Head coach Gary Kubiak and other players spoke to the media Wednesday afternoon during open locker room and following practice.
**Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on today's practice)** "It was good practice. We were able to bounce back and have a good practice and get ready to go for a tremendous challenge this week on both sides of the ball. Good effort today."
(on facing Colts QB Peyton Manning) "I've been in there many a time, and played against him many a time. He's as good as there is in this business. He's a tremendous class and a tremendous player, and when he plays in his place he gets even tougher because he has tremendous control of the game in their home stadium. We understand that we're not going to stop him. You have to hope to slow him down a little bit. Hopefully we'll be able to do that. But I have tremendous respect for him."
(on the Colts defense) "Well, the biggest thing that jumps out at you is that if they get you down, especially in their place, they're as good of a pass rushes football team that you'll find. I coached with (defensive line coach John) Teerlinck, and I think he does as good a job as there is in football of getting after the quarterback, so you have to stay out of automatic passing situations or your quarterback's in trouble, the team's in trouble. They get even better on that turf."
(on the new rule that Peyton Manning helped get that allows QBs to use their own footballs) "Well, I think it s fine. They work with them all week and get to use them in a game. People probably think there is more made out of that than you can imagine, but there really is a difference as a quarterback to take a ball out of the box and throw it as compared to gripping it for a couple days. As long as they all get to do it, I think its fine."
(on how Manning will challenge the Texans secondary) "Tremendous challenges. You know you have their tight end (Dallas Clark) who's such a great player, and then you have those two wide outs, and (Reggie) Wayne and (Marvin) Harrison are as good as there are in this business. And you have one of the best quarterbacks finding them. They are a tremendous football team that has been knocking on the door after winning a championship. And they have that same football team back. They have been together so long. It's probably the toughest challenge in football, going to that stadium, but I think it's good for our team right now."
(on whether the mistakes in the secondary vs. the Eagles are easily corrected) "Well, we didn't so much make a lot of mistakes. We got hurt on the play-action pass. We got a player out of position. We were in the right coverage, in the right spot, just got fooled by the play. We have to get more pressure upfront to help those guys on the backend so that they don't have to hold up so long. I think if we do that, then we'll play well on the backend, but this is as big of a challenge as they have had."
(on whether there are any personnel changes at RB) "Well, we do, I was waiting for that one. We're doing a deal. We're swapping a player for, if the physicals go correctly, Samkon Gado, the big back from
). So we like the way that evens out."
(on whether RB Samkon Gado was someone they had been hoping to acquire) "Well, we have entertained a lot of things. We're a football team that, as I have told you, is going to continually try to get better. We started talking to them about this particular player, and naturally we have coaches on our staff that knows this player very well. Trades don't happen in this league unless both teams think that they're doing pretty good on the deal, so I'm sure they feel good about it, and we feel good about this kid's chances of helping us."
(on whether RB Ron Dayne will be a bigger part this week) "I'm expecting (RB) Ron (Dayne) to play this week. He practiced well. I'm expecting him to be fine and ready to go. We'll see when the kid gets here."
(on Samkon Gado) "He's a big, physical-type player, and I feel like we had three back that in a lot of ways were the same type of players with Wali (Lundy) and Vernand (Morency) and Chris (Taylor). So I feel like we kind of evened up the score a little bit. We need a short yardage player on this team, and that's what he is. So I think him and Ronnie (Dayne) can help balance out that group."
(on why they are letting Vernand Morency go) "Well, I don't feel like you're giving up on a player. I just feel like it was a positive move for our team, and I feel like it made us better. And I'm sure they feel the same way. Vernand (Morency) has done everything we asked him. I talked to him for a little today, and he did a good job, and I wish him well."
(on when the trade was agreed upon) "We found out about 10 minutes before we cam out on the field."
(on whether he would like to have more long passing to the receivers) "Well, we'd love to be able to do that, but you have to hold up to do it. Normally, when you're making big plays down the field in the pass game, you're running the ball well. It's hard just to sit back there and take a seven-step drop and get people vertical with the pressure that teams put on people these days. Hopefully we'll be able to do that, but we have to run the ball better to do that."
(on Owner Bob McNair's statement that Mario Williams was drafted to pressure Peyton Manning) "Well, I want a football team with a chance to beat everybody. He's going
to make us better on the defensive side of the ball as we build this football
team around him on that side of the ball.
, and we have to get after all of them, but this guy (Peyton Manning) just happens to be the best in the business."
**General Manager Rick Smith
(on Samkon Gado)** "He was there last year, and he led their team in rushing, with five-hundred and some-odd yards (582 yards). I think he has already proven that he can be an every down back. That is not to say that I don't know if Vernand (Morency) could not develop into that type of player, because he certainly has done everything that we asked him to do to acclimate himself to this offense. But, again I think he (Samkon Gado) is more inline with what they (the coaches) are asking him to do."
**(on whether the Texans will use Gado in ways that
did last season)** "What he's going to be doing here is what our offense is executing. That's our offense. I think he can come in and be successful in that."
*QB David Carr *
**(on the difference of facing
on their artificial turf vs. here on grass)** "It's a different game when we play them here and we play them there. And I think a lot of it is, well they are probably faster because they are home, but I think it is more just the crowd noise and your guys get off the ball late. There are times, you tell (T Charles) Spencer and you tell those guys, that you're not going to hear me. You just have to see the ball, see the guy next to you move. It becomes a guessing game sometimes, and that is why they look so fast and so effective off the ball."
**(on the importance of running vs.
, they tried to do it last week. They tried to run the ball, and they ran the ball fairly effectively, but at the same time you have to put points on the board when you have those opportunities. For us especially, in our offense, we're going to have to run the ball well to do anything."
**(on whether he is concerned by the limited running game vs.
** "Yeah, a little bit, but there are some things that are easily fixed when you look back on it. Those guys are going to take care of that stuff, and I think we're going to run the ball a lot better this week just because we want to and we're going to get the schemes down where it is simple for our guys and they are in the right spots."
**DE Mario Williams
(on the idea of being drafted to pressure QB Peyton Manning)** "Well, you know, obviously it's a very tough task to do that. You say that nobody has got him, so it's something that I'm looking forward to doing"
(on head coach Tony Dungy saying that he would have taken Mario Williams with the first pick) "Well, to come from guys like that it means a lot for them to say something like that. It makes you look good, but at the same time when I get my chance to shine, that's what I'm going to do."
(on Peyton Manning) "I think he's the greatest player there ever is. Whenever I watch him, whenever he plays, it is always like, how do you stop him, because he runs the whole offense. In the huddle, he is just out there; he's the general on the field. You can feel that type of aura around him when you watch him."
(on facing Peyton Manning) "You have to take that general out. That army is just unstoppable, and you
just have to get to him and disrupt him and try to put your team in a situation
to win."
**
(on whether he is concerned by the limited running game vs.
** "Yeah, a little bit, but there are some things that are easily fixed when you
look back on it. Those guys are going to take care of that stuff, and I think
we're going to run the ball a lot better this week just because we want to and
we're going to get the schemes down where it is simple for our guys and they are
in the right spots."
