The Texans practiced Saturday morning at the Methodist Training Center and after, head coach Gary Kubiak and receiver Keshawn Martin answered questions from the media. The following is a transcript of their respective interviews.
Head Coach Gary KubiakWR Keshawn Martin
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Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on the depth at tackle behind Rashad Butler and Derek Newton) "Well, right now that would be a little scary because those guys are young. I think (Andrew) Gardner does some good stuff. The young kid (Nathan) Menkin has done some good stuff as well as the kid from Purdue (Nick Mondek) that we drafted. They've got talent, but obviously they have a ways to go. We're holding our breath that all three of those guys can stay healthy, but you have to have players that can be flexible too. Maybe Brandon Brooks, at some point, is a flexible player because he's obviously has the size and the feet to play outside too."
(on the kicking competition) "I think it's a battle. I think Randy (Bullock) has had quite a few good days, had a couple misses the other day. I really like the way he works at his craft and he has a strong leg. Shayne (Graham) is a veteran guy, pretty automatic inside the 40 and those types of things. He's missed a day or so with some leg soreness and those types of things. They can both kick in this league. Which one is going to kick for us? We'll find out."
(on if there are any new updates with Andre Johnson) "I expect him to be on the field Monday. It's my job to put the plan together to how we bring him along next week, but I expect him to be out here."
(on TE Garrett Graham) "I think he's one of the more improved players on our team right now. He really has grown up from last year. He's healthy and performing well. He's got a big role on this team with Joel (Dreessen) missing and he's shown that he's going to be able to handle that. After a week, I've been impressed."
(on if he has higher expectations for TE Owen Daniels) "I'll always expect a lot from him. O.D. is a three-down player; he's always on the field. We've tried to take a little different approach to O.D. this year, as far as resting him a little bit and I think he's responding to that. I want him good and fresh for when we get going."
(on what message he gave the team after the first week of camp) "I just tell them it's the hardest week you go through all year long. You push through that week and now we get a carrot at the end of each week; we get to go play a game. This week kind of tells you a lot about your guys and what they're made of. Those guys that are still standing at the end of the week, you know that you can count on them."
(on if he expects LT Duane Brown and CB Kareem Jackson back Monday) "I expect all three of those guys back. Obviously, we'll have a plan for them for how they come back, but I expect them all out on Monday."
(on RB Justin Forsett) "I'm impressed. Boy, he's very smart and he plays with some power even though he's a small kid. He helps us on special teams. He's been impressive doing the return game for (special teams coordinator) Joe (Marciano), so we're excited."
(on health updates) "Sunny (Ra'Shon Harris) got a little nicked on us. I think it was a groin or a quad, but we don't think it's bad. But we finished good, we had a really good week. We've got some guys nicked up right now, but we know we're getting them back. So where we stand right now, I mean, I like it moving forward. I think we ending it with a good day today. I took the pads off of them the last half hour. That's the most reps we'll ever have in a practice all year long,. This is a tough week, made it through and keep going."
(on WR Jerrell Jackson being hurt) "He's going to be out for about 8-10 days. He's got a pretty good quad pull. We like him a lot. We'll wait on him because we think he's got a ton of talent."
(on his thoughts on TE Logan Brock) "He's a well-coached kid, comes from TCU. I think they do a great job with their players over there. He knows what he's doing. He's a little undersized tight end, he needs some weight. He's got a ways to go, but he's got some ability. (Phillip) Supernaw is the kid from the small program. (Logan) Brock is the kid from the big program. They're trying to battle each other and they've both got ability, we'll see. We'll see in the preseason."
(on how he's liking what he's doing in the red zone) "Well, today on the goal line we just taught. We'll come back Monday and do it differently, but we're just teaching. Red zone-wise, it kind of went back and forth. I thought offensively yesterday we had a good period, today I thought defensively we had a good period. Key down there is that you don't turn the ball over, stop people. You've got to be able to run the ball in the red zone. The thing I really liked, watching Matt (Schaub) is playing with a bunch of young kids. He's been with Keshawn Martin for seven days. Watching that kind of come together and get better each day has been exciting for me. I've got to settle those receivers down and keep them in one spot."
(on the tailback competition) "I think it's the best group I've ever been around as a coach because of how they're playing, not because of their names. It'll be interesting to see. I think Arian (Foster) and Ben (Tate) have had an excellent camp. They're pushing each other to a level that they don't even understand what they're doing to each other, but it's going to be great for both of them and their career and great for our team."
(on the competition at fullback) "Well James (Casey), we can do a lot of things with. Moran (Norris) and Derrell (Smith) are different guys. One's young, very talented, very athletic and doesn't quite know everything he's doing right now because he's a defensive player. One's a little older, he's a banger and knows everything he's doing. So we'll see how it sorts itself out. Chances are we're keeping one fullback, and we'll see. Derrell's got a little ways to go as far as knowledge of offensive football."
(on the progress of the undrafted running backs) "It's been very good. (Jonathan) Grimes has a lot of ability. Grimes has been very impressive. (Davin) Meggett has some good running ability. He's struggling a little bit in protection. Those guys will play a lot. I'll play them a ton during the preseason."
WR Keshawn Martin
(on getting better through camp) "Going against a guy like J-Joe (Johnathan Joseph) every play, it's definitely making me better."
(on playing either the slot position or wideout) "It doesn't really even matter to me. As long as I'm in there, I'm good with it. But I feel like I can do both of them pretty good."
(on the importance of the return game) "It's very important. That's just something I've been doing since college. That's something that I'll continue to do and it's very important."
(confidence level now compared to beginning of camp) "I'm very confident. Just coming out here and having fun and making plays. At the beginning, I didn't really know what to expect. So now a week in, I feel pretty good about myself."
(on Special Teams Coordinator Joe Marciano) "He's a cool guy. I like him."
(on what he thinks about after practice) "Once I'm done, I think about all the plays I had. The good plays and the bad plays and just think about how I can get better from them."
(on what he does well) "I feel like I got better at my route running since college and catching the ball. So those are the things I work on the most, route running and catching the ball."
(on what he wants to see from himself in the preseason games) "I just want to continue to make plays, continue to catch the ball well, continue to run crisp routes and then everything else will take care of itself."
