Head coach Gary Kubiak said he will not let contract issues affect the team and he has been impressed with the way the rookies have taken advantage of their additional reps. The Texans also announced their deal with the Texas State Lottery.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on if TE Owen Daniels attended mini-camp on Tuesday) "No, Owen was not here."
(on if Daniels' absence is increasingly disappointing for him) "I wish he was here. I wish he was in there lifting weights and running with his teammates, but it's like I said yesterday, we are going to coach the guys that are here. I wouldn't have him out on the field these three days anyway. Do I wish he was in there with those other guys? Dang right, I do. But we are going to coach the guys that are here and coach them hard, and we're going to play good and have a good team and we are going to go from there."
(on if the situation is negative for the team) "It will not affect our football team. It will not distract our football team. I won't let that happen to these guys who are out here busting their tails off."
(on if he is perplexed as to why Daniels signed a deal and isn't showing up) "You have to ask him."
(on what he tells the team to keep it from being a distraction) "They are human. They know what is going on. They know if a guy is here or not. I tell them like I tell you. It won't affect us. If they are here, we'll work. If not they are not here, we'll still work. That doesn't change what we do."
(on what he's seen from TE James Casey) "He's gotten a great deal of reps, that's the biggest thing. He and Anthony (Hill) look like players who should help this team this year and can be good special teams players for (special teams coach) Joe (Marciano). The thing that is impressive about him, as you can imagine, is that he is very bright. He catches on very, very quickly."
(on advantage of players like Casey getting more opportunities with players not attending camp) "It's really important. You don't have to look any further than Glover Quin and the reps he's gotten in this camp and the way he's played for this football team. It looks like he will be a contributor to this team very early in his career. Sometimes the difference in a guy being a great player and a starter in this league is just getting an opportunity. When you get one, you take advantage of it and you don't let something go. That's how some of those guys have gotten to that spot. A lot of guys are getting more opportunities."
(on TE Anthony Hill's pass catching) "He's caught the ball really well. I think that's kind of been a surprise for us. He knows what he is doing route wise. He'll get better just through repetitions and understanding exactly the pro game and that type of thing. I think that's been a bonus. We knew we were getting a physical player, but I think it's been a bonus that he can run routes pretty good."
(on what he's see from DE Connor Barwin) "Like I said yesterday, he's faster than everybody right now. I try to keep that in perspective because he should be. All these other guys have many days under their legs. He's very strong for his frame, being a 265-pound guy. I love his work habits. He fits right in with our team."
(on if Barwin is knowledgeable about the DE position) "He's had one year. To sit here and say that he has all the knowledge he needs to move forward, I think that he's got a long way to go from that standpoint, but he's got a hell of a teacher. So with Bill, I think that he can make up a lot of ground."
(on Barwin holding NBA player Greg Oden scoreless in a college game) "I can see how competitive he is. I don't know much about that matchup, but I know he is a very competitive kid."
(on CB Brice McCain) "He's very fast, taking advantage of a great deal of reps. He needs to get more physical, but we'll find out about that when we put the pads on. But he has a lot of speed to work with."
(on if McCain growing up with nine siblings makes him even more hungry on the field) "I am sure it is important to him and that's the way he works. But he has been very impressive. He has been everything we thought he would be when we drafted him. Like I said, the next step for him is when we get the gear on – he is a small player – we have to see how physical he is."
(on RB Chris Brown) "He's been doing a heck of a job. The key for him is health and he's been able to keep up with our offseason program. I am really going to monitor what I am going to do with Chris in training camp and try to make sure I get him healthy for these games and do everything I can do get than do and still let him get his work. He can help us. We just keep our fingers crossed that it's a good, healthy year for him."
(on Barwin being a situational rusher) "I think right now we are just trying to evaluate him as a player. We know he can rush the passer. Obviously, that's probably where he can help the team the fastest. He's probably going to be a huge help to Joe very quickly in all the teams. When we put the pads on at 265 and he's holding it up in the run like he's doing in these two days, then he's on the field a lot quicker. So, we'll see. I think we know what his strength is right now, and it's athleticism and going to get the quarterback."
(on the learning curve for QB Rex Grossman) "He's much better today. He's more comfortable today. We've thrown the kitchen sink at him. But he is trying to get his career going again and in a lot of ways, it's all on his plate. It's all up to him, and we are going to do everything we can to help him along this next month to get him ready for camp. Since the day he arrived Friday, he's been living in the office and he's going to his part. I wouldn't be surprised to see him make up a lot of ground."
President Jamey Rootes
(on where the cards will be sold) "The lottery has a network throughout the state of Texas, and these cards will be available throughout the state of Texas. We're in the process of working through how we might be able to offer them on game day to our fans."
(on how the lottery works) "Fans can go into any place where the lottery tickets are sold and you can scratch off and have a chance to win cash prizes, but then have a second-chance drawing, a chance to win one of a kind experiences with the Houston Texans."
(on if there are plans to expand this in the future) "Well, we're going to evaluate the way things go here, and based on our experience decide how we want to go forward. But the expectation is that this is really a homerun idea for the Houston Texans, for our fans and most importantly for the Lottery and for the folks in Texas from an education perspective. We would expect to continue to do this going forward, but we'll wait and see what the results are."
(on Texas having two NFL teams possibly doing this) "Right, well, the Cowboys are also in conversations with the Lottery, and I guess there will be an announcement from them at some point in time when they finalize their relationship."
(on if he had a say in where the money goes) "The dollars go where all of the other Lottery proceeds go to—to support education in Texas. That's not something we have any control over."
(on if he has any idea how much money the Texans will make) "No, I don't. Well, this is a relationship that allows us an opportunity to do a lot of things, including that it's good for the franchise."
(on if the Texans will make money) "Yes, there's some level of proceeds that comes back to the team, but we don't release details of arrangements like that."
(on if the Texas Lottery logo will be added to Texans jerseys) "We're in the process of talking to lots of folks. You look out here and see that logo on the Texans jersey—there's tremendous exposure value but also alignment value being involved with the team that closely. So we're talking to folks. We'll do the right deal. It may not be a deal right away, but eventually we'll find the right partner to be in that spot."
(on if they're close to making a jersey sponsorship deal) "We're making progress."
(on how the League agreed to a deal with the lottery) "At the league level, this was processed with all the owners and commissioners. You know, the league has a history of innovation. We're constantly looking at new and better ways to do the business, create value for the community, create value for the franchise. This is just the latest in an innovative step for the National Football League."
(on why this is good for the Texans) "For the reasons I laid out. This is a chance for us to engage our fans, a chance for us to reward our fans for these types of prizes they can't get anywhere else, a chance for us to do something great for education in the state of Texas."
(on secondary prizes like a suite at the game) "That's not a bad deal, right? It's really going to be exciting for the fans, and we're just happy to be working with something that has such a positive impact on our community."
(on if it's strange that the league allowed them to partner with the Lottery) "It's not strange that we would be involved with the Lottery. The NBA, Major League Baseball, now the National Football League have jumped in to support lotteries. It's nothing to do with the outcome of the game on the field. That's really at the core of the issue is protecting the integrity of the game, and the Lottery is something that's very far away from that. It's a chance for us to engage our fans and support education."
(on how much debate there was with the league) "Everything that happens in the National Football League is debated, and the NFL is typically not the first mover. We do things right, as opposed to doing things right away. This was just like any other issue, discussed at length and a good decision was reached."
DE Connor Barwin
(on what he is working on) "For me, it's about playing hard every snap, getting myself into shape and getting used to this heat and just being an energy-type guy. I think that's what they need me to do and I need to practice like that all of the time."
(on his mentality when he is rushing the passer) "I want to wear guys down. I try to be a high-energy guy. The technique stuff is stuff I need to work at, but I just keep going. It's like a battle and a competition between me and him every single play. So I just try to battle him every single play and have more energy than him."
(on who DE coach Bill Kollar has told him to watch) "Guys like Kyle Vanden Bosch from Tennessee, who is a guy who has an incredible motor. Another guy like that is Jared Allen – guys that just don't slow down and don't necessarily have any patent moves but are good at different things."
(on if he watched certain defensive ends when he was in college) "No, not really. I used to get a sack tape when I switched positions. My D-line coach in college gave me a sack tape and I just studied all the different sacks. I think that helped me a lot, just watching everyone in the NFL and how they pass rush and get pressure on people."
Texas Lottery Deputy Executive Director Gary Grief
(on if they'll be sold on game days) "We're still working out the details with (Houston Texans president) Jamey (Rootes) on that. They would love to do something like that. There's licensing issues as far as where retailers can sell these tickets, so we're trying to work through that with Jamey right now."
(on if he has an estimate how much the team would make) "Yeah, we've got some details we can share with you on that if you're interested. I don't have those with me but I'd be happy to provide those to you."
(on how this fits into the Lottery's attempt to keep things new and fresh in the current economy) "We're very fortunate. That's the perspective I put it in. Lottery games like anything have to be refreshed; you have to keep coming up with new ideas. This was one that because of the decision of the NFL came at a very fortunate time for us and I believe for the NFL. As you probably know teams around the country are working with their state lotteries to try to put together games like this one. We think it was perfect timing."
