The Texans' intensity got the better of them Monday morning when the defensive and offensive lines got into it during practice. Head coach Gary Kubiak said likes the team to be physical, but the players must maintain their composure.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on what did you tell the guys with getting angry with each other) "This game's about intensity and I felt that we needed to find another level of intensity. That was something we addressed as a team last night and we found it this morning, but we're not going to lose our composure. That's what football is all about. You've got to be able to play physical, play nasty but you've got to understand the team is number one. You can't hurt your team, so it's a good lesson for everybody. I like the enthusiasm and effort, but we're not going to lose players because of lost composure."
{QUOTE}(on how the weather will affect tomorrow's practice) "We've got to go in and talk about it. I know we have a plan as an organization. I'll go in and talk with (general manager) Rick (Smith), but we'll see what happens. I just know that we could have an issue tomorrow. We'll wait and see."
(on the intensity of the defensive line) "Let me be the first one to say that I put them in a tough position really as a coach because I'm saying 'You be aggressive, you knock the heck out of people, but stay off the ground'. That's hard to do. It's hard to play this game when you're being very aggressive and keeping people up, but that's what we have to do as a team. We have to keep the interest of the team intact as we practice and I understand that's tough in what I'm asking them to do. But I thought we found another gear today, and that's a big point of emphasis for our football team right now. And I thought we took a step forward today."
(on the defensive line leading the defense) "You're talking about the d-line? I think they have the capability to. I think you got to understand with this team is that the leaders on this team are very young players, but they've got to lead the older guys, too, because that's the position they've been put in and played themselves into. We expect them to get that done and our older guys that have been around know the leaders of this team. The DeMeco's (Ryan), the Mario's (Williams) and players like that, and that's OK."
(on how audio worked today) "We'll go back and look. I was doing the plays from back here. It's my first day to start talking to the quarterbacks and stuff and me coaching them through their helmets. (Linebacker coach) Johnny's (Holland) doing it on the defensive side of the ball. It's just another tool that you use, but the thing you have to always understand is that it can always go out so you better be ready from the other end."
(on linebackers Coach Johnny Holland calling the defensive plays during games) "We expect Johnny (Holland) to do it. From communicating with DeMeco (Ryans) or communicating with (Kevin) Bentley or Will (Demps) will also be a guy that'll be one of our guys possibly if something happens to one of our linebackers. So we try to get them all ready."
(on RB Chris Brown) "He looks like he came out fine, actually. It was about six plays in practice and I sent somebody over to check and I said 'He's done. I don't want to see the last six plays'. I think got through clean. We'll see how he reacts. We'll probably put him on the turf since he took a step forward. So I'm hoping everything is OK this week and he gets some time this weekend."
(on WR Andre Johnson) "Andre (Johnson) is doing well. I think we're very fortunate with Andre (Johnson), but I think we're going to take the cautious approach. We're going to make sure we get him 120 percent back before he comes back out here. We'll try to keep his condition level up but I think we're very fortunate that it wasn't worse."
(on WR Andre Johnson playing Saturday) "I don't know. It's easy for me to tell you no right now. We've got to long way to go. We'll see how he's doing. He was very upbeat and felt very good so we'll see."
(on RB Mike Bell's hamstring effecting him) "He's very effected, very effected. I think he's behind our team physically, conditioning wise. You can't go out here and all of a sudden go miss 8-10 days as (running) back. We're going to give him a couple days here and see if we can get him back on the field. He's tells us this has happened before and he was back within a couple days. We're going to trust him on that and see if we can get him back out here, hopefully tomorrow."
(on any serious injuries with DB Jimmy Williams) "They're going to scope him, I just know that. It's his knee. I don't know exactly what it is right now; you've got me off guard. So many tough questions. But I know he was going to need a scope and when they do that I'm not quite sure. I'll go check at lunch."
(on if RB Steve Slaton returned punts in college) "He has worked at it before. To say that he was a returner? No, that hasn't been the case. The thing I want to do in fairness to him is get him out here fresh and see him do it. Some of our special teams' periods come midway through practice, so he's pretty gassed. I do want to look at him. I think it's something he should be good at, if catching the ball is comfortable. So we'll see."
(on the difficulty of working the return game with P Matt Turk) "Yeah, he drives Joe (Marciano) crazy in practice because we can't work our return game because he's just so good with his hang time. So we'll get the judge out here and we'll get that timed up. But it's a nice problem to have."
(on TE Owen Daniels entering his third season) "Yeah, he's a real pro. You don't even know he's out here. He works, doesn't say a word, he's very smart, and he really likes to play. Owen (Daniels) is one of those guys that's got his stuff together; he knows what's going on. Life, football, everything. He's a leader on this team whether he knows it or not."
(on TE Owen Daniels stats) "He's excellent after the catch if you go back and watch his catches he tends to make the first guy miss and make plays. If we run the ball well enough and get people and fronts, maybe he catches even more balls. We'll see."
(on the importance of pre-season for running backs, especially RB Darius Walker) "It's extremely important if they all stay upright and work through the end of camp. There's some very difficult decisions to make, so it's going to happen on the field. He's a better player than he was last year. He's more sound, not as hard to coach, his effort is solid every day. He needs to improve in pass protection, but he's a better player."
(on C Chris White coming back from injury) "We were concerned, coming off the knee. The thing we've been excited about, he's maintained some weight he hasn't been able to maintain in the past. He plays everywhere and that gives him an added lift as far as making this football team. He hasn't missed a day, so I think he's a better player than he was last year. He's been a pleasant surprise because we were concerned on would he be a two-a-day full-time go-guy. There's not been a problem."
(on the pressure on CB Jacques Reeves) "I really like the way he works. He's a real quiet kid, fits in good with our group. He works very, very hard, hasn't missed a snap. He's got a long way to go but he can improve a great deal, which we all can, but just his work habits are excellent."
(on his view on the center position) "Well you start with Chris (Myers) and after that I think Chris (White) would be our back-up center at this point. We had to prepare as if we suit seven guys and if Chris (White) happens not to be one of the seven we suit, then (Mike) Brisiel would have to be the emergency center. Those are just things you have to work with and we'll look more to (Greg) Eslinger here in the preseason. That's where we are right now."
(on how hard RB Darius Walker is pushing the other running backs) "I think he's pushing them very much so. He's a better player, he really is. Effort level is consistent, it's pro material now. Very smart, doesn't have any problem with that. He's got to pick up the blitz better. He's never going to be a real speed guy, type of guy, but he's a pounder and what we're doing right now offensively kind of suits his style. He's probably caught the ball as good as any back we've had in camp."
(on RB Darius Walker's practice squad eligibility) "Yeah, I think he does. I have to go back and look. I don't think he has suited up enough. He should still have it. When you get a player like that that's been exposed and been out there and played the way he played. If you try to run him through the wire and get him on practice squad, it's probably going to be very difficult. So, he's pushing to make this team and he knows that."
(on G Fred Weary) "A little disappointed. I thought he'd be back a little earlier sometime this week. Coming out of the meeting Saturday, it doesn't look that way. It looks like we're a little further off. No concerns about Fred (Weary) as a player or person, and you guys know what I think of him. I'm concerned he's behind in our new system. That's what concerns me. The hamstring has been the problem, not the work he had done before. Hopefully, we can make up some ground this week and get in there and compete before this camp is done."
(on depth at the guard position) "The depth at offensive line, I think it anybody's camp right now. If you look around, it's almost nil. We work with two groups with a couple extra players. It's scary right now as you push forward. I would love to have Fred (Weary) out here love to see him competing against Chester (Pitts) and (Kasey) Studdard and (Mike) Brisiel on a day-to-day basis."
(afternoon practice)
(on the effect the weather will have on tomorrow's practice) "We'll try to get an update on exactly when they think this thing will be here and do what's best for all the players and their families so that they feel safe. What we'll do is chart. We've got to get in and talk about it right now."
(on choosing to practice outside this afternoon) "We needed a couple of guys to practice that we'd normally sit in the afternoon. So, to do that, we try to keep them off the turf so we came out here. Our tempo wasn't good enough, hasn't been like it has been in the afternoons but that's on me as a coach because of the situation I put them in this afternoon.
(on resting LB DeMeco Ryans during morning practice) "Yeah, just giving him a break. His ankle bothered him a little bit on Saturday and he was in for treatment for Sunday, so we gave him a break. Also, gave Mario (Williams) a break this afternoon. I'll probably bounce around with a few players who haven't missed any time as we get through this week."
(on liking or disliking anything he saw in the afternoon practice) "Yeah, like I said, our tempo wasn't good enough. I didn't like that, but that's on me as a coach and not on them as players. I knew that was probably going to happen, but it's important that Ephraim (Salaam) was able to get out here and work and I wanted Chris Brown to work in the afternoon without running up on that turf . We made that decision for a couple players and to keep them out here, that's important this week."
(on LB Zac Diles coming out of his rookie year) "He's just much more confident as far as making plays on the ball, diagnosing, those types of things. He's playing nickel. He's playing everything you can play, and there's no doubt he can do things physically. His motor is good. He's really into what he's doing. He just has to see all those things over, over and over again and you don't see them until you just get thrown in the fire. He's in it. We'll see how he does, but I love his effort."
(on T Duane Brown playing against the defense) "Yeah, it's important. It's important to him, seeing Mario (Williams) on a regular basis for the most part. And he's going to see a great pass rusher this week and a couple of times I'm sure. It's important for all players, but it'd be extremely important for him."
(on T Duane Brown playing longer than others) "Yeah, I would think he definitely will play longer than the first group. He needs reps so we'll talk about that, probably even up to a half. He's definitely a player that his progress in the preseason his play time will be at a different level than everyone else's."
(on if T Duane Brown has lost any weight) "Well, he's close. I think we'll find out tomorrow. Tomorrow is his weigh-in. Last time I saw him jump up there he had gotten down far. He's a big man so it wouldn't be fair to him from a weight standpoint but he was definitely a little bit over when he came in."
(on which quarterback will go the first) "No, I haven't. We've talked about it briefly. Right now I would say, I'd better not say, I may change my mind. I'll let you know tomorrow. One of them will play, one of them will not."
(on any recent updates to players' health) "No, we're pretty good. One of the reasons I'm out here is so that I could keep a couple of more guys on the field this afternoon. Did rest DeMeco (Ryans), did rest Mario (Williams) this afternoon. But other than that, Rashad Butler does have a huge blister on the bottom of his foot and had a rough go today. Hopefully, he gets better by tomorrow."
(on speculations that weather caused the team to play outside this afternoon) "No, it really has nothing to do with it. We're going to go in there and talk about that right now. We were going to be short either way. We'll be real short Wednesday; we're basically done with two-a-days in a lot of ways except for going down to New Orleans for that one day. We're trying to get a lot of work done in the afternoon."
(on what he got in RB Chris Brown coming back to practice) "Just encouraged he was able to come out here twice. We talked at lunch and that he could go on the turf and Kevin (Smith) said yeah he needs to work. So now he needs to get back into the fold. So I thought about it and I said 'Well lets go outside and let's keep him on the grass today'. But he responded well. He got two good practices in trying to catch up with everybody so, so far, so good."
GM Rick Smith
(on being prepared for the upcoming storm system) "Absolutely. Obviously, we have to be ready to move the group. The plan ranges from anything from a little water damage here to having to pick up and moving the whole operation. So we are prepared for that, but hopefully we won't have to do anything with that."
(on if there is a deadline for making the call to implement a weather plan) "No. We have policies and procedures in place so we follow those. It started last night when we heard about the weather, we got email alerts. There's a group of us, a leadership group, that we make decisions when things are necessary. We'll follow that plan and procedure and we are totally confident that we're prepared if need be."
(on safety being a big concern as far as the upcoming storm) "Well, safety is the most important thing. That's why we have the plan. All we are going to do is follow the plan and if it's necessary for us to do something then we'll do it."
(on not having practice if the weather is too bad) "We'll follow the plan. If we can go then we will go outside, if we can't go and it's safe to stay here, then obviously we'll go in the (Methodist Training Center) bubble. As far as our preparedness, we're ready for that and we'll implement the plan if necessary."
(on how far the plans go and if they have somewhere else to go to practice if needed) "Being where we are, you've got to be prepared for everything. So, our plan ranges from everything from a little bit of water damage over here, if we can't practice here, we've got some alternative sites here locally as well as picking the whole operation up and moving. So, the plan ranges in scope from that place to the other, so we are ready."
(on if he is worried about the veterans driving to the stadium from their homes with the weather) "That doesn't bother us at all. That's not an issue."
RB Chris Brown
(on how he felt after two workouts today) "I feel like it went pretty good. I knew everything, no mental mistakes. My body held up pretty good, so hopefully we can just build on that."
(on surprising himself with what he was able to do today) "I have been running. Since I've been running, I knew I would be able to run around here. It was more of just being able to take those shots, and I feel like I did fine."
(on meaning so much to the club that the team desperately wanted him back in practice) "That means a lot that they have confidence in me that I can go out there and play, and I just have to go out there and not disappoint."
(on possibility of sitting out practice this afternoon) "I never heard that. I had planned on coming out here this afternoon, so that is news to me."
(on the real test being what his back feels like in the morning) "Yeah, I mean it feels good now, but hopefully it will still feel this good in the morning."
LB Morlon Greenwood
(on whether Texan fans can expect the playoffs) "It's one game at a time. You can't go thinking of playoffs. You have to think of the first game first, which after the preseason is obviously the Pittsburg Steelers. You have to focus on one game at a time, work hard towards that and after that game then focus on the next. You just can't come up running. You have to crawl before you run."
DE N.D. Kalu
(on defensive line setting the tone) "It all starts with the D-line. You want an honoree defensive line just to lead the defensive, but at the same time, we have to be smart. We can't start fights, get ejected from games. I don't know if you saw, but we did have a fight today at practice. It's fun when you are young. I remember when I was young; I was the first one to start a fight just to prove that a Rice guy wasn't too soft. But at the time, it is OK to fight out here, but don't take that on Sunday because you will get ejected, get fined and you will probably get cut if you do to many times."
(on planning on being in the mix with DE Rosevelt Colvin) "That is my plan. They brought in (Rosevelt) Colvin, and he is a proven pass rusher. There's a reason why he has 50 or so sacks in the NFL, but I'm not just going to lie down. I feel like I can rush a passer. I feel like I could offer this team or another team a good pass rusher, but if they (Texans) could find a way to fit me in, you know, this is my first choice. This is the place that I want to play."
(on sounding like it is border-line whether he is going to make team) "It is always border-line. You know, coming from the 5th round, I have only been a starter three years out of my career, so it is always going to be border-line. I realize that, and once you accept that, I think you just kind of have fun and let loose out here at camp. Once you get to the point where you feel like if you don't make the team your life ends, then that's when it is not fun anymore. What's going to happen if I get cut? I am going to go buy season tickets. I am going to be up there screaming at Earl Cochran to make a play. So I am just enjoying everyday; everyday I am out here it is a blessing. Nobody expected me to be here eleven years, so I am just enjoying this time now."
(on worrying when Texans signed DE Colvin) "It didn't worry me, but I knew where I stood. I'm not dumb. I know he is a great pass rusher. Last year, all I did was drop in coverage and rush the passer, and he is better at doing that than I am. It just lets me know that I am going to have to pick it up and make them find a way to keep me on this team."
(on D-line being the strength of the defensive unit) "I think it is going to be the strength of the team, I mean, because this is the one unit that it is going to be hard to make the team and that says a lot about the Texans. The last two years I was here you pretty much knew who was going to make the team at defensive line, but now, you have guys like (Tim) Bulman emerging. I feel like I am having a decent camp. You know Mario (Williams), (Anthony) Weaver is set, but then you have a guy like Earl Cochran who I think could start for probably any other team in the NFL. So it is going to be a dog fight, and the fans should be happy knowing whoever makes this D-line there is some good players."
(on having another kid and it being an old hat) "It is never an old hat. You think after having my fourth kid, I would be experienced, but during delivery, she had to have a c-section, and I was sitting there nervous like it was my first time.
(on shedding any tears) "Did I? No, I am too tough for that. Something got in my eye and made me tear up, but it wasn't because I was crying, some lint got in my eye."
(on 4th child changing his world) "Ah, it's huge. I mean, without getting too serious, you just see the way this world is going and how bad the youth are nowadays. So, it just lets me know that I have to be that much better of a father because I have four people that I have to try to influence as opposed to three. My sister she gave a book on how to be a good father, and I was like, 'Why didn't you give me this on the first one?' She was like, 'The more kids you have, the more you really have to make sure you give each one one-on-one time.' I know it is a big responsibility. I don't just want to bring babies into the world. I want to help mold them into men."
(on baby's sex, name and weight) "Boy. Jonah Ace Kalu. 8 pounds 2 ounces."
(on ages of other children) "I have a 7 year-old, 3 year-old, 2 year-old, and this one."
(on wife having a tougher job than his) "Oh, she does. That is why the checks go straight to her hands when I get them, because she does the real work."
(his take on the skirmish during practice today) "I thought it was good. I know that Coach Kubiak doesn't like it. I think it is good to do it out here because there are no yellow flags or fines. We need to get a little more ornery on defensive, and the defensive linemen started that fight."
