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Head Coach Bill O'Brien**
(on enjoying getting a chance to talk to fans) "I really do. I think very highly of our fans. I know that our fans are very passionate about us winning and so are we. We're out there working very, very hard, coaches and players, primarily players, on the field, on the practice field, in the weight room, in the film room to put a winning product on the field. We're doing that in many ways for our fans. We really appreciate the fans and we think we have a home field advantage."
(on how difficult it is to work a trade during this time of the year) "I think that's probably more of a question for Rick (Smith), but I don't think it's easy. I think it's all about the value to your team relative to what they're looking for, the trade partner. I think they are difficult during this time of the year because you're not at 53 (men on the roster) yet. You have a lot of guys on your roster though that are good players. In many ways, that's a good sign. I'm sure those talks will continue in many ways throughout the next couple of days."
(on if he is aware of people on social media tracking the amount of times he swears on Hard Knocks) "No, no. Actually, my wife said something to me about it the other day. I'm not really – when it comes to social media, you're looking at the wrong guy. I look at the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, the Houston Chronicle sometimes, ESPN Houston, ESPN Boston on my phone. Is that social media? I'm not sure if that is. I don't know Twitter and Facebook and all that. She told me that they were keeping a count of the swears and I didn't even know what she was talking about. I really don't really believe that I swear that much. Like I said, I think it's how you are portrayed."
(on if he hopes to keep the players that are waived-injured if they pass through waivers) "It is something that's difficult at this time of the year because you're trying to project how long that those guys maybe out. That's more of a medical team type of question, but at the same time, yeah. There's a few of those guys that we would like to have back eventually, but that's the risk you take sometimes of doing that. Hopefully, you do get some of those guys back."
(on how he will use the quarterbacks on Thursday vs. Dallas) "It'll be (Tom) Savage."
(on the key to the Texans being the only team that hasn't committed a turnover in the preseason) "I don't know. I think some of that is things that we really do emphasize. We really talk about ball security, taking care of the ball. I think that our defense does a really good job during practice of trying to take the ball away, so that makes it even more of a focus on our offense. I think some of it is luck. Sometimes an interception, a batted ball, things like that, you just can't control that. I think overall our guys have really tried to stay focused on that and hopefully that continues. That's a big, big stat when it comes to winning and losing. Taking the ball away and turning the ball over, as you can see last year, that was a big stat for us, so hopefully that continues."
(on what he is hoping to see Thursday at Dallas) "I think offensively I want us to get into a rhythm. I want Tom (Savage) to have a good game. I want him to get into a rhythm, get us into the right play, throw the ball accurately. I need the line to block well obviously for him in the passing game and the receivers to get open, but also in the running game. I want us to get into a rhythm offensively, play very hard, which I know we will. Defensively, I want us to be aggressive, play very hard aggressively, and try to go out there and try to perform what the game plan tells us to do. Special teams, we're still looking at some guys on special teams that can really help us, so hopefully those guys go out and have a good game."
(on if Thursday's game at Dallas can help players battling for roster spots) "Oh yeah. Like I said yesterday, I think anytime you go out on that field in an NFL game, even though it's whatever everybody deems as the fourth preseason game that doesn't really mean anything, I wouldn't say that's true. I think that guys can go out there and really show up and really can stake a claim to being on the roster."
(on LB Brian Cushing looking full healthy and in great shape) "You have to give him a lot of credit. I think last year, having been around him now for a year and not having been around him that long last year, we were getting to know each other. I really appreciate his leadership, his toughness. I also really appreciate the fact that he's changed. He's changed the way he works out. He's changed his body a little bit. He's lost a little bit of weight. He's moving better. He's learned how to do things to really take care of his body. Hopefully, that continues. Sometimes health is a little bit of luck and he's had a really good camp. We expect him to have a good year."
(on if a player can change his mind by making one play) "With one play? No, not with one play. Not with one play. I don't think you can really base it on one play. I think it's more based on the whole, the big picture. You know, if somebody goes out there and has a great game, a very consistent, good game with a lot of reps that are really quality reps, that can happen. A guy can rise up that way, but not on one play."
(on if cutting the roster to 75 players was tough) "I would qualify that. I know it's kind of a cop-out answer, but I think all these decisions are tough. I'm very aware of how hard these guys work. Not that we're different than any other NFL team, but we ask a lot of these guys. We demand a lot of them. They work very, very hard. Anytime you have to release a player, I just think that's very difficult. A very difficult conversation."
(on if him and Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Rick Smith argued about any of the players) "No. We don't. That doesn't happen."
(on if the game on Thursday at Dallas can decide a position battle) "It will be part of it, yeah. If somebody outplays somebody else at a position, sure. That will be part of the evaluation. Whether that puts somebody over the top, that's yet to be seen. A lot of these position battles within the position are very, very tight. Somebody would really have to outplay somebody else to have that happen."
(on if he is surprised DE J.J. Watt was named the best player in the NFL by ESPN) "No. I think that J.J. is a great player. I've said this time and time again, he effects the game on every single play. If you go back and you watch last year and you watch practice this year, he's doing similar things. He's really worked hard to improve his game even though that sounds crazy from where he was at the end of last year. He really effects the game on every single play."
