Head coach Gary Kubiak and the Texans tangle with the Jaguars on Battle Red Day in Week 3.
The Texans spoke to the media after practice on Thursday. Following is a transcript of their respective interviews.
General manager Rick Smith Head coach Gary Kubiak S Bernard Pollard General manager Rick Smith(on G Chester Pitts' injury) "Anytime you lose a guy who has been as integral to our offensive line as he's been, it's a significant loss, but I feel confident with our group and our depth and I think we'll have some players step up and fill the gap."
(on the whole situation surrounding G Chester Pitts) "Clearly, it's bad timing from his perspective. The good part about that is that the surgery was a successful one in the sense that is the right thing and the best thing for him long-term. I think he's proven that he's got good DNA and good genes and I'm pretty confident Chester is going to come off of this and have more productive football in his future."
Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on practicing with noise even with a home game this Sunday) "I'm going to keep doing it. I think our team, because of a lot of young players, lacks communication in some critical times in games and I think it's making us better. I think it's making us be louder on the field, talk more on the field. I see myself doing this for a long, long time. I just think it's giving the players a little more confidence in what they're doing and handling a tough situation. Home or away, I think we'll keep doing it."
(about the change in attitude with the team) "It's easy to say that when you come out of a game like we had. It was a big win. Good teams are that way. Good teams are hard on each other. Good teams demand of each other. They don't wait for coaches all the time. That's what we're trying to get this group to be and even when you're doing that, it's still tough to win in this league but it's something we're getting better at."
(on WR Andre Johnson acknowledging he's being more vocal) "Well he should. It doesn't mean you have to talk more. Andre doesn't have to say three words and everybody listens. People like to hear from him. This team wants to hear from him. They want to hear when it isn't right. They want to hear when it is right. When guys like him speak up or when those guys that are leaders are like that, to do it right all the time, then the football team tends to follow."
(on G Chester Pitts' injury) "It's very hard. I talked to Chester yesterday evening and I'll talk to him again today. Here's a guy that's been out there every week for this organization. His streak that he had going was unbelievable. It's at a point in his career, I think we all understand, he's on a contract year in business. You hate to see that happen to anybody. But the good news is Chester is going to be fine. They were able to get it fixed and do it the right way. He'll be back next year. He's got a lot of good football left in him and he's going to be okay. I know we're all down for him and we need to step it up a notch to replace him on the left."
(on where they see S Bernard Pollard fitting in) "Well, we basically had a roster spot with Chester. We'll evaluate him over the course of the next two days. (Defensive backs coach) David (Gibbs) is familiar with him from Kansas City so we just need to take a look and we'll see where we're at."
(on injury updates) "(CB Antwaun) Molden is the only guy that did not work."
S Bernard Pollard
(on what he hopes to bring to the team) "I just want to bring the intensity that I have, that I play with, and it's here already. I've seen it in practice. Like I just told the guys, this is insane. To see these guys go out here and practice like this, they're going to bring in a lot of wins this season. I want to do so much to contribute to this team and help them win. It's going to be a fun, fun opportunity."
(on him noticing a difference from where he was before) "It's very different. Very different than Kansas City. The intensity of the practices and it seemed like (head) Coach (Gary Kubiak)—all of the coaches let the players take over. They do a great job of it and it's a young team, but it's got some veterans. This is crazy to see the players stand up and run the practice."
(on the references to the Tom Brady injury) "That's done and over with. Tom Brady is a football player, just like we are."
(on if it offends him) "It's done, man. I've talked and we've talked indirectly. So it'd done and it's over with. We've said our piece. He has no hard feelings. I have no hard feelings. It was not on purpose. At the end of the day, he's a football player. He has a chance of getting hurt just like I have a chance of getting hurt. It can happen to everybody. It happens to a lot of people. In that game, our quarterback got hurt too, but nobody said anything because it was Tom Brady. Nevertheless, football is football and we're moving on."
(on what he brings to a team) "I just bring excitement. I like to play with excitement and to feed off my teammates and hopefully they can feed off of me. Just go out and play ball and I want to win. The last two years, we've won six games and that's poor for a NFL team. Obviously, with me coming here, just as me speaking, got a better chance. I love the offense that they have. I've got a better chance to win. I shouldn't say I have a better chance but you know, me coming here, it's going to be fun for me. You see the guys around and they love the game of football and that's what I like when I walk into the locker room. You see your teammates love playing football. You see your coaches, their heart is in it. I'm excited about it and I'm happy for it and I cannot wait for the first game."
