Quarterback Matt Schaub injured his left knee on the first series against the Vikings.
Quarterback Matt Schaub will miss two to four weeks with a knee injury. Coach Gary Kubiak discussed the injury during his Monday press conference.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on QB Matt Schaub and QB Sage Rosenfels) "Well, (QB) Matt (Schaub) has an MCL issue. The severity of it, (we're) still trying to determine, but it looks like we're looking at least a couple of weeks, somewhere from two to four from my understanding. So, with that being the case right now of course, (QB) Sage (Rosenfels) is the guy going into this week's game and we'll have to make a decision after that whether we activate (QB) Alex (Brink) or sign somebody else. So, that's where we're at."
(on if he feels comfortable having a rookie as a backup QB) "Well, I have confidence in (QB) Alex (Brink). I think he came back and he's done a good job since he's been here. I think it's probably a pretty tough situation to put him in right now to be honest with you, but we may be in that situation. He could very well be our backup going into the game this weekend. He could very well still be on the practice squad. So, I'll have to wait and see. We're going to work some guys out tomorrow, and we'll go from there."
{QUOTE}(on if he feels good about having QB Sage Rosenfels as the starter) "Yeah, I've got a lot of confidence in him (QB Sage Rosenfels). He's played very good football for this football team. He's had a couple of opportunities this year against Indy (Indianapolis) and did some really good things in that game. Yesterday in the second half, (he) played extremely well, did a lot of good things, got our team in position to have a chance to win yesterday. So, he's a fine player. This is an opportunity that he's been talking about all offseason and what he wants in his career which I think it's awesome and expect him to get some big opportunities in some very important games here. So, we're looking forward to him doing what he's done for us in the past and that's do a good job."
(on how concerned he is about the decision making process of the quarterback) "I'm very concerned about it. We're at the bottom of the league as far as turning the ball over. And to me, that starts with quarterbacks' decisions, and I've talked to them about that. I've talked about us wanting to see in the second half if that's something we can flip over and turn around, but the game is in their hands. Regardless of whether you're here or on the road or where you're at, you get in tight ballgames and tough situations the games in the quarterbacks' hands, whether it's ours or anybody else's and you've got to be making good decisions, team decisions that give you the best chance to win. We haven't done that in some situations, but they've done a lot of good things, too. But, decision making is something we've got to improve upon."
(on how much pressure is on the quarterback because of the defense giving up a lot of points) "I don't know pressure wise. They'd have to talk to you on something like that. The reason we were in the situation we were in yesterday, to me, was because we turned the ball over. Sure, we gave up some plays on defense. We gave up a couple of big plays, but we put ourselves in position where we threw it too much in the game and we're the ones that got ourselves in that situation. In a 14-7 game, it should at least be 14-10. So, we make a mistake there and then we give them the ball right back at midfield. Then in a 21-14 game, we make a mistake. So, it should be at least 21-17 and a quarter left to play. So, I don't find excuses for reasons to make those types of decisions and turn the ball over and that's what I tell them, too. I'm expecting them to handle those situations and do what's best for the football team. They do a lot of great things to give us opportunities to be successful, but at the same time, we've got to improve upon the others."
(on assessing the play of the linebackers and if LB DeMeco Ryans is fine health wise) "Well, the guy that's playing lights out has been (LB) Zac Diles. He's a young player who got an opportunity and he's been playing, I guess I would say, above and beyond the call. He's been exceptional amongst the group. I think (LB) DeMeco (Ryans) and (LB) Morlon (Greenwood) have been steady. Is DeMeco OK—yeah, I think DeMeco is fine other than just being a player that's played a great deal of football. He hasn't missed a snap. He hasn't missed practice. He's played a great deal. We are going to take a little bit different approach with him this week to see if we can get him more rested and a couple of other guys also along the way. But, it's obvious we're at a point this season and we're a team that had no bye week this year and we're halfway. And some guys have played a ton of snaps and we as coaches have to monitor that as we move forward because we're playing some very aggressive, physical football teams and we've got to make sure our guys are at full strength on Sunday. So, we'll have to monitor some of that."
(on if he would have run the ball more if RB Ahman Green had played) "I wish we had run the ball more yesterday. Just looking at it, we obviously needed to do that. We ran the ball OK. We kind of got ourselves in a situation, when we got down 21-7, where we felt like our best opportunity to get back into the game was to throw it. They played us in a bunch of two-deep, trying to limit our big plays as an offensive football team, which they did. Saying that we couldn't run the ball effectively against their front, going back, like I said, I'd like to sit here and say that there were 26, 28 runs instead of - what did we have? 16, 18, something like that. But the game, we kind of put ourselves in a situation that dictated that we threw it probably a little more than we wanted to."
(on if RB Ahman Green will play this week against Baltimore) "You know, I don't know. Going through the week, he (RB Ahman Green) did not practice last week. As ya'll know he did practice a little bit on Friday. We thought he would be ready to go before the game. He had a hard time saying whether he thought he could. I basically asked him if he thought he could help us win yesterday. And he had some doubt in his mind on how he was feeling. So, any doubt at all meant that we had to go the other way. (RB) Steve (Slaton) played 69 plays. That's way too much for one back. I think the kid understood the situation we were in yesterday and I think he would have stayed out there for 90, that's the type of kid he is. But, will Ahman be back this week and help us? I don't know. We'll see when he gets on the practice field."
(on the severity of QB Matt Schaub's MCL injury) "You know, I hate to sit here and try to tell you because I talked to him earlier, I talked to (head athletic trainer) Kevin (Bastin) and the doctors again this afternoon. But I know that's our problem. The MCL is his problem. The severity of it - I know it's been reported various ways, and for me to sit here and tell you exactly, I'd be wrong. But, I know it's going to keep him out for at least a couple of weeks."
(on the odds that QB Matt Schaub could end up being out for longer than expected) "I don't know. I really don't. Basically, I'm taking the approach right now that I know I've probably lost him for two weeks and it could possibly be up to four. He is on crutches today and hopefully I can answer that question better in the next couple of days."
(on what he can do about the red zone turnovers and quarterback decisions) "Well, you just have to keep pounding on it and keep harping on it as a football team. You keep working with them (QBs Matt Schaub and Sage Rosenfels) and explaining to them how those situations hurt the football team. They are two very fine players. They're two guys that do a lot of good things and are going to have a heck of a career. But at the same time, they are two guys that have to clean up their issues of turning the ball over. When you're a player in this league and you don't have any problems and you're a great player, you're probably going to the Hall of Fame. So, there are a lot of guys with problems that we as coaches try to help and try to fix and I don't have any doubt that these two guys can do that better and fix those problems. But we have to do better."
(on moving the ball well even though WR Andre Johnson only had four catches) "Yeah, we moved the ball. You go in there against that group and have 390 yards of offense and 50 percent on third downs, you think you're winning the game. They definitely paid a lot of attention to him. They had a lot of people around him and it opened up things for O.D. (TE Owen Daniels). O.D. had the biggest game of his career. (WR) Kevin (Walter) had a couple of big catches. We moved the ball enough to win and enough to score points, but like you said, obviously we're hurting ourselves."
(on how bad he feels for QB Matt Schaub) "Well, it's very frustrating. I know it is for him. He's worked extremely hard to lead this football team and was playing as good as anybody I've been around in the last few weeks. No doubt in my mind yesterday, even though he had the turnover, he was fixing to play extremely well again. But it is what it is. That's what happens. He took a heck of a shot and tried to play through it. He was very courageous through the first half but it was obvious that he couldn't protect himself. He'll be back. It's just sad because he's making a ton of progress."
(on the chances he needs a scope on his knee) "I'm not trying to avoid the questions physically, because I really don't have that answer whether or not he would need a scope. I'll talk to (head athletic trainer) Kevin (Bastin) and the doctors and we'll go from there."
(on what QB Matt Schaub needs to do to get better) "It's my understanding that it's just rest. It's just rest. They've got all the weights taking off of it. Eventually, when he does come back, it sounds like he would play with a brace, at least throughout the remainder of this year. So, we'll see."
(on what this team needs to do to win on the road) "We're searching. We were ready to play yesterday. I think I said this in the press conference yesterday, our guys were ready to play. We played extremely hard. We had a lot of things happen on the field that could have led us to a great victory. Defensively, we scored on defense. We had a chance to score twice on defense. When the score was 21-14, (CB) Fred (Bennett) had a chance to pick one and take it back. So, there were opportunities there for us to get it done yesterday and to correct our mistakes with a win. They're a good football team. It was tough place to play. It's loud. I think we're getting more efficient in those types of environments, but yet we still found a way to hurt ourselves. It's tough enough to win when you don't hurt yourselves. Go back to Jacksonville. We played as clean as we can play and we still got beat in overtime against a very good football team. And then yesterday we helped a pretty good football team, so you just can't help them."
(on when you will know something about LS Brian Pittman) "It's our understanding that we will know something tomorrow. I have not heard back from them today. He went straight from Minnesota to New York."
