The Texans practiced Tuesday morning from 8-9:30 a.m., and at noon the team mingled with the fans at Hotel ZaZa during the annual TEAM Luncheon, presented by Amegy Bank. Afterward, head coach Gary Kubiak took questions from the media.
Texans head coach Gary Kubiak
(on approaching the Vikings game as if it were a regular season game) "We do that every year. For the third game, we're going to practice during the week, meet during the week at the same time. We're going to do everything just like we're going to do against the Jets. So it's basically a trial run for the coaches, for the players and everybody. We've got some new faces on our team so they'll see how we do things."
(on how much you learn about players in how they take the game plan) "Well you learn a lot because like I told our guys today, this preseason game around the league traditionally is where your first group plays a great group of football and is the one you approach like a regular season game. We've got a bigger stage to do it on, with it Monday night, so we need that. They're a dang good football team. We need to come back and play well this week."
(on how he would summarize camp) "I think it was good. I thought we had a very good camp as a football team. Obviously, we had a little setback on Saturday, which was disappointing but that's also why you're here. During camp, to know when it's going smooth, it's not all good and when you hit a few bumps in the road, you have to get over them. That's part of the season, the NFL season. I think it's been very productive. We've obviously found some new faces to help us through some adversity, through injuries in camp but that should help us in the long haul."
{QUOTE}(on his ability to judge the team off of camp) "Yeah, it's very difficult to judge. I've been through some real smooth camps, and then go out there opening day and go, 'What the heck happened?' Been through some rough camps, and go out there and play really well on opening day. I don't know that anybody ever knows in this business until you get going, but I feel good about our football team. I wish some of those faces would've been working the whole month but at the same time, I feel very fortunate that all the guys will be back. They'll all be contributing. Hopefully that stays the same the last two weeks."
(on if we'll see a different defense Monday night) "Oh, we'll see. Obviously, they're very disappointed in their play, especially in the first half the other night. They're trying to get themselves ready for opening day and that's a mindset too and you can't feel good about what happened out there so I'm glad to hear him talking that way. Our whole football team should be talking that way because it is very important. You want to come out of this game this week feeling good, especially if you're a starter, that 'Hey I'm ready to go.'"
(on DeMeco taking the blame for not having the team ready) "Well that tells you what type of leader he is on the team because he's willing to take that type of responsibility and that's got to filter through the entire group. But, he's a man, and he's the leader on our team. He's the guy everybody looks to. They don't call him captain for any other reason than he's the leader on the team. That's what you gotta have because this is a hard league, a very competitive league. A lot of ups and downs and somebody has got to control the day-to-day work, and does it on his side of the ball."
(on owner Bob McNair's expectations of the Texans being a playoff team) "A little pressure, huh? No, it's like I said. When we got started 3 years ago, we were honest with where we were and how far we had to go. To get to a point now, where we feel we should be a team competing for a playoff spot, that's why I came here. That's why we're working our tails off and building this football team. They should be thinking that way. If you're doing it for any other reason in this business, you're spinning your wheels. Does that mean it's going to happen? No. We're going to do a lot of hard work and get a lot better as a football team for it to happen, but if that's not your mindset, how do you get it done?"
(on if he expects G Chester Pitts to play on Monday) "Yeah I do. From what I saw these two days, if he has a good week of work I expect him to play. Now whether he plays as much as everybody else, I don't know, but he'll play."
(on if LB Brian Cushing will be available for the final preseason game) "Well, I guess what I'm saying is I hoping that he's practicing with the team by the end of this week. I don't expect him to play this week. I think it's too soon. Will he be ready to play next week? I think he'll be ready to play next week. We'll have to make a decision. Is that good for him? Or do we work him more in practice and get him ready for opening day. So that's a decision we'll have to make, but I think he will be ready to play next Friday."
(on if the players care that Vikings QB Brett Favre will be playing) "It's the NFL. There are great players out there every week. Obviously, there's a different spin on this one because of Brett coming back. I know him very well. He's a tremendous player, good for the league, good for football, and a good test for our team."
(on if Kubiak was still playing when Favre started playing) "I don't think so. Well that's when I got out so his first year, I might have been finishing up myself. I had trouble with him many times, I'll tell you that."
(on Duane Brown's ability to handle Jared Allen) "Well, he's going to go against a great player. They've got a great front. They're two inside players are as good as there are in football. The kid on the other side is playing extremely well. This defense is as physical as there is in the National Football League. They sit there and play two-deep and those big guys push the pocket and so it'll be a good test for our offense."
(on the whole situation with QB Matt Schaub last year) "That's all over. That's part of the game. He's playing hard. Matt's playing hard. That's part of football."
