Coach Gary Kubiak said that Dunta Robinson looked even better in his second practice with the team. Kubiak spoke with the media after Thursday's practice.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on his thoughts of CB Dunta Robinson's second practice) "It was better today than yesterday, so that's a big positive. We put the pads on him (CB Dunta Robinson) today and banged a few guys around. His reps picked up. There was nothing that came out of yesterday that was any setback at all. So as long as he wakes up tomorrow morning and he's the same, then he should be ready to go."
(on if he will start CB Dunta Robinson) "No. We'll wait and see. We've got the rest of the week to do that. If he (CB Dunta Robinson) wakes up tomorrow with no problems, I would think that he is definitely going to be up this weekend with a chance of playing some. Well, if he's up, he's going to play."
{QUOTE}(on if he wants to make the roster move before the weekend with CB Dunta Robinson) "No, we've got 'til three o'clock on Saturday, so you can always wait with those things. Those are tough decisions. You've got to find some player that you're going to let go or put on the practice squad or whatever you're going to do. So we'll wait to the last moment to do that. You never know what can happen between now and Saturday afternoon."
(on what he thinks about DT Tim Bulman and DT DelJuan Robinson coming from where they were to where they are today) "Pretty special. We've been searching for some guys in there to step up and play well, and there's two kids (DT's Tim Bulman and DelJuan Robinson) there that all they were doing was practicing hard and giving people fits at practice, and we gave them a chance and we can't get them out of there now. That's what this league's about. Timmy's (DT Tim Bulman) been on the practice squad three years, and he has no more practice squad life. So he's got to make it as a player or else there's something else out there for Timmy. And he's making it right now as a player, so it's fun to watch. You root for guys like that that never say die, and he's being rewarded right now."
(on how important it is on offense to find players capable of 30-yard plays) "Well, you've got to make big plays in this business because it's so hard to score and people are so good. The amount of snaps you get in pro football compared to college, there's a big difference there. So you better have a way of making big plays, and we try to offensively. We call a lot of big play shots. If we don't have them, we've got to check the ball down. When your team knows that you can get on and off the field with a couple of big plays, that's a plus."
(on how important it is to get those big plays, even if you don't score) "Well, I think our guys know our philosophy is to be aggressive. When we practice, when we install game plans, we're aggressive in our nature with what we're trying to do with the football. We're trying to, and I've said this in the last couple of weeks, what we're trying to do as a team is to learn how to be aggressive and play good. It's one thing to be aggressive and get sloppy, which we've done, but we have got to be able to do that and be clean and be smart at the same time as a football team. So that's where we're trying to get to."
(on if the running game helps increase the number of big plays or vice-versa) "I think it's definitely helped. We're running the ball better than we have since we've been here and that's a credit to the young back (RB Steve Slaton) and (RB) Ahman (Green) coming back and the job that (assistant head coach) Alex (Gibbs) and (offensive line coach) John (Benton) are doing. But it's definitely played a big part, I think, in the fact that we've been able to still get some one-on-ones for (WR) Andre (Johnson) and those types of things."
(on how much it can set a franchise back when you draft a quarterback high in the draft and he doesn't pan out) "It's tough because you have to go so high and so far to get that player and invest so much in that player. And then you not only invest in him financially, but you invest a great deal of time in him and move forward. When it doesn't work out, it's difficult because you are starting over, so to speak. But it's also part of the business and you have to understand when you draft those guys and make those decisions, those things happen. Sometimes you have to just say, 'Hey, I'm wrong and we have to move in another direction.' But it definitely hurts."
(on if it is different with a quarterback than other positions, referring to the previous questions) "Yeah, I think quarterbacks affect the whole franchise and the whole football team as to where if you draft a first-rounder who's a different position player and it doesn't pan out, so to speak, I don't think it weighs as heavily on the team. When it's a quarterback the football team - you know, as he goes, they usually go. So it weighs a little bit more on a football team."
(on what it would mean to have back-to-back wins) "Well, our focus right now is just having good days. Would it mean a lot? You bet it would. But we've been in this battle, it's been hard. We're a 1-4 team battling our tail off to get better. There has been some positives, but the negatives stand out easily. What we're trying to do is just get better each day as a football team. Our guys are very upbeat. They look forward to going back and playing every week. We're just looking to get better and as long as we'll do that, then good things will happen for us."
DT DelJuan Robinson
(on finally having the opportunity to see some time) "Well, I always knew I could play ball. It was just the point of waiting on my opportunity and just doing whatever I can do to help this team."
(on how much it helped when the coaches opened it up to a competition and whoever practiced the best got to play in games) "Well everyday you come out there it's an open competition. That's just the way it is in this business. Just the opportunity, I saw the opportunity, went out there and worked hard, and they saw the hard work."
(on if he ever got discouraged last year) "No, I just knew hard work would pay off in the end, but you see people getting to play and you're not and you wonder what you're doing wrong. I just had to work a little harder."
(on his getting the opportunity and being able to seize it and make something happen) "Take advantage of it, try to make a play because they don't come easy."
(on if he and the other guys in the middle are still focused on getting more sacks and if it helps that the Lions offense has given up sacks this season) "Well, yeah they have some problems up front, but no, that's every team. We've just got to go out and do what we do and hope we do it to the best of our ability; we can try to make some plays."
CB Dunta Robinson
(on how he feels 24 hours after practicing) "It feels good. I thought the turf would bother a little bit, but it didn't. So my knee feels fine. I'm excited about getting my second practice in, especially about putting on the pads today. So I feel good."
(on how cool it was to wake up today and be OK) "Man, I haven't felt that way in a long time. It was a good feeling, especially after running around as much as I did yesterday. It gives you a little bit more confidence knowing that I made it through my first practice, and hopefully I can make it through my second."
(on if he feels like a kid in a candy store) "I'm just so excited. I told them yesterday leading up to my first day of practice, I didn't really get any sleep. I felt like a kid waiting on Christmas. So it's a lot of excitement, and this is another exciting day. I get a chance to put on the pads today. So I'm excited about that. Each day I get to go out on the football field it's exciting to me now, and it's never been that way before."
(on how much he can relate to the Lions with them trying to still obtain their first win) "One thing I can relate to is how hungry they are for their first win because we were in that same situation. I know it's not going to be an easy football game. I know they are going to come in here and scratch and claw and do everything they can to get that win. We've just got to make sure we don't let that happen. We want to win two straight. Each game we win, it builds our confidence. So we're coming off a good win, a hard fought win, but we're trying to get another one."
(on what is it like for the Texans being expected to win this game and how that doesn't happen often) "No, that doesn't happen very often. So we're just going to go out there and play hard. It's football. Any given Sunday anything can happen as you see in this league from week to week. We know we can't take this team lightly. They haven't won a game. We've only won one game. So, it's not a lot to talk about. It's not like we're four and one. So, we've just got to try to get something to get us going."
(on it not being etched in stone that he will play this week) "No, not yet. I think tomorrow after practice we'll know for sure if I'm playing or not on Sunday."
(on how much he's learned about how tough it is to turn a franchise around like here and Detroit) "It's very tough. This is my fifth year and we're still kind of bringing new players in, still trying to add new pieces to make our team better. It's always a tough situation, and they are going through it now, firing that GM. But this is a time they can get things turned around. This season, they can get things turned around and look forward to their future. Anytime you're faced with that situation, it's always tough. But you know, most of the time it's for the best."
(on how much it sets back a franchise by taking a quarterback early and he doesn't pan out) "Well, I will say the one pick I'm glad they didn't take, that next year, 2003, they had the chance to take Andre Johnson and they took Charles Rogers. So, I'm happy they took that move. We're kind of in the same boat. Both teams have hit on some draft picks and have missed on others. They just lost Roy Williams, who was a top five or whatever he went in the draft. So, they're still trying to figure their way out and luckily the pieces that we've added as of late, they've all been hits. So, I say we're probably ahead of them a little bit on how many guys we've brought in that have been hits or misses. But with that being said, they still have great players on their team and it's still going to be a tough fight."
(on if it is more difficult for a defense if a team has a 12-play 80-yard or a 3-play 80-yard drive) "Both of them. Both suck. I would take a 12-play drive anytime. You don't want a team, three plays, going 80 or 90 yards for a touchdown. You don't want them going 12 plays for a touchdown. So hopefully in that three-play drive, we can turn that into an interception. Hopefully in that 12-play drive, we can turn that into a punt or a missed field goal. Those are things that you hope for."
(on the Texans being in the top three in the league with 30-plus yard plays) "Well, it's key. They just don't give us as much rest time. When you're hitting those big plays like that, the defense is down on the bench and they're right back up. But it's key. As many points as we can score, we're fine with that. There was once upon a time with this offense that we couldn't score at all. So, to be in the top three, that's a great accomplishment."
