Texans head coach Gary Kubiak answered questions from the media after Thursday's practice.
The Texans practiced outside Thanksgiving morning at the Methodist Training Center and head coach Gary Kubiak answered questions from the media afterwards. The following is a transcript of his interview.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on the injury situation with his team) "(LB) DeMeco (Ryans) still did not practice today, so hopefully he practices tomorrow. (RB Steve) Slaton did practice today, everybody else is back at it. (FS Dominique) Barber (was) back at it. Other than DeMeco right now, it looks like all those guys are heading in the right direction."
(on if he's worried about DeMeco's status for Sunday) "Well, there's always a concern until you see a guy. But his history tells you that if he tells you he's going to be ready to play, he'll be ready to play. So we'll see."
(on the team's struggles on their opening series) "I don't know. Last year we were excellent. But this year, we have (struggled) early in the football game. We've had games where we moved the ball on the first series, but we've turned it over or done some things. But we look at it, and last week we go three-and-out and then go right down the field and score. So it's always something that you're trying to overcome. Obviously, getting off to a better start is important."
(on if his team is 'feeling out the opponent' too much on the first series) "We don't need to feel them out. We need to go. I'll ask their opinion this week. I'll make sure we're not feeling them out."
(on not being able to score on the first possession and losing four close games this season) "My biggest disappointment, really in the last couple of games, has been the fourth quarter. We had a 17-13 lead in Indy and, you know, you've got to win. Whether you've got to win 17-13 or come back and score and win, you've got to win. With eight minutes left in the game we had the game totally on their end of the field. We had two chances defensively, two chances offensively to win the game and a chance special teams-wise to win the game. so we've got to find a way to finish. There's been some good things going on, but if you don't finish the product, it doesn't matter, and we've got to find a way to finish."
(on if WR Jacoby Jones showing that he is ready to play) "Yeah, he practiced good today. He should be fine. He should be OK."
(on LB DeMeco Ryans' injury) "He's just got a tender ankle that he rolled in the fourth quarter, and there's no reason for us to push him in yesterday or today's practice. I mean, this guy is going to know what to do and know how to do it. We've just got to be smart with him, so that's what we're trying to do."
(on if he held LB Brian Cushing out of practice) "No, he practiced today. He's been fine. He's come back off the break in good shape."
