HEAD COACH GARY KUBIAK
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR WADE PHILLIPS
FB JAMES CASEY
TE OWEN DANIELS
RB ARIAN FOSTER
TE GARRETT GRAHAM
WR ANDRE JOHNSON
CB JOHNATHAN JOSEPH
OLB WHITNEY MERCILUS
T DEREK NEWTON
FS GLOVER QUIN
OLB BROOKS REED
QB MATT SCHAUB
DE ANTONIO SMITH
WR KEVIN WALTER
DE J.J. WATT
HEAD COACH GARY KUBIAK (Transcribed by Tiffani Walker)
(on changes he made at halftime) "We moved the heck out of the ball. I think at that time we were averaging over seven yards a play. So that's what you're looking for. But when you have as many penalties, first and twenties as we did, you're just killing yourself. Other than telling them the truth, no, I didn't do a whole heck of a lot. Just told them to get rid of the penalties, we were moving the ball and let's go back out and play better."
(on how he felt about the offensive play from the first to the second half) "We played cleaner as a team in the second half. Defensively, I thought we played very good in the second half. Offensively, we did away with the things that were hurting us, except for, I think, the second drive. I knew they would come in here and play well. They had two weeks off and they have a ton of talent, they were fresh, so we knew we had a battle on our hands. We did a lot of things that are not good enough for us to win consistently, but yet we found a way to survive. So, I've got a lot of things I have to fix."
(on what he told the team after the game) "Just what I'm telling you: you've got to survive in this league and find a way to win. It wasn't always pretty. We did a lot of things as a team, but it wasn't very smart. So me as a coach have got to look at things, we as coaches we've got to look at things. But we found a way to get it done. And it's about winning. I told them to feel good about winning, but let's come in tomorrow and try and fix some of that stuff."
(on the special teams play, specifically, return and coverage teams) "We played better from that standpoint. Obviously, the last punt of the game, we were trying to punt a ball out of bounds and you serve it up right down the middle of the field. That can't happen. But for the most part we did cover better. We tried to execute our plan with (P Shayne) Graham and keeping the ball out of the returner's hands. I told you all week that we felt like those guys could beat you by themselves, so we were really conscious of not letting them beat us."
(on coming off the bye week back and the start and flow of this game) "That's the first thing you think of when you start the way we did. But they had a bye week too, so they were playing pretty darn good. But ultimately the thing we did is we didn't turn the ball over again as a team and that's why we win, in my opinion, or we continue to have a good opportunity to win. We just hurt ourselves all day long in having to overcome so many things. So it takes a little zing out of it."
(on having the defense helping out the slow-starting offense) "We were really out of whack at halftime. I felt good about us throwing the ball and what they were doing to us, but we were heavy out of whack, we were heavy pass, and that was because of all the first-and-twenties. I told the coaches at halftime, regardless, we are going to get back to 50/50. We're going to run the ball and give ourselves a chance to play defense and we did that. And 80 (WR Andre Johnson) stepped up and made some big, big plays for us today. But we got back to balance and I think that was the key to us winning."
(on the Texans defensive performance) "They have so many weapons and they sit there and spread the field on every play. They give you a chance to make plays, but you have to make tackle and there are so many things you have to deal with. All those jailbreak screens, and all those things that they do are very, very tough to deal with. But we eliminated the big play and ended up getting the big turnover there. Like I said, they (defense) led the way in the second half, and offensively we cleaned up our act."
(on OLB Whitney Mercilus) "He's going to have to be huge in the second half. One thing I would say about him is he's one of those guys that when he gets on the field everything moves up a notch from the practice field, so he has shown that. Obviously he played a lot more today and he makes big plays. That is encouraging for us moving forward."
(on going for it on 4th down to WR Andre Johnson and not kicking the field goal) "I'll tell you why I did it. We had a field goal blocked and that concerned me. If we make the field goal, we're going to have to kick off to two great returners. I didn't think their offense could go the distance on us. But, it would have put us up by 15, so it puts you up by a good two scores. It was a hard one. I'm talking to the coaches trying to decide and we just felt like they could not go the distance on our defense. But if they block a field goal and the returners are a difference in the game, we're giving them a chance to beat us. Let's say I was a little nervous for four minutes, but that's why I did it."
(on having the faith he has in this defense and if he's felt that way about other defenses he's coached) "I feel good about this one. To sit there as a coach and know that, hey you try and go that far against our defense as compared to me kicking it to one of your returners, that tells you what I think of them. That's putting them in a tough position, but they are a big strength of our football team and what we're doing, and I have to make sure I play to them in certain situations. And they have always upheld their end of the bargain."
(on RB Arian Foster's play and more short-yardage plays without RB Ben Tate) "Arian wasn't feeling well. Not feeling well last night, and not feeling well this morning. That concerned me going into the game. I think at halftime he had like nine carries for 60 yards. He was averaging six yards a carry, plus. But we are trying to be conscious of not wearing him out because I think he really sucked it up for the team today. And he played well. And then (RB) Justin (Forsett) comes in and gets five or six carries. But, like I said, the key was probably us getting back to balance in the second half."
(on how impressive RB Arian Foster played while sick) "You see that a lot with players, guys get sick and don't feel good
and sometimes they play some of their best football. He told me this morning, he said, 'hey, I'm fine.' He came in here really early to get him some fluids. But I think he really had to push himself. We had a few guys sick this week, battling some stuff, but we were able to work through it."
(on the time of possession being the same and limiting the Bills to 9 points) "I think they're averaging almost 25 a game as a team. With the weapons they have, and the screens, and all those things they do to get the ball in the hands of those playmakers and what they can do scares the heck out of you. I thought we played excellent defensively. We gave up some plays in the first half, but we come back in the second and play tremendous and hold them to a field goal."
(on the plan for Bills DE Mario Williams and how well it went) "I have to look at the film, but it looked like Mario played pretty darn good. He's a hell of a player. That is a big battle for (T Derek) Newton being a young guy. We tried to do a lot of things to offset his side of the field. He did leave the field some on us, coming out of the game, so we were trying, but there were certain times that we couldn't help Derek, and Mario made some plays. I told Derek going into the game, 'he's going to make some plays. He's a great player, he's going to make some, but just keep battling,' and I think Derek did that throughout the course of the day."
(on WR Andre Johnson coming on in the last few weeks) "I think the last three weeks he has really, really played well and he's running well. We are trying some approaches throughout the practice week and some of those approaches make me a little nervous as a coach, you know with the players and don't do this on Wednesday and don't do that, because you're trying to get your group going. But he has shown that this approach has helped him, so we will stay with it. He has played extremely well the last few weeks."
(on WR Andre Johnson's reps during the practice week) "A lot less reps, and just doing everything we can. We've got him on this certain maintenance program that he's been holding onto and I just think it shows when he's playing on Sunday right now."
(on how he feels being 7-1 midway through the season) "It feels good. Like I said, I'm sitting here disappointed in some things that happened with the team today that could have made me feel a lot better. But, it's been a good first half and we're going to have to be a good road team in the second half of the season. I think five of our eight are on the road, so we'll get tested big time against a big, physical 7-1 team in Chicago. They won big today."
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR WADE PHILLIPS (Transcribed by Bracken Flynn)
(on coming out strong after the bye week) "We knew it was going to be tough. The first half we had to make some adjustments. They move the ball and score 24 points a game, so we knew they had a good offense. I thought our guys really played well in the red zone. We gave up one run in the first half that was their first run over 20 yards this season. That was my fault. I didn't think they would run with 22 seconds left, but they did. The guy made a big play. You have to be pleased overall."
(on going with a base defense instead of spreading out against Buffalo) "Yeah, we knew they were going to spread out. We wanted to give them a different look that they hadn't seen. We didn't want to let them run the football. They are averaging 150 yards a game rushing and 24 points a game. We felt like if you let those backs get the ball and get going with it, they tried to run a lot of screens to get them the ball, but we had to stop the running game and I thought we did that."
(on how it feels to not surrender a touchdown) "Those are big plays in the red zone that can change the course of the game. We get 21 and they get nine (points). Both teams were down there three times."
(on what it means to get the type of outside pressure that they did today) "We had a lot of hits on the quarterback. I'm sure he is going to be sore. I thought we put the pressure on the guy. I thought he played really tough, but we finally wore him down the second half. He is a really good quarterback."
FULLBACK JAMES CASEY (Transcribed by Matt May)
(on his mindset after starting the first half of the season 7-1) "It's unbelievable just to be a part of this right now. With what we did last year and making it to the playoffs for the first time and now we're off to a great start this year. We have a lot of work to do; we're only half way through the season. We all feel like we have something special going for us right now and we want to take advantage of it. But we also have a huge task ahead of us going into Chicago. "
(on the Texans' focus for each week and the types of characters the team has in the locker room) "We're a business-like team; we don't have too many crazy characters although we have a couple of them. We understand we're a good football team but we still make mistakes so it's up to us to go back in there and fix things up and hopefully be well prepared for our next opponent."
TIGHT END OWEN DANIELS (Transcribed by Joshua Moon)
(on his touchdown) "It was a keeper that we use. I leaked out the backside and was able to get out there with no one following me. (QB) Matt (Schaub) made a good throw."
(on if he was surprised on how open he was during his touchdown catch) "I was. I've run that in past years, but it has never quite worked out for me. It's worked for other people. It was good to get that going. We needed a touchdown at that time."
(on his five touchdowns so far this year) "Five is the high mark that I've had. It feels good. It feels good to contribute to this team. It's good to be 7-1."
(on what's clicking for the offense) "I don't think we played that great today. It takes everyone. You can go across the board and see what we've got. Everything works together."
(on how the team played today) "We had a lot of penalties. I think when we ran it, we ran decent at times. Starting first and 20 is hard to come back from. You've got to gain those yards back again. That's tough. We stopped ourselves in a lot of different situations. I think that and the third downs were not that great. We have another game coming up that is really important, so we have a chance to do a lot better."
RUNNING BACK ARIAN FOSTER (Transcribed by Rachel Jacob)
(on being sick) "Yeah I don't know what I have; it's a little flu or something like that. A little vomiting and things before the game and last night, but I'm okay."
(on if he was feeling sick during the game) "I think during the game adrenaline takes over, but you obviously feel fatigued and your stomach hurts, or my stomach hurts."
(on if he was worried he wouldn't be able to play or that it might affect how he would play) "Unless I can't run, I am going to run"
(on RB Ben Tate being out and taking the load for short yardage) "That is kind of how it always is. The running back coach lets me go as I go and short yardage doesn't really matter. Because Tate is obviously a capable back in short yardage but it is based off a play system and keeping me fresh."
(on how he feels physically after running over 100 yards) "I feel good actually after a game like that, surprisingly. Obviously I am still a little woozy from the game, from being fatigued and sick and everything. It's part of it, you have to get tough yards sometimes."
(on how it feels being 7-1) "Good, about being 7-1. It's better than 6-2."
(on what he has to improve upon before the game against the Chicago Bears) "I think as an offense we kind of killed ourselves with penalties in the first half. You can't start out first and 15, first and 20. You can't do that to yourself, especially against a team like Chicago with their defense. You aren't going to make that too many times. If we just eliminate our mistakes as an offense and getting penalties, I think we will be able to do what we can."
(on the game against Chicago being a primetime game) "It is always a good thing when it's a primetime game, because if you play a noon game, nobody wants to see, so it's a little better. But at the end of the day when the ball is kicked off and the whistle is blowing, you don't think about it being a primetime game, you just think about it being a game."
(on if Buffalo's run defense was the same or different than what was seen on film) "I think they were a little more aggressive than what they showed on film. Naturally you are going to get some things when a team comes off of a bye week because they always do self-evaluations, that is with every team. But I think they were a little more aggressive. In the first half we did what we need to on the ground and in the second half we made adjustments and they were a little more disciplined in what they were doing."
(on what he learned in his self-evaluation during the bye week) "It's hard to evaluate yourself. I could be better, let me put it like that, I could be better on a couple of things."
(on what he could be better at, in reference to his previous answer) "Getting more yards and scoring more touchdowns."
(on how much the offense feeds off of the defense) "All the time. We feel obligated to keep them off of the field and they work so hard doing their job that we have to reward them because they are a great defense. It is fun to watch them fly around. I think big plays on both sides of the ball is inspiring to see and makes you want to do better for your team."
(on running against Buffalo Bills Defense End Mario Williams) "He is obviously one of the most physically dominating players in the NFL today and he could take over a game whenever he wants to. He knows this offense; he has been around it for five years so we weren't tricking him out there. He made plays like he should and will continue to. He is just a very good physical specimen. It is very hard to contain him all the time. It was kind of fun to play against him because you know him as a person, he has been in the locker room, you hang out with him off the field and all those things, so it's fun to see him out there."
TIGHT END GARRETT GRAHAM (Transcribed by Matt May)
(on the importance of the Texans' 7-1 record) "It means a lot. From here every game gets bigger just like it has been from the beginning of the season. We have to keep working harder and not underestimate our opponents."
(on his own touchdown catch) "It was great. It was kind of an unscheduled play. I was able to come from the back of the end zone and luckily (QB) Matt (Schaub) saw me and I was able to make the catch."
WIDE RECEIVER ANDRE JOHNSON (Transcribed by Rachel Jacob)
(on being 7-1) "I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am sure a lot of teams would like to be 7-1 right now. We are very fortunate. We have played well in seven games and came out with victories. We are in a good spot right now."
(on getting 12 first downs in the past two games and why he has been so successful in getting first downs) "I don't know. I think it's just opportunity. I have been given more opportunity, and like I said before, I try to do the best with the opportunities that I get. I think that is pretty much it."
(on what it means to have his 40th 100-yard game) "I don't really keep up with that. The only time I find out about stats is when I talk to the media. It is an accomplishment, a great accomplishment, but winning is the big thing. So if you get 100 yard games and win, it's fine, but when you get them with a loss it really doesn't mean much."
(on being able to play consecutive games this year) "I am feeling better every week. I have missed a lot of time with training camp, OTAs, all that stuff. I have missed a lot of that stuff over the past two, three seasons. I have never consistently been out there working with my team. It's always out there for a few days, have an injury. Now it just seems like everything is falling into place. My legs are starting to feel like they are back up under me and stuff like that. I'd say I am starting to feel like myself now."
(on the team being better despite their 7-1 record) "I think we can be a lot better. I think we have yet to play our best football. Today, we started out slow in the first half and things just seemed a little stale. But we knew coming off of a bye week we were going to get that best shot and when we have adversity we have to find a way to overcome it and that's what we did. We didn't go out and play our best in the first half, with penalties and things that set us back, but we came out the second half and played the way we normally play."
(on why the second half was more successful than the first half of the game) "I think we went out and executed our offense. We went out and made plays. In the first half we had times where we made plays and they were called back from different penalties. In the second half we didn't have that. We were able to make plays and move the ball down the field and score points."
(on if he looks forward to Sunday night or Monday night games) "I wouldn't say I put much emphasis on it. I always look at it as another game. I think the only difference is that it is a primetime game and people will be watching, so that is the only difference. Other than that I don't really put much that into it."
(on the different approach to practice this week as mentioned by Head Coach Gary Kubiak and if that helped get him reinvigorated) "They have been doing different things with me during the week. I don't think that it is just things with practice. I think it is things that I am doing in the training room, massages and stretching just doing all that stuff. I can say in my early years I didn't do any of that and I was just able to go out, take off running and I was ready to go. I can't do that now. I think that it has been a collective effort with me and the guys in the training room, I am always trying to find ways to make me feel better."
CORNERBACK JOHNATHAN JOSEPH (Transcribed by Joshua Moon)
(on if he thought the Bills were trying to spread them out one-on-one to create mismatches) "That's what they do. They have a lot of weapons over there on the offensive side. They try to utilize that and get one one-on-one matchups. In the second half, we made good adjustments to that and stuck to our game plan."
(on his wrist) "I'm actually headed now to get it checked out. It feels pretty good. I finished the game"
(on how they were able to bend but not break today) "That's football. If you can hold your opponents to field goals or nothing at all once they get in the red zone, your chances of winning go up. If our offense keeps putting up seven points and they are putting up three or nothing, we win. That's pretty much what you saw at the end of the game."
(on how his wrist was injured) "I had my wrist in on a play trying to pry the ball loose and we just both landed on the wrist when we came down. That's all it was."
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER WHITNEY MERCILUS (Transcribed by Matt May)
(on the length of the NFL season compared to the NCAA season) "Last year I would've been close to finishing up my season, but now we're only at the halfway point. For me personally I feel fresh right now. The coaches are expecting me to hit the wall but I don't want to hit the wall. I just want to keep going."
(on his knowledge of the defense and understanding his role) "Pretty much I think I know the defense in and out now. I've been in it for about three or four months now, and I'm allowing my body to read and react without thinking at all. At the beginning of the year I was thinking too much, but now I see how far I've progressed and I can only get better from here."
(on being able to contribute to the defense and the team) "It feels great. I feel like a part of the team more. The coaches look at me and can depend on me to make plays on the field."
(on the coaches working him into the defense slowly) "It worked out for me. They worked me in slowly so that I could take everything in and process it easier. It's helped me a lot and now I'll be able to let my body take over instead of just thinking so much and go play."
TACKLE DEREK NEWTON (Transcribed by Matt May)
(on going up against DE Mario Williams) "He's a tough guy to play against. I had to be patient in the pass rush and adjust my stance a couple of times. Most of the day, I had to man up against him without really any help. Luckily I had the chance of going against Mario last year in practice while he was on the team, but I mainly studied film of him and tried to get an idea of what he would do in certain situations."
FREE SAFETY GLOVER QUIN (Transcribed by Bracken Flynn)
(on Buffalo Bills RB C.J. Spiller) "In the open field, he's a tough tackle. He's an explosive guy, real quick, and strong so we had the right game plan."
(on getting a win today) "It always feels good to win and play well. We were able to do that today, so we get to enjoy tonight. We've got to come back next week for a big task against Chicago. We have to come back and get ready."
(on how they contained Buffalo defensively) "We were able to hone in on what they were trying to do. Obviously coming in off the bye week, we knew they were going to do some different things. They were throwing some quick passes and screens, so we had to change things up and get on them quicker so that when they do catch the ball we are on them for the tackle. We just tried to see what they were trying to do to attack us. The second half we had to come out and make some plays on them."
(on how it feels to be 7-1) "Great."
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER BROOKS REED (Transcribed by Joshua Moon)
(on if this was a game where the team was lackadaisical but won) "For the first three quarters, it was a ballgame. It was a fight. The offense made big plays when it counted. I think that was the difference."
(on if he felt the Bills spirit was broken after being held to field goals in the red zone three consecutive times) "Yeah. As long as they kept making field goals, I knew we would win. That's the way it turned out. We just need to keep playing the run well and the rest will play itself out."
QUARTERBACK MATT SCHAUB (Transcribed by Greg Dillard)
(on the offensive turnaround in the second half) "We hurt ourselves in the first half. I think we had three first and twenty situations with penalties and some false starts. When you do that, it's hard to make up for, no matter who you are or who you're playing. Those are tough situations especially on some of those we had some big plays and then they were called back. We need to take a hard look at that and be critical of ourselves because we hurt ourselves the whole first half. But the second half, we made some plays. We got back to who we are, running the football, our play action game, and guys made some plays for us."
(on the message at halftime) "We try to just get everyone to refocus and just calm down because there is a lot of emotion and things going on. It was just settle down, do our job, and we'll be alright. Guys really bought into that."
(on TE Garrett Graham's touchdown catch) "We had five guys out. We emptied out the backfield. We had five guys going and they dropped two of their linemen out so they really had two guys rushing. Initially everything was covered up because they had so many guys in coverage so just tried to make something off schedule. (TE) Garrett (Graham) did a great job working the back end line and then coming back to the football to secure that catch."
(on WR Andre Johnson's ability to get first downs) "I'm always looking for (WR Andre Johnson) Dre. A lot of those he's catching and running with it. We're able to get him in space one on one with guys. When you have the corner with Andre one on one and he catches that thing, he's hard to bring down. He's a strong, physical receiver. We get him open in space he's going to make guys miss."
(on today's running back rotation without RB Ben Tate) "Whoever is back there behind me when we're handing it off, that's who I hand it off to. How their rotations go with (RB) Ben (Tate) being out and (RB) Justin (Forsett) got a lot carries today, (RB) Arian (Foster) did his normal workload. I just hand it off to whoever is there."
(on the Texans' ball security) "All the guys carrying the ball, they really secure it so as far as fumbling and everything, guys are really protected and really conscious of that. With throwing it, we try to find the open receivers. If it's not there, we're going to ditch it and we're going to go to the next play. We're going to live to go for the next down. We're not going to try to force anything because we can make up for it the next down. If the worst case scenario is we got to punt, then we got to punt and our defense will go and stop them."
(on why the Texans' play action is so successful) "Because our run game is so effective and when we play our play action or our bootleg game we can get some guys open down the field. If it's not there, we got things underneath that we can dump it down to and those guys are open and making plays. It's just if they give us the deep play, then we're going to take it. If not, we'll dump it down underneath."
(on how often the Texans practice their play action plays) "Every day. Every day we work on those."
(on how it feels to be 7-1) "We feel great about it. We're happy to be 7-1 at the halfway mark, very fortunate, but we're not finished. We got to go in a tough environment against a very good football team next Sunday night so we're already on to Chicago. We got to look at this one as something to grow from and we got to keep climbing the mountain."
DEFENSIVE END ANTONIO SMITH (Transcribed by Bracken Flynn)
(on carrying the military flag before kickoff) "It was an awesome privilege. It felt good. I appreciate those guys. I wish I could go out there and fight with them sometimes."
(on getting to play against DE Mario Williams today) "It was good. I got to talk to him beforehand. He got a sack, and started talking a little bit out there. He gave the (DE) J.J. (Watt) salute. It was funny to me though."
(on not allowing a touchdown in today's game) "It is always key. If you don't let people score touchdowns on you, then you minimize as many points as you can. You're going to be a good defense. This offense wasn't just some run of the mill offense. They have been putting up good numbers despite not winning games. They are going to make their plays, especially with their screens. As long as you keep them from scoring touchdowns then you have a chance to win."
(on the Bills' offensive game plan) "The spread offense, in my opinion, is not that good in the red zone. It is short things and if you play the run well, then there are not many plays they can run."
WIDE RECEIVER KEVIN WALTER (Transcribed by Bracken Flynn)
(on the offense's production today) "I think that we were a little stale in the first half, and I think we shot ourselves in the foot today with penalties. I think we can play better, but I think we are playing okay right now."
(on QB Matt Schaub's play today) "Matt does that every week; you expect it from Matt. He comes out and prepares extremely hard and does a great job."
DEFENSIVE END J.J. WATT (Transcribed by T.D. Durham)
(on helping the offense out with three defensive red zone stops) "Yeah it's big. I mean obviously they get down there, they're looking for big points - big stop by our defense. Our offense did a great job today, and it' always good when you're giving them the ball back and only three points on the board."
(on getting a well-timed sack exactly when the team needed it) "Yeah, exactly. That's kind of when you need to step up, in a moment like that. So it was a great sack and obviously we got a couple of good ones on the day."
(on what the difference was in the second half on defense) "I don't know. I really don't know what to tell you there. I mean, obviously we got to get after the passer a little bit more. They were down so they had to start throwing the ball. (QB Ryan Fitzpatrick) gets the ball out really fast. I was there probably three or four more times and he just had the ball away, so great job by him. But overall, heck of a job by our defense."
(on his salute after the sack) "I was trying to do a real military salute and I screwed it up, so I'm sorry to all the military guys. But I tried. As soon as I did it I knew I screwed it up. I learned it right before I went on the field, and I did it wrong. Adrenaline rush got me going so I did it wrong."
(on NT Shaun Cody mimicking him) "Yeah, I'm just happy Shaun made a play, he can do whatever he wants. That was a big play, it was good to see."
(on getting to Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick) "Yeah, you want to make your impact felt. So every time, even when he gets the ball off, we got a couple of good shots on him. He's a tough guy. He was taking some real shots and getting back up, so a lot of respect for him."
(on the defense stopping Buffalo on third down) "I think we did well. Obviously I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I feel like we did well. That's one thing we've been really good on all year, so I know we got to let a couple get away, but I think overall we did well today."
(on getting back out there after the off week and having a repeat performance on defense) "Yeah, it feels great. The week off is nice, but it also makes you hungry to get back out there. It felt really good to get back on the field with the guys, get the blood flowing again and I'm really excited about next week's national television game."
(on it being the second half of the season, being reenergized and hungry) "I never lost my hunger man. I'm always hungry man, I never lost it."
(on Head Coach Gary Kubiak's confidence in the defense) "It's good. We obviously love to have the trust and confidence of our head coach. We feel confident in ourselves. We feel confident in the defense (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) calls, and then we go out there and execute. I think that's one of the biggest reasons we have success – because everybody trusts each other."
(on Kubiak saying he went for it on fourth down because of his trust in the defense) "We appreciate that. We don't want to show him anything otherwise. We want to show him that he can keep that confidence in us all year."
(on how it feels to be 7-1) "It feels great. Obviously there's only one way it could be better. So we'll take this, and we're really excited about the second half. It should be a great run. We're really excited about another national TV game coming up this week."
(on being conscious and proud of allowing no rushing touchdowns this season) "I've heard that, and it's pretty impressive, yeah - especially against great backs like those guys. Obviously you have guys like (Jacksonville RB) Maurice Jones-Drew in our league and there are a lot of great backs. So that's definitely a point of confidence. But we're more proud of 7-1 than anything."
POSTGAME QUOTES FROM BUFFALO BILLS
HEAD COACH CHAN GAILEY
FS JAIRUS BYRD
QB RYAN FITZPATRICK
T CHRIS HAIRSTON
RB FRED JACKSON
RB C.J. SPILLER
DE MARIO WILLIAMS
HEAD COACH CHAN GAILEY (Transcribed by Melissa Montemayor)
(on his general thoughts on how they played) "You know we have to go back and watch the film but it looked like to me in general they turned their drives into touchdowns and we didn't. We both played some plays during the course of the day, but they were able to get the ball in the end zone. We weren't able to get the ball in the end zone. That's the bottom line."
(on if he felt they played balanced throughout the third quarter) "They were playing seven big guys in the box against our three wide sets and you're trying to run them out of that. You're trying to throw the football to run them out of it and we weren't able to do it. We had some passes that were dropped at times. We had some missed time penalties and it cost us offensively. We weren't able to move it consistently and get in the end zone."
(on if he feels they need to give RB C.J. Spiller the ball more often) "Yeah, we would like to and we got to try to do that on a more consistent basis. Some weeks are better than others and sometimes they take things away from you that you don't think they're going to do but they did. They surprised us with a defense we hadn't seen very much and we had to alter. I got to do a better job of adjusting. "
(on if the man coverage or rush against deep shots was the reason why they did not try more of them) "You know those are good and we like to try to take some shots deep but we do it more with overs and deep outs instead of just throwing a go down the field. We had a plan to do that coming back in the fourth quarter and do a couple of throws like that but we couldn't get to it once we got behind. We had to go back in the shotgun and throw the football. "
(on why they didn't throw the ball into the end zone when they were in the red zone and if their play was conservative) "We had the calls to try to get in there we just couldn't get them thrown in there like we normally do."
(on if there was any consistent thing that made the Texans so effective defensively in the red zone) "It was just the combination of their pass rush and us not being able to get where we wanted to go with the ball. They did a good job of covering a couple of times and we weren't able to get in there. I tried to run it a couple of times and we didn't make any yards so now you're behind the sticks. We normally throw the ball in the end zone down there but today we couldn't get it thrown in there. "
(on why he had WR Stevie Johnson coming out of the backfield and matched up on a linebacker but instead QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw outside to RB Fred Jackson) "It was hot. They were throwing a juke route and it takes time for him to go work that guy and they brought zero blitz."
(on if he feels hand strung in his ability to throw down field and get bigger chunk plays) "No I don't think so, I wouldn't say that. I think we're better underneath. I think that's what our guys do better so you try to let them do what they do best but to keep people honest, you do have to throw it down the field. I don't know how many times we did or didn't but we tried to throw a few just enough to keep them honest."
(on if their defense had the ability to keep them in the game) "Yeah, they played hard. They played really, really hard today. We can build off of this defensively because that team was in the top five or six in most categories on both sides of the ball and their record is what it is for a reason. Our defense played hard and I thought they kept us in the ball game and gave us a chance."
(on CB Aaron Williams' injury situation) "I don't know yet. I didn't get a report."
(on his thoughts on DE Mario Williams' play today) "I don't know I'll have to watch the film. I don't watch, I got my head buried over there sometimes in things that are going on offensively so I see bits and pieces. I think I saw him pressure a couple of times and make a couple of tackles out of the back field so it looked like he had a good game but I don't know. I'll have to watch the film."
(on what WR Stevie Johnson's health situation was today) "He got hit on the thigh. He kept trying it but in the end he just couldn't go."
FREE SAFERY JAIRUS BYRD (Transcribed by Jesus Acevedo)
(on playing better than before the bye week) "Yeah, but there are no moral victories. We gave up big plays and we gave up too many."
(on stopping the running game) "Just assignment football, you know? There are mistakes and that's what you get once you have people out of gaps or make mistakes that equals long runs."
(on how big next week's game is) "They're all big now. We dug this hole for ourselves and every game is big and it's just a must win."
(on letting the game slip away) "It's real frustrating, you know? Like I said there are no moral victories but when you play a game like that for a close game like that it's just about coming up with a big play. I put it on me, myself, creating a turnover and there's more that I could have done. So I look at myself first and I wasn't able to do that."
TACKLE CHRIS HAIRSTON (Transcribed by T.D. Durham)
(on the loss and not playing a complete game) "We came out and played hard, played together, but we didn't play a complete game in all three phases. We didn't take advantage of plays that needed to be made out there. We gotta work on it. I think we had great effort - the defense came out fired up. We just have to click when you play against a good team like that. They're a great team – I think they'll go far."
(on if he thinks they could have ran the ball more) "I think we did what we had to do to try to win the ball game. In certain situations, you can't run the ball if you want to. When they give you certain packages and they stay in their base even though we have three and four wide out there, you can't just go to the run game with five linemen blocking eight in the box. That puts us at a disadvantage before we snap the ball. So I think our coaches put us in the position to be successful, I just think that we needed to make the plays that needed to be made at the right time."
(on the adjustments that Houston made in the second half) "They didn't do a whole lot different. They sort of had their game plan and stuck to it. They made a few tweaks and I think they're a well-coached team and you could tell by the way they adjusted to what we did on offense; keeping our running game at bay better than most teams have this year. I just think they're a good team. I think they'll go far, and hopefully we can go back and see what we did and what we can do to change up and get that win next week."
(on Houston scoring touchdowns when Buffalo was scoring field goals) "I mean, that was the story of the game – that's why we lost the game. We weren't able to go down in the red zone when we needed to and convert on the big plays. When we have a big play in the drive you have to go and get in the end zone. They were able to do that and we weren't. That's really the story of the game."
(on why Houston's play action is hard to stop) "Because they're a balanced offense. A lot of teams are playing hard downhill with defensive guys coming hard and getting some contact, and when you see that ball fake from a team that runs the ball as much as Houston does, you're right on top of it. That's why they've had a lot of success in the passing game as well as the running game; as much as they run, they're still a balanced offense."
QUARTERBACK RYAN FITZPATRICK (Transcribed by Candace Ashford)
(on RB C.J. Spiller having limited touches) "They did a nice job with the personnel they had in, basically taking us out of a lot of our three wide receiver run game. They did a good job of that. We tried to run a little bit early with two tights and they did a good job of taking that away. We felt like we had a better chance getting the ball in the air a little bit, trying to go against those one on one matchups. I mean the story of the day for us is we've got to get C.J. more touches. I think everybody knows that and we've got to find ways to do that. But really the story for us was just our inability to score touchdowns. We had three field goals and another field goal attempt. Something this team over the last few years has been good at is converting those drives into seven points, not three. To me, that's where our issue was today, not being able to get the seven points, driving it down the field and doing different things and not being able to convert."
(on what the Texans did to prevent them from converting) "I think you always have to give credit to them, you know, the people you are going against. It wasn't anything new or anything we didn't expect. They just did a good job. They are a tough team to face."
(on the effectiveness of the Texans blitz) "The way that they blitz and even just their guys up front I mean, they're very good. We knew that coming into the game. The amount of sacks, the quarterback hurries, hits, batted balls, and all that stuff has been talked about a lot with this team. They're as good as advertised up front and they did a good job with it today."
(on why they didn't take more shots downfield) "I threw a couple to (WR) Stevie (Johnson) and I think he was fighting out there. He was hobbling a little bit after his third catch or whenever it was in the first half. We didn't do a bad job of driving the ball to their twenty. It was when we got to their twenty that we really struggled."
(on if the Texans were anticipating the run regarding the play at 3rd and two) "Yeah, they were all up in there. That was the play and it just didn't work out."
(on why they didn't run the ball more) "I think with what they were doing, we thought that was the best way to counter that. Unfortunately, we came out and got a slow start in the second half and that's not what we needed. I thought we had a little bit of momentum at the end of the half there, being able to stop them and get the field goal. Then getting the ball first in the second half. The first three passes just didn't connect. It's something as we progress as a team here, that instinct, coming out and being successful and consistent; that's what we need to do.
(on if he thought about the pass he had here years ago for the comeback during this game) "This was a much different game than that. In that game we fell behind early, so early, and then I came off the bench and all that. I definitely thought about that walking into this stadium today. I definitely kind of remembered that as I was walking onto the field; but during the game I was thinking about how we're going to get into the end zone. It didn't happen today.
(on how frustrated he is as a leader) "It's tough. I thought we had a great plan. I thought we had some great practices leading up. The effort was there today I felt like. Unfortunately we got beat by a better team today. We just need to continue to push and work and not get down. That's the only chance we have to turn this thing around."
(on the mood in the locker room at half time) "We were excited. We were ready to go out there. Offensively we missed some opportunities, like I've been hitting on, to get the seven points. But the mood was upbeat. The defense did a good job. We thought we were going to go out there and win the game. That's an important feeling to have. Obviously we didn't do it, but we had some momentum there at halftime."
(on if they followed the game plan in regards to running the ball) "We had a lot of stuff that we didn't get to do because of how they were playing us. That's just the way it is with our team and the things that we do. Teams, when they play against us, the biggest thing is to stop the run. Stop (RB) C.J. (Spiller), stop (RB) Fred (Jackson), and make us beat you with the pass. That's what the Texans came into the game saying and that's what they did."
(on how they will stop other teams from ruining their game plan) "It's something we need to evaluate, figure out, and have a good plan for. We've got to be able to take advantage with our guys on the outside as well when they try to do that."
(on if he can give examples of what the Texans did to stray them from their plan) "The biggest thing if you go back and look at the tape is at times not matching personnel. Have three wide receivers playing a lot of man to man coverage and leaving and extra linebacker in rather than bringing a nickel defender."
RUNNING BACK FRED JACKSON (Transcribed by Carla Bertoldi)
(on playing the Texans) "We knew we could come out here and compete with these guys. We knew they were a great team. We knew we could come compete with them. We just didn't make enough plays when we had to. We've got to give them credit, they scored touchdowns. We scored field goals and that's the difference in the game."
(on the Texans defense) "It was what we expected. We knew they were a great defense and could put pressure on you. We came in and that's what they did. We handled it pretty well for the most part we just didn't make plays when we had to."
(on how he is physically and personally feeling) "I feel fine. The best I've felt all year. It comes down to not making plays when we had to opportunity to."
(on his knee injury and motivation) "You always have to have faith in God that he can heal you and get you out there, just being motivated to get back out there with my teammates. My family telling that they are watching over me too. That always keeps you going."
(on lack of rushing attempts in the second half) "That's kind of dictated by the score. We that knew coming out there if we got behind that would probably be the case and that's just what the defense was giving us. We tried to take what they give us and didn't make enough plays."
(on the game turning in the second half) "It did, anytime you go three and out and you put your defense in that type of situation it's not going to be good for you. We left them out there. That's the kind of team they are, they put together long drives and if they do that it keeps you off the field. They got seven points out of it and it puts you in a different aspect of the game, and then you're in a hole and you have got to start playing."
(on their 3-5 record) "It's definitely discouraging. It's not where you want to be, but at the same time we aren't out of this. We still have got a lot football games left to play. We just have got to come out here and continue to play hard, show up and continue to put work in, and hopefully get this thing turned around."
RUNNING BACK C.J. SPILLER (Transcribed by T.D. Durham)
(on if it's tough coming away with another loss) "Yeah it is. Because that's what you play this game for, is to win and try to position yourself to improve and get to the playoffs. But there is still a lot of football left. We showed today that we can play with anybody. This team has the best record in the AFC and we were fighting and fighting them. We hung in there and got to the red zone, but just couldn't get those touchdowns. That pretty much was the difference."
(on what made the difference of not being able to finish drives on offense) "You know, not sure. You have to give credit – that's one of the best defenses in the NFL. Those guys were doing a lot of different things down there. You just have to look at the film tomorrow and see what it was. I'm pretty sure the plays were there, but we didn't make them.
(on if he was frustrated getting only 10 or 11 touches today) "No, it's just the flow of the game. We were right there sticking with them, then they kind of went up on us and we kind of had to deviate to our passing game. You know, when the score gets like that, you kind of have to go to the second plan and try to get something quick. We thought we could get our passing game going. I'm fine with however many carries I had."
(on if it is hard to be modest and not get the ball as much, even with 7.3 yards per carry average) "I'm not worried about that. I try to just go out there and try to execute. If they call a run play, I'm going to try to execute in the best way. Our coach, he's one of, if not the best, play callers. He does a great job of finding mismatches that we need to have our offense be successful. So, he calls a great game plan, and like I said, the score just kind of got out of reach there are the end, so we just kind of had to deviate."
(on not being out on the field on the second to last possession until the very end) "You know, we always ask 'Who's up?' and that call is made upstairs, so I never get frustrated when I'm not out there. It isn't like we have a slouch running back going out there at the end of the game you know. (RB) Fred Jackson is one of the best in the league.
DEFENSIVE END MARIO WILLIAMS (Transcribed by Lance Jaramillo)
(on playing against his former team) "At the end of the day you want to get a win. That's the most important thing. We didn't come out and win so that's tough."
(on lining up against his former teammates) "It's just different. You run out and you almost forget you're on the other team because I been here for so long. It's still football, so you've got to go out there and play ball and try to win."
(on if this was emotional for him) "No. Depends on what you mean by emotional. I was excited to see my friends and things like that and to be back at the stadium."
(on if he noticed the reaction from fans) "Oh yeah. I think the biggest thing for me is if you go out and make a play and you get booed, I know I'm in your heart. That's the most important thing. If it had been quiet then I would have felt something different but I know you're thinking about me."
(on sacking Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub) "I had to at least get one. I couldn't come in here and not. I had to somehow, some way get one. I wish it had been more. Definitely had more opportunities. They're a fundamentally sound team. I played with them for six years. They did very well getting the ball off. The biggest problem for us was the boot(leg) and play action."
(on his post sack celebration) "I was messing with (Texans DE) J.J. (Watt) and I think (Texans NT) Shaun (Cody) had done it earlier. I was just messing with them."
(on playing with his wrist injury) "After I had the procedure a week and half or so ago, I believe in it healing now instead of being stagnant. I worked out this week finally which hasn't been over two months. I feel really good and it boost my morale."
(on Houston Texans DE Antonio Smith getting under his skin) "He was just talking junk. Nothing really bad."
(on what was being said to him on the field) "Nothing. I was messing with (Texans C) Chris Myers asking him why he didn't call me or write me a letter or something. At the end of the day it's football and we're all competing. You want to come out and you want to win. We needed to get something started. We needed to get some turnovers or something to put points on the board."
(on if the Houston fans are still in his heart) "Yeah, I'm never going to turn my back on anybody. Some people feel different. Some people do. I'm never going to turn my back on anybody regardless of what you got to say. You're a fan, at the end of the day you're cheering or you're booing."
(on sounding "bitter" earlier in the week in an interview about the Texans) I was asked a question and I answered it. Just because you didn't know that and then when I answer it and you make your own opinion on it, bitterness or whatever, but I was asked the question and I just gave the answer. Nobody's ever wanted to come out and say it. Nobody's ever asked me so it's kind of ironic that I got asked the question. It's just business at the end of the day. Some people go about it in a man-to-man way and some people just let it go without really saying anything. At the end of the day it's just business."
(on who he talked to after the game) "(Texans head coach Gary) Kubiak especially. You know what I think about him. It's good to see him. He said 'keep it going, I miss you and I love you.' I said the same thing. I mean there's not too many words to say about Kubiak. He's awesome. I think the biggest thing was just seeing everybody."
(on making progress against the run as a team) "We got to do it every play, every series because we can do it. Just keep an eye on that gap. To face an elite running back like that and be able to maintain him from what he's done and what his offense has done to everybody else they beat. It's the little things. It's about us being in position and not getting too nosey and doing your job."
(on Texans 3rd quarter touchdown swinging the momentum) " I've been down this street before. I wasn't really worried about it. We needed to score. We needed to get a turnover and we needed to score if the offense was struggling we needed to get the ball and we needed to score and like I said we didn't do that."
(on adjustments the Texans made) It was simply the same thing: It was boot(leg) or play action. Apparently it's tough because they do it to everybody and they did it when I was here. It's the same thing. They do the same thing. All you got to do is be true. The problem is they got a heck of a (running) back so it's hard to really see that boot(leg) or play action because it looks exactly the same. Everybody's been trying to stop that play and they put up huge points. It's a big play team, big play mentality. They're not lulling you to sleep. Not with that running back back there. It's going to be a one-on-one situation with whoever's covering the guy. You just have to be true and play through it, lock them up and stay with them through the play."
