watt's injury) "He's doing excellent. He was doing some push-ups in the training room yesterday. We knew that. He's so driven in everything he does. He's so upbeat because he knows he's going to be ready to go and we'll see where we're at here as we get to the middle of the preseason. Hopefully he can come back and play some of the preseason. But obviously the goal is to have him ready for Miami."
(on what came out of the afternoon practice) "We're just teaching. We continue to have a lot of things to teach. We're staying in our basic two-a-day routine throughout this week and half of next week. So we'll just kind of get back to it. We had the day off and a little slow start this morning but we got going."
(on recent injuries) "A couple little things this morning, heat issues more than anything else. We're hoping they all come back tomorrow morning."
(on any particular young guy he wants to see this weekend) "I want to see all the young players. I'll sit down Thursday and decide exactly how I'm going to play them. But the bottom line is that we got a lot of good young players, a lot of things that have to get sorted out. We have to make sure they get out there and do it on the field, so we'll make that decision Thursday."
