Texans head coach Gary Kubiak met with the media after Tuesday afternoon's Texans Team Luncheon presented by Amegy Bank of Texas. Here's the transcript of his interview.
Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on WR Andre Johnson's status) "He's back getting treatments and doing some stuff like that. So we thought that was extremely important right now. As I said, Tim (Jamison) was the other one who is not here. His wife is in labor as we speak."
(on WR Andre Johnson's treatment) "Yeah, he did not practice these couple days. We kept him and (Brian Cushing) is still out. He was sore coming out of the game so we're just trying to get him moving in the right direction. The guys that aren't going to play in the game, we're going to work them out hard on Thursday afternoon before the game. We want him to be a part of that so that's where we're working towards."
(on if there are any issues with WR Andre Johnson) "No. He's fine. He's doing fine."
(on possibly playing DE J.J. Watt Thursday night) "No. I mean would I like him to have some reps before we go into Miami and stuff? Yes I would, but it just doesn't make any sense. We're fortunate; number one, he's doing great. He practiced today. He looks good. If you put him out there you're only going to put him out there 10 plays anyways, so why take the risk? We know what type of player J.J. is and what he brings. We may be in a position two weeks from now where there's not a 50-play game for him or something that may come into play. But to throw him out there this Thursday on such short notice to me just doesn't make any sense."
(on how much WR DeVier Posey will play on Thursday) "He's going to play a great deal. He'll probably play almost the whole game. He will not start the game. (Keshawn) Martin and (Lestar) Jean will start the game, but he's going to play a great deal. He needs to catch up."
(on if RT Derek Newton will play Thursday) "No I'm not going to play Derek (Newton). He's part of the group that I'm not going to play. (Rashad) Butler will play so we're going to work like I said with our twos and threes going into this game."
(on starters playing Thursday) "No I don't think so. I think really throughout the first group you're not going to see those guys. I think maybe one or two, I can't think of them off hand that could get some reps, but for the most part, the ones will not play at all."
(on WR DeVier Posey's status) "He's fine. He's practiced the last two days. We were full-go today, he practiced fine."
(on OLB Bryan Braman's injury) "He's got a hamstring, so it's not bad. The goal is for him, Miami. He did not practice today. He's another guy that did not practice so you won't see him probably do anything until Monday. We'll evaluate him and see where he's at so we're trying to get him to Miami."
(on when he and Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Rick Smith will continue to evaluate the roster numbers) "That's a process all the time. That's something I've sat up there the last couple nights looking at myself as I try to sit there and set the roster. So you have some preconceived notions going into the game of what you're thinking and then what you want to go find out. But when will we do it? We'll walk in Friday morning that's the first thing we'll do. We'll get together at seven o'clock, talk about the game, talk about which direction we're heading. We'll probably as always four or five very difficult decisions away. So we may make 20 of them right away, and then sit there and battle over the other four with the staff and talk about our situations and what could possibly be coming up. That's how we'll go about it."
(on possibly keeping four running backs) "I think it's a thought process. Both of those guys (Justin) Forsett and (Jonathan) Grimes have played well for us and they've both played well on special teams. Grimes has been playing a lot of special teams throughout the course of camp. Forsett did last week and showed up in New Orleans. They're two good football players so it's a nice problem to have."
(on if he will play QB T.J. Yates Thursday) "I will not. John Beck will start the game. He'll play the first half. Case (Keenum) will play the second half."
(on the fullback position) "Moran (Norris) is going to play in this game the whole game. It's a big game for him because we're trying to make a decision. Obviously James (Casey) is our starter and we're very pleased with how far James has come as a player. He's had an excellent preseason. We're trying to make a decision on Moran (Norris), if we think that he can help us. He's going to get that opportunity Thursday so we'll see how he plays. He's played a lot in this league. It's been a little bit of a catch up from what we do so to speak. So I hope to find out some more on Thursday."
(on if the number of tight ends affects the fullback decision) "Yeah, it's a big effect. I don't have the numbers in front of me but I'm going to say last year tight ends and running backs together were maybe a combined nine. Right now, we might be at six or seven when you look at some of the things that went on. So that is a big question mark moving forward. We like our two young tight ends also. They're both doing some good things in camp so where do we go from that standpoint. But obviously it's a position that I think we'll continue to look at."
(on WR Trindon Holliday and possibly keeping six wide receivrs) "Yeah that would be the most we've ever kept. But at the same time, you're light at tight end, you're light at running back, you're going to go light someplace else. So do you keep three quarterbacks? Those are all those very difficult questions. I kind of have my mindset right now a certain direction, but that can obviously change with Thursday night what happens then and how we move forward."
(on if he might keep just two quarterbacks) "There's always a chance because you don't know what's going on with your team, other positions, other problems. So it's important that even though you're not playing your ones in this game, it's still important that you get out healthy because you lose some key backup players, you could have some new problems on your hands. So we'll see."
(on how Tuesday's luncheon signals the start of the regular season) "Yeah, it really does. Every year it's a very nice thing. It kind of falls right in the middle of camp for our guys because we just got off the practice field so it's a long, hard day for them, but I think it gets everybody ready to go. Our fans have been tremendous, and we just appreciate the support. It's a good day today."
(on his approach to this season and the expectations) "You know what, it's no different for this guy. We got to play good football. We're trying to get our football team as good as we can get it. I appreciate the fact that people are saying a lot of good things about us, and I said in there earlier I think we're going to have a good football team. But we want to be great, and we got some work to do. We got some new faces that have to step up. We just need to stay focused on us. We can't stay focused on what's going to happen in January. We need to stay focused on what's going to happen September 9 and get ready for Miami."
