Cornerback Dunta Robinson will start at outside cornerback on Sunday.
Head coach Gary Kubiak announced that cornerback Dunta Robinson will start at Cleveland and Fred Bennett and Jacques Reeves will compete for a starting spot on the opposite side.
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on if there is anything new today with the team) "No, just (G) Chester (Pitts); Chester did not practice and of course, (QB) Matt (Schaub), he came out and moved around a little bit again today. Everybody else was involved. (DT) Amobi (Okoye) was a little limited, (DT) Travis (Johnson) a little limited, (RB) Steve (Slaton) a little limited, but everybody worked."
(on if LB Morlon Greenwood can play) "Yeah, (LB) Morlon (Greenwood) is not healthy. He's not himself, but he's going to be ready to go, hoping he can back up all three spots and play some special teams. He's going to play, but he's coming off a very good ankle (injury). And Morlon's one of those guys you can't keep off the field, but he's not full speed right now. He'll do what he can for this team this weekend."
{QUOTE}(on if he sees LB Xavier Adibi holding his starting spot for the rest of the season) "I don't know, we'll see. The kid (LB Xavier Adibi) got a chance last week and played extremely well. We're going to play our three best guys however that works out, but we've got to get (LB) Morlon (Greenwood) back to full speed."
(on if QB Brady Quinn's broken finger changes how they get ready for the game) "No, if he's (QB Brady Quinn) going to play then I assume he can do everything. So, it won't change anything."
(on if the Browns change anything with QB Derek Anderson) "No, they run their same offense. They've done the same things. Plus, they put (WR Joshua) Cribbs back there and do the wildcat formation. So, it's a lot like, from that standpoint, preparing for Miami for us."
(on how similar the franchises year are with both teams coming off good years last year and now struggling this year) "Obviously, they had 10 wins last year and didn't make the playoffs. We took a big step forward last year and did not either (make the playoffs). So, we're all after something bigger than that. Coming into this season, I can't speak for them - that's not fair - but the expectations changed here and that's what we came here to do. We changed the expectations and feel like we're good enough to compete for a playoff spot. So, obviously it's been disappointing for us up to this point, but there are good things going on and we need to keep our chin up and keep working. We've got some excellent football teams to play, starting with these guys this weekend and we need to continue to improve as a football team."
(on the Texans not having much of a shake up on either side of the ball entering the season) "Well, I mean, we have a new center. We have a new left tackle from day one. We have a rookie running back that's been running for us. And, offensively, we've played with two quarterbacks again. So, those are some key, key positions but they've been played pretty well. You know, you look at center and what Slaton has done and those types of things. Defensively, we had a pretty good shake up at the linebacker spot as far as the core of the team and the backups and those types of things and had a new corner come in. So, every team has some shake up, that's just part of it. But, hopefully, your system stays in tact regardless of who's playing."
(on if WR André Davis will play) "As of today, it sure looks like to me he'll (WR André Davis) be OK. I think we'll continue to work tomorrow and watch him, but I personally went over and threw him about 25 or 30 balls all over the place. He probably thought I was crazy and what was I doing over there, but I was just testing him out and I was impressed. I think he'll be fine. As long as he tells me, 'Hey coach, I'm fine,' then he'll go."
(on if WR André Davis was impressed with his arm strength) "Probably not."
(on G Chester Pitts) "You know, I think (G) Chester (Pitts), I feel good that he's going to play. He has not practiced for two days. I'm hoping he does a little bit tomorrow just to reassure us, but I'm strictly going off Chester telling me because I trust when he's told me he's ready. He'll be ready."
(on talking to CB Dunta Robinson about playing outside) "If everything goes how it has this week then (CB) Dunta (Robinson) will go back outside and start this weekend. So, we'll see how he practices tomorrow, but all systems look like they're go. He played 70 plays last week with no problems coming out of the game so that's a big positive."
(on what he thinks about having CB Dunta Robinson back) "Well, he's (CB Dunta Robinson) been back. So many people get caught up in who's starting here or there. He played last week the whole game. But to have him go back to his spot and know that he can hold up for that many plays, that's a big stretch for him in his career. Let's face it, this six weeks is important to him and where he's at in his career. He feels like he's ready to go back out there and do the things he's done before. So, I'm ready to see him do it."
(on if CB Dunta Robinson goes back to his normal right cornerback spot) "We'll see. We'll see what happens. Good try (laughs)."
(on if CB Fred Bennett and CB Jacques Reeves are competing for the other spot) "Reeves and Bennett are competing on a day-to-day basis. OK? We'll see where (CB) Dunta's (Robinson) out after tomorrow and (CB Antwaun) Molden will play. He'll play outside for the most part. He also learns the nickel position but his reps should come outside this week."
CB Dunta Robinson
(on how far he has come since his injury last year) "It's been a long road. I'm excited, man. I'm just happy to be back in the mix. I go back and think of where I was last year at this time, I was in the hospital. I was in a training facility trying to get my knee correct. So, it's been a long journey. It's well worth it. This is what you hope for once you rehab so vigorously. You hope to be back to where you started and I'm back at that point. Now, I just have to show people that I'm the player that I was once."
(on head coach Gary Kubiak talking about this being a critical time in his career) "Well, critical time in my career. This is the last year in my contract. So, this is where I make my money at - these next six games. So, that's what he (head coach Gary Kubiak) means when he says critical. I have to go out there and I have to play football. I have to show the world that my knee is correct, so I can get what I think I deserve and a lot of other people think I deserve."
(on him having to show the Texans that his knee is correct) "Oh, no doubt about it. I think right now they think that it's pretty good, but everybody is waiting to see me outside. Not inside playing nickel. People wan t to see me line up outside and they want to see me take away receivers the way that I've done in the past. I'm excited about it. I've played a little bit outside, but now here's my chance to show everybody, to show the Texans that I'm still that number one corner."
(on what side he'll be playing on) "I'll be on the right side. I'll be moving. In third down package, I'll move inside to nickel so I can move around a little bit. But I'll be the right corner. That's where I want to be. That's where I've been my whole career. That's where I'll be glad to lineup on Sunday."
(on Browns QB Brady Quinn having a broken index finger) "No, it's the first time I've heard that. Coaches haven't even brought that up, so it must not be too bad."
(on Browns QB Brady Quinn still playing) "Yeah, so that's all that matters. If he's (Browns QB Brady Quinn) in the game, whether it's him or (Browns QB) Derek Anderson, we know we're going against some pretty good quarterbacks. So, we have to go out and get the job done either way."
(on how concerned he is about the future) "You know, it's really out of my control right now so I try not to worry about it. I know if I go out there and I play football, I know the future will take care of itself. So, I'm really not worried about that. I want to stay healthy these next six games and go out and play as physical as I can. Make as many plays as I can and the rest will take care of itself. Right now, at this particular moment, I'm not really concerned about the future because I know if I go out there and play ball it will take care of itself."
(on how hopeful he is to finish his career with the Texans) "Yeah, I'm very hopeful. That's what I want to do. This is the team that gave me a chance so finishing with the Houston Texans, I don't want to finish my career with any other team. So, hopefully everything will work out for the best and hopefully I'll be here."
(on him seeing hope for this franchise when many people are losing faith) "I definitely see hope. Like I said, there are certain things we have to take care of that will probably be taken care of, but as far as that goes, this is where I want to be. This is where I want to finish. I want to retire a Houstonian. Who knows what will happen, man. With all that being said, who knows what will happen. We'll just have to wait and see."
(on if he can identify what needs to be taken care of) "That's a whole other story. So, the things I have to take care of is I have to take care of myself."
(on if this day has come faster or slower than he thought it would when he got hurt) "It came faster. When I first got hurt, I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know what the future held for myself. But I'm just happy to be in this situation. It's been a long battle. It's been a long road and my journey is not yet over. I have to show people what I can do in these six games, which really doesn't worry me much because I know the type of player that I am. So, it's just a matter of everybody else seeing it right now."
(on if he is the same player right now as he was before he went to Oakland last year) "No, I'm not 100 percent. But with that being said, I'm still better than most of the corners in this game. So, the 100 percent, that won't come until probably the offseason. But I'm still well enough to go out and play and go out and produce and go out and give my team all that I have."
(on what not being 100 percent means) "Well, I still feel a little funny in my knee sometimes. You know, I say that's probably the only thing, I still wake up with soreness. Until I can get that out of the way—I feel like I'm moving fine. I watch film, I've been watching a lot of film of most of the games that I played this year and a lot of the games I played before my injury and you really can't tell the difference in the player. But I feel a difference when I'm out there. If I can just get that to go away, which I know it will over time, I'll be fine."
(on if he is playing with anything on his knee) "Nothing. I didn't want to get used to wearing braces and things like that so I tried to stay away from them as much as possible. I figured if I walked out on the field and I played with a brace then I was going to think I needed it for a long period of time. I just didn't want to get use to wearing knee braces."
(on if he had to argue with the doctor about not wearing a knee brace) " No, actually, Dr. (James) Andrews, I asked him a long time ago, I was like, 'How long do I have to wear this brace?' He said, 'Once you start practicing, take it off.' So, I didn't even wear it to practice because I didn't want to get used to wearing it."
(on if he is going to get butterflies in his stomach on Sunday) "No, no. I ran out of tunnels many a times. So, butterflies, that's for like when you're a rookie and you run out for the first time. When I line up at corner, it's time to play football and that's all that needs to be said. I think I'm past that stage where you get butterflies. I had butterflies in the Detroit game when I came out for the first time after my injury. But as far as that goes, that was pretty much my last time."
QB Sage Rosenfels
(on if a broken index finger would hurt you as a quarterback) "It might a little bit. The best finger to break would be your pinky. That's the finger that's probably the least on the ball. It doesn't help. That's for sure. I'm sure he's (QB Brady Quinn) a tough kid, and he's not the first person that's played with a broken finger. The worst one is the thumb. That's what (QB) Brett Favre broke a few years ago, and he played through that and that's almost impossible to do because you literally can't squeeze the football and if you can't squeeze the football, you don't have a chance."
(on if he sees similarities between the Browns and Texans both coming off the best seasons in franchise history but struggling this year) "There are a lot of similarities. I think they were 10-6 last year and just missed the playoffs. We were 8-8 and were in the hunt for a while there. I think both of us were having really high expectations for this season. We've both struggled. They got a big win for their team this last weekend playing an away game against a playoff-caliber team up there in Buffalo. So, I think both teams have had some disappointments this year, and every win is important for both teams from here on out."
(on what stands out to him on the Browns defense) "The big guy in the middle (DT Shaun Rodgers). I'm telling you what, I played against him in college with him and (DT) Casey Hampton. Shaun is as good as there is in this league. Not only just on run plays, usually guys as big as him just play on run plays, he plays first down through third down and when his motors running, he's very, very impressive. He's a load up there. For how big he is, he's got some pass rush type stuff. He doesn't just stand there like some guys that are as big as he is. He can do it all. He's an amazing, amazing player."
(on DT Shaun Rodgers being from Texas) "I assumed he (DT Shaun Rodgers) was from Houston or somewhere down here in Texas. I just said, I played against him and (DT) Casey Hampton in college and they put a hurting on me. Hopefully, my o-line will do a good job of protecting me."
(on what does CB Dunta Robinson starting bring to the team) "Well, there's some inspiration there. His (CB Dunta Robinson) injury was an ugly one last year. We all saw it. Some thought that his career might have been over. I know he never lost faith. He worked extremely hard all offseason. When you guys aren't covering us and you think we're all hanging out or at the beach or on vacation, the guys that are hurt are in here rehabbing in January, February and March and he did all of that to get to where he is now. It is inspirational for a guy to work that hard to get back into that starting lineup."
(on how critical is it for the running game to work) "It's always a goal for us. Whether playing the best ranked run defense or the worst ranked run defense, it's always a goal for us. I think they know that we are a team that likes to run the ball. I think every team wants to run the ball. I know they are going to probably gear up to stop it and yet we've got to be geared up to still run it, even if they want to stop it. So, it's important for us, but luckily we've got some good receivers and tight ends that also we can throw the ball and be effective there, too."
(on what he's seen from WR André Davis the past few days and what he can bring to the team on Sunday) "Well, you definitely see his (WR André Davis) speed again out there. That's his biggest asset. He's catching the ball pretty well and that's the biggest concern. He doesn't seem like he's flinching or anything when the balls coming towards him. He's running right through it and snagging it with his hands and not catching it with his chest. That's encouraging, and hopefully he can help us out a little bit this week or in the upcoming weeks."
(on how he views the Browns' secondary) "They take a few chances, but they've got great ball skills. You can't just leave the ball up there because they've gotten a lot of interceptions. Their corners have great ball skills. Any ball that's around them, they seem to make those plays. Their not big guys, but their sort of sneaky players, who I think are very underrated. I watch a lot of corners in this league and these guys don't get much credit, but I think their very good corners."
(on if the weather is an issue or if you just have to play through it) "We've got to play through it. You wish it was 72 (degrees) and in the dome, but that's not the way it's going to be. I did go to school in Iowa and the weather's pretty crappy there for most of my career. Spring ball was about as bad as it gets. So, I think our team's prepared for it and again, that's where running the football helps. The worse the weather is probably the more important for both teams running the football is."
