Texans chairman and CEO Bob McNair met with the media on Monday night at the "Taste of the Texans" event at Reliant Stadium. The event raised $175,000 for the Houston Food Bank, Methodist Heart Research Center and Houston Texans Foundation.
Here are McNair's full comments on Texans coach Gary Kubiak, the Texans at the halfway point and more:
Texans chairman and CEO Bob McNair(on his thoughts on being 4-4) "Well, I'm disappointed that we didn't win Sunday, because we certainly could have. We had many opportunities to. That's the bad news. The good news is we're 4-4 and we're one game out of first place with half a year behind us. So, we just have to go out and try to avoid some of the mistakes that we've made and win these division games, and we've got one coming up this week."
(on his thoughts on how Texans coach Gary Kubiak is doing) "I think he's doing fine. I think he's doing fine. You know, he's not out there making the blocks and he's not catching the ball, and that's what hurt us. We had some people who didn't catch the ball, some guys who didn't make a block, and we have to correct that. But no, the calls were good calls, and I don't find any fault with that."
(on fans who are upset that the Texans might miss the playoffs) "Well, we haven't missed the playoffs, so I don't know why they're upset at this point. That hasn't been determined yet. We've got a long ways to go. Indianapolis just lost the other day, and we're going to play Jacksonville this Sunday. Hopefully, we can put a loss on them. We still have Tennessee to play twice, Jacksonville to play twice, and that's going to determine the outcome. We've got to win these division games."
(on what he really likes and what he's disappointed with at the halfway point of the season) "Well, I really like the way we've run the ball. Arian Foster has just become a tremendous weapon for us in our attack. I guess one of the things that has been a disappointment (is) we thought we had more depth at linebacker than at any position, and here we've lost so many linebackers and then we lost three defensive ends. So, that has really hurt our pass rush and has put a lot more pressure, then, on the secondary, and you've got young people back there, and they need to do a better job and they will. But I think that once we get our defense playing not a whole lot better, they're close, and get them playing a little better, I think that that'll take a lot of the pressure off the offense, and our offense is one of the best in the league."
(on if he thinks the defense is the single-biggest issue with the team right now) "I think the defense has been, and I think that's obvious. Our offense is just very potent, and we've got some tremendous players there. We've got tremendous players on defense, too. But we've got to avoid the mental errors, and I think we'll do that and I think our defense will improve. So I think this second half, I think we've got a lot to look forward to."
(on how he has felt about the criticism his team has taken in print and online) "Oh, you're always going to be criticized if you don't win every game. That's just part of it. But we have to look at it on the basis of, 'What is our football team doing, and how do we go about improving our chances to be in the playoffs?' That's what we focus on, and you can't pay attention to the other. And you know, when things go well, the people who were complaining the week before, you don't hear anything from them. So all you have to do is go out and win, and the criticism goes away."
(on fans who want him to fire Kubiak now) "Well, you know, that's not how we run this ship."
(on giving Kubiak an extension through 2012) "Yeah. Yeah, Gary's doing a good job. Replacing him doesn't make you catch more balls. You know? The guy that missed the block, if you replace the head coach, is he going to going out and make the block the next time? Does it make it easier for him? I don't think so. If he was making bad decisions and if he wasn't managing the team and if the players weren't playing hard, then that would be cause for concern. But our players are playing hard. And you saw, we played a very good team in the Chargers. They're playing very well, and I think they'll probably wind up winning their division because they're going to come on strong. We played them well, we moved them up and down the field and we put a lot more yards on them than anybody else had. We had opportunities in the red zone and we wound up with three instead of seven, and we just can't do that."
(on the "Taste of Texans" event) "This is a great event because the proceeds go to Food Bank and to Methodist Hospital and to our own (Houston Texans) Foundation. It's sold out, and we appreciate the restaurants around town coming out and making their contribution and having their chefs select different foods for us to try. Our fans are going to have a good time with it and it's for a good cause, so we're just delighted that we're able to do this. It's the biggest turnout we've had."
