Following are excerpts from coach Gary Kubiak and players following the sixteenth day of the Texans' 2006 training camp.
Head Coach**Gary Kubiak****
(on today's practice)** "I thought we worked well. A birthday isn't much when you're in training camp. We really worked well. We went after it, it's hot, we needed a couple of hours to take care of some things. They're continuing to work hard, and like I've told you guys, I like the personality of this football team. They're finding out how to work when everything isn't perfect, and I like what they're doing right now."
(on LB Shantee Orr and other ailing players) "Shantee's heal is bothering him. (CB) Lewis (Sanders) got kicked. I think they'll
be fine. We're very nicked at linebacker; (LB) Demeco (Ryans) didn't practice
this morning. (LB) Barrett (Green) is still out. It's a concern, but as I've said
all along, we'll just keep plugging because it's giving other guys reps. When
we do get everybody back, it's going to make us a better football team."
(on Demeco (Ryans)'s injury) "He nicked his knee a little bit in the game. When he woke up Sunday morning, it was bothering him. He did practice yesterday, and it was bothering him. It was just precautionary. I expect him to be fine and ready to go this week."
(on Lewis (Sanders)' injury) "I don't know until I really see what it was.
He just got kicked, it wasn't like anything else happened."
(on anything standing out from practice) "No, I just think it was a long grinder, it's pretty hot out here today, and I thought they worked well."
(on what SS Glenn Earl brings to the team) "Him and (FS) C.C. (Brown) are just pros. They don't talk a lot, they just do their job. They really have not missed a workout between them until today. C.C. missed this morning. They're very solid players. They're very professional players. They just go about their job and do their work. They're very respected by their teammates."
(on Glenn (Earl) being as physical as he wants) "Yes, Glenn will hit you. C.C. will hit you, and he can cover too. C.C. has the ability to go out there and cover when he gets hung in certain situations. The two of them are good, fine players, and hopefully we can keep them going."
(on the bowl-off last night) "It was good. The coaches actually beat the players. I think we surprised them a little bit. We had a good time. It's nice to get away from meetings for an evening and just be around each other socially and have some fun. It was a good night. When we got to the championship round nobody really bowled very well, just the coaches prevailed, accidentally. The high was I think around a 135, so it wasn't very good bowling."
**(on P
being the PK holder instead of the backup quarterback)** "One of the reasons I think you see punters being holders is that those two guys can be together all day long. The quarterback has to go to various other drills and do other things. They have all day just to work on their craft and do what they do. I think that's why they stay complacent. (QB) Sage (Rosenfels) will be able to hold, and give him a rest if he's doing something else. We're at this stage in camp right now where we're doing a lot of stuff like that, experimenting."
**DT Seth Payne
(on working hard to make the team)** "You get sick of making comparisons to the New England Patriots all the time, but if you look at a team like the Patriots, they're not worried about their own egos. They're not afraid to say 'hey, we made a mistake, we don't care, we'll take the cap hit because we have to cut this guy because he's not a good football player,' and you have to do that. You only have 53 spots on a roster; you can't be worried about saying 'hey, I made a mistake,' you just have to get the best 53 in here, and these guys are honest about that."
(on where he fits on the defensive line) "We've got a lot of good guys on this side, and we're all fighting for playing time. You can't worry too much about it. It's just one of those things were you play has hard as you can, you practice as hard as you can, and you hope you're one of the final guys that's in there on Sunday."
(on being worried about making the team) "I'm always worried about it. I've seen too many guys that go from the Pro Bowl to the next year not being able to find a team. You should never be complacent and not worry about your job. I'm always terrified of getting cut."
**G Steve McKinney
(on the starting guard position)** "I don't have any concerns. I have been starting in this league for eight years. I don't ever intend to be a backup. They are going to have to pry it out of my hands."
(on switching his position) "It is a little tough. It is similar enough, I have played left guard, center and now they have me at right guard. It's just one of those things where you just have to go out there and play where they want you to play, and do the best you can."
(on the offensive line chemistry) "It will (come) over time. We still have a month before we play a real game. These preseason games will help us a lot just to improve and be a better cohesive unit."
**
Post Afternoon Comments
Head Coach Gary Kubiak:
(on what he wants to see in this coming game that was lacking in last Saturday's game)
**"From a player's standpoint, the one thing that would jump at me is that I want to take a good look at (RB Vernand) Morency this week. From a team standpoint, I want to challenge him, even more mentally this week as we start the move toward preparing for a normal game week, so I want to do that with him. Other than that, I really just want to look at all these guys again because you start to run out of time, so I just want to make sure we have it split up to where we can get a good look at everybody."
(on the first team playing more reps this coming game) "Yes, they'll definitely play more. How much more I don't know. It could be
a quarter and a half. It could be a half. It depends on the flow of the game and
how many snaps they're getting. We'll see, but they'll definitely play more."
