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Head Coach Gary Kubiak**(on what he looks for in a quarterback like QB Matt Schaub to know if he's losing confidence and what he can call to help him out) "When you're evaluating everybody, you're looking at the big picture. You're looking at every play they played, not just a play. I'm looking at a big body of work. You asked me about confidence. I don't see a lack of confidence. I see some poor decision-making situations, some that he has to handle and some that we can help him handle. But there are a lot of good things that are happening too, but the problem when you to play that position, if there's three or four glaring mistakes, they can be the difference in winning and losing. So that's what we're working on right now."
(on QB Matt Schaub bouncing back from a tough outing against Baltimore initially yesterday and if that makes it more likely that he can bounce back from yesterday) "Well, I think every week's a new week. We've got to go down and play a talented football team, very good defensive football team in San Francisco. The biggest thing today it trying to put today behind you, which is extremely hard, after as hard as our football team and as well as our football team played for a great portion of the day yesterday. That's the focus right now before we move on, but I believe in him. He's a strong kid. He's been doing this a long time. He's played good games. He's been told he's very, very good. He's probably told he wasn't so good. So this is a tough week. We've got to work through and get ready to go again."
(on if he can give updates about ILB Brian Cushing and T Duane Brown) "Cushing came out of the game with a concussion, like I told y'all. He's feeling much better today, so he starts the protocol process. I couldn't begin to tell you exactly where he's at in that process. He was a part of the meetings. He was a part of everything that we were doing. Duane is upbeat, feeling very good today. I think Duane is still a day-to-day process as we work to the weekend and so we'll see. We'll know more as we get to Wednesday. The more time we get with Duane, the better."
(on how close T Duane Brown was to being able to play yesterday) "He couldn't play, bottom line. So I don't know how close it was. He pushed himself to the limit. It's not like we worked him out before the game or anything like that. He just couldn't do it."
(on if he had a chance to watch the penalty by CB Kareem Jackson) "Yes, I did. I've seen it many of times. I don't agree with it. I understand the rule about picking somebody up and putting them on their head. I understand that. I didn't see the play that way. Obviously, the League's got the call on that. So we'll see what they come back and say to us. As a player, you've got to try and keep yourself totally out of that situation, but you've got to tackle a guy too. You've got to get him down. Like I said, I don't agree with it, but that's not my call, that's the league and we'll see how they respond to our questions."
(on the team's expectations this season and how worried he is about the team putting themselves into too big of a hole) "I don't get too consumed with where we are right now. I get consumed with how we're playing and what we're doing. I think, obviously, it could be worse right now. It could be better if we our game yesterday. But we've just got to stay focused on our play. It was very, very good for a good period of time yesterday, but not good enough when it was all said and done. I try to keep it in perspective. We've played a quarter of the season and obviously not where we want to be, but it's a long, long way to go and we're very, very capable football team. We know that. We've got to be a more consistent football team."
(on if there were any other injury issues) "I was talking to Kap (Head Athletic Trainer Geoff Kaplan) coming over here. We've got some bumps and bruises. I think we've probably got a little concern right now, Brandon Brooks has a toe (injury) coming out of the game a little concerned about. Bryan Braman is a little beat up. Antonio (Smith) and J.J. (Watt) are a little beat up on the injury report this morning, but I don't think it's anything that's going to keep anybody from playing right now. Those are some of the names that were on it."
(on the play in which QB Matt Schaub was intercepted for a touchdown and if he had freedom to audible out of it) "No, once we called it, started the motion, it was game on. So we just had a very, very poor play like I told you."
(on G Wade Smith coming out of the game and if that was because of an injury) "No, we had a made a decision, Wade's coming off his knee and he was playing a ton of snaps. He played every snap going into this week and, looking at the long haul, we thought we needed to take a few snaps off of him, so we played Ben (Jones) a couple of series I think in the game. He took about 15-20 snaps off of Wade. Wade responded, he played very good in the game. He gives us everything he has, but we were a little concerned the wear and tear with what was going on with the knee coming back so quick, so that's what we did."
(on how short of a leash QB Matt Schaub is on) "How short of a leash is he on? He's our quarterback. Like I said, we've all got to do things a little better."
(on if G Wade Smith's level of play has been what it was before the knee injury) "Yeah, I think Wade has played well. First off, he came back probably three or four weeks before any other play probably would for his team. It's amazing how quick he got back. Like I said, what is Wade, a 10 or 11-year player? A lot of snaps on his plate the first three weeks and we talked to him. He didn't want to do it. Believe me, he wants to be out there every snap and we just thought it would be best for the long haul if we could find a way to get a few snaps off of him. I think I mentioned to y'all last week about getting him to the bye week and giving him a good week and a half rest. I think it's going to help us in the long haul. It's just our decision as coaches and hopefully it helps him out in the long haul."
(on the defense and what impresses him) "Boy, they're playing extremely well. They were tremendous yesterday. They give up the one drive, which we gave up some big third downs and second-and-longs when you look back from that standpoint, but we got turnovers yesterday which we've been looking for. They've been impressive. I think they've played extremely well. I know up front we're playing extremely well. At the linebacker position, we all know how well Cush (Brian Cushing) has played. I think Whitney (Mercilus) and Brooks (Reed) have played very, very well also. On the back end, we play a lot of man-coverage with balance, so I've been very impressed with where we're at defensively. I think we're a dang good defense. I think we have a chance to be great and I think we're working toward that. I know one thing, we're not a finished product and we're pretty darn good right now. So I'm very excited right now with what I see."
(on if Arian Foster is as close to the Foster of 2012 as he has been this year) "I would say that last week in practice, I saw the same guy that I saw last year. His practice was excellent and it carried over into the game. I thought he played extremely well. Obviously, he played a lot more yesterday than he has in the past. He was a factor. He accounted for almost 180 yards of offense when you put his receiving and his rushing together. I was very impressed but I saw it coming last week. You could see it."
(on if the negativity from media and fans ever makes its way into the locker room and how you prevent it from becoming a distraction) "I think all guys are human. They hear reactions and they know what's going on. That's part of our jobs and what we do. Matt (Schaub) and I sat together for a long time after the game yesterday and talked. When you play that position, you get a lot of credit. You get a lot of blame. You have to be extremely tough, not only for yourself, but you have to be extremely tough for your teammates. He can handle that. Nobody wants to go through that, but he can handle it. That's why he's played as long as he's played and that's why he's been a good player."
(on the emotion showed by Matt Schaub after the pick-six interception and how hard he took that mistake) "It's extremely tough. I can't explain it to you. When you battle that hard and your team battles that hard to win a game and something like that happens, emotions of the moment and what you go through is extremely difficult. I'm just glad that I do what I do and I can be there for players because I know what it's like. I've been there for him when things have been really, really good and I promise I'll be there for him when they're not so good. We're there for him right now. We've got to help him work through this."
(on what he says to Matt Schaub to help him clear his head and stay aggressive without pressing) "I think the biggest thing as a coach, whether you're his position coach or when you're in the position I'm in as the head coach, I think the biggest thing you want is you want players to know that you're human. You know how they're feeling. You know what they've just been through. I basically expressed to him exactly what I told y'all after the game. I felt really bad from my own standpoint with the position that I put him in. I've been coaching quarterbacks for a long time. I just try to talk through the situation while it's fresh. I understand how our guy is feeling, what he's fixing to go home to and what that evening is going to be like and start preparing for that right away and move forward. You just want him to know that you're there for him more than anything."
(on if he is ready to give Arian Foster 20-25 carries a game) "I think he worked really well last week. Let me say this: I've got total confidence in Ben (Tate). I think Ben is playing extremely well. I don't know if Ben got a carry after the fumble but it was not a reflection of that. I have total confidence in him. I talked to him today. I want Ben, on a given day, I want Ben to get his 12 to 15 in there and Arian to get his 25 if things are going that way. I think Arian has stepped forward. I think Ben has continuously done his job. What did he average? Six yards a carry yesterday. He played extremely well."
(on Antonio Smith saying that the team now has the blueprint to play well, they just have to limit the mistakes) "Antonio is a strong, strong presence. When he speaks, guys listen. He cares so much. I think you find out a lot about yourself. It was hard to walk in there yesterday, after a game like that, whether you're a coach or whether you're a player and understand that whenever you've given everything you possibly have and you don't get it done like we did yesterday, it's a very tough pill to swallow. It's easy to not say anything. I think the important thing is that you do talk about it and you say something and you let everybody know that you're committed to what's going on and that's what he did. That's what he did as a player and he continued to do it today in meetings as a group. We're a strong group. We're hurt. It hurts, but we're a strong group. We'll rally."
(on Pete Carroll and other Seahawks players saying they knew the Texans liked that play and they had practiced it and if it is concerning that they were aware what was coming) "I would hope they practice our plays. That's what we do. We practice theirs too. We scout each other and that's part of football. You just have to play through it and I think we ran some good ones too. It's just unfortunate."
(on how he deals with the frustration of the team when they put it all on the field) "There is responsibility. There is always support, but boy there is responsibility. The number one thing as a coach, you owe it to your team, is to do everything possible to put them in a position to be successful. If something is going on that is not giving them that chance, then that's my job. I don't see it as one player. There were many factors in the second half that caused us not to close the football game, but there is tremendous responsibility, whether you're Matt Schaub or Brian Cushing or Gary Kubiak. We've all got a job to do. We all have a responsibility to do our job."
