After the Texans practiced on Wednesday at the Methodist Training Center, head coach Gary Kubiak, offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and some of the players answered questions from the media. The following is a transcript of their respective interviews.
Head Coach Gary KubiakOffensive Coordinator Rick DennisonWR David AndersonT Duane BrownFB James CaseyILB Brian CushingRB Arian FosterWR Andre JohnsonWR Jacoby JonesCB Johnathan JosephC Chris MyersSS Glover QuinILB DeMeco RyansQB Matt SchaubDE Antonio SmithRB Ben TateDE J.J. WattT Eric Winston
* *
Head Coach Gary Kubiak(on RB Arian Foster's injury status) "Arian practiced today. Arian took a normal Wednesday load for a starter. I guess the key probably is how he comes out of practice tomorrow. Does he feel good? But everything was positive today at practice, so we'll see."
(on what he liked about RB Arian Foster today in practice) "I think it's about him getting his confidence back and just cutting it loose. I just told him to be smart today, but he's on top of his stuff. Had he not been out for a few weeks, I wouldn't have known. Like I said though, hopefully you wake up tomorrow and he felt good coming out of it and we move on to the next day."
(on signing WR David Anderson) "It's good for our team. He comes in and knows exactly what he's doing. David can play. He could've played today, so he knows our offense and he's run it very well before, so we're happy to get him back. Kevin (Walter) has made a lot of progress in the past two days and we'll see where he's at, but it's good to have David."
(on WR Kevin Walter's injury) "Just dealing with a badly bruised shoulder, going through treatment, was out at practice today, but didn't do anything today, did not practice."
(on Miami Dolphins' LB Cameron Wake) "Any time you play a 3-4 football team, you got edge issues trying to protect your quarterback. He's a hell of a player and they pressure a lot. Really they're a lot like our defense, so it's a lot like kind of what we've been working against the last month or so. You never know how they're going to play you. We'll see, but very good on the edges."
(on Miami Dolphins QB Chad Henne) "Boy, he played well the other night. I didn't get a chance to see the whole game. I watched portions of it, but he's worked really hard. I know (Head Coach) Tony (Sparano) thinks a lot of him. Tony and I talked in the offseason. He thinks a great deal of him. Just from the way he performed in Week 1, you can tell he must have had a great camp and he's ready to go. We've got our hands full and he moves around pretty good too."
(on the Dolphins giving up 500 yards passing against the Patriots) "That's a pretty good player they played. He's pretty good. Like I said, I didn't see the whole game. I'll watch the film, but Tom (Brady) was unbelievable in the game and Miami was too. Miami threw for 400. There's a lot of yards out there, but every week's a different story. Don't know what it's going to take this week."
(on what he expects from WR Jacoby Jones if WR Kevin Walter can't play against the Dolphins) "He'll start. Jacoby will start the game. It's interesting the way things work out. We're fortunate enough to keep him here in the offseason. I told you guys he's been playing pretty darn good and coming along and boom, here it is Week 2 and he's a starter if Kevin's out. Preparation meets opportunity, so we'll see what happens."
(on T Duane Brown) "Duane's quietly become really a heck of player. He's bigger this year. I think I mentioned that a couple times to ya'll. We're letting him play about 10 to 12 pounds bigger than he did last year. I think it's helped him and any time you get out of a game against Dwight (Freeney) and you don't give up a bad play, that's a good day. We play good up front as a group, but Duane's improving every day."
(on if he feels like he has to be careful with RB Arian Foster on Sunday if he can play) "If he can play, you play. There won't be being careful with him. You may say this is how many times he's going to touch it, but you can't do something half speed out there. We'd have to see, but if he's ready to go, he puts us at our best and he'll be out there."
(on how ready WR Bryant Johnson is) "Well Bryant's ready to go. He's trying to catch up mentally in everything we're doing. He's done a pretty good job of that. The good thing about signing David (Anderson), it does take some of the overall load off of him because David can still play a certain spot for us and different parts of our offense and not try to put the whole package, so to speak, on Bryant. We're bringing him along the right way, but he's ready to play."
(on if he's comfortable with WR David Anderson playing against the Dolphins) "Oh yeah, David's had his role on this team before and it'll be pretty much like he's done in the past."
(on if the defense has a different swagger this year) "Yeah, it does have a lot of confidence. That just comes from so many guys making plays. It's not like one guy or two guys, it's everybody making plays. They got a lot of confidence in the guy making the call when it's third and five, that's sending the defense in. Overall, it's just real upbeat right now and feeling good out of Week 1 and moving on to Week 2."
(on the Dolphins' wide receivers) "Brandon's (Marshall) an elite player in this league and their tight end the other night was exceptional, made some great catches. They're playing different right now than they have as the Miami Dolphins. They used to be a big physical run team. They're spreading the field and they got Reggie (Bush) to go with it. We've got our work cut out for us from that standpoint. It's a totally different Miami look than what we've played in the past."
(on CB Johnathan Joseph and FS Danieal Manning) "If you're going to go get the quarterback, you better build a lot of people up. We feel like we've got some pretty good corners out there and safeties. GQ's (Glover Quin) played the corner position. Still, they're a good group and we hope to keep them in check."
(on what RB Reggie Bush has done for the Dolphins) "He's made them complicated, number one because they're all over the place with him. They spread him all over the place, so it makes it very hard to prepare for. He's got a chance touching the ball on special teams too, so that's a big key for us because he can hurt you. He can beat you."
(on the challenge of playing the first road game) "The football's the same. That doesn't change. You got to play with poise, handle noise. We started working with the noise a little bit today, but I'm sure we'll be playing in some warm weather like we've been practicing in and handling some noise. If you're going to be a good team, you got to go on the road and it's got to look the same. That's what I told them today."
(on if he's interested to see how the team will react on the road) "Yeah, like I said, it's got to look the same from a standpoint on how you handle yourself poise-wise on the field. It's still a game, but obviously you're playing against a lot of people out there, other than your opponent. That's part of the League. You got to be successful on the road and hopefully we get off to a good start."
* *
Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison(on the 34-0 lead the Texans built in the first half against the Colts) "Well, we took advantage of good field position. Our defense did a fine job. We put the ball in the end zone when we could. So I think it was a great team deal. I think we did a good job working together that way and taking the plays that we had."
(on what the offense will do based on whether or not RB Arian Foster can play) "We're gonna do what we do. We got guys that can make plays in the backfield. Hopefully Arian (Foster) can be there because he's a fantastic player. We'll just have to see; let (Director of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer Geoff Kaplan) Kap deal with that and we'll just keep calling our offense."
(on how RB Arian Foster looked in practice) "He looked good. Like I said, it looked like he was in the right spot, looked like he was running the ball, but no pads, no nothing. He was in the right spot, which we count on him doing anyway."
(on when he and head coach Gary Kubiak will make a decision on whether or not RB Arian Foster will play at Miami) "We'll take our time. I'm not sure; near the end of the week and see what happens. Again (Director of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer Geoff Kaplan) Kap is a big part of that and we'll just see how it plays out."
(on how FB James Casey played) "I think he did a great job. His effort has never been questioned; great effort. He just keeps working on his technique, gets better every day. He's a fine athlete; can catch the ball, move around out of the backfield. He did some really good things for us."
(on FB James Casey's potential) "He just adds another ball player, another weapon to our deal with Andre (Johnson), Arian (Foster), Owen (Daniels); you just keep adding them on there. That's great because it makes it harder for them to defend us."
(on what WR Jacoby Jones does for the offense) "He's got a lot of talent. He's fast, he has good hands; it's just a consistency for Jacoby (Jones). He's progressed along, he had a good camp. We're looking forward to him having a good day."
(on having WR David Anderson back with the offense) "It's great having David (Anderson) back. He knows what we do, he was very productive when he was here. It was a situation where he kind of got caught in the numbers. He's a great guy, a great team guy. We're happy to have him back."
(on RB Arian Foster being back at practice) "Well it was good to see him on the field. I don't know how he did. He ran where he was supposed to and looked doing it, so I'll leave the rest to (Director of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer Geoff Kaplan) Kap."
WR David Anderson(on how it feels to be back in Houston) "Did I think I'd be here? No, I thought I was going to be in Denver, but I'm glad I'm here. Things didn't work out over there and there was an opportunity to come back and obviously making the most of it."
(on if he was aware WR Kevin Walter's injury before he was called to come to Houston) "I had gotten a text from some friends. I wasn't watching that game. I was on the West Coast and I think they were playing a different game. I was going in and out between that and some other games, so I missed it, but I definitely heard about it probably within 10 minutes."
(on not looking like he missed any time at practice today) "Yeah, hearing the offense was almost like you know Spanish for four years and you come back to it because it's your second language. It was definitely a new language I had to learn in Denver. It was a new offense. Coming back here, it felt a lot more like something I was used to. I understood the verbiage and the plays and stuff like that a little bit better."
(on what his role will be with the Texans) "Whenever they put me in there, I'm going to hopefully catch some passes. That's as far as I know right now. I think I've done some stuff in the slot, outside, whatnot, helped out on special teams, so I'm sure that's what they want me to do."
T Duane Brown(on how much Offensive Line Coach John Benton has molded the offensive line as a unit) "He's helped a lot. It's been a work in progress with us over the years just all of us getting on the same page, but now it's just second nature. We've been together so long that we can bring different things that we see to him and whenever he sees something different, he brings it to us and we just feed off each other."
(on what makes Offensive Line Coach John Benton click) "He's smart. He's a smart guy. He sees a lot that a lot of people don't see before it happens. It helps us going up to the line with pre-snap reads and getting everybody on the same page. That's the main thing."
(on why he gained weight this season) "I'm not sure. I feel good. It's not something that I did on purpose. I actually tried to cut back a lot, but I toned up a lot more in the last few weeks, but really haven't lost much. I've maintained my speed and agility, so I feel good."
FB James Casey(on playing several positions during the game) "I just want to do my job. Where ever they put me, I just want to do my job and make sure I'm getting my job done to help the team."
(on how he think he did last week) "I think I did really well. I had some good ones, had some bad ones of course. Good thing was I got a lot of work because we were up. We ran the ball a lot in the second half, so I got a lot of stuff on film that I can work on and get better from and also just getting out there a lot and getting used to techniques and things, so I can go back and watch the film and can learn from that going on to next week. Every game's different. Sometimes you're going to be out there a lot in the base, the fullback stuff, and sometimes you're not going to be. It was good the first game to get a lot of work in."
(on if the game plan for Miami changes after they gave up so many yards to New England) "Not much. You can't really concentrate on that. We know that Tom Brady threw for a lot of yards, but you go in every week and it's different. Things are going to happen. Sometimes it's a running game. Sometimes it's going to be a passing game. You're going to be up; you're going to be down. You don't know how the game's going to go on offense, defense, special teams. You win the game all different ways. We're not going out there thinking just because the Patriots had a lot of passing yards that we're expected to go out there and have a ton of passing yards. We're just going to find ways to move the ball and get points and find a way to win somehow."
ILB Brian Cushing(on how he views the Dolphins giving up a lot of yards to the Patriots) "We just have to look at how they attacked New England. It's obvious they have weapons. It's obvious they can put up points, but every week is different. We have to execute our game plan and see where we can do best against their offense."
(on the Dolphins' offense) "There's no question about it. They have weapons. I think Chad Henne played a pretty good game and he's a weapon himself. They execute. They've switched up a little bit. You don't see as much wildcat or running. They kind of spread you out and they're passing the ball a lot more this year. At the same time, we know they have some guys hurt that could be coming back this week and they can obviously run the ball."
(on playing against the Dolphins in 2009) "I think the biggest thing is we came away with a win. Try to duplicate that and hopefully have another solid performance over there. It's going to be a hot game. Like I said, they're a very capable offense. We understand that. They have explosive playmakers that we have to shut down."
(on if the mindset of the defense feels different this year) "Yeah, I think so. I think the pressure's obviously been a lot better, which has helped overall. I think any time you have a better pass rush and can get after the quarterback, it helps your overall defense, so that's really benefitted us so far. We're just going to continue to try to do that and have fun out there."
RB Arian Foster(on how he felt at practice today) "It felt good. It was pretty fluid, but you got to ease along hamstring injuries, like I've been saying, so I'm just going to take it day-by-day and see how it feels."
(on if he feels like he will play on Sunday) "That's the plan, but you never know with hamstring injuries. They're tricky. Sometimes they'll sneak up on you."
(on if the rest has helped him recover) "Yeah, the more rest, the better with these kind of injuries."
(on how good it was to be back out with the team) "It felt good being back out there with the guys. You miss that camaraderie and that competition and just the whole atmosphere of football when you're away from it."
(on Miami's defense) "They're stout; they're tough. We've played against them before. We've played against some of those players before, (Karlos) Dansby in Arizona and (Kevin) Burnett we played last year in San Diego. Cameron Wake, he broke out last year. They're going to be tough. They had a rough week last week, so they're probably going to try to prove that that's not their identity, which is correct. I don't believe that's their identity. Everybody has an off day. We're just going to go to practice and prepare for them."
WR Andre Johnson(on playing back home in Miami) "Kind of get tired of going back. I have to buy too many tickets. No, it's always fun to go back home and play in front of your family and friends. I grew up right there in that area, so it's always a lot of fun to go back home and play."
(on getting off to a quick start on the road) "Well, we just have to go out and execute our offense like we did last week. That's pretty much it. We can't dwell on what happened last week. It's a new week. We just have to go out and execute our offense and we know that. That's the only way to do it, just go out, execute our plays and get into a rhythm."
(on if he is excited to play Miami after what happened in their game on Monday) "In this game, you can't really dwell on what happened a week before. Teams make changes. They adjust and you can't win a game on paper. You have to still go out and play it. You really can't dwell on what happened last week."
(on why the Texans have been successful against Miami) "I don't know. We just go out and play and we've been able to make the plays at the end when we needed it to win the game. I think that's probably why we've been successful against them."
(on WR Jacoby Jones moving into the starting lineup if WR Kevin Walter can't play) "It's a big opportunity for him. He's a very explosive player. We all know that. I'm just excited to have him out there, get to see him play and hopefully he can pick up where Kevin left off."
(on how good it would be to have RB Arian Foster back for Sunday's game) "Arian's a big part of our offense. It would great to have him out there. He looked good today in the carries that he got, so hopefully as the week goes on, he'll keep getting better and we can have him out there on Sunday."
(on how important the game against Miami will be) "Every game is important. We can't put any extra pressure on ourselves just because we won a game last week. You just have to go out and approach it like it's a regular game and like I said, just go out and play football the way we know how to play it. I think if we go out and do that, we'll be fine. You can't really do dwell on what happened last week. Everybody was excited about that, but that's over with. That's behind us and we're just moving on."
(on if all the mistakes against the Colts are correctable) "Definitely, when we came in on Monday, we watched the film, saw the mistakes that we made and we went out there and went over those mistakes. Like everyone said, it was over and now it's time to move on to Miami, so we're out there working and just trying to get ready for Sunday."
(on the approach to Miami) "Well like I said before, there's not a lot of 'Rah Rah' around here anymore. We just know what we have to do to get to where we want to be. There's no reason to sit here and keep talking about it. Talking about it is not going to get you nowhere. We know we have to go out and win games. We were in this same situation last year. Came out, beat the Colts, everyone was excited, talking about playoffs and it went bad. We're not looking forward to going down that same road again. We're just focused on the task at hand and like DeMeco (Ryans) told us the night before the game, we're going to try and go 1-0 every week. That's our goal and that's our approach."
(on having WR David Anderson back) "It's great to have him back. A great locker room character, but he's great. He's going to come in and fit right in. He knows our offense and knows our playbook, so he'll be able to come in and make some plays for us."
(on taking CB Brandon Harris and ILB Darryl Sharpton under his wing) "Brandon's been a little different from the other UM (University of Miami) guys because I've been knowing Brandon since he was like six or seven years old. His dad was my high school coach. I've been knowing him for a while. It's just kind of crazy because you're in high school, you see this little kid and never in a million years do you think you'd be on the same professional football team. It's just like a part of your family coming up here. Anything he needs help with, I tell him don't hesitate. I always ask him every day, 'How are you feeling? What's going on?' I think he's getting comfortable day by day. I think at first he was telling me he was comfortable, but I don't think he really was. I think as the days go on, he's starting to fit in and really just get comfortable with everything that's going on. It's new for him just being away from Miami, period. It was the same way for me. My first time really leaving Miami was being drafted by the Texans."
(on if helping CB Brandon Harris makes him reflect on the past) "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's a little strange for him, but like I said, anything he has or he's wondering about, I can help him out with. That's the one thing I don't do; I don't hesitate. If he has a problem or anything, I don't hesitate. I always just try to, 'Hey man, what's going on? You alright?' or whatever. He seems to be doing fine. Like I said, hopefully, he'll keep getting comfortable and adjust to it."
(on if he's taking it easy on CB Brandon Harris on the field) "Oh no. I get to go against him a lot. He's running the scout team and stuff like that. There's no taking it easy. He knows that. I'm out there trying to get my work in, so it doesn't matter who I'm going against. I'm going to go out there and give it my best."
* *
WR Jacoby Jones(on today's practice) "Well, getting back to practice is a good thing. A new game plan, get back to work, watch film and get ready for Week 2."
(on moving into the starting lineup if WR Kevin Walter can't play) "I've been in this situation before, so I know I've got to buckle myself down and get ready to go to work."
(on having WR David Anderson back on the team) "Oh, that's my comrade right there. That's my joking buddy. As soon as I saw him, I jumped right up and gave him a big ol' hug. I paused, but I gave him a big hug."
(on how he can build on the way he played last week) "What you can do is you can feed off of it. You can't dwell on it. You can feed off of it, let the game go and move on. That's it."
(on playing against a Miami defense which struggled last week) "You said it. The key word is 'last week.' Everybody gets better and moves on. We can't look at last week; we've got to prepare ourselves to go to work against those boys."
(on whether he feels like he's been more consistent this year) "Consistency is coming. Like I said the other day, before and after every practice, I get on the JUGS machine. That's something that I want to do consistently to help me catch the ball and make those plays when they come to me."
CB Johnathan Joseph(on the play of the defense in last week's game) "We did a lot of things well, I would say, but we did some things that can be corrected, but that's football for you. Some plays you do well, and some plays you don't."
(on how to keep the defense playing well on the road this week) "It's another obstacle for us. Last week, we had a home game, a division game; and this week, it's another AFC opponent. It's not in the division, but it's an AFC opponent, which always counts for us, and it's a road game. You want to do well on the road. You have to be successful anyway, so that's the obstacle."
(on the challenge presented by Miami's offense) "I just look at the receivers, but they have tight ends as well, and of course the running back, (RB) Reggie Bush, that they added in the offseason. You have to always account for him, but overall we just have to do what we do well. I think overall, we'll be OK."
(on whether he sees a swagger on the defense that wasn't there before) "I don't really know. Like you said, I'm kind of new. I'm just trying to fit in, see where I fit in the best, and just go out and work hard every day and have some emotion out there and have fun with it."
(on feeling confident about the defense after how well they played last week) "I think it rolls over and it carries over, as well as does practice. If you go out in practice and make plays, it carries over to the game just because it gives you confidence throughout the week that you can do the same thing on Sunday."
* *
C Chris Myers(on the challenges of playing on the road) "Yeah, it's always a challenge playing on the road in the League, no matter what team you're going to face, no matter what they're record is. You got to in there and be able to go in there with just the 53 guys and only the 46 that you dress and go in there and win. It's always a challenge, no matter what team you're facing and hopefully we can go in there and start strong like we have been and be able to finish strong. That's one thing we didn't do last week is finish the game. We did in that last drive, but we slashed a little bit and had those turnovers, so hopefully we can focus in on that and get it right."
(on what he takes on the Dolphins from the game on Monday) "A lot, there's certain things you got to take and certain things you got to take with a grain of salt. They kept them in nickel a lot and that's one thing that we're going to try and run the ball as we always do in base and they'll be in the game. We got to take it for what it was, they had a lot of nickel guys on the field and a lot of guys that we probably won't face. They moved the ball on them a lot and kept them on the field and kept the no huddle going. You take what you can with their moves and their stances and stuff like that. The Dolphins threw a lot at them and they had a close game for a while for the most part."
(on how much Offensive Line Coach John Benton has meant to the offensive line) "Coach Benton's meant a lot. He's been here since day one and kind of helped scout every single guy that's come in here and pick every single guy that's in here, so he's due a lot of the credit for what's been put on the field. He's a great guy. He knows everything that goes out on the field. He's one of the smartest offensive line coaches I've been around and it's a pleasure to play for him."
SS Glover Quin(on looking at opposing offenses in a broader sense this year playing safety) "It's different. As a corner, you're kind of locked in to who you're covering and the guy you're going against. You kind of spend your whole week studying him and things that they like to do with him. But as a safety, you have to know everything because you have to help your corners. You have to put them in the best situations. You have to work with your safety, you have to work with your backs, you have to understand what they're trying to do offensively because you're kind of a quarterback back there. You have to know what's going on, so it's not like you sit there and study one guy. You have to study everything and it's different."
(on looking at WR Brandon Marshall as a safety) "He's hard to tackle. When he gets the ball in his hands, he's phenomenal after the catch, so we're going to have to make sure we rally and tackle him. He's a big guy. He's a deep threat. They like to throw him the ball, so we're going to have to be on our game."
(on what the win against the Colts did for the defense) "We still got a chip on our shoulder. It's only one game. That was what we expected going into the game and we're expecting the same thing every week, so that week is over. We're preparing starting today, getting ready for Sunday. If we do what we're supposed to do and we execute our game plan, hopefully we'll have the same results."
* *
ILB DeMeco Ryans(on the defense trying to get a shutout last week) "That just shows me that we're definitely maturing as a defense and guys expect greatness, so I was excited that guys were upset that they even scored those seven points."
(on what he saw from Miami's game Monday night vs. New England) "They threw the ball around a lot. The Dolphins are a different look offense now than they've been in the past. They're [in] a lot of empty sets and their quarterback did a great job of making some plays. They have some good receivers: (WR) Brandon Marshall, (RB) Reggie Bush out of the backfield. They have some good players that can make plays."
(on whether Miami RB Reggie Bush surprised him with how he played) "I'm not surprised at all. Bush has always been a big playmaker out of the backfield, moreso a receiving back, like a slot receiver type of guy. I don't think running up inside was a big factor, but outside, making plays in the passing game, that's where he can hurt you."
(on whether he senses a different mindset with the defense in the new 3-4 scheme) "I think the mindset is everyone is just eager to do good. Everyone wants to be great in this defense, and this defense allows us to be more aggressive. Guys know what to do and how to do it, which allows us to play fast."
(on whether there is more of a swagger in the defense this year than last) "It gives you confidence when you know what you're doing and you're confident in what you're doing and you know the scheme that you're running works well."
(how it felt for the defense to play so well in the first game) "It was a good outing. It's what we expected out of ourselves, so it was a good first outing for us. Now that we did that, that's over with and now all of our focus is just on Miami."
QB Matt Schaub(on playing against a Miami defense that gave up over 500 yards passing on Monday) "We're excited to go out and look to get our second win. That's a very good defense. That's a very good team. They're solid from top to bottom. They've got a physical front seven and they've got a veteran secondary and so it s going to be a tough challenge for us. New England does some things differently than the way we do things offensively, but it's an opportunity to go out and win a game. We're excited about that chance to go on the road and get a win."
(on the possibility of having RB Arian Foster back this week) "I don't know. That's something for the trainers or the head coach to answer. Whoever is back there, we're going to go play. Obviously, he's a big party of what we do. We'd like to have him out there but that's up to his health and how he feels and how the trainers feel he's doing."
(on the increased number of bootlegs and rollouts last week against Indianapolis) "It's something we always have in our plans. It's always something we can get to, how the game goes and how we feel we want to attack a defense. It's something that is good against the Colts with the defensive ends that they have and their pass rush and just trying to offset what they do and what we do well with our run game and try to counteract things. It's always in our plan."
(on the possibility of WR Jacoby Jones starting in place of WR Kevin Walter) "Jacoby had a great camp and week last week. He had a big punt return which was huge for us. He always has that capability. On offense, he came in and made the catches and made the plays for us. We're excited about what he brings to the table. With Kevin and his situation, it's about someone stepping up and filling in that role and Jacoby has been in this system for a few years and he can do that."
(on being able to lead the team even when he's not having his best game) "I think after last week, I've got to play better myself, for us to have a better chance of winning. We got a lot of help from our defense and we took advantage of some opportunities down in the red zone when we got turnovers early in the game. From my standpoint, I've got to be better. I've got to play better and play cleaner and I'm going to go do that."
(on trying to get out to a quick start on the road) "It's something that we've tried to do in the preseason to simulate, especially that third game at San Francisco when we had that turnover early. But then we came back and really executed well. We converted on third downs and overcame some penalties and some situations, but we have just got to go out and execute early, understand our plan and go out and take what the defense gives us and make plays."
(on their success against Miami) "I wish I could tell you. It's just about going out and executing. I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to it. We just go out and play hard for 60 minutes and find a way to make enough plays to win in the end."
(on how he feels physically) "I feel good. Probably about as good as I'll feel all season. It's a marathon of a year. After one game, I didn't get hit too much last week if at all, so that was a positive."
(on what he attributes the 7,000 passing yards around the league last week to) "I don't know if I can pinpoint too much about why that happened. Obviously, there were some big days for some quarterbacks out there and some offenses. It could have been some teams are changing schemes defensively. For an offense, it's just about going through your progressions and making plays. There are a lot of skill position players that can make plays with a football in their hands out there, but I really couldn't tell you one reason why."
(on his teammates saying that the Dolphins giving up 500 yards last week is meaningless now) "Yeah, it is meaningless. We still have to go out there and execute our plan and what we want to do as an offense and execute in the run game. Take what they give us defensively as far as our pass routes and what's open and letting our guys go make plays. We have lots of playmakers to go get yards after the catch and we can't look to what they did last week and think that's going to happen again. They have a veteran group. That's a very good defense over there. They were in the top 10 last year and they returned 10 of their starters, so we have to go out and play very well to beat them down there."
(on the approach of wanting to go 1-0 every week) "We're taking each week as a season in its own. We've got to out and find a way, each week, to make enough plays to win. When we get back in here on Monday, we'll go look for the next one. We've got our blinders on and we're just going to take the next opponent one at a time and that's how we're approaching things. That's how we're going to approach our week of preparation."
(on what it would mean to have Arian Foster back in the lineup) "It would be huge for us. He's a big part of what we do. He's a very valuable weapon for us offensively. But as we saw last week, we have some guys that we have a ton of confidence in that can come in and play well. We have a bunch of playmakers but he's a huge one for us."
(on WR David Anderson being back with the Texans) "It's great to have Dave back. He's a character as you all know. He likes to keep it fun and he's a do it all type of guy. He can go in there and block. He's going to go in there and catch passes, play special teams. He's going to do a lot of the tough things for us, so it's good to have him back."
(on Anderson knowing the offense and being able to transition quickly) "He's a guy that can take our playbook from today and installing our stuff and take it right to the field without much hesitation of thinking about stuff and just go do it. He knows how we run our routes and how we want them run, our progressions. I've played enough with him that I know where he's going to be and he knows where I want to throw the ball. It's just nice to have a guy in there that you can just plug in there and he's going to go play."
(on the importance of the offensive line playing a lot of football together) "It's hard to really verbalize it enough. They're a group that doesn't get enough credit as they deserve. They deserve a lot, because for a group like that to stick together for this many years, it helps me. It helps the running backs. They don't have to communicate as much as other offensive lines do. They just know based on looks who's helping and where their help is and everything like that. I know what they're doing as well. It just helps the whole group because they are so cohesive in what they're doing."
(on if the experience of both guards having played center before helps them) "I think that's a huge thing. When Wade (Smith) came in, we had him running some center and Mike (Brisiel) has always been a fill-in center for us. It just helps having them having made calls in the past, they know what calls are coming before Chris (Myers) actually tells them. So from that standpoint, that helps even the tackles, because they have basically a center right next to them rather than having to listen to Chris the entire time."
(on the improvement of T Duane Brown) "I've never really worried about Duane from his rookie year and everything because I knew he was going to go out and bust his tail. He's a physical guy and it's been fun to watch his growth over the past few years. Now, he's just got a 'cut it loose' type of mentality. He knows what he's doing. He's just a physical monster out there."
DE Antonio Smith(on the Dolphins' performance against the Patriots) "The offense moved the ball. They spread it out a little bit. The quarterback's got some running ability. I think that's going to make it dangerous, especially when you don't plan for it or game plan for it and you open up your defense, the quarterback can rush. They said he rushed for like 50-something yards, so we got to take that into consideration too."
(on going up against QB Chad Henne compared to QB Kerry Collins) "In my opinion, I never really liked running quarterbacks. They always can get away and evade sacks. Once you beat the defensive lineman that's supposed to sack you, you got linebackers and DBs 20 yards up the field, so that's a guaranteed at least seven to 10 yards once he takes off if he's got any kind of speed."
(on RB Reggie Bush) "Reggie Bush is Reggie Bush. I think as long as we keep him contained, he's going to do the things that he wants to do, as far as athletically and get out and catching passes on the flare, but I think if we run around on this defense, we can hit him from every angle. If he's running and catching flare out passes, D-lineman is running to the ball. I think that's one thing that this defense has improved in is we get to the ball from every position."
(on how exciting it is to approach a game with this defense) "I don't know. When we first started the season last year, it was exciting too. It was exciting. We were winning and feeling good. I'm still just as excited, but more this year I'm more focused on not having a repeat of last year like the teams that come out of the season and they have a good flare and then they sizzle out. I want it to last all the way into February."
* *
RB Ben Tate(on what he has seen from the Miami defense) "They have a pretty stout defense. They have good linebackers and a good secondary. They bring pressure quite a bit, so we're just going to have to be on our 'A' game."
(on whether RB Arian Foster's return to practice changes his preparation at all) "Every week, no matter who's healthy and who's not, I approach it the same every week."
(on his confidence level increased after having a 100-yard game last week) "Not really. I'm always confident in myself and I always believed that I can do it, so I wouldn't say that it was a confidence booster at all; I just went out and did what I thought I could do."
(on how his performance looked when he watched it on film with the team) "It wasn't as good as I thought. It was a good game for me. It was last week and I'm past it. Now I'm trying to get ready for the Dolphins."
(on preparing for the Miami game without knowing how much RB Arian Foster will play) "Like I said, that doesn't affect me. I go in and prepare the same every week."
DE J.J. Watt(on the defense's confidence level going into this week after playing well last week) "I believe (Miami QB Chad) Henne threw for over 400 yards and obviously ran for a little bit, too, so he's a mobile quarterback. We need to keep him in the pocket and make him throw the ball, and we also want to make them not want to run the ball. Stop the running game, shut down the running game, and hopefully they have to go to the air, and then get some pressure on the quarterback."
(on head coach Gary Kubiak calling the defense 'explosive' after the game on Sunday) "I think 'explosive' is an adjective that you would love your defense to be described as. That's something Coach (defensive coordinator Wade) Phillips is trying to get us to do, and obviously, to be a great defense, you'd better be explosive. You don't want to be described as 'slow' or 'stale' or just 'boring,' so obviously explosive is something we're shooting for every game."
(on whether he liked the defense's performance when he saw it on film) "We had fun. We had a lot of fun, but the best part is we still have things to correct, and that means there's room for improvement, so that's what I'm most excited about. We played a great football game, but there's still room to improve, which gets you excited for next week."
T Eric Winston(on Offensive Line Coach John Benton) "Coach has been great. I think he's been that consistent cog in the machine, since I've been here. Through a lot of different assistant head coaches or whatever you want to say, he's been that guy and that steady hand I think around this offense and especially around the offensive line for so long. I feel like you always know what to expect from him. I think he's pretty steady as far as that goes. I like that. There's a lot of coaches that are up and down, have their high days, have their low days, but he's steady and I appreciate that as a player. You come every day to work and you know what to expect. He also has certain expectations and you know what to expect from there and he doesn't waver from it. It's been fun. I've learned so much from him. I've learned a lot just about being a pro and how to go about things and on top of that, football. I've learned a lot just being around him and playing."
(on it not meaning anything that Miami gave up a lot of points to New England) "I know around here we've had great Week 1s and bad Week 1s. I'm sure a lot of franchises are looking like that around the league this week. Steelers didn't play well. Atlanta didn't play well. That doesn't mean that's who they are. That's one bad week. The Patriots had a good game plan going in there. I think they executed well, but people are acting like that was a blow out from the very beginning and it wasn't. There were two plays there that were defining. They didn't get in on the fourth-and-goal and the next play, the Patriots hit a 99-yard pass that blew the game open. That was the game right there, so to act like the game was never in reach is not really true. It's not indicative of what happened. We got to go out there and we got to play well. I think Miami's a good team. I think they're going to be in it at the end to go into the playoffs."
(on if it's a big deal for him going back to Miami) "It'll be nice to see some friends, see some people down there, but other than that, it's just another game. It's another game that we got to go win. We got to find a way to win one on the road now, so that's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a great challenge."
