Coach Gary Kubiak talked to the media on Thursday about the Texans' improved backfield and pass rush.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on sympathizing with QB Sage Rosenfels) "I understand what that's like. As a backup quarterback, when you get opportunities, you live with what happened, with that opportunity until the next one comes along. You never know when it's going to come. He's (QB Sage Rosenfels) smart enough to know it could come again this week. You never know what's going to happen in a football game: (QB) Matt (Schaub) gets sick, a guy gets nicked up. So you better get your mind right, and his mind's been right. He practiced good today, but that's a tough part of the game and that's why he'll play for probably 14 to 15 years because he can handle it."
(on LB DeMeco Ryans saying that other teams were caught off guard by the Wildcat offense but the Texans have two games to study and that helps) "Well, it's just different. Yeah, we get to look at it for a couple of weeks, but it's changing every week. So I'm sure we're going to see a part of it that is totally different than what we've been seeing. My concern really is they're doing everything well. They're running their offense well. That kid's (QB Chad Pennington) throwing the ball extremely well. I said this yesterday, it's not like they've changed their offense, and that's all they do. It's a part of what they're doing, but they're doing everything very well."
(on having RB Ahman Green for the second week in a row) "It's just a big positive move in the right direction. I think our whole team was waiting to see. He's worked back before and then we've had setbacks, but this time he came back. He contributed and he's back out here working fine this week. So I think that's encouraging for everybody."
{QUOTE}(on if he is excited to see what RB Steve Slaton and RB Ahman Green can do together for a second week) "Yeah. I think before this thing is all said and done if these two guys (RB's Steve Slaton and Ahman Green) can stay healthy, it could be a heck of a tandem as we move forward. We'll just keep our fingers crossed, but we came out of it OK last week."
(on where he is finding the pass rush with DE N.D. Kalu being inactive the last couple of weeks) "I tell you what we've done. We've really experimented. (Defensive line coach) Jethro (Franklin) and (senior defensive assistant) Frank (Bush), we've experimented. We've challenged the defensive linemen. Bottom line, if you don't practice well and you're not doing it in practice, you're not going to play. We've got 10 guys on our roster, which is unusual. We weed through 10 and end up with eight on game day, and I think the competition in practice has made players like (DT Tim) Bulman and (DT) DelJuan (Robinson) and guys like that raise their level of play. I think we've taken some snaps off (DT) Amobi (Okoye). So it's a combination of coaches trying to find a right combination I guess is what I'm trying to say."
(on if that is the reason DE N.D. Kalu is the odd man out) "No. (DE) N.D. (Kalu) can rush the passer. These other guys are doing other things. They're playing special teams. (DT Tim) Bulman plays special teams, does some things like that. (DT) Frank (Okam) was given a chance. We're just rotating guys. We like the combination we had last week, and those guys are working really well."
(on if lack of a pass rush or getting to the quarterback is the teams biggest concern right now) "Well, I think if you look at the number of sacks you might say that. But if you look at pressure, it's much better than it has been. We made 18 (QB Peyton Manning) move around last week more than we've ever made him move around and get rid of the ball. So I think our pressure has been better. Sacks, like I always tell you, I don't know that that's the most important thing as making people get rid of the ball."
(on if he is not unhappy with the defense's pressure on the quarterback) "Well, I think we can improve on everything, but no, I like the effort. I like the group the way they went about their business last week. Hopefully, we can improve upon that."
(on if S Will Demps is healthy now) "We thought he (S Will Demps) would be a little limited in practice, but he wasn't today. He did everything. He looked fine to me."
(on S Will Demps practicing today) "Well, it's important because (S Dominique) Barber looks like he'll be out this week and maybe even a little bit more. So, that's a concern and then you've got a new face back with (CB) Eugene (Wilson). (S) Brandon (Harrison) is coming off a shoulder last week. So, all of the sudden you go from being very heavy at a spot to being very thin."
QB Sage Rosenfels
(on if it was tough on Monday and Tuesday) "All I can really do going on from here is learn from it and put it behind me and prepare for the next one. Dwelling on it is not going to do me and good and not going to do this team any good. We've played good football the last couple of weeks, two games we all know we should have won, even though we haven't. But all we can do is move on."
(on if he would do it differently if he could do it over again) "Well, I reread it probably 1,000 times in my mind. Again, that's not going to do me any good really for this week other than obviously what I'd do differently next time. So I'm trying not to dwell on it. I'm trying to move on. I think this team is ready to move on and have another game. I think everyone is excited about how we're playing right now because we are playing really good football."
(on what is has meant to him to have the support of his team and coaches) "Well, it means a lot. I think guys really enjoyed playing out there. We created a lot of unity in that game, as far as we took a team that won a Super Bowl two years ago and it was a game obviously we felt we dominated pretty well. We played great defensively. We played really well offensively, we played well on special teams. It's something we can take a lot out of it. There is such thing as a loss that you can take positives out of, and we definitely had a lot of positives in that game."
(on if it is hard knowing he won't have the chance to redeem himself because QB Matt Schaub will be back) "Well, it's the way it is. Sitting here and dwelling on it and being frustrated by it is not going to help when I get that chance, whenever that may be - it may be this year, it may be next year, it may be whenever. But sitting here and dwelling on it for the rest of my life is not going to do me any good. So I'm moving on past it. I wish it wouldn't have happened, but it did. I was trying to make a play and trying to make things happen. That's generally the way I play and it backfired on me."
(on if he heard from anyone around the league) "Yeah I have. (Panthers quarterback) Jake Delhomme called me after the game and we talked extensively about the mistakes he made when he was younger and passes that he threw and when he's thrown interceptions at critical times in games, things like that. All you can do is learn from them. A lot of other guys from around the league have called me and said, 'Hey, you played great,' and 'Don't worry about it,' and 'Now you know what to do next time you're in that situation.' But, the good thing is that we played really well offensively and we're really starting to click on all cylinders offensively."
(on not getting the chance to atone for his mistakes last week) "Yeah, well that's the way it goes. I made my bed and I have to sleep in it. So that's the way it goes. As I said, I wish it wouldn't have happened, but it would be nice to go out there and prove everyone wrong again this week. I thought I played really well last week for three and a half quarters. I think everyone agrees with me on that but you have to finish off football games."
(on if it's hard not to dwell on it) "No, just because it's not going to do me any good; it's not going to do me any good. It's not going to do this team any good to sit there and feel sorry for ourselves. We're playing really good football and it hasn't turned into wins the last couple of weeks and we know we are playing really good football. And if we keep playing the way we're playing, we're going to win a lot of games here the rest of the season."
(on what playing so well last year and this year has taught him about himself) "Well, it tells me that I can play in this league and that I can start in this league. But it also tells me that I have things to learn. That's always the battle, is to keep learning things more and more. Guys that played for a long time, guys like (former Raiders quarterback) Rich Gannon, I'm sure they were learning things in their last season just like they did in their first season. So I keep learning from mistake or things that Matt does or things that other teams do around the league and just keep learning because you never can learn too much."
(on what it means to have other players around the league calling him and giving him support) "I think a lot of guys realized how well I played in that game up until that point and how devastating that can be and how devastating it was in their lives. I think that's probably helped me through it the most and it's given me a positive outlook on things. Worst things could have happened, but I try to be aggressive. I made the wrong decision and there's really nothing I can do about it now but learn from it."
DE Mario Williams
(on how much it helped that DT Amobi Okoye and DT DelJuan Robinson played well last game) "Obviously, we're all out there rushing as hard as we can. It's just one of those things that we came out there and we were hitting gaps like we needed to and staying in the rushing lanes like we needed to. It helped everybody not just myself."
(on how much has he studied the Wildcat formation and if it is a lot to deal with) "Yeah, I mean it's pretty confusing. That's the biggest thing is that as long as you go out there and you play your assignments and stay focused I think we'll be alright. Hopefully, we can stop it. But it's pretty confusing and it seems like whenever they get in that formation they seem to make plays. As long as we stay focused, I think we'll be fine. Hopefully, we can stop it."
(on what he has seen from Dolphins OT Jake Long) "He's a great player. He's strong. He has great feet. He's doing a heck of a job right now. So, it will be a good time to go out there, and we'll see what happens."
(on if he is surprised at how much success Miami has had with the Wildcat formation) "It's something that nobody has seen, and that's the thing is that you have to figure out how to stop it. Like I said, the biggest thing is since it's so new and nobody really runs that, it gets guys out of whack and confused and that's the thing about being focused. As long as we stay focused, it gives us a better chance to try to stop it."
(on if he looks forward to going against rookie tackles) "No, I look forward to going against everybody. Every week it's a challenge, and that's how I see it. Rookie or not, anybody can make any plays. So, it's just a challenge."
