Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will be calling plays for the Texans next season.
The Texans started their last week of OTAs without tight end Owen Daniels. General manager Rick Smith discussed the situation, and quarterback Matt Schaub talked about his expectations for the offense in 2009.
General manager Rick Smith
(on TE Owen Daniels missing practice) "We're obviously in the middle of a negotiation, and he is well within his rights to not come because these activities are voluntary. We're wishing he were here like he was last week continuing to work with his teammates and we understand that. These things have a way of working themselves out. "
{QUOTE}(on if he is bothered that there could be a trend of the team not being able to sign core players) "No, it doesn't bother me at all. I think what's important for us, number one, in this particular negotiation, is the reason why we're talking is we feel like Owen is an important part of this football team. We talk about our philosophy in terms of building; you're trying to take care of those young core players. We are doing that. And when you do that and when you negotiate, there's a lot of variables that are in play and what you try to do is you try to come up with an agreement than benefits both sides. We're in the process of doing that; that's where we are. Sometimes those things are easier than other times. We've got a locker room full of players, so we know how to get deals done. So that doesn't concern me."
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on TE Owen Daniels missing practice) "It's a voluntary workout and he's made a decision not to be here. If you've been in this league long enough, those things go on. It's part of the business. But it doesn't stop practice. We had a very good practice today. It doesn't stop when we have to be ready for a game in the fall. We just have to get back to work. There were more reps for Joel, and Anthony and Casey, so those three guys got better today."
Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan
(on how he feels going into his second year as offensive coordinator) "It's a little more fun being in my second year; not everything's my first time. I've done it before, I know what to expect."
(on if things have changed since last year) "It's not much. You've got to stay on top of football; you've got to keep adjusting. But we get to return our starters, all eleven guys. We had a pretty good year last year, so we're just trying to get better and a little more detailed."
(on if he will be calling all of the plays) "Yeah, definitely. That's what I expect my job to be."
QB Matt Schaub
(on his relationship with Shanahan) "We are the same age, so you can relate well to one another as far as life goes. That helps us bond and be able to talk to one another one on one, and not like coach to player but like man to man, and be able to understand things and what we want out of the offense."
(on the progress over the last three weeks) "Every day, we're getting better and we're coming together. We have a lot of you guys that are coming on board and they're picking things up. We taught at a pretty slow pace this year—one install for every two days—but it helps us really. Everyone gets on the same page and we didn't have the mental errors that you usually see early in OTAs, especially from young guys. It's a way to come out and shake the rust off and get back in the swing of football."
(on how he approaches the last week of OTAs) "We will just continue with what we've been doing - keep gelling together and keep meshing and hashing things out so when we get to camp, we're full speed ahead and we don't have to repeat things and relearn things. We're full speed ahead and ready to go."
(on how much farther along he feels this year than at this point last year) "So much further. You mention coming in healthy off last season, whereas last year I had that shoulder surgery and I was rehabbing that. I just feel more comfortable and confident in what I'm doing and what the coaches expect since last year. I just understand the offense that much more. We know what we want to do; we know what we're good at."
(on if he feels more sturdy this year) "I think so. You don't know; it's hard to tell until you get hit, but I feel strong in there and that was one thing I wanted to build up was my strength, getting stronger, and I think I did that."
(on if feeling stronger has improved his confidence) "I think so, internally, you just feel that much more comfortable to stand in there an extra half-second to deliver that pass down the field and not be so quick to try and get out of the pocket."
(on what new wrinkles we'll see in the offense this year) "I'd like to say more quarterback runs, but I don't know if that's going to happen. No (laughs). You know, we know what we do well. We're not going to try and deviate, we're not going to try and reinvent the wheel. Our offense is what made us successful last year, so we're just going to keep doing those things."
