Following are quotes from the Texans after the team's 16-13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Reliant Stadium in their final preseason game.
**Texans' owner Bob McNair
**(on the team's direction) "I'm really happy with our team. I'm happy with our coaches. I think Coach Kubiak is doing a great job. Rick Smith is doing a wonderful job of bringing in players as we need them, and it's really a lot of fun to see the success that our guys are enjoying."
(on the Texans' new offensive scheme) "I think that the offensive scheme itself is more fun, because you open the game up and the quarterback can do a lot more. We've got very athletic quarterbacks, so it gives them a chance to do what they do best."
(on the upcoming season) "I'm anxious to see how we do, and I know we'll do very well. I'm not making any predictions, but I know we'll play well. I've seen us play well against
, who has the best record over the last five years of any team in the NFL. I think we'll be there to play."
(on Coach Kubiak) "He's very hands-on, and he treats everybody fairly. Any time anybody needs correcting, it doesn't matter if he's the number one player or the 75 th player on the roster; he's going to be corrected. The players like that because they know that everyone is treated fairly and he does it in such a way that he doesn't put people down."
(on his approach to the upcoming regular season) "You just have to look at it one game at a time, and not look beyond that. We've got a big game with
coming up, and I feel that we'll be able to play very well against them. I'm looking forward to it. The goal is to win that game, and that's all that counts right now."
(on if the Texans' preseason performance will earn respect from other teams) "I don't know if anybody's paying any attention to us at this point and, in fact, I'd prefer that they not pay any attention to us. That's fine with me. I think our players know that they can go out and play with anyone. I think they have confidence in the schemes that Coach Kubiak put together, and I think that's very important."
(on building confidence through preseason wins) "I think it's very important. Even though these games don't count in the standings, it's an affirmation of the schemes that are in place. They work, and the players can see that they work and believe it. So much of this game is confidence, so I think our preseason was very positive."
(on the difference in training camp this year) "I think the main thing is that the players have confidence in Coach Kubiak. I think that's the number one thing."
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on what's ahead in the next few days) "We have a lot of tough decisions to make. You have an idea of where you're headed and then you have to take into account everything that happened tonight. When you give young guys an opportunity to play, you give them confidence to play their hearts out. They're playing for jobs and a chance to play in the National Football League, and that's impressive."
(on the play of running backs Antowain Smith and Chris Taylor) "I thought they both did some good things for us. Antowain is a veteran guy who pounds the ball and had a big run.
I thought had exceptional speed, but he needs more vision and needs to grow as a runner. They're different types of players who are going to perform for us."
(on the play of quarterback Sage Rosenfels) "I expected him to play well. He practices that way, he knows what's going on and he's a great leader. He's very poised in what he does and I'm really not surprised. That's why we went and got him this off season. He's going to make our team better."
(on whether or not he'll keep three quarterbacks on the roster) "We'll make that decision in the next few days. It's possible. I've been around two for a long time, and I've been around three. I think a lot of it has to do with what you think about your third, whether or not he has a chance to eventually be a one or a two. Both of our guys tonight did some good stuff tonight."
(on the play of the wide receivers) "I liked some of the things Derrick Lewis did tonight. We have to make a tough decision on some young guys, they could be a practice squad decision or a fifth roster spot.We'll look hard at what's going on around the league and go from there."
(on the play of Steve McKinney) "He looked good tonight. He needed the action. He got better as the day went on. We've got three guys who I think are all starters, and we'll rotate those guys. We're going to do things to keep us competitive."
General manager Rick Smith
(on how the team makes its decisions at RB and WR) "With the way we did the playing time tonight, (WR) Eric (Molds) and (WR) Andre (Johnson) are obviously our first and second receivers, and we feel really good about (WR Kevin) Walter. Kevin Walter is going to be our third receiver. And then we have competition after that. (WR) Derrick Lewis is showing that he can make times plays at times. (WR) Jake Schifino, we have (WR) David Anderson, a pick of ours in the draft in the seventh round. It's a battle there."
(on that all seven draft picks are in the running to make the roster) "Yes they are, and we're always pleased with that. You want to try to increase the depth on your football team with the draft, so we were able to do that this yeah, and feel pretty good about that."
(on whether the team may still be looking for some depth at linebacker) "Well, we obviously feel good about our rookie (LB DeMeco Ryans). Then (LB) Kailee Wong is a guy that we don't know right now with what we're going to do with him in relation to the PUP (list). We probably won't get him back until six weeks into the season if we make that decision. Or we may get him back in a couple weeks. We have to make that determination, but we have those guys and obviously we're going to look for players too."
(on the possible return date of WR Jerome Mathis) "We've already made that decision (to put him on the PUP list). We have not made that decision with Kailee (Wong). What happens with that over the next couple of days will make that determination."
(on Kailee Wong) "Basically, if he is healthy enough; if we feel he can contribute to the football team and do so in a way that won't damage his knee. Or if he's totally healthy, then we'll get him on the field."
(on the amount of progress Wong has made towards coming back) "He's been great. He wants it more than anybody. He's out there working really hard to rehabilitate the knee. He's a guy that you root for. We just want to be real careful with that and make a good decision."
(on whether a run-stopper is what the defensive line needs) "No, I feel good about out inside guys right now. I think that (DT) Robaire (Smith) and (DT) Travis (Johnson) are doing a great job. I think (DT) Seth (Payne) adds a real big depth there, a veteran guy that has played before in this league. We feel good about that. There is a competition with (DE Earl) Cochran and guys down the ladder there, and we may look to see if we could increase that depth with a guy off the waiver wire, we'll continue to look there. But I feel good about the group that we have now."
**QB [David Carr
]() **(on the young running backs' role in pass protection) "Yeah, whoever it is will have to step up, but that's going to be the same with whoever you put back there. I'm confident that they can get in there and step up and make some plays. It's not going to be all on their shoulders just like it's not all on mine or the line's. We're all in this together."
(on his comfort level with the new offense) "I feel really comfortable. There's some things we've had to work through in the preseason, but it's nice to see it happen these last couple weeks instead of the couple weeks coming ahead, so we'll get those things worked out, and there were a couple of things that we had last week early on in the game. If we get those cleaned up, we'll be pretty salty on offense."
(on if he's ready for the regular season) "Yeah, I'm ready to go. I've been kind of waiting for this for a long time—to get a chance to go out there with an offensive scheme that I believe in and have faith in the guys that are out there with me. We're going to get some weapons out there and we're going to be exciting. We're ready to go."
** RB Domanick Davis
(on how his knee feels)** "It gets better, then it'll swell up for a couple more weeks. The only thing I need to do is let it heal up, let it get right and get back out there."
(on what is wrong with his knee) "It's the meniscus—the lateral meniscus—and I have a little bit of arthritis on my knee joint. It's kind of rough; it's a rough joint. I've had it since college, but I just need to let it heal up and I'll be just fine."
(on whether he'll need more surgery on the knee) "No more surgery. I'm not cutting myself again. I'm going to just heal up and take it from there."
(on if he's prepared for the possibility of being placed on injured reserve) "I'm ready for whatever. Like I said, it is what it is. I can only worry about the things I can control, and that's making sure I get myself healthy—100 percent."
**TE Bennie Joppru
**(on his touchdown catch) "It was nice. I was just thinking, don't drop it the whole was there. It was a nice way to finish the preseason."
(on possibly dropping the ball) "When you are that open, and right when I came across I knew how open I was, it definitely goes through your head. It was a good feeling, but I will feel better when I am still here tomorrow."
(on being a long time coming for a touchdown catch) "It has been a while, but I tried to act like I've been there before and just flipped the ball to the referee. It felt good inside."
(on the roster cuts tomorrow) "Once the news happens tomorrow, I will be a happy person, as long as I'm still here."
(on what his gut feelings are about the roster cuts) "I don't have a clue. You have to expect the worst. That is all you can really do. You will always be happy then."
(on the past couple years coming down to tomorrow's cuts) "I worked my hardest. It is all that I could have done. I have no control over what happens now. I worked my butt off the last 3 years and whatever happens I won't be disappointed."
**OL Steve McKinney
**(on playing today) "It is always great to get out there and hit come different color jerseys. It was good, I was glad to get out there and feel comfortable that I can play through the injuries that I have and that I am going to be ok. If you go out there in the first regular season game without having tested it at all, you are definitely going to be wondering in the back of your mind if it's going to act up. Being able to play tonight and not having any problems was very positive."
**DT Seth Payne
**(on the team's preseason play) "It's just the preseason, but we haven't been able to put together four solid efforts in the last five years like we did this year, so it's encouraging."
(on the upcoming game against the Eagles) "The Eagles have been the winningest franchise in football over the last five years, so whatever we did in the preseason really doesn't mean anything. We have a huge, huge challenge this week."
(on the defenses improvement) "We're playing the run better than we have in the past. We're getting better pressure on the pass rush, but we're not getting the guy down as much as we'd like.
(on the team's depth) "We've never had depth like this before. I was looking around in the first quarter, and it was mostly backups, but every single one of those guys could be a starter in the NFL."
**QB Sage Rosenfels
**(on the second and third team players) "There are some real good players in that second group, and unfortunately some of them aren't going to make this football team. And, I tell you what, they can play in this league."
(on his preseason play) "I'm sort of a perfectionist, and I could definitely have played better. There's always plays in any game you wish you could have back. For the most part I did a good job of moving the ball and scoring points and executing the offense. And, preseason games are all about execution.
(on being the backup quarterback) "David Carr is the starting quarterback of this football team, and I'm his biggest supporter. I'm going to support his as much as I can and give him as much help as I can. If the team needs me, I'm going to go in there and do the best job I can to move the ball and help the team win."
**RB Antowain Smith
**(on mentoring the young running backs) "I have already made my career. I want to help somebody along the way. Help them become a better football player. I still want to play, but if it doesn't happen for me, it doesn't happen. As long as I feel as if I have helped someone along the way, and they still look up to me and the things that I have told them then that makes me feel good."
(on if it doesn't work out here, and if he will listen to other offers) "It will have to be something that I want to do. My kids are older and I want to get a chance to play football and basketball with them."
**RB Chris Taylor
**(on showing enough to make the roster) "Hopefully I showed enough. I hope tomorrow that I will still be a Houston Texan."
(on having a winning record in the preseason) "It is a great feeling. In college I didn't win much, so it's a great feeling to have a winning record now and hopefully we can continue it into the season."
(on how all the hard work in the preseason comes down to tomorrows cuts) "It is nerve racking. You work all throughout camp and then it comes to this point to make cuts. Hopefully my play showed the coaches something."
**DE Mario Williams
**(on not playing tonight) "I missed not being out there with the guys and playing."
(on where he thinks he can improve) "I can improve on every aspect of the game. I just try to get better every day at practice."
(on doing things that don't end up on the stat sheet) "As long as I feel like I'm out there helping the team get better and win,
that's all that matters. It doesn't matter if I get a sack a game, as long as
I feel like I'm going out there and doing my part."
