The Texans and Jaguars spoke to the media after Jacksonville's 31-24 victory at Reliant Stadium.
Houston Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak Houston Texans Defensive Coordinator Frank Bush Houston Texans RB Chris Brown Houston Texans FS John Busing Houston Texans TE Owen Daniels Houston Texans WR Jacoby Jones Houston Texans C Chris Myers Houston Texans CB Dunta Robinson Houston Texans LB DeMeco Ryans Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub Houston Texans RB Steve Slaton Houston Texans WR Kevin Walter Houston Texans DE Mario Williams Houston Texans FS Eugene Wilson Houston Texans OT Eric Winston
Houston Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on his concern about the defense and how to change things) "Well I'm about as concerned this week as I was last week. Actually, you know, it's just no different. I mean we're giving up some big, big plays and struggling to stop somebody. But my concern was the same last week. We've got a long, long way to go to getting to play good enough back there for us to win. Regardless of all of that they made a big play at the end and offensively we made a few mistakes. So it's just our chance to improve on those."
(on the Jaguar runs being all to one side) "I mean without looking at the films, obviously somebody missed a gap or something. I mean, I don't know. I don't want to point any fingers here, we'll go back and look at it. The ball cut back and somebody has got to be there—whoever is in contained, whoever has got that responsibility."
(on the option of running RB Steve Slaton at the end instead of RB Chris Brown) "Yeah, but I mean we used Chris on the goal line. He's a big body. He's done a good job for us. Obviously he's got to hang on to the ball right there, but I've got a lot of confidence in Chris down there. And, he was making a great run, he's just got to hang on to the football."
(on what happened in the back at the end) "We ran one of our boots. And they're in zone. I don't know how you get a call for offensive pass interference when a team is playing zone. I think one of our receivers ran into one of their linebackers—had a collision and they called offensive pass interference on it. I have to see it. I know they were in zone coverage, they're playing quarters so nobody blocked up the man. So I don't know there, I have to see what they called."
(on if he's surprised that DE Mario Williams wasn't a factor against rookie tackles) "Well like you said, there's no secret. They move the football, they control the football game. If you look at the third quarter, and probably three, four, maybe five minutes into the fourth quarter—total control of the game. From them offensively, I want to say we maybe had 12, 13 snaps throughout the third and half the fourth quarter. And you know, we just didn't get them to stop. Regardless of who it was, what it was, we did not stop them."
(on poor tackling in the secondary) "Well we're working extremely hard on it, but you're right. We keep showing up every week and you know obviously I can think of a few today too, but regardless of what the problems are we're just tackling, being in the right gap, but the bottom line is, it's just not good. So, there's plenty of fingers to go around, but it needs to start with me first."
(on how he feels right now) "Not very good. I told you guys last week I had big concerns about this team. This team felt a lot better this week. Everyone had a smile on their face and felt a lot better. But it's like I told the players: in this league guys, it doesn't matter what's going on. What matters is how you play on Sunday. How you tackle, how you block, how you protect the ball. You know, that's what this league's about. I mean, everybody has got good players, good teams. If you're not doing your job, you're not going to win. There's no such thing as, 'we're okay this week.' I mean, that team played great. I told our team that they would play good. And they did. They played extremely well, and we were going to have to play extremely well to beat them but we had a chance to do that too, and we didn't do that."
(on what happened to WR Andre Johnson after he got the elbow pad) "I mean, like you said, they did some things, they played him like a lot of people play him. They obviously do some things to cut to him, but I thought it opened up our running game a little bit. We ran the ball more. We ran it better. We never got in a rhythm in the second half offensively, just no snaps. You know, we went down and got the field goal, we came up short on the third down, and then after that I want to say we had a three and out, a three and out, and next thing you know there's six minutes left in the game. So, they controlled the football very well and we never really got in a good rhythm offensively in the second half."
(on worry about how this season's start resembles the 0-4 start last year) "There's a long way to go. I'm not talking about the tone for the year after three weeks. But the bottom line, what's been going on here for the past few weeks, if you will, is the same thing. We're struggling on the defensive side of the ball to be consistent, to stop somebody. We're moving the ball offensively—we have the last two weeks, but we had two big turnovers in the game so you're minus one in the game and you get beat. So those things are still there and somehow have got to get corrected."
(on defensive coordinator Frank Bush's first year) "No, Frank will do fine. I mean, he's working his tail off for these players. I mean, you look at some of these third down situations when a team's got third and twelve and you're playing two deep or you're playing whatever it is. And if a guy can sit back there and hold the ball forever, it doesn't matter. Frank needs to keep calling the defense; he needs to keep working like he's working. We need to all try to coach better, and we need to all try to play better. But, it's not about one guy. If it gets fixed, it will get fixed because the whole group is fixing it, not one person."
(on RB Steve Slaton) "He played better. You know, he still didn't come away with a ton of carries, but I thought he played better. I thought he was a little more aggressive to the line of scrimmage. He did a good job in protection, I know that for a fact. We put him on some tough edges against their three-four. But, obviously you have got to make some improvement today."
(on what play was called in the third quarter right before PK Kris Brown's field goal) "I think on third down, (QB) Matt (Schaub) scrambled for about six or seven and we came up about two yards short and we kicked a field goal. I think on second down he tried to throw a post into tough coverage, and third down we called a play. Matt scrambled and he got about six out of the eight and we decided to kick a field goal on fourth and two to tie the game."
(on importance of settling) "Obviously when you're in a game where, you know this game was obviously a shoot-out. Throughout the game, you would think about, I would think about going for it there. But it's early in the third quarter and it's fourth and two, and we're tying a football game. So I would do the same thing right there. Had it been the fourth quarter maybe it would have been a different story."
(on what players showed in Nashville that they didn't show today) "I told them at halftime: you know what, we're in the same game we were in last week. Exact same game. We struggled defensively throughout the first half, offensively it kept us in the ball game. Same place. How are we going to come back and play the second half? Obviously, you know, they come out and go right down the field and score if I'm right. Obviously it was a bad start from the get-go and to me they dominated, they really took control of the game offensively in the third and throughout half of the fourth quarter. When we went two three and outs, that was just like, the momentum change in the game was really big."
(On the ability to rally after CB Dunta Robinson caused a fumble) "Oh, no doubt. That felt good. You know, I mean, you basically score twice and you take two touchdowns away from yourself, right? And you never get called for an offensive pass interference penalty and then you fumble. So, you know, you think we couldn't have done anymore than get it in the end zone. We got it in there twice and then just shot ourselves in the foot. So, I thought it was worth the challenge, I thought we felt like his knee was down before the ball came out but they obviously didn't see it that way."
Houston Texans Defensive Coordinator Frank Bush(on players saying he has them in the right spot, they just aren't executing) "Yeah, it's some of that. Our guys are trying really hard. We do have some mistakes that are happening out there. We are going to assess it and look at it and try to get things fixed."
(on why there is always one big play given up) "Quite frankly, we're trying to find that out. We're trying to put guys in position to go makes those play. We feel good about what we work on during the week. Somehow, someway, those things are finding us so we've got to get that fixed."
(on if what they are working on during practice isn't translating to gameday) "I wouldn't say that. I think sometimes guys are a little bit over-zealous; guys try too hard. Other times, guys make mistakes. We're going to look at it and try to see exactly what it is and we have to figure out a way to stop giving up big plays. "
(on if all that stuff is fixable) "I think so. I think so. I think structurally, we know what we're doing. We're confident in our scheme. I think we've just got to make sure every guy is on the same page, every time."
(on if he is worried with where things are right now) "No, I think we have a long way to go. It's a concern because we have to be able to get off the field on defense. We're putting ourselves in position at times, and then we can't get off the field, so that's a concern."
(on what it means to him that the players saying he's making the right calls) "It means a lot, that they're buying into the program. But it's on everybody, not just one particular guy. Not the coaching staff, not the players, it's all of us. We're all in this together. It means a lot but at the end of the day, we've got to go get it done."
(on how frustrating the poor tackling is) "It's frustrating because throughout the week, you think you're doing the right things and you feel confident about your gameplan going into it. When those things happen on gameday, it's frustrating because we though we've covered those basics."
(on how he can pick his defense back up) "This is the NFL. You keep going. They're going to kick it off next Sunday regardless of whether we feel bad about ourselves or not. So we've got to pull ourselves up by the bull straps and go out and work even harder. It's all about the work. We have to work even harder."
Houston Texans RB Chris Brown(on his fumble on the goal line at the end of the fourth quarter) "It's a tough situation knowing that I went out there to do the best I possibly can and I let all my teammates, coaches and the organization down."
(on if he thought the play was a fumble) "I really wasn't sure. I knew it was going to be a close call, but it's all on me, and next time I won't give it a chance to be a fumble."
(on what caused him to lose the ball) "I really don't know at this time."
(on his feelings about the fumble after the game) "Well, you let down all your teammates, you can't put it into words."
Houston Texans FS John Busing
(on the Texans 3rd down defense) "We just got to get off the field. I don't think there's anything magical we got to do, we just have to make the plays and get off the field."
(on whether or not this loss is more disappointing than the Week 1 loss, coming off the win in Tennessee) "Yeah, sure. We felt like we were on a roll after last week and we built some momentum. Then to come in here and lose this game, its disappointing."
(on the defense's struggles with the big play) "Right now its hurting our team, you know. The offense is putting points on the board, and the defense, if we can get some three-and-outs or even just kill the drives without letting those big plays, it will put us in position to win a lot more games."
Houston Texans TE Owen Daniels
(on where his frustration level is at right now) "I thought we learned from that situation last year to apply it to this week. Had a really good week of practice honestly. I thought we were focused on what we were doing and just didn't make enough plays out there today. It's tough. I think that's a game that we've got to win at home. That's been a problem in the past. We've gotten better but still haven't necessarily won all of the games we are supposed to win. This is one of them, and we've got to learn from it and move on.
(on how close the team is to being where they want to be) "That's how it is in most cases in the NFL. It's a couple of plays either way on either side of the ball. We've got to take a look at it. There's definitely some stuff to clean up and get better at."
(on if he thought RB Chris Brown's fumble was truly a fumble) "I couldn't tell. It's hard to tell. I thought his knee was down or he was across the line; either one of those two situations. I was hoping for some good news."
(on what he would say to RB Chris Brown) "We've got a lot of confidence in Chris and obviously he is going to feel like that, I think any of us would feel like that. We're going to be behind him. He's going to do a lot of good things for us this year. We're not going to doubt his abilities at all."
(on not being able to build on last week's win over the Tennessee Titans) "Obviously it would have been great to be 2-0 in our division looking ahead to a tough Oakland team, but we've got to pick up the pieces and move on. Whether we get a big win or a hard loss we've got to get back to work and get focused on the next team."
Houston Texans WR Jacoby Jones
(on if the team lacked inspiration) "It wasn't that. I mean it's the NFL, people make mistakes, and that's how the game went. We've got to get better next week and move on."
(on if he took the fans booing personally) "Honestly, I do. You're the fans, we ride or die, we play for y'all, and y'all cheer for us. We're here for y'all and y'all are here for us."
(on if there is anything he wants to say to the fans) "I wont say anything to them. Just ride with us that's all. We're going to show up."
(on if he thought they got a bad break on RB Chris Brown's fumble) "I wasn't really paying attention to that. I can't watch that. I just turned my back. I wasn't looking at the replay at all."
(on the offense's inability to consistently move the ball) "Like I said, it's the game and when we get our spurts we've got to keep going. The defense made a stop and we should have came up the field, but like I said that's football and those things happen, and we've got to fix them and come back next week."
Houston Texans C Chris Myers
(on how he felt about the team's performance) "We made it a point trying to get the running game going today and we did a little bit. We slowly got it going in the second half and we just came up short."
(on his thoughts about the pass protection today) "They had a good scheme for us. They had a 3-4 defense, something new for them in Jacksonville, they did throw a 4-3 in there, so we had work on that all week. But once we were at that point where we were down one touchdown, we had to start throwing the ball a lot. They were dialing up the blitzes and sometimes we would pick them up, and sometimes we didn't. That's one thing we'll have to work on as an offensive line as a whole, but I think for the most part we played pretty hard."
Houston Texans CB Dunta Robinson(on if the team was fired up enough going into this game) "This week, leading up to this game, I didn't think this was going to happen. I felt good about the situation. I felt good about the way we've practiced. I felt good about every man in this locker room. But the bottom line is that on defense, we didn't get the job done. Offense can only do so much. They did a great job. If we can go out there and get one or two stops, then we have a chance to win this football game. I think guys came ready to play, we just didn't handle our business on our end."
(on how disappointing it is to not be able to build on last week's win) "It's very disappointing. We didn't do a good job last week either. When you give up 31 points as a defense, that's not a good job; the offense did their job. Until we can focus and get out, it's going to continue to happen. I'm not going to let it happen. It's time for every man on this side of the ball to be accountable. Let's get this thing taken care of and let's go out and dominate on defense. We've got too many big names on defense to play the way we've been playing."
(on what is happening) "We're just not playing well, bottom line. No finger pointing. It's all eleven men on the field."
(on third down defense) "It's a little better, but still not good enough. I think some of those third downs they converted led to touchdowns. When it's 3rd and long, we've got to get off the football field. Third week in a row, we're singing the same song. We have to get it fixed. The players have to get it fixed. (Defensive coordinator) Frank Bush is putting us in great situations. We're not going out there and taking care of our business. We have to take care of our business."
(on if the problems are fixable) It's very fixable. We've got too many good players on this side of the football not to fix it. We are going to fix it. I can guarantee you that. We will get it fixed."
(on the fumble he forced) "It was just a play where the receiver turned up and I just took a shot. I knew we needed a big play in that situation and I thought it was the perfect opportunity. Luckily, I was able to get the ball, it came out and I think (LB) Zac (Diles) recovered it. The offense had been asking for a big play from us the entire game because we hadn't been doing much. They had been going up and down the field the entire game and we gave them a chance right there. We should've done way more than that. That was the only opportunity that I think we gave the offense today and they played too well for it to come down to that."
(on RB Chris Brown saying he let the team down) "They did a great job on offense all day long. They controlled the ball. They moved the football. They put us ahead. We didn't go out there and get the job done on our end. I love the way Chris Brown plays football. I love the way he runs the football. Hopefully, next week, if we're in the same situation, hopefully they'll give him the football again because one play doesn't make or break a football game. Chris Brown, we're going to ride or die with."
Houston Texans LB DeMeco Ryans(on what happened out there) "We didn't play good defensively, obviously. We can't expect to give up 31 points and win the game. We just can't do it. I'ts unacceptable. We have to find a way to get better on defense. We've got to make plays."
(on what they can improve) "We had some missed tackles in there. They broke another long run on us. (Defensive coordinator) Frank (Bush) is putting us in great situations; he's making great calls. We just have to play the defense as well as we can play."
(on if it's one guy) "It's not just one. It's one guy on every play so as soon as one guy is wrong, they find the mistake, capitalize, and make the big play on us."
(on how shocked he is that they are having these problems on defense) "It's unacceptable. You get paid to do a job and that's what we're here for, to do our job. Guys, like I keep saying and I sound like a broken record, have to step up and do your job. That's it."
(on the defense getting the ball back but the offense not scoring) "It shouldn't come down to that. We did make a play late, but still, we can't give up third and one."
(on how hard it will be to pick the guys up) "It's not hard. We just have to put the right guys in that's going to step up and make the plays."
Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub
(on what the Texans can do to prepare for next week after a loss against a team considered inferior) "Just go back to work tomorrow. Watch the film to learn from this and get past it to go on to the next game. Go out to practice on Wednesday ready to go. We have a new opportunity in front of us, a new challenge. We've just got to go out and play our best football.
(on how big of a set-back this loss is coming after a win and some momentum) "It's very frustrating, but last week is history. It was all about this week and the fact that we went out this week and didn't get it done across the board. Jacksonville came out and played well; they came out victors and we just didn't get it done. We've got to go get better for next week."
Houston Texans RB Steve Slaton
(on if he took the fans booing personally) "Yea you take it personal. You put in all this work and time and they just get to come out and watch you. You try and put a show on for them and you don't want anybody to kick you when you're down."
(on if there is anything he wants to say to the fans) "Stick with us. We're going to stick with you. We're going to try our hardest. It's a game. We are all professionals. Everybody is out here to do a job and some days it's your day and some days it's not."
(on what it feels like to walk off the field after a game like this one) "It's a tough year. It's going to be a tough season. Any win you can get, you need to take. When you lose the ones you think you should have won it definitely hurts more.
(on if he expected such a high scoring game) "It's any given Sunday so you really don't know. We expect ourselves to put a lot of points up and get defensive stops."
Houston Texans WR Kevin Walter
(on how he felt about Jacksonville's offense in the first half) "We were confident coming into this game and it just shows you that you have to play for 60 minutes and we didn't do that today. We have to come back tomorrow and fix some mistakes."
(on how he felt physically today) "Physically I felt fine, my hamstring felt pretty good. It's the best it's felt since I hurt it, so it wasn't an issue."
(on if he was happy with his performance today) "No, I'm not happy with the way I played. Honestly I can get better, and there are some things I need to work on. It's disappointing what happen at the end, I'm still pissed off, but I have to come back and play well next week."
Houston Texans DE Mario Williams(on what he was thinking on third-and-10 when they completed a 28-yard pass ) "That we've got to make the play. Ain't nothing you can talk about. You've got to make the play."
(on their rookie offensive tackles playing well) "Yeah, they played well, they played well. The quarterback got rid of the ball on time. They did good."
(on how low of a feeling this is) "I mean, a loss is devastating regardless, especially after what we did last week."
(on the frustration of allowing big plays over and over) "Like I said earlier, the bottom line is we've just got to stop it. It's happened every week, so we can't sit here and talk about it. If you're not going to do it, you're not going to do it."
(on what needs to happen for the pass rush to improve) "Man, it's just guys have got to work hard. From me to the last guy, we've all got to work harder, because it's not getting done."
(on what happened on RB Maurice Jones-Drew's 61-yard touchdown run) "We were out of gap, once again. Every time we sit here and give up big yardage like that, it's us. It's nothing they did at all. We had a guy right there and we were just completely out of gap."
(on that being technique and something that they work on) "It's what we do every day. And like I said, it's one of those things where we're going to sit here and talk about it all day or we're going to do it. So that's all you can do; you've just got to do it."
(on if he thought he would have a lot of sacks in this game going against two rookie tackles) "It doesn't matter, man. It really doesn't matter. It doesn't matter, because if that was the case, obviously they've played two games and had five sacks. I mean, do the math. It's one of those things that it doesn't matter who you are. If you're out there and things are clicking on their offense, they're clicking."
(on how disappointing this loss is after last week) "Like I said, it's devastating."
Houston Texans FS Eugene Wilson
(on how he felt about Jacksonville's offense in the first half) "They got into a rhyme, thanks to our offense for keeping us in it. As a defense, we just have to hold our own, and we're going to go back to the drawing board, see what we did wrong, and hopefully fix that for next week."
Houston Texans OT Eric Winston(on if he feels the offense is close to where it needs to be) "Sure, I thought we ran the ball well. I think we did a lot of good things. We were moving the ball, we just didn't finish it.
(on if seeing the RB Chris Brown fumble deflated him) "I didn't even see it. I was blocking in the end zone. But yeah on the replay, you're hoping he hit the ground."
(on if the team plays differently at home than on the road) "I don't know if we played differently. I think we all came out to play, I thought we all had a good week of practice. I don't think it was a letdown, they just played better than us. They came out in the second half, they made more plays than we did. Bottom line."
(on if he feels the Texans missed an opportunity today) "Sure, I mean it's right there for us, it's whether we want to go get it. That's what it comes down to, we've got to want it more than they do. We've got to finish things off."
(on if the Texans lost or Jacksonville won) "This is definitely on us. We know who we are, I feel like it is obvious. They played really well, don't get me wrong. Jacksonville played really well but we've got to get the win."
(on how frustrating the loss is to him) "It's really frustrating. We've got to find a way to be perfect, and until we are we're not going to win consistently. I think it's obvious we can beat anybody in this league, but we've got to get out there and compete every week. I think everything is right out there in front of us, we just have to go out and get it."
(on if there was a carryover of the urgency from last week's game) "I thought there was a carryover. I thought we worked hard this week. I don't think anybody thought this was chalked up as a win. We just did not get it done. Hats off to them, they went out there and they played better than we did. They made one or two more plays at the end than we did."
(on if the offense should expect to score every drive) "Sure, that's what good offenses do. They expect to score every time they touch the ball. And someone says, 'Well you only had the ball once in the third quarter', well we have to score then. We can't control anything but what we do."
(on if he feels the offensive expectations are insufficiently high) "Absolutely not. We have all of the talent in the world. I think we have a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback, we have a great running back as Steve (Slaton) has proven day in and day out. I think our line is playing well, our receivers are talented, we have probably the best receiver in football. We need to score every time we touch it. That's the bottom line. We've got to go out there and execute every time."
Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard Jacksonville Jaguars DT John Henderson Jacksonville Jaguars LB Clint Ingram Jacksonville Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew Jacksonville Jaguars C Brad Meester Jacksonville Jaguars WR Mike Sims-Walker
Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio
(on his thoughts about performance) "There's a good group of men in there who've been working hard. Nice to get the win today. I don't think there's any question about our desire, our willingness to work, our wanting very badly to win. Today, we were able to execute well enough to win the ballgame, a divisional game on the road. I'm really proud of the guys. I'm really proud of the guys for fighting hard, staying together and continuing to work. I thought we got better during the course of the game. This football team, we've got to continue to improve. I was very pleased we were able to pull out a win on the road."
(on game injuries) "Injury-wise, we got several guys banged up, four, five, six guys banged up in the course of the game. Some were able to return, some weren't. I have not spoken to the doctors or trainers yet to get an update, so I don't have a lot to update, in terms of what the prognosis is. I know most of them tried to return. I think Safety Sean (Considine) was the one guy who had no chance of returning, he had a little bit of a groin. That's all I really know from an injury standpoint."
(on QB David Garrard's performance) "David operated well, got the chains moved, got some key third downs. RB Maurice was fabulous, did a great job. We made adjustments at halftime. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker did a nice job of getting the group settled down and looking to get stops in the second half. Some of the adjustments, some of the coaching that went on was helpful. Our guys went out and fought hard in the second half and pulled out a win. We're proud of that. We got a good win on the road, now we turn around and go back home and play a divisional opponent at home. We'll get back to work tomorrow."
(on being emotional in the last goal situation) "Was I? You could tell? It was emotional. There were some ups and downs. That's one of the beautiful things about being part of this league, this game, the terrific highs and the tough lows. You know you're alive. I think it's what makes the game special, the tremendous highs and lows. I was definitely feeling some of that. I thought the guys, we found our way at the end to make more plays, execute better and come home with a win."
(on defensive pressure) "We're getting better. I don't know what we ended up being, sack-number wise. But I know we hit the quarterback, we did the things we're going to have to do. We have a long way to go in terms of the standard we're looking for, but the guys are working hard, we're all getting better. We're doing some things that give us a chance. We've just got to do them a little bit better and more consistently throughout the game."
(on quarterback pressure) "You have to ask their quarterback. I don't think he was really comfortable back there. We don't want him to get comfortable, that's for sure."
(on defense performance) "We're working at it. We're making situations competitive, we're playing a lot of people. We're moving guys around a little bit. We've got a standard that we set and unless you're dominant at your job, you're open for competition, not in a bad way, that's just how we're going to do it. Give our guys a chance to compete, give our guys a chance to show what they can do and look for the guy that keeps improving and give him time. That's a message is really clear, well-accepted and guys are working hard at it."
(on offensive game plan) "He saw some of the things we were working hard on with WR Mike Thomas being part of the game plan, and WR Mike Walker, making some plays, WR Torry Holt. RB Maurice is obviously one of our premier playmakers. He had a heck of a game. I thought QB David Garrard played well today. He did a nice job directing our offense and leading our football team, moving the chains and scoring points. You play an offense as good as theirs, they're going to generate some points, so you're going to have to score some points and we were able to do that."
(on LB Daryl Smith's performance) "Daryl is a good football player. He made a couple of key stops there, I think. There were things that occurred. The first couple drives, we got them in third down, and didn't get off there. That's the biggest thing that we're going to need to improve on to really become a stingier, tougher defense. Good teams in those third-down situations, you just have to get off the field. And when you do that, you get your offense back out there, the next thing you know, the quarter's over and they've got one, maybe two, possessions and they didn't do anything. When you start doing that consistently, that's when you start playing the kind of defense I'm looking for. We're going to keep working toward it."
(on key plays) "Certainly, we made some big plays in the game. CB Rashean Mathis' interception was big, LB Daryl Smith's fumble recovery was huge, some key stops, DE Derrrick Harvey batted down that third-down screen they were trying to get going there. There were some key plays in the game where we came up big."
(on strategy changes made at halftime) "Our staff did a good job of coming in at halftime, collecting ourselves, getting the guys settled down and making some adjustments and going forward in the second half. Both sides of the ball, we knew we needed to go out in the second half and respond and take the momentum back. They had kind of gone into the end of the first half there and taken some momentum. Our team responded well, getting the ball coming out of the half, going down and getting a score there and letting them know that we were here, on a mission and that we had the resolve to be in a dogfight and win this thing."
(on the cause of the Texan's RB Kris Brown's goal line fumble) "I didn't get a good look at it. (the fumble)."
(on WR Mike Sims-Walker's performance) "I'm very encouraged. Mike Sims-Walker has been a good player when he's been on the field. All we've got to do is keep Mike doing the same. Part of that is the way he's taken care of his body and conditioned and the way he worked this off-season gave himself the chance to be the kind of weapon he can be. He's got good strong hands, he's a good dependable route runner. I think David likes targeting him and he's come up big for David."
(on T Maurice William's performance) "Mo's a pro. He stepped in there, obviously it's vital to have backups who can step in there and do multiple things. And he did a nice job sliding out to right tackle and G Uche Nwaneri moved in to guard and we were able to weather that."
(on tough divisional play in AFC south) "I know, record-wise, the AFC South is off to a slow start. But I think there are a lot of good football teams in that division. I think it's got good groups from top to bottom. They're usually good contests when we get together and certainly today had to be entertaining to watch. It was certainly entertaining today."
Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard
(on the team getting their first win of the season) "It was good to get our first win under our belt. It took a lot longer than expected, but we got one today."
(on the offense being efficient) "I was very happy with our efficiency today. Our ability to convert on third down was big for us. We had a few long drives that we converted into points today and that helped our defense stay fresh. We just wanted to keep wearing on them. I think us converting all the third downs we did today was huge."
(on RB Maurice Jones-Drew's long touchdown run) "He's known for doing that and not getting caught. He's at his best when he is one on one. He has a nose for getting the ball into the end zone.
(on being so heavily criticized before today's game) "It was great—period. Just for the win. Just to get a win for this team, this city, everybody. Everybody loves to win. We're always out there trying to compete to get that win. Sometimes it doesn't happen, but when you get them you've got to be able to enjoy and love them. And that's why it's worth it."
(on his performance in the game) "I wished I could have had a couple throwing touchdowns out there, but I was able to rush one. It doesn't pat my stats or anything, but it just felt good. I did feel real calm and collected. It was a pretty decent performance by me today; I thought the offensive line did a great job. Just like running back Maurice Jones-Drew said, keeping Texans defensive end Mario Williams and all of his boys off of me for most of the game allowed me to stand in the pocket and get passes off so that the receivers could do their jobs. That's what it's all about—getting the ball in the playmaker's hands."
(on final goal-line stop) "I was doing a lot of praying at that time and my prayers were answered, but you just never know how that's going to happen. You never know how the Lord is going to work for you, and He did and that was a great moment for our team and our defense to be able to come up with that stop because it was really like I was getting ready for a two-minute drill. I felt confident enough to be able to move the ball, we didn't have to do that, thankfully. Instead we got to run the best play in football which is the victory formation."
(on his rushing touchdown) "He kind of had to play two different spots. He had to play TE Marcedes Lewis and me, so I felt like if I could make a hard pump to Marcedes Lewis I could get him to back up so I thought I could out-run him to the sideline, but I guess he's a little faster than me. I had to use my cuts there, and I didn't care if there were a couple guys there because they're usually smaller than me and I don't mind running somebody over."
(on if the Jaguars had lost) "It would have been terrible just like last week. I would have felt like I tried as hard as I could. I would have been pleased with some things but I would have felt terrible because we lost. That's the way the NFL is. There's no crystal ball that says you are going to win these games here. In all these games you do a lot of competing and as long as you leave everything on the field that's all you can ask for. Even when everybody criticizes you. You can't worry about the criticism; that's just fans being fans. You have to deal with that, it is part of the game. If you can't handle criticism then you shouldn't be playing.
(on offensive game plan to create space for the wide receivers) "Absolutely, we knew they ran a lot of press man. Your receivers have to do a good job of getting separation. That's really all there is to it. I can't do much for them besides put the ball in the right places, but if they have a press man like that they have to go in. they did a great job of getting separation. They did a great job catching the ball. Their defense stood by a few plays today. On third downs which were huge for us in today's game in staying on the field and have those long drives, I really think that is what helped us out. We were able to wear they're defense down and they just did not have that same kind of punch there. They were still fighting all game, but when you can have those long ten play drives it just wears them."
(on how the game could have gone either way because of fumbles) "Absolutely, especially because of wide receiver Mike Sims-Walker. I knew that the NFL is funny. You think you have the win, you've got it secured, and then the other team goes out and scores, or you get a fumble or whatever and if you look back to the Patriots vs. Bills game the guy that takes the knee or just doesn't fumble the ball and you think the Bills win that game. It's just how it is—you always have to be ready and have to be on guard to go out there and answer the bell. I had to make sure that I did talk to Mike and make sure his head was on right because I knew I was going to need them so I just wanted to make sure I did my job as a leader and keep everyone calm in that circumstance."
(on the importance of the fumble recovery) "Absolutely, so I did not have to rally everybody and be upset and feel like we have to go out here and win on this last drive. The defense made a great stop. They made the guy cough the ball up, so we just ran a couple plays and took a knee."
(on Jacksonville not being an entertaining team) "As long as you win. If you win you are entertaining, and if you go back to '07 we did the same things that we did today and I think they were pretty happy with us then. When you are losing ball games it's just a dark cloud over the city. If we can just continue to win then they will be very happy and very entertained."
Jacksonville Jaguars DT John Henderson(on the play of the Jaguars defense) "That goal line was a really big turning point. Just trying to get the ball, trying to stop them. They had a good thing on the left side, they knocked that ball out and that was a great feeling."
(on Jaguars game plan coming in to stop the Texans offense) "We have to make him (Texans QB Matt Schaub) uncomfortable. I think we did a good job. Starting off 'Shean (CB Rashean Mathis) got a pick and just trying to stop that run also. You can't let 20 (Texans RB Steve Slaton) get going because he will hurt you. We had to get our mindset to try to stop him and a little pressure on him. I think we did a good job. They made a lot of plays but at the end it's whoever comes out on top."
(on the way ball bounces in certain situations) "It bounced in so many crazy ways. You're just lucky it went your way. It went our way, (LB) Daryl (Smith) was on there, he was there before the other guy was and we got the turnover. You can't blink, when there is a turnover it's a quick turnover."
Jacksonville Jaguars LB Clint Ingram(on the win) "It's big time. It's good for the way we come out and practice, how hard we work and the focus we put into this. For us to come out with a win, it is good for the team. It's good for our season."
(on stopping the Texans in the second half) "They're a good ball team. They always play us tough. I can't remember the last time we won down here, so this is a good win for us. As a whole, we stuck in there, we fought, we scratched, we dug and we came out with a victory."
(on how bad the Jaguars needed this victory) "It wasn't do or die but we needed it. It's good in the division. It puts us 1-1 in the division so now we can be right in the thick of things. We just have to take it one week at a time and keep on pushing."
Jacksonville Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew
(on the team's performance) "We made some adjustments during the course of the game where we saw how they were fitting our running game a little bit and the way they were fitting was perfect for those type of plays so we were able to switch it up a little bit and they mis-fit a couple of times and we were able to take advantage of those times."
(on the team sticking with the run with slow start) "Not real frustrated. They were doing a great job. You always want to stick with the run and we did today. (Head) Coach (Jack Del Rio) did a great job of adjusting and we were able to make some big plays happen when we needed to. When we turned the ball over the defense was able to get the ball back for us on a crucial goal line stand. It was just one step further. We have to watch tape and see what we did wrong and get ready for Tennessee next week."
(on getting the first victory of the year) "Ah man, it's a huge victory. You don't want to go two down in your division. Obviously we have one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. It was tough, it was a hard fought victory and now we understand what it takes to win and we have to get better and keep straining the way we strained today. Our tackles did a great job. (G Maurice) Williams when (RT) Eben (Britton) got nicked up a little bit, Mo (Maurice) Williams jumped out, didn't miss a beat and we just kept playing. That's what we got to do. We got to be able to move and keep playing hard and fast."
(on the 61-yard touchdown) "(TE) Marcedes (Lewis) is one of the best blocking tight ends in the country. (G Maurice) Williams did a great job of sealing off the defensive end and Marcedes kind of set the edge and one of the defenders was looking for the reverse so we were able to come right underneath them and it was a foot-race after that. Can't get caught in the NFL; don't want to be one of those guys. Guys trusted in me and they did their thing and blocked. Receivers were down the field blocking. (WR) Mike Thomas did a great job of making plays all day where they had to account for him. Those little things like that where you have to account for a player opens up the run game that much more."
(on the possibly of this being the best game of his career) "Of this year, definitely. It was a hard fought victory. In my career, yeah because I don't live in the past so you can say that. We don't live in the past anymore."
(on the team having a better second half than first) "Each play we got better. Each time we got to the sideline we got better. We just kept believing in each other and that was the best thing about it. Seeing these guys keep fighting and not quitting. They jumped out on us real quick. We just kept fighting back, fighting back. No one blinked. We just kept believing the game plan. The coaches believed in us. The defense did a great job stopping them at the end of the game when we needed a crucial stop. It's a team victory. Special teams held one of the best returners in the league to inside the 20 a couple of times, inside the 30 most of the time. It was a team victory, hard fought. We have to improve on some things because you have to improve each week to be the best in this league. We have some things we need to improve on and get ready for Tennessee."
(on the team trying to be exciting) "We try to do a little Showtime, a little HBO action. It's all about victories no matter how you did as long as you win everybody's happy. We did a little razzle-dazzle for you today. We wanted to get some players in space. We got, (WR) Mike Thomas was going. He did a great job in space making plays. Just to come out in his first game and do that in Texas where he's from is big. To have a guy that can play like that, we have a couple of other guys we want to get the ball to in space and let them make plays."
(on the Texans defense wearing down or great play calling leading to big plays) "Both. We were able to run at them a little bit. You have to run especially because they have (Houston Texans DE) Mario Williams and (Houston Texans DT) Amobi Okoye. So you have to be able to run to slow those guys down because those guys are great pass rushers. At the same time our tackles did a great job of taking on that challenge and going head on with them. It was a chess match and guys just took it as a challenge. (T) Eugene (Monroe) did a great job today, when Mario was on him he manned up and blocked him; When (T) Tra (Thomas) was on him he manned up and blocked him; and when (G Maurice) Williams was on him he manned up and blocked him."
(on how he felt when he saw hole for 61-yard run) "There's certain feelings you can say that wouldn't be right for television. It's like Christmas morning you can say."
Jacksonville Jaguars C Brad Meester
(on their running game today) "That is the type of running game we have been looking for. We did a great job of preparation all week. We tried to keep all our angles and guys tried to create holes. (RB) Maurice Jones-Drew did a great job of finding the holes and breaking out."
(on how it seems like they always play the Texans on the road on Battle Red Day) "It's just another game to us. It's just another game that we play. It seems like we always play them here on Battle Red Day, but it's just another game to us."
(on the offense keeping QB Matt Schaub off the field) "We had a few long drives that we finished with points scored. We converted a lot of third down opportunities, which we were happy with. We did a good job today finishing."
(on QB David Garrard having a good game) "He did a great job leading our team today. He did a good job of getting the ball out quick. He did a tremendous job leading our team today and we got the win."
Jacksonville Jaguars WR Mike Sims-Walker
(on his fumble) "I didn't want to concentrate on getting too down on myself. I knew that if they scored then we would get the ball back and still have a little time for us to try and score. I wasn't too worried at any point."
