The Texans lost to the Giants on Sunday at Reliant Stadium, and the players and coaches from both sides met with the media after. The following is a transcript of their respective interviews.
Houston Texans
Head Coach Gary KubiakG Mike BrisielT Rashad ButlerLB Brian CushingTE Owen DanielsCB Kareem JacksonWR Andre JohnsonCB Brice McCainFS Troy NolanDT Amobi OkoyeSS Bernard PollardLB DeMeco RyansQB Matt SchaubLG Wade SmithDE Antonio SmithT Eric Winston
Houston Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak(on the team's performance) "They kicked our tail in every phase of the game. We got off to a pretty good start as a team. Defensively, we got a three-and-out twice and we had a big play on the first drive of the game. But early in the game, offensively, we did exactly what we said we couldn't do against this team. We got sacked, turned the ball over and then throughout the rest of the half, they dominated us as a football team. The defense gave us a little spark in the second half. Between penalties and everything else, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We just got our butt kicked and played undisciplined. That's a reflection of me. That's not us, and we've got to figure out a way to fix it."
(on why the run game was shutdown today) "We never got going with anything. I think at halftime we had 24 plays—8 or 9 runs for seven yards. I can't sit here and really evaluate. I don't know if we had enough carries to evaluate anything. Then we're down 24-3, and we're trying to do something to get back into the football game. That's me getting aggressive as a playmaker caller. I was losing my patience and trying to spark my team. We never really even got anything going running the ball."
(on the team's pass coverage) "It's not good enough right now. We are giving up over 300 yards per game as football team. This team gave up a 14 point lead in the 4th quarter with 8 or 9 minutes left, and they kept throwing the ball on us. That tells you how much they thought about our pass coverage. We have got to figure out a way to get better at it."
(on if changes need to be made in the pass coverage personnel) "Those guys are getting reps. Are they playing half the game? No. But they are getting reps, they are getting time in practice, and a few into the game when it comes to nickel and some of those things. It's not like they are not apart of it at all, but I think we have got to evaluate everything we're doing as a team. Obviously, that's an area that's not good enough right now, but nothing was good today. To go pin that on the secondary again—they made a couple nice plays in the third quarter. We weren't good at all in any phase."
(on injuries sustained in today's game) "He (RB Arian Foster) banged his knee right before the half, so I didn't know if he was going to be available or not. He did go back in at the end of the game, so that was encouraging. I hope he is okay. (RG Mike) Brisiel is our biggest concern. He has an MCL sprain. (WR Dorin) Dickerson has a knee, and with (CB Sherrick) McManis it is the hamstring. It looks like (RG) Mike (Brisiel) is the biggest concern of the group, but there is some concern about (RB) Arian (Foster). We will know more tomorrow."
(on fast start and poor play as of late) "That is the NFL. There are so many highs and lows. That is why you don't get too ahead of yourself when you win a game, and you can't go jump off of a cliff when you lose one. I would like to talk about something we did good today, but I don't think there was anything that we did good. I've got to look at myself from that standpoint. We had a good week at practice, and I thought we were ready to play. I thought we had a lot of energy the first five minutes of the football game; then, they just got after us for the rest of the first half. It was just total domination. I just have to look at what I was doing going into the game."
(on his reaction to today's result) "I'm shocked by how we played. The discipline part is what bothers me the most. Maybe I'm wrong; I have to go back and look. I feel like we just had penalties that killed our team. It seemed like every penalty made a difference. Staying on the field offensively. Getting off the field defensively. Pinning ourselves back on special teams—special teams pinned us offensively back, and then we pinned their team inside the fifteen three or four times in the first half. They still went right down the field, so it's hard for me to find much good right now."
(on WR Andre Johnson's health and performance) "He was good enough to play. He's not 100 percent, but he is pretty close. I wouldn't put him out there if he couldn't compete or do his job. It took him a little bit to get going, but he held up okay. We'll see how he is tomorrow."
(on DE Mario Williams health and performance) "Mario looked like he held up okay."
(on LB Brian Cushing's performance) "Obviously, his effort is tremendous all of the time. I'll have to go back and look at what we were doing defensively. I can't tell you right now, but obviously his effort is always good. Like I said, we didn't do anything good—not any player or coach, nobody."* *
Houston Texans G Mike Brisiel(on his injury status) "It was an MCL. Whether it's grade two or three, that's good news for me, because MCL's don't require surgery. I should be able to brace it up and should be able to get back after it whenever I feel good enough."
(on how the injury happened) "I wanted get back out there. I just kind of just got rolled up on it bad. What can you do?"
(on how tough the loss was) "It was one of those quicksand effects. We've just got to bounce back. We've got to go back to work and do what we can."
(on whether he was given a timetable for his return) "No, I'm going to get an MRI in the morning. Should know more after that. Now it's kind of up in the air."
Houston Texans T Rashad Butler(on whether the Giants did anything different than expected) "They didn't do anything different. Everything they did we practiced against. That's what was most surprising to me, that we couldn't get a lot of positive yards that we're used to getting. Everything they did we scouted against."
(on whether the Giants were doing a lot of stunting up front) "They did, but we knew it. We had keys to tell us when they were coming inside. We just didn't execute it. That's all."
Houston Texans LB Brian Cushing(on how did it feel to be back) "Anytime you get to come back on the field, it feels good. Obviously, to get back out there with your teammates. Now for step two, we just got to get back to work and keep grinding. We can't get down on this because we have very good opponent coming in next week in Kansas City."
(on what is it going to take for the Texans defense to improve) "We just have to step up. Overall in all three phases, defensive line, linebackers, and secondary. We have to play better football and we know we can. Enough is enough and we've got to put our foot down."
(on how does it feel to be out there with his teammates) "It felt good. Anytime you're around the crowd and you get to make some plays and help the team out, it's just an excellent feeling and I've just got to build upon that and continue to play better and better football."
(on how he is feeling as far as being in football shape) "I feel like where I need to be. Football is what I do and football is what I play. I think it took about a series for me to get in game mode. I was fine from a conditioning standpoint and from a mental standpoint. As the game went on I obviously got better. It was just something that was step one. It's complete now and I have to continue to build on it and get ready for Kansas City next week."
(on his reaction to the loss) "As a team, we know we can play better in all three phases of the game and we just are going to have to do it.
(on what he would tell his young teammates in the secondary) "Just keep playing. They're some young guys with a lot of talent. We just have to keep doing what we're doing. You chip away long enough and it's going to happen. We know that. We're looking to improve on a lot of things and we will."
(on the difference of the improved defense in the third quarter) "We settled down. We started playing like we can play. We started getting some pressure. Two interceptions helped. Anytime your offense is struggling we got to play better. We've got to get the ball play to them. We've got to get a score on defense. We understand that there are going to be days where we're down and they're up and we're up and they're down. It was one of those days where there was a little bit of everything. On days like this we have to find a way to win."
(on how he feels after losing in his first game) "Anytime you lose you have a negative taste in your mouth. This is something we can solve. This is something we have to do. We will do this.We have a great opponent coming in here next week. We understand the situation we're in and now it's time to get a win next week."
(on how he felt physically) "I felt good. I got back out there and started running around. I got a little bit of a sweat going, got the nerves out and it felt like game one for the season."
(on the defensive struggles after the first two series) "That's just football. They started hitting some stuff and started making some plays. Anytime the offense makes some plays, we've got to come right back out and make some plays too. Unfortunately, we weren't able to answer as well as we thought we could. They got the best of us today bottom line no question about that."
(on whether he is shocked he after the loss) "Yeah I am. We're not that kind of team. We know that. We know we're not that kind of team to give up that many points and have such a big disparity between scores. If we lose it's a close football game. Today just wasn't. It felt a little odd being out there and seeing the scoreboard like that. There were some times in the game where I thought 'okay here we go. We can do this.' It just seemed that we could never got over that hill today. The best teams find a way to win and we will. We just have to find a way."
(on whether the loss was an embarrassment) "No, I'm not embarrassed. This is a football game. Stuff like this happens. The number one thing you can do is think about how you're going to respond to a situation like this. After big loss at home how are we going to come back next week? We've going to work on everything we can to come back and do the same thing the Giants did to us to the Chiefs."
(on how he felt about his play) "I felt I was doing alright. I'm a guy who's modest and I can always do better. If I got ten tackles I could've gotten fifteen. I got my hand on a ball. I got close to a couple sacks and I've got to make those plays to help the team. Personally and as a team, we're going to build off this. We're not going to forget this. This is going to be a little bit of motivation in the week coming up and it's a big game at home next week."
(on how he feels forcing an interception) "Any time you can get in there and force some turnovers, that's the kind of stuff the team is expecting out of me. That's the kind of thing that I expect from myself and I will continue to do."
(on the chemistry of the defense) "I felt we were fine. I felt we were good. I felt we played solid across the board. I don't think there were many missed assignments. It's just going to grow. It's my first game back with the guys and this is just step one. As we continue to go through the season, we're just going to get better."* *
Houston Texans TE Owen Daniels(on what went wrong after a good offensive start) "I'm trying to figure it out right now myself. We had way too many three and outs. We didn't execute very well and took tons of penalties. Stuff we haven't been doing the last four weeks. We'll figure out why and we'll be able to fix it. We just couldn't get things going."
(on how the Texans shot themselves in the foot) "We were just undisciplined. There's no reason for it I don't think. It's just something that happens, a focus thing. That's not us. For whatever reason that happened today. Those type of things you can clean up. We're not happy with the way we played for sure."
(on the mood of the team) "Well this one hurts. We'll be alright in a couple days but this was a big game. This is the start of the second quarter of the season and 4-1 is a lot different than 3-2. We've got another one next week but this is going to hurt a little bit."
(on the fans booing the team) "I guess we were down 14-0 in the first quarter. That might be deserved. We tried to fight back but we just couldn't get it together. It's tough when that happens. Fans deserve more. We've got to play better. We don't want to hear that ever."* *
Houston Texans CB Kareem Jackson(on his play today) "I got to make some plays. I made a couple of mental errors. A couple of times, we just didn't make any plays out there. We made a couple of turnovers, but it wasn't enough."
(on was the main problem for the defense was not making enough plays) "Yeah, just not making plays. You know, after third down, we've got to get off the field. That's what it boils down to."
(on if the defensive secondary having communication problems) "I don't think it's anything to do with communication. It's just timing issues and stuff that can be corrected and things that's happening that shouldn't be happening. We just got to get it fixed."
(on what's the hardest thing about this loss) "It was just knowing that the plays that they made were because of the things that we did. It wasn't an issue with them just out manning us. All the mistakes we made, we made them. It was just dumb mistakes."
(on if the mistakes that occurred today were different from the past) "Some of them, but some were the same. I think we had a better second half than the first half. When they came out in the first half, they just did what they really wanted to do with us. In the second half, I think we made some corrections and we came out for the most part and did pretty good. When you dig a hole like that, it's hard to come out of it."
(on if he was shocked on how everything unfolded) "Yeah, everything we worked on in practice were some same things that we saw today. But it all boils down to making plays. We made a couple, but it wasn't enough. We dug ourselves in a hole and couldn't come out of it." * *
Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson(on how his ankle held up) "It felt pretty good. I banged it a few times and felt a little soreness, but it wasn't anything bad or any setbacks. I went in and saw the ankle specialist and he said it still looked good. I'm not feeling any soreness right now. Hopefully I can keep it that way. I just iced it up and I'll go home and ice it up again. Hopefully I'll come in feeling pretty good tomorrow.
(on whether his brace worked out OK) "It worked out well. I still kind of got to get used to it. I've never played with a brace like that before. Other than that, I feel fine."
(on whether he was surprise d that is team didn't make plays) "Yeah, you don't plan on going out and playing the way we played today. You go out and play to win the game. You don't go out to not make plays, but we couldn't get anything going. Defense gave us a spark with a turnover in the third quarter but we weren't able to do anything with it. You just have to come in, look to see what happened, make corrections and move on. "
(on why the team didn't make plays) "It was always something. We have to play clean. That's the biggest thing we didn't play clean today. You have to give them credit. They came out played the game that they had to play and they win. They beat us."
(on whether he is surprised that the offense wasn't in sync) "If you look at our offense when we get in a rhythm we seem to go out and play pretty well. Today that didn't happen. We weren't able to get in a rhythm. Normally, you have somebody make a play and guys feed off that. Something happens and we put big drives together. Today was more of like a play happened and then something bad happened. We were taking a step forward and taking a step back. We just have to play more clean.
(on if he's worried the loss can have a lingering effect) "After the game was over, everybody was just like, 'Let's come in fix whatever we got to fix and let's move on from it. I don't think it should be a lingering effect."
(on whether the lack of rhythm was a result of a both first half) "There are two halves to a game. Whenever a play was made today, something bad happened. If you look at the play I made in the second half, then you come back, have a fumble, and they recover it. Whenever we made a play we did nothing to capitalize off it. When you capitalize off it that's when the offense gets into a rhythm and good things start happening for you."
(on if it's hard to overcome inconsistent play) "I wouldn't say it was hard to overcome. Guys are out there playing. You're trying to make good things happen but I just think it comes down to us playing cleaner as a football team. If we go out there and do that, we are hard to beat and we didn't do that today."
Houston Texans CB Brice McCain(on what happened in the loss) "We dug ourselves into too deep of a hole and we couldn't comeback."
(on what Coach Kubiak said after the game) "He said that we dug ourselves into too big of a hole. That's it. We kicked ourselves in all three phases of the game offense, defense, and special teams.We played bad."
(on what happened after having two successful defensive series to start the game) "I don't know. We'll watch the film, but I don't know."
(on whether he was surprised at how good the Giants were offensively) "Weren't they number two in the league in total offense? It didn't surprise me at all. We just have to play better defense."* *
Houston Texans S Troy Nolan(on any positives from this game) "Positive-wise, we kept fighting the whole game. We fought, but we never gave up. We're not going to give up. Just fighting the whole game; that's just about it. We just got beat."
(the secondary's struggles begin to take on a life of their own) "We've got to be more consistent as a group back there in the secondary. We can't be one week on and one week off. We've just got to find a way to make it work and be consistent every week. Once we do that, then we'll be okay as a secondary. We've just go to find a way to be consistent as a group."
Houston Texans DT Amobi Okoye(on today's game) "The result that we had today was nothing close to what we expected or what we wanted. They beat us and really handed it to us. You've got to give them all the credit. We've got to just rally up and figure this thing out for next week against Kansas City."
(on if he felt they let the Giants offense off the hook) "We let them off the hook too many times. With a team like that, if you give them life they'll tend to run with it. When you take life away from them you got to continue to bang them. That's definitely that we didn't do."
(on was he shocked on how things unfolded for the Texans defense) "I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked because of the simple fact that I know how hard that we prepared and how everybody's mindset was going into the game. We knew it was going to be a physical game. Everybody knew that we had to bring our hats. Some reason we didn't do it."
(on if he could put his finger on the main defensive problem) "I can't find out. I've got to go back and look at film to find out why. Without a doubt, we've got to beat the hell out of Kansas City for these fans out here. They deserve more."
Houston Texans S Bernard Pollard(on the defensive performance) "We've got to get better. This is unacceptable and we're going to be in here tomorrow."
(on if the loss more frustrating to him because it happened at home) "We've got to be better at home. You look at the last two games, Dallas and this one. The games just got out of hand. We played good in spurts and then we don't play good. We have to find a way to get better and when we're home, we've got to find a way to win."
(on how shocked he was at the loss) "I thought our defense played really good in the second half. In the first half we gave up some plays which shouldn't have happened, but it is shocking to see the things that are happening in just the last two home games. We have to get better in some way, shape or form. We got to find it."
(on if the Giants offense was doing things that the Texans defense wasn't expecting in the first half) "They did some things that we haven't seen and they did some things that we really talked over. We have to be better and I know I had a play where I gave up a touchdown and I know we practiced it. When you're not focused and that's what happened. Its touchdown and I have to be better. I really do. I have to be better as a leader on this team and I have to be better as a player. We've got to come out next week and show."
(on if the touchdown he gave up was a missed assignment) "Yes, that was a missed assignment. It was a brain lapse. It's unacceptable. It hurts at the same time and we got to find a way to get better because going 1-2 at home. We've have to find a way to win at home."
Houston Texans LB DeMeco Ryans(on the play of the defense) "It's always an uphill battle. We have to find a way to get off the field. It seemed like we had two good downs. Third downs, they just made a play on us for some reason."
(on the play of his young defensive backs) "They're young but that's over with. It's the fifth game so that's over with. We got to get pressure up front and challenge them to make plays on the back end. We got to compete. When the ball is in the air we have to believe that it's our ball and go take it and make a play on it."
(on playing with LB Brian Cushing again) "He does his job, we're good. It doesn't take long at all. Once he steps in the chemistry is there. We just get rolling making plays and meet at the football.* *
Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub(on what he thinks happened in today's game) "They outplayed us. They made plays and we didn't execute. Our attention to detail wasn't good in all three phases and offensively, that starts with me. I made mistakes in the game and it hurt us."
(on if he was surprised that he couldn't get a rhythm going) "Yeah, I was. We are an offense that can really get in rhythm and get things going and stay on the field and that wasn't there today for a variety of reasons whether it was peanalties or turnovers or just lack of execution.
(on if he thinks the Giants were not respecting the play fakes) "Well, their defense is designed a certain way and they were respecting some play fakes especially in the back end. They are built for a pass rush and their front four is very good."
(on why they waited until the third quarter to use play fakes) "I have to go back and look at the film. We saw some things in their coverages that we thought we could get after. We made some plays in the third quarter and then the fourth quarter but we just hurt ourselves too many times."
(on if there was a concerted effort to get WR Andre Johnson the ball) "Absolutely. He's our go-to guy and we obviously want him involved no matter what game we're playing or who we're playing against or what defenses they're throwing at us. We want to get number 80 involved and get him the football. We had some opportunities to get him the ball and just a couple balls were batted down and our attention to detail of what we were doing wasn't there."
(on if he feels the team is too emotional) "No. This is an emotional game just being able to deal with the highs and lows and dealing with adversity that comes throughout a football game. Our team handles that well, I feel. Obviously we're looking for people to step up and make plays. We made some plays coming out of halftime and gave ourselves a lift. The defense came up with some turnovers for us. We capatilized on one, didn't capatilize on another. We just need to be better and pay more attention to detail specific to what we're doing and just come out and play better."
(on if their line did some things that they weren't expecting) "No, that's just the defensive line, you know, if they see a three-step drop. They're all pretty big guys with long arms on their team and they just read the three step drop and were able to bat the ball down."
(on if he thinks they were prepared for today's game) "We had a great week of practice. We were really on top of our stuff. We really practiced well and prepared well in our meetings and on the field."
Houston Texans DE Antonio Smith(on did he feel the defense was ready today) "I think the vibe that we came out with was that we could just get it done. I think that the fact of the matter is that this is going to be an aggressive, tough and physical game. When you want to be a good or a great defense you've got to be that way from the first snap to the last snap. I just think that we're on our way to finding that. I think the flash of it in the second half gives you hope and gives you a will to fight for something. I just think that in my opinion we lacked that in the first half."
(on his assessment of the loss) "I guess they were just the better team today. I think that we lacked the nastiness that you need in these types of games. This is a hardnosed, tough and aggressive football team. I knew that it was going to be a physical game and that's kind of what it turned to. I felt like coming out that wasn't what we expected. Coming out in that second half and third quarter, that's what we gave right back. You see that when that happens our defense can play when we're all playing on the same accord in a tough aggressive physical manner. In the first half it felt like we lacked that. We were playing passive aggressive. It gave them chances to methodically move the ball. We got them to third down but they're picking up first downs with quick passes. The defensive line has to smash in there get your hands up and knock them down. Without them picking up those first downs on third down let them drive the ball more and gave them more opportunities to score"
(on why the defense was lacking physicality) "I'm trying to figure it out now. As a defense each and every person that's a captain on this team, needs to go home tonight and check himself. I'm going to check myself. We need to watch film, figure out what it is and come in here without the coaches. The coaches shouldn't have to tell you what you need to do for your defense."
(on whether he was embarrassed like some of his teammates were) "No, I wouldn't use that word. If you feel that, you feel that. Nobody wants to go out and play a game like that. With me, whether you play your hardest or not, 34-10 in unacceptable as a defense. There is going to come a time where we are going to have to stand and not allow so much. That is an issue we are going to have to address.
(on whether he was surprised by the success of the Giants offense) "Yeah it did surprise me. I didn't expect it. I didn't expect quick scores with them. I thought it was going to be a methodical. I thought they were going to run the ball, run the ball, then pass the ball. It just became a point where it's the same thing every week. Quick passes and keep the defensive line off their feet. Try to pick up short yardage downs and then try to hit something big. They looked like they were just catching everything. Our DB's were right there on them. Today they had glue on their gloves or something."* *
Houston Texans G Wade Smith(on what this loss does to the team's confidence) "I don't think it change the confidence at all. We just have to realize that if you don't come out and execute and play good ball then this is what will happen. If you do, then you'll see what they've done this year. That will happen as well. It just lets you know that you'll have to come prepared and play well."
Houston Texans T Eric Winston(on the game today) "There is no hidden meaning in all this or if we would've done this better we would've won. We got our butt kicked. That's plain and simple."
(on head coach Gary Kubiak taking the blame for the loss) "He can't go out there and be physical for us. He can't go out there and get stops. He put us in positions and we've got to follow through and that's the bottom line. We're all in it together. I'm sure he'll take all the blame. As player, you've got to step up and take a look in the mirror and see what we did. I had mistakes and everybody had mistakes. We can't have them."
(on what happened on offense that didn't work right) "Obviously we would like to protect a little bit better than that. I think we had three sacks or something like that. They got some pressure and we need to keep him (QB Matt Schaub) upright as long as he needs to. Obviously, we didn't get the running game going. There's not a lot to it. When we get out of rhythm, we've got to find a way to get back to it."
(on what is it like when nothing happens right in a football game) "It's awful. Like I said, the best thing in the NFL is winning and the worst thing is losing. There's no moral victories. It doesn't matter. We lost and we've got to be better than that."
(on if he can remember a time where he had a worse of performance than today) "I don't know; I haven't looked at the film yet. I don't know what the stats were. Obviously, we didn't run the ball. We were behind a lot and we were passing it around. We've just got to play better. Everyone's got to play better. Like I said, everyone's got to take a look at themselves and play better. I'm going to start with doing that. I'm going to look at the film by myself and I'm sure we're going to look at it as an offense and as a team. You've got to do your job and we're not doing it."* *
New York GiantsHead Coach Tom CoughlinQB Eli ManningWR Hakeem NicksDE Justin TuckDE Osi UmenyioraCB Corey Webster
New York Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin(On how he felt coming into the game) "We felt that this one was really important coming on the road against a very good football team, a 3-1 team. A team that had played very well, and the number one rush team in the league, number two against the rush, a very physical outfit, talent laden. So we felt coming in here this was an important game for us. I thought a couple of things. First, offensively, the first half went very well for us, twenty four points in the first half. Perhaps they changed the way in which they had to play. We were able to put some points on the board, establish ourselves not as readily with the runners as we did with the pass, but we did an outstanding job with it. I thought our defensive team played the run extremely well all day long. We put ourselves in position, got a couple of turnovers right away. I thought special teams was physical. I thought they flew around, got after it well. I thought the punter did a good job, had a real nice long punt, a couple that I would have liked to have a little more hang time with. But I thought the coverage overall was very good, which was an improvement. I think even from the standpoint of our kickoff return game, we did get a couple of returns that were forceful, physical, and I was pleased with that. I didn't necessarily like the 3rd quarter, but we did come back and did a good job, I thought, in the 4th quarter and ended up winning the 4th quarter."
(On limiting RB Arian Foster on the cutback) "We defended it. We did a good job with that. We had worked real hard on that; we felt pretty good going in. I had studied some teams that had a little bit of success, nobody really shut them down, they had over 100 yards against everybody. But we did a good job. We maintained our gaps. We didn't over penetrate. We didn't give them the big cutback lanes; we stayed at home. We seemed to always have an extra guy hanging over on the back side. The safetys did a good job coming down and attacking."
(On defensive understanding and executing) "The key thing is that we've talked about having to be a smarter football team and I think our defense did a good job of that. If we couldn't get home, we got some people in position to tip the ball. (DT Chris) Canty is the one that comes to mind. I know that he had some success tipping the ball. I wish we would have been able to come up with the interceptions off the tipped ball."
(On WR Hakeem Nicks) "I thought he really did a nice job in the first half. He played very well. He seemed to be able to manuever into the spots he wanted to be, did a nice job against the man coverage. He didn't have the 3rd quarter or the 4th quarter that I was hoping he would continue to have, but certainly had an outstanding first half."
(Do you think this was the most complete game so far?) "I hope so. I hope its an indication. We talked about about having to play better, we talked about having to improve. We talked about this being a very important game, that we did rise in our performance. We did show the quality of our team in all three phases, the way we might be able to operate together. So hopefully were in that direction."
(Attitude about next game) "Two wins in a row. Let's keep it going."
(On QB Sage Rosenfels' performance as holder) "Tremendous. There were a couple of snaps, the last one was high. We thought it would be a wise move at this time to allow that (P) Matt (Dodge) would concentrate only on the punting aspect of it, and not have to concentrate on being the holder as well. Sage did an outstanding job, and he did a real good job all week long."
(On defensive mood/energy at the end of the first quarter, and wanting to continue what they started doing last Monday night) "I think without anything noticeable, that was the plan all along. They did, obviously, have a very good first half, and it was complimented by the offense taking it in and scoring. I think we were able to feed off each other and it was very positive."
(On RB's Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs holding up and moving forward) "I think his (Jacobs) last run was a nice one. I really don't know why the ball got pushed wide on the goal line. They had a good thought about how to stop that, so that's probably what happened."
(On RB Ahmad Bradshaw's ankle) "It seems to be ok. I'm sure there's some wear and tear. Hopefully it's not much."
New York Giants QB Eli Manning(on having a plan in mind today for passing) "They do a number of different pressures, but a lot of it is single high, so it's going to be hard to run against. At times you've got to mix it up some, but we felt good about our receivers against their corners. They are young corners. They are talented, but they are young and so we hit a couple. I started hitting (TE) Kevin (Boss) on that second drive. Hit him for about a 20 yard play down the line. They got good pressure but we were able to get the ball off. Right after that we kind of got into a rhythm. The run, the pass, mixing it up, just throwing the ball short and getting the ball out quickly because their defensive line is talented. If you can get the ball out quickly, sometimes that frustrates the defense. We did that a few times. Then a couple of times, there were just a couple individual great efforts. (WR) Hakeem (Nicks) ran a couple great routes, making guys miss and we had some good schemes, we played really well. We stayed in good rhythm, we didn't have a whole lot of negative plays, moving backwards and penalties. In the third quarter we had two or three series where we got that going. We started playing bad and I turned the ball over and we've got to stay out of those situations."
(on offense's ability to extend passing plays and giving him the time he needed) "Our offensive line did very well. Their defensive front is very talented. Their guys can get to the quarterback. We did a good job blocking up, getting the ball out quickly at times when we needed to, being able to throw it short and having receivers make plays down the field, making guys miss. It wa a good mix-up, combination and number of things. We had a great plan. For a team you don't play very often, you watch a lot of film, try to get their tendencies down and figure out what would work against them.
(on putting the brakes on things in third quarter when game seemed to be slipping away) "Third quarter, we just started to go backwards. I had two turnovers, both of those are on me, just bad throws. When I saw Houston go down and score and make it a 14-point game I knew we needed to get a drive going and that's what we did. Big third down conversion. I hit (WR) Hakeem (Nicks) on the sideline, got his feet in bounds. That was a great third down drive. We took off some time, got some great third down conversions, had to settle for a field goal, but at least we could make a three point gain and kill the momentum Houston had going there."
(on back to back wins for first time in so long) "It's a nice feeling, kind of forgot that feleing a little bit. It's good to get on a win streak. The past few years, we'd have a good streak going where we'd get a few in a row and hopefully we can keep that going. It's all about our preparation this week. We've got to be focused, keep grinding and playing good football. Our defense is playing outstanding. Our offense did a great job getting an early lead, especially against an explosive offense that runs the ball about as well as anybody. All of the sudden you jump up 21 points on them. That ruins their game plan, their run and their play action is all going to be less effective."
(on defense the past two weeks) "They're playing outstanding. The last two weeks especially. They're getting turnovers, they're stopping the run, a lot of three and outs. They are getting us the ball, and we're getting a lot of chances offensively. That's something we feel great about. We're able to get the ball down the field and score points. We've got to stay out of the bad plays and the turnovers in the third quarter. If you take those out of the game we played about as well as we have all year."
(on a strategy for the comeback of Brian Cushing) "We didn't know how they'd use him. I know they like to rush him some. We had a good plan when he was on the weak side they were playing him in a beart style defense. I thought we had a good plan for him and the guys blocked him well. A good player. Had to go back and watch film on him and how he played last season to see how they were using him."
(on his two interceptions and if the defense made any changes after halftime) "We got into some third and long situations. We had some penalties. We had negative plays, and we tried to make a first down. One was a scramble and one was just a bad ball. It was a bad decision and throw on my part. We just got into bad situations. That's what we have to avoid. Sometimes we are going to have those situations and take a punt, and understand that is a good play sometimes. We had a couple of bad series and Houston went down and scored a touchdown, had the momentum going, but when we really needed something to happen we came back strong and had a couple fo really good drives that put the game out of reach."
(on the offensive gameplan coming into the game) "Their defensive front is very impressive. They get a good rush, so we started to get the ball out quicker. We hit a few sideline balls and back shoulder balls."
(on if he likes how the team is coming together) "I think so. It has been fun these last two weeks. Our defense is playing outstanding. This week the offense did a great job getting ooff to a early start. Houston has a high powered offense; they like to run playaction. All of the sudden you go up 21 and you change their offensive gameplan. They have to throw it a little bit ore and that is when our defensive line can get pass rushed and start getting turnovers. We have to help out our defense. They are playing great football, but we have to help out a little more to put pressure on the opposing offense too."
New York Giants WR Hakeem Nicks
(on the offensive gameplan they had put in place today) "We just went out there and played to the gameplan. Coach Kevin Gilbrde put together a very good gameplan for us and we just wanted to go out there and execute."
(on how the connection with the wide receivers was better today than it has been in the past) "I think it is just the effort and hard work we put together as a team to go out there and prepare well during the week. Then we wanted to go out there and show what we practiced for."
(on him being able to make big plays down the field) "When the ball comes out way, it is our job to track it down. We go get it and after that it is up to us."
(on his dropped pass) "I took my eyes off it trying to get to the endzone. I saw all that green grass trying to the there."
New York Giants DE Justin Tuck(on shutting down the top rushing offense in NFL) "That was our focus. We knew we could come out here and make this team our mission. That's when the sacks come. I think a lot of people thought because of last week we were going to come out here and get 10 sacks again. We knew coming into this football game they were the number one rushing attack in the NFL and their scheme is so potent. Sometimes it really doesn't matter who they put back there. (RB) Arian (Foster) is a guy that's built for that zone scheme. Today it was a focus of ours and we did a really good job of shutting it down. After that it allowed us to get some pressure on the quarterback."
(on how they controlled RB Arian Foster) "I think we just stayed on our feet. We made that a conscious effort in practice. You see some games they played earlier, they did a great job of making the front side of the defensive line or front side of the front seven get their run in and when he cuts back, there's normally eight guys on one side and there's only one guy (on the other) and he's off to the races. I think the thing we did was we squared up on them a little bit more. We took away their angles as far as him cutting back. We just made a flat line."
(on defense having two dominant games back to back) "We've always got room for improvement, that's our focus. We have played well, but I think the thing that this defense is starting to realize is that we can play better. It's easy for us to look at all of the good things and get kind of full of ourselves, but the reason why I think we've gotten better the last two games is because when we come in on Mondays, we want to hear about the things we didn't do so well and improve on that. I think our mindset and our focus is in the right place. As long as it stays there, we have the talent. Talent is potential and potential means you haven't done anything. We're learning that. In 2007, we were a dummy defense. We're getting away from that and trying to make our own identity now."
(on how complete of a game this was for offense, defense, and special teams) "It was close. Like I said, we are going to look at the film on Monday and figure out the things we didn't do too well. We had a lot of penalties, they ahd a big play against us in the pass game. There's some things that we can do better. Turnover wise on offense, we can do better. I think coming on the road and playing a team of that caliber, we played a pretty good game."
(on how it feels to win two in a row) "Anytime you win a game it feels good. Hopefully we can make it three next week."
New York Giants DE Osi Umenyiora(on the defensive performance) "When the offense is playing well, the defense is playing well and we just feed off of each other. That's the whole team concept."
(on getting pressure on Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub) "Our offense put them in a situation where they had to pass the ball."
(on stopping the Houston Texans running game) "They couldn't (run). They were down I don't know how many points, so their offense had to do something to get them back in the game and you're not going to run the ball when you're down that much."
(on today's game being similar to last weeks Giants and Chicago Bears game) "You knew that wasn't going to happen. (Houston Texans Head Coach) Gary Kubiak is an outstanding coach and he wasn't going to let his quarterback (Matt Schaub) get hit 10 times or get sacked 10 times. We weren't expecting that. We just went out there and played good solid defense."
New York Giants CB Corey Webster(on New York Giants disrupting Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub's passes) "The guys up front, when they couldn't get there, put their hands up to knock the ball down and that's great. We'd like to get our hands on some of those tipped balls but they did a great job of putting pressure on him and getting their hands up when they needed to."
(on how they stopped the Houston Texans running game) "The front seven wanted to come out and not let them run the ball. They did a good job of that early and often. We had a safety coming down too anticipating the run."
(on overall defensive performance) "I think the more time we spend together the more comfortable we're with the scheme we're running. We're doing a great job of taking steps in the right direction. We're going to go back Monday, keep working hard and hopefully we can build off of this."
