Linebacker Kevis Coley had a game-high 15 tackles against the Bucs.
After the Texans' final preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, players and coaches from both teams talked to the media.
Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak
(on the play of the back up cornerbacks) "Well, Petey (CB DeMarcus Faggins) has had a great camp, we've talked about that before. He played extremely well in the first half tonight. We were really looking at (CB Derrick) Roberson and (CB Jamar) Fletcher tonight, as well as CB Dexter Wynn. We're looking for a fifth guy. As for which one we're going to keep, I'll have to go back and look at the film. It looked like Dexter Wynn did some good things. I know Roberson had a mistake on the punt return, but I'll have to go back and look at the film to be fair to them. We're going to take a good look at all three of those guys."
(on if he is surprised at how CB DeMarcus Faggins has bounced back during the off-season and preseason) "I'm really not because that's part of being a pro, especially if you're a corner. You better have a short memory and I talked about him at the team meeting last night for young guys to look at him. He's a seventh-round pick, if I'm correct, and became a starter in this league. He worked through some hard, hard times that sent him the other way, and now he's battling back and playing his tail off. That's what this league is about. He's a great example of how much of a rollercoaster ride it can be to play in this league. I am very proud of the way he bounced back."
(on the progress of CB Antwaun Molden) "It looked like he did a few good things tonight. I know he came out of a couple of his zones when the quarterback scrambled. That's about discipline. I'll have to go back and look at him. He's going to be a part of this team. He should help us not only defensively, but on special teams."
(on whether or not he has made up his mind on the cuts) "I think we were sitting, to answer the question very honestly, we're probably sitting at 42 or 43 when we walked into the stadium tonight. I think we have 10 tough decisions that could go either way when we look at this film. There may be some other things that go into that decision process, but I think we know corner was a decision. I wanted to let these two young quarterbacks throw the ball around, and look at them. Our running back is a decision. Defensive line is a very big decision. When you look at (DT Anthony) Maddox and you look at (DT Frank) Okam. It looked like (DT) Gabe Long came in and hasn't played much and did some good things. That's a fourth spot there that is going to be a very difficult decision to make."
(on how many on the defensive line he would to keep and how many he could possibly keep) "I think we're looking at nine or 10. It really all depends. The defensive line will offset the secondary. If we keep 10 in the secondary, we'll probably keep nine up front. If we keep 10 up front we'll keep nine on the back end, so they'll probably offset each other however that ends up."
(on whether or not the depth at linebacker is a concern) "It's a concern. The names are there but the bottom line is that two of those players haven't played. Preseason-wise they really have been nonexistent. When we talk about (LB Chaun) Thompson and (LB Xavier) Adibi, we think they have a lot of ability. We're expecting big things from them, but they are way behind the football team. If we keep six, the names are there to talk about. I think (LB Kevis) Coley and (LB Ben) Moffitt played well tonight. We'll look at them. But the concern is with the health of those two."
(on if a veteran like DE Roosevelt Colvin should stand out in this situation) "We'll see. We played him a bunch. We played him at linebacker. We played him at end and rushed. We'll go back and see how he performed. Obviously there is still a tough decision to make in that regard and that's why he played a lot of football tonight."
Houston Texans QB Shane Boyd
(on how final preseason game went) "It went pretty good. We had some bright spots on the offense but we want to do better. We had some of our backups in there and obviously we wanted to have a better showing and put some more points on the board but there was some highlights and some things we were doing well but there's some things that doesn't work.
(on his thoughts of his own performance) "I set my standards higher. I can play better, I can always play better. Coach Kubiak is very hard and coach is very nitpicky on a lot of things because he wants us to be great quarterbacks. As far as personally there is some that I can still work on. I gave it all I had, I gave it everything I had and great effort. I just got to continue pushing.
(on how it was hard to develop timing in preseason): "It kind of hinders you sometimes but as Kube (Gary Kubiak) says, it's the NFL. As you look at somebody like Sage who didn't play a lot but had to get thrown in there and went 4-1 as a starter. So he lets us know that we always have to be ready. That's what we have to do especially when you're in the backup role. That's something we have to do. I haven't played since the first week when I left the draft and then I sat down for two weeks and had to come back and play today. So it's the game, as the backup role you have to be ready when your number is called."
Houston Texans LB Kevis Coley
(on final cuts approaching) Everything helps. I came out playing my hardest, getting my snaps. I came out just wanting to play my hardest every snap with a good effort to try and make this team. It's up to the coaches now- that's all I can control. I'm just waiting by the phone. Whatever happens- happens."
(on 15 tackles tonight) You know, I drank a lot of water to stay hydrated tonight because I would play a lot tonight and thank God I stayed free from injury tonight. I just went out there and gave it all I had. Again, whatever happens, happens."
Houston Texans LB Zac Diles
(on being a starter and how much difference a year makes) "I was thinking about it earlier, how crazy it is. Like I said, a year ago, I was playing in this game, coming in there. So, for my boy (LB) Ben Moffitt, I know how he feels when you're going out there playing in a game like this. So, like I said, a year's gone by and now I'm in the situation I'm in now, so I'm grateful for that and I've just got to keep going out there and being consistent."
(on how much he feels he can contribute this season) "I've got the utmost confidence in myself. You've got to. I guess now, I've just got to go out there and put it on tape and put it on film. Now it's season time, so we've got to go out there and get ready for Pittsburgh in a couple days, so now we've got to go do it for real."
(on what he tried to do during this preseason) "Just go out there and just make plays. That's my biggest thing. You just need to go out there and make plays and be consistent and show to the coaches that I can go out here and play as a starter in this league. So, that was my biggest thing that I wanted to do, and I guess I've done it well enough. So I've just got to keep going out there and putting stuff on tape."
(on if there were a key period that boosted his confidence during training camp) "You know what, I just always had the same mindset: Just go out there and play hard, and you never know what can happen. I can only control what I can control. I can't control what the coaches and the people upstairs are doing. Really, the feedback was just, 'Just keep going out there and playing hard,' and that's exactly what I try to go out there and do every time I'm on the field."
(on where he is a better player right now) "I think all-around game. I think the game is slowing down for me a lot more this year than it was last year. Last year, everything was so fast and so quick, but now I'm more familiar with the defense and everything is slowing down more and more. I'm able to know where I'm supposed to be on the plays, so I think that's the biggest thing. I still have a long way to go to get to where I need to be, but everything doesn't happen overnight. You've just to go out there and keep making strides."
(on not having to worry about being cut this year) "I guess I don't have to worry right now, but it's still a tough day for a lot of other individuals. It's not like I'm going to go out and gloat and be having a good time, because I know there's going to be a lot of my boys that are going to get that phone call. So, it's going to be a tough day tomorrow."
Houston Texans CB Demarcus Faggins
(on playing well against the Bucs) "I don't know if they're getting tired of me or not, but I'm just trying to let them know that you can't be tired of me. I'm going to keep my name in your brain."
(on wanting to make sure there are at least three original Texans on the team this year) "Right, at least that. At least that."
(on the source of his newfound confidence) "Really, it's just looking back last year and just seeing the things that I've done wrong and just kind of letting them go behind me, just coming out here with a whole 'nother mindset and trying to go out there and just make plays and have fun."
(on letting loose in the final preseason game) "Oh, yeah. That's how I felt. Like I was saying earlier, there were a lot of young guys that played, so I just wanted to let them know, 'Don't go out there tensed up. Go out there relaxed; have fun.' Because you've been doing it since OTAs, since minicamp, it's been in your brain for so long, you've just got an opportunity to go out there and play and just show what you've got. It's the last preseason game, and tomorrow you've got to get rid of some guys, so I just wanted to let them know, 'Just go out there and play ball, and things will work out.'"
(on how important it is to him to be in Houston for another season) "It's very important. This is my home; I've never been nowhere else. I couldn't tell you what'd happen if I was to leave, so I'm glad I went out there and I played my heart out, made some plays. So I've got to let them make that decision tomorrow."
(on if he can get some good rest tonight) "Oh, yeah. I can go home and rest good tonight, so that's a good thing."
(on the cornerbacks as a unit heading into the regular season) "I feel good about them because I believe this preseason, this training camp, I think a lot of guys stepped up and have been making plays. Some of our key guys got nicked up a little bit and really just haven't been out there, but I know for a fact they'll be there for us, because they've been there for us in previous years. So it's looking pretty good for us."
(on if he expects the cornerbacks to play well this season) "Oh, yeah. I'm confident with the secondary that we have now. We've got guys that can make plays. I mean, if you really looked at it, it's been guys making plays all preseason. And I just see that when we come in, Dunta Robinson's going to come back and that's going to make us that much more stronger."
(on playing a good game) "Oh, yeah. Last game of the preseason, you always want to go out there and kind of leave a good impression on them for when they look at your phone number in the morning, they'll be like, 'Well, let me just put this phone number in the back.' So hopefully that'll work out for me tomorrow."
(on how it felt to make some big hits tonight) "It felt good, man. Coming in this year, they always talked about being physical and last year, I missed tackles last year and they were saying I'm not capable of playing. So I just wanted to come out here this game and just be like, 'OK, I'm coming. I'm bringing my hat today.'"
(on if he feels like he did that tonight) "Oh, I know I did it. I know I did it."
Houston Texans WR Jacoby Jones
(on how it felt today) "It felt pretty good today. I had a long talk with my friend (WR) Harry (Williams) last night on the phone. He told me, 'Man, go back to that Lane College.' So I just went out there and had fun."
(on if having fun was important to him) "Oh yeah, so I could come back with my confidence going in to the regular season ready to play."
(on another storm heading into the Gulf of Mexico) "I already told them (his family), I said, 'Look, get the family all up in my house. I will stay in a hotel or whatever, but all the family come to my house.' All you can do is pray about it right now. What ever happens, happens. But I hope everyone gets out in time."
(on if he thinks he solved his fumbling problem) "Oh yeah. (Special teams) Coach Joe (Marciano) said in the meeting that it takes 21 days to break a habit. Right now, I've been tucking the ball, walking around with the ball. So, I'm trying to start a habit of tucking that thing."
(on if he thinks he had a better performance tonight) "I think so. I think I did pretty good for the most part. I could always get better. Just keep on getting better for the regular season."
(on if he is ready for the regular season) "Yeah. We going. Everyone is zero and zero."
(on if he just wanted to get out of the preseason healthy) "Oh yeah. We have most of the team probably about as healthy as you can going into a fresh start."
(on the competition on the field tonight) "Everybody was at stake tonight. Everything was on the line and you had to just let it go. Leave everything out there. It may be your last chance with a Texans uniform on or not. But those who make it, let's roll. If you don't, keep on pushing, you never know. There's 31 more teams out there and everybody has a chance."
Houston Texans LB Ben Moffitt
(on getting 13 tackles in the game) "I could've played a lot better. I could've played a lot better on special teams, but the Lord blessed me to get 13 tackles tonight. I tried to be around the ball, I tried to hustle, so it kind of pays off whenever you try to do those things."
(on if he did enough to earn a spot on the team) "I have no idea. I've heard from the veterans that the craziest things can happen. I'm just going to put it in God's hands and whatever happens, happens. I'm just blessed to be here this far, so it's been a good experience."
(on his emotions heading into tomorrow) "Well, I left it all on the field and there's nothing else I can do, so I'm just going to go chill with my family, hang out with them and pray and see what happens. I can't control it right now. It's in their hands. It's in God's hands. So, I'm just fortunate to make it this far and I'm blessed, very blessed."
(on if he could have done more this preseason) "I mean, you can always do something better. When you look back, you find hindsight's 20-20. But I got in here this game, they gave me the opportunity to start and play and I tried to produce for them. I just left it all on the field tonight, so I can't look back."
Houston Texans CB Antwaun Molden
(on how he played tonight) "I did pretty good. You know, I made some mistakes. Now, It's time to get back to the film, see what I did wrong and correct those mistakes."
(on the constant learning process as a rookie corner) "Even when you're a vet, you've got to get better at every little thing."
(on the small margin of error corners have on every play) "Exactly. That's why people say the game is 90 percent mental, because you've got to be fundamental at your technique."
(on getting an unfavorable pass interference penalty) "I have no control over that. All I can control is the things that I can with courage. Everything else, you can't worry about that."
Houston Texans LB DeMeco Ryans
(on what about the preseason gets him excited about regular season) "I'm excited to see all of our guys play a full game and get into a real game plan, we can actually put it all together. So it's going to be a good challenge for us going on the road. Our first game against Pittsburg everyone is going to be pumped and excited about getting it going for real. Now it's all on the line. You know every game counts so it's time to step up and play ball better than everyone."
(on what's better about this year's defense) "I think we are a lot simpler on defense but I think we are a lot faster than we played in the past. Guys understand the defense a lot more and know what they are doing which allows us to play fast and everyone gets to the ball to make plays."
Houston Texans RB Darius Walker
(on the young guys getting a chance to play tonight) "You don't always get a chance to get out there all the time. When you do, you see these guys out there willing to die for the game, basically. So, it's always encouraging to see and great to see."
Houston Texans CB Dexter Wynn
(on impressing coaches) "You just have to go out there and play like your whole life depends on it. You can't depend on things upstairs and stuff like that. You have to go out there and have fun with it. I know I can play in this league, I just have to go out there and prove it. This game is all about opportunity and it's all about taking advantage of it. I've been in training camp with the Texans before so they know what I can do. I think they brought me in because they know what I can do. I just have to make the most of this opportunity."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden
Intro: "I'd just like to say, I am proud of our football team. We played a lot of young players, first year players and I thought we played hard on both sides of the ball. I was happy to see Matt Bryant kick three field goals at the end there. He needed to do that; it was important and again we have some tough decisions to make and I'd just like to compliment out football team and our coaching staff. I thought they worked hard. We are looking forward to starting the regular season and I'd be happy to answer any questions I can."
(on how concerned he is about Bryant's missed field goals) "well the first one was 54 yards so…The second one I don't know if I was disappointed or just shocked because Matt doesn't miss field goals and I just feel it's unbelievable so I was shocked and I was disappointed but again I was happy to see him bang those last 3 field goals through the uprights and hopefully that catapults him into another great season."
(on whether or not Bryant gave any indication of why he missed the field goals) "I don't want to talk to him about kicking. I don't know much about it really. I've tried to kick myself and I can't even express how bad I am. I have confidence in this guy, more than maybe he knows and I think he's going to be just fine, but he knows we desperately need him to get the job done. I've been through this for a couple years where, not to point fingers, but it was very very painful and we need him. We need him to be our leading scorer just like every kicker is on every team in this league and he's got the talent and he can get it done and certainly I have a lot of confidence in him.
(on wide receiver #10 Jackson's 83 yard punt return) "He was great tonight. We gave him an end around early and I think he got 14 yards on that play and he got a big pass interference call that set up one of Matt's field goals and he returned a punt. I don't know how fast he was running but it looked like Forest Gump to me and we're excited about it, you know he's got a long way to go to figure everything out, the big picture, but he does have tremendous speed and a lot of talent and he's very confident in what he is doing. That was huge tonight."
(on whether wide receiver #10 Jackson will be the primary return man) "I don't want to any judgments right now but we didn't bring him in here to sit him on the sidelines, we brought him in here to give us a jump in the return game, he clearly did that tonight and we'll let you know."
(on how the guys stepped up and made plays when they needed to) "We only stood up and sat down 25 or 27 players, maybe 30 but a lot of times no one recognizes and hopefully tonight they became familiar with some new guys. There was some inspiring play out there today. I tried to tell the players that after the game, it may just be the 4th preseason game but a lot of these guys accepted the challenge and they stepped up and found a way to win on the road. I don't care who we're playing or when we're playing, tonight was a good solid team victory and the 4th and 5th quarterback were very good in situations tonight."
(on how big it is when guys like Dexter can play in different positions) "That is bigger than big really when you think about what's happened here in the last couple of years. # 19 Ike Hillard has been a clutch. He was our leading receiver last year and he had to do the punt return duties as well and that is a lot of responsibility when you go to sleep the night before the game and hopefully Dexter can continue to get better and better and allow some of the other players to do what they do and again we don't think Dexter is just the return man, we didn't bring him in here exclusively to do that. We're going to try to create some things for him to do to help us."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers DE Patrick Chukwurah
(on how he played tonight) "I was just glad I had the opportunity to come out there and play. I was sitting at the house all through preseason and just wondering if a team was going to pick me up and if I was going to get another opportunity. The Lord blessed me with one, so I had to take full advantage of that."
(on where he was before being picked up) "I was back and forth, but at the time I was in Tampa. I was working out in Tampa just maintaining and I got that call."
(on if he was working out with a personal trainer) "Oh no, I wasn't that fortunate. I've been doing this for so long, so I just knew what to do to keep my body right and stay in shape. So, I was just doing what I've been doing for years."
(on being able to play the entire game) "The Lord was just with me. I was just out there doing what I do, what I know I can do. I just try to put it on tape and be the best I can be. I was just out there playing and the Lord blessed me with good plays. That's all she wrote."
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Chris Simms
(on playing again) "I was happy with it. I was just happy to get out there again and get reps. That is what I needed."
(on the chances of him getting cut from the team) "You know, I'm not going to think about it a whole lot. I don't think I'm going to be here, to be honest with you. I think the writing is on the wall. So be it. I had a great time here in Tampa. I met a lot of people and it was truly a great start to my NFL career here. I truly enjoyed it and have nothing but good things to say about being here.
(on there being a chance of him rejoining the team in the future) "There's no doubt about it. You know, my family and I love it there. It's a great sports town. People there are crazy about the Buccaneers and have been great to me. If I do leave here in a few days, I would always be open to coming back. There's no doubt about it."
