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Head Coach Gary Kubiak** WR Andre Johnson
Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(opening statement) "Duane (Brown) did not practice, but he will be a game time decision as I've said. He is doing better today. Andre (Johnson) was cleared and practiced fully today, so he's ready to go. Ed (Reed) practiced well today. Like I said, if there are no setbacks, we're heading in the right direction but he will still be a game time decision. Who else? Garrett (Graham) was back to practice today. Am I missing anybody else? I think that's about it."
(on if Andre Johnson will be a game time decision) "I think he's fine. He's ready to go. I think Ed (Reed) and Duane (Brown) are our game time decisions."
(on if they plan to work Ed Reed out the morning before the game) "I don't know. We'll see. We feel good about today. The biggest thing as I keep telling y'all is it is how he comes out of practices. Is he sore? Stuff like that. He came out of yesterday really good. We'll see how we did today. We were able to practice outside even though the weather was bad, we were able to stay off the turf and stay outside, so that was a good thing."
(on his feeling about Duane Brown being able to play without practicing) "I feel the same way I've felt every day. I know what he can do, if he can get there for us on Sunday, but we'll see."
(on when Ed Reed stopped feeling sore in his hip from working out and practicing) "I don't know. I think it's a day-to-day thing. You've got to remember you're breaking scar tissue and stuff from a surgery that you've had, so I think it's a day-to-day process."
(on Ed Reed coming out of practice dealing with soreness) "I know you ask me every day, but I just know we go day-to-day and try to work towards gameday. I can't help you. That's all I've got."
(on how much of a relief is it that Andre Johnson bounced back so quickly) "It is, but at the same time, after the game I felt that way. I think we all felt that way because sometimes those things happen to guys out there on the field and you leave the stadium that day concerned, real concerned. Andre did bounce back from what took place, once we were in the locker room after the game. Actually, he met me coming up the tunnel after the game. You felt good about him bouncing back this week."
(on if Andre Johnson has completed the concussion protocol) "It's my understanding that he's totally cleared, yes."
(on the confidence he has in Ryan Harris if Duane Brown is unable to play) "I have a lot of confidence in Ryan because he played a lot for us last year and he's played a lot of football in this League. He's got a big challenge on his hands, regardless of who plays for us this week, we've got a challenge. They're a very good defensive football team. I'm comfortable with Ryan. That's why he's here. It's great that he came back to us because these are situations that kind of define you as a team. If you have problems, guys have to step in. How do you handle them? Can you still find ways to win? Can you still find ways to be successful in what you're doing? If we've got that challenge come Sunday morning then I'm counting on Ryan to rise to the occasion and for his teammates to help him."
(on how Ed Reed responded to a full practice load yesterday) "He was fine. He came out good. He went back today and was full today too."
(on Duane Brown's improvement) "Yeah, just the swelling and stuff is better. Like I think I've told you, I don't want him coming on the field. We're keeping him in a boot. He's not in a boot the whole time, but when he is out walking around and stuff. I don't want him standing out there and watching practice for two hours. We've kept him in here with the trainers the whole time."
(on if the field turf will play into consideration of whether or not Ed Reed plays) "I think everything is in consideration. We're going to go through the same process that we went through last week. I'm fixing to go sit down with Rick (Smith) and Kap (Geoff Kaplan) and Ed, Wade (Phillips), VJ (Vance Joseph) and what we do is we take a look at his week as a body of work, throughout the course of the week, watch him move and his movements. You've got to make the play and then come to a conclusion as we get ready to go, but the work has been good this week. It was good last week. It was good last week, but just at the final moment we said, 'Not yet. Let's get a good another week of work under our belt and see where we're at.' I think it comes down to his confidence with where he's at and what we see as a group."
(on if Ed Reed will play the entire game if he plays) "He's not going to play every play. How about that? I know that. If he plays, he's not going to play every play. Is there a play count on him? I wouldn't say that. If he's ready to go, we're going to go play. I don't think anybody who has missed that significant amount of time is ready to go play 75 plays so we have to be smart there."
(on if Ed Reed was start if he is ready) "If Ed is ready to go, Ed would start. Yes."
(on Randy Bullock) "He's fine. He's fine. He kicked good yesterday. We put a little pressure on him. Turned some noise on and guys ragged him a little bit. It's part of his job and he responded, kicked real well for us yesterday so we expect for him to do it again."
(on if he's had any talks with Randy Bullock to focus him) "That's Joe (Marciano) and Lig (Bob Ligashesky). They work with him every day. When we're working offense, defense, those things, they're with him all the time and Shane (Lechler). I think there are some other things involved that can help Randy from Shane getting better holding, helping him. Our snap, you know, we got laces on one of the kicks which you don't want for your kicker. Those three guys have to go get that worked out, but he's working hard."
(on what changed his mind about Ed Reed starting right away) "I said that? You remember a lot of stuff. I don't remember saying that. I might have. I don't know. Today is a new day, so if he's ready to go, he will start."
(on the progress of Joe Mays and Darryl Sharpton) "I really like it. They're two guys basically working at one spot in a rotation. What I really like is both of them are really making us better on special teams. If we're playing a lot of dime, that position is going to play maybe 30 plays a game, so if they share those, then they can be full-time special teams players. It's just good to have Darryl back. I think Joe continues to progress in what we're doing."
(on Ed Reed's off the field leadership and if it was what he expected) "Yeah, I've been very impressed with his work habits, and the way he goes about his business. Obviously, he's been doing it for a long, long time. I think he's done a good job with our guys. He's kept up and is very into what we're doing. I'm ready to go see it transfer to the field. We brought him here; he's a playmaker back there. He gets the hands on the ball and that's something that, even early in the season, that we're not doing well. Getting him out there would be a big bonus."
WR Andre Johnson
(on how he feels about being back) "I'm fine."
(on what he thought of Bernard Pollard being fined $42,000 for the hit) "I don't know. That's out of my control. Hits like that happen in the game. It's part of football. It's something that I know that happens. It's part of the game. I signed up for it. I don't really have a problem with it. Those hits happen. That's pretty much it."
(on ) "I never lost consciousness at all. The only thing was that my head, when I hit the ground, my head slammed against the turf and everything was blurry and I had a headache, a real bad headache at the time. I never lost consciousness, but I was aware of everything that had happened. I told them exactly what happened when I got to the sideline. I knew exactly who hit me and whatnot. That's pretty much it."
(on if the concussion occurred from the helmet to helmet hit or from hitting the turf) "He hit me, but what caused the blurry vision and stuff was from my head slamming into the ground."
(on if he wanted to come back into the game) "Yeah, I wanted to come back, but all of the head things that are going on in the game now, they were going to be very cautious about that. They felt like it was best for me not to come back in and I thought I was coming back in. That's why I took off sprinting into the locker room, so I could hurry up and get what I needed to get done so I could get back. When they told me to take my cleats off, I knew I wasn't coming back."
(on DeAndre Hopkins stepping up) "It was big. The play that he had, the play Keshawn (Martin) made, those were some big plays in the game. Those young guys are capable of doing that and it's just them getting opportunities. They had to step up and make plays in order for us to come out with the victory and they did that."
(on Ed Reed and what he's brought to the team) "I think, when you come to a team, you have to try and find your way, find where you fit in. I think that's just pretty much what he's been doing since he's been here, but at the same time, when he's on the sideline, he's like a coach. He's always talking to guys and telling guys what he sees, trying to communicate things to them when they're out on the field. I think having him out there is going to help us out a whole lot. It's like having a coach out on the field."
(on if Ed Reed is the same guy he was in college) "Same exact guy. He hasn't changed one bit."
(on if Ed Reed was the same in college except for the hair) "When we were in college, he had braids. Now, he has this little afro thing going."
(on if he has had a concussion before) "No, this was my first time."
(on what the concussion felt like and if he appreciates the new rules and regulations) "I think the whole protocol, for what you have to go through to make sure you're able to come back and play, I think that it's great because when I first came in the league, they didn't have that. You take a big hit and you tell them you're alright and you go right back in the game. I think the whole protocol thing, everything that you have to go through with the doctors and the different people you have to see, I think that is great because you really find out if a player is able to go back out and play."
(on dealing with having his bell rung) "It happens. It's really nothing you can control. Like I said, it's football. Sometimes, everybody is going to experience that welcome to the NFL hit. Every level I've been on, from little league all the way up to now, I've experienced some kind of big-time hit. It's part of the game. It's going to happen and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last time it happens."
(on what all went into the concussion testing after he took the hit) "A lot of it is just memory stuff—just remembering things. That was the reason I thought I would be able to come back, was that I had recalled everything that happened. Plays that happened early in the game and so I thought when I was on the sideline and they were asking me those questions, then they brought me in and asked me some of the same ones. I thought I would be able to come back and play, but it's different. It's a lot of things with just testing your memory."
(on if they told him why he couldn't go back in the game) "No, they just told me at the time, they were saying I wasn't going to go back in and play. That was pretty much it. I understood."
(on if he has seen any impact of the defenseless player rules) "It's hard. In this game, it's hard to pull up at times because a lot of plays are so bang-bang. I don't know, man. I can't really say. The NFL has its rules and you hate to see guys get money taken away from them, but that's just the way they choose to deal with it. That's just something that you really can't control. It's part of the game and it's going to happen. There are going to be plays where they are going to be bang-bang. There are plays where there are going to be head collisions. I think sometimes you have to look at it as did a guy really duck his head and try to hit the guy with the crown of his helmet."
(on if he feels like Bernard Pollard hit him in the head on purpose) "To be honest, I really didn't see a big deal with it. It was a hit and that's what he gets paid to do. The ball is in the air, I'm going for it to catch a pass and he did what he's supposed to do. He's trying to knock it loose."
(on if he didn't bang his head on the ground if he thinks he would've gone back in) "I think that's probably the biggest thing. If my head probably would've never would've hit the ground, he probably would've never been fined and the play would've never been looked at. I think that's probably the only reason the play was looked at."
(on if Bernard Pollard has called him since the hit) "I haven't had a chance to talk to him. I thought I would get a chance to talk to him after the game, but I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I don't think he was intentionally trying to hurt me or anything like that. It just happens."
(on if Ed Reed has always been unique and an old soul) "Yeah, he's always been that way. He's a character. There is not a dull moment around him. He's always going to do something to make you laugh and he's always had that old soul. I think that's what makes him even funnier."
(on if he was ever worried that he wouldn't get through the concussion protocol in time for Sunday's game) "Well I just didn't know exactly what the protocol was because I had never suffered a concussion before. I just didn't really know what to expect. I talked to DeAndre (Hopkins) because he had suffered one and I asked him a few things, him and Ben Tate. They kind of gave me a little rundown about it. I never had a doubt though that I wouldn't play. I felt like I was headed in the right direction, as far as playing."
(on if what he had counts as a concussion) "Well, when I saw the doctor yesterday, he told me he really wouldn't label it as a concussion because I never lost consciousness or anything like that."
