Following are quotes from the Texans after the team's 24-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in their 2006 preseason opener at Reliant Stadium.
**HALFTIME QUOTES
**
**Owner Bob McNair
(on Gary Kubiak)** "Well, Coach Kubiak has says that he will take responsibility for the quarterback, number one. David has the ability and it is up to him [Kubiak] to get him to play at his full potential. I know David and I know David wants to excel…and just soaks up all these terms that Gary is putting out there before him, and he will be a much better player as a result of it. David will handle this fine, and all the players will."
(on not taking Reggie Bush number one) "Well, I'm prepared…I hope Mario is. Mario today will be going against Kyle Turley who is an outstanding tackle. Well see how Mario does. Mario is a rookie and Kyle is a veteran, so it will be a really good learning experience for him. When you see him perform you will understand why we thought he could help this team. And, it really wasn't about who the best player was between the two, but who was the best player to help us elevate our team, and we think Mario will be that player."
(on the offensive line) "Well, we have got a couple of rookies and the first thing is that Mike Shearman went out and got some help for Seth Wand…he basically said we are going to get everything out of him, and we are not going to give up on him and do everything we can from a coaches standpoint to help elevate his game. Then we picked up Charles Spencer and he is going to be a fine player and then we got Eric Winston on the other side. We will have two players that are fine young tackles. Then we picked up Mike Flanagan and Flanagan will be a leader and he played well for us. I think they are going to have a number of guys who will come along and perform very well."
** LB DeMeco Ryans
(on making a tackle on the first play of the game)** "It felt great. It loosened me up and got me started. I'm now ready to play hard. I'm loosening up now."
(on playing in your first game) "It was great. The crowd was great. We have great fans. The crowd gave us a lot of energy going out there."
** RB Wali Lundy
(on scoring a touchdown)** "It felt good. The game's not over yet, so it's hard to say how I feel. It'll feel good if we go out here and win."
(on the running system)"The system fits me perfect. All I have to do is go out there and do what I do."
** QB David Carr
(on the first half)** "I am going to have to run some after practice to get my wind back if we're going to call that many boots. I felt good though. Coming out the pocket I felt like I had great conditioning. Training camp definitely paid off. Coach Kubiak is very aggressive. We had a couple of mistakes play-wise; we had a couple of guys mixed up, but this is the time to get it fixed."
(on the new offensive system)"This is so much fun for me. Even though today, we made a couple of mistakes, I know how much better it can be. This is going to be fun."
WR **Eric Moulds****
(on playing in Houston) **"Even though it's a preseason game, we have a lot of fans here. It's great that they come out to the game and get I could get a couple of catches early. Hopefully this is what I can give on a consistent basis in the regular season. I'm having a lot of fun with it and trying to get this team a lot of wins."
(on whether people in Houston know his name now) "I hope so. We have a lot more to do. If I'm making plays and Andre (Johnson) is making plays and David (Carr) is making plays and Domanick (Davis), it's going to be a good time. We have enough core guys on this offense where we can bring success here to Houston. We have to keep doing what we do during practice to make this a successful season."
** LB Barrett Green
(on starting)** "It felt good getting out there for the first time. We just have to get a lot of chemistry going out there to see what kind of defense we can become."
(on his play tonight) "I played alright. I really didn't get a lot of reps. We played the first quarter, but it felt good out there."
** DE Mario Williams
(on playing)** "I was really excited. I think should have calmed down just a little bit."
(on his expectations) "It's what I expected. We're out here going through training camp right now and practicing well. The coaches have prepared us for preseason really well."
**POSTGAME QUOTES
Texans head coach Gary Kubiak
(on how he felt about tonight's game)** "I like how hard we played. I thought we were still pretty sloppy at times. I think the coaches probably needed this preseason game more than anybody. I expected them to play hard and they did."
(on the play of Wali Lundy) "I expected him to play pretty good. He handles himself like a professional, he had a great camp and nothing is too big for him. I was pretty impressed with him."
(on the play of the cornerbacks) "We were thin going into the game, but the good thing is when we look at the film tomorrow we'll be able to evaluate a lot of our players. Overall I'd say 95 percent of our football team got some good work."
(on what the team needs to work harder at) "I think we need to clean up what we're doing. We might have used up a few guys a little too much as far as game time is concerned, but that's something we as coaches will have to go back and evaluate. We have to be honest with ourselves and make sure that with these young players we don't take them out of what they do best and that's just play the game."
(on his nerves heading into the game) "I was more nervous Thursday and Friday than today. This is what I do and I was just ready for today to get going. It seemed like a long day, but in the end it's a blast."
** Texans DE Mario Williams
(on playing in an NFL game)** "It was a lot different. It is kind of like coming into college, but with a different tempo. It wasn't as bad as practice."
(on rating his performance) "I have a lot to work on. As far as really studying film, especially when the season comes, and seeing guys playing and picking up their tendencies as opposed to going out in the preseason when they're rolling people in that you don't know. Basically, we just try to get better every day."
(on his nerves) "I kind of got too excited, but I wasn't nervous at all."
(on the overall feeling)"I can't explain it. That first time running out of the helmet, you can't explain it. I'm glad I finally had that first experience."
** Texans general manager Rick Smith
(on his feelings after the game)** "I feel good. It is a long, long hard road. We've hit the first tee box and we played the first hole pretty well, and that's about all we have right now. I thought they went well. I've been saying we have a long way to go and a lot of work to do, but from a beginning or a starting point, I think our guys played well tonight."
** Texans CB Dunta Robinson
(on the defense's play)** "I feel pretty good. Early on we couldn't get into a rhythm because we were in and out real quick. We had a couple of miscues on that touchdown run. But it's preseason, and those are things we can correct."
** Texans DT [Robaire Smith
]() (on the feeling of winning after going through last season) **"I think that whenever you go out and compete in this game, it's hard to say you're ever not playing to win, whether it is preseason or whatever. You don't just start winning games in September; you have to do the things to win in August and in training camp."
(on the emphasis Coach Kubiak and other coaches put on winning) "The most emphasis he puts on us is working hard. If we work hard like we've been working, good things will happen. Our part is to go day-in and day-out and work hard, and his job is to put us in position to make plays."
** Texans RB Wali Lundy
(on playing his first game)** "I am just happy to get the opportunity to play in the NFL. Anything I can do to help this team, either in the preseason or when the season starts, that's what I am going to do."
(on what he did to raise his stock) "I fell like I played a good game, but I felt like I still need some work. There were some things that I did out on the field that maybe people didn't see, but I notice and I just need to keep working hard."
(on how things are going to look on film) "I made some good cuts out there and I did play well on special teams. There were some blitz pick ups that I probably should have stepped up more and obviously the dropped pass that I had out there by myself, but you can't catch them all."
(on how this game felt compared to a college game) "Football is the same game if it's Pop Warner or if it's the NFL. I have been playing my whole life and I just feel like it's the same game."
(on the dropped pass) "I just took my eyes off the pass, no excuses. I dropped the ball. I took my eyes off the ball and didn't catch it."
(on doing things to get a closer look from the coaches) "Hopefully I'm doing things. Hopefully I am doing them in practice. I hope that I did do something to help myself make the team."
(on what he first thought after rushing for a touchdown) "Thank God. I put my hand up to the sky and said I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Him."
(on the opportunity he was given today)"I'm just happy to get the opportunity to play in the NFL. Anything I can do to help this team to be a winner in the preseason or when the season starts, that is what I'm going to do."
(on how he feels the coaches view his performance)"I feel like I played a good game. I feel like I still need some work, some things that I didn't do well out on the field, maybe that I didn't see. But I just need to keep working hard."
(on how this game felt to him compared to college) "Like I always say, football is the same game whether you're playing Pop Warner or you're playing NFL. I have been playing my whole life, and I just feel like it's the same game."
** Texans LB DeMeco Ryans
(on his first game)** "I think I did well, but I have a lot of learning to do and a long way to go. I'm trying to do my best to get better and better."
(on if the game was what he expected) "It was pretty much what I expected. Probably not as fast as I thought it would be. It was kind of surprising to me."
(on getting his first hits) "Once I got my first hit out there it calmed me down and took me back to college. I just tried to run around and make plays."
(on being a confidence builder)"It definitely was. To get out there and know you can do it, it builds your confidence. Now I see myself going out and getting better and better."
(on how he thinks he will grade out) "Probably average, I still have a lot of learning to do. It's all about going around and just flying around and being all over the place. Pretty much just trying to make the plays. I have a ways to go, but I am happy I got my first game under my belt so I have something to build on."
** Texans QB David Carr
(on his overall impressions about tonight's game)** "For our first pre season game we were sloppy at times, but we got in the end zone and I was pretty excited about that."
(on the option to roll out)"A lot of that was because of the Kansas City defense. It won't be like that every week. This is a team that if we can run the ball it takes the pressure off the offensive line. If you can get the time we had out there tonight you have the option to run."
(on the win as a building stone for the season)"This was good for coach Kubiak. He got his first win as a Texan, preseason or not. It was nice to get that under our belt."
(on offensive concerns)"One time we had a formation problem which I was able to recover and pick up a few yards. Overall, we just have a few formations to fix."
(on the play of Wali Lundy and the running game) "Wali ran well. We have some good running backs that can get the ball in there. We've got two guys who didn't even get in there – (Vernand) Morency and (Domanick) Davis – who can get it down the field. The guys who are in there right now are doing a good job."
(on the play of the offensive line) "I thought they did a great job. We didn't have a sack in the game and it's been a while since we've done that here. It was good. Even though it was a preseason game, keeping the quarterback clean, we're going to be able to score points."
** Texans TE Bennie Joppru
(on whether thought of his injuries) **"I have definitely felt, 'Why me?', in the past. The last two years have been a big turn around for me. This is why I have been doing it for the last two years, to finally get out there and play a game."
(on whether he was nervous) "I told myself last night that I have played in front of 110,000 people (in college), so it was going to be nothing. It was awesome. If felt great to catch three balls. It was special."
