Head Coach Gary Kubiak
WR DeAndre Hopkins
DE Antonio Smith
Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on how he plans to push the backup quarterbacks and his expectations) "Everybody is always competing. Case (Keenum) has obviously made up a bunch of ground from the standpoint of what he knows and what he can handle as a player. To me, he's going to push T.J. (Yates) and then obviously with (Stephen) McGee, this is his first go-round with us. It's only been a couple of days. The one thing about training camp nowadays in the NFL, you practice once a day, so there is a lot of ground that has to be made up in the offseason and that's what's going on right now. How far has Case come? How far has McGee come? I've had the other two for a while, so I have to see how far they come."
(on the injury updates) "Brandon (Harris) and DeAndre (Hopkins) had a pretty good collision. We took Brandon in. He's fine. He's alert and we'll see where he's at. We're evaluating him right now."
(on how WR DeAndre Hopkins came out of the collision) "DeAndre is fine. He continued to practice. He just had a collision."
(on what it would mean for Houston to get a Super Bowl to host) "Yeah, that's pretty cool. I know that there has been a tremendous amount of work put in by our organization and Mr. McNair. I know that the city was a tremendous host back years ago. Of course, I wasn't here at that time, but I know they would do a great job again. Hopefully, they're rewarded for their work today, so we're hoping for the best."
(on ILB Tim Dobbins not being present for OTAs) "Yeah, it's voluntary. He's not here, but our work has been good. Of our 59 guys that were under contract for the offseason, 57 of those guys were here the whole time. Obviously, Ed (Reed) isn't healthy, but other than that, it's voluntary and Tim is not here."
(on if CB Brice McCain had a setback with an injury) "No, he's actually doing real good. We're kind of just doing individual with him this week and then hopefully he'll do everything next week. That was the progression all along. He's doing good."
(on speculation that S Ed Reed might miss the first week of the regular season) "I don't go off speculation. We know what we know. He had the surgery. Everything went well. He went through the process of staying in Colorado which was part of the deal, part of the rehab process. Now, he's supposed to be turned loose this week. Everything that we know is on schedule and our expectations are to look at camp at some point and be ready to go at the opening of the season. Other than that, I can't comment on that."
(on if OLB Whitney Mercilus could've started last year or if he needed the year to develop) "I think it took him some time. Remember, he was going form a hand-down guy to standing up, so there was an adjustment period for him there. When you go back and look at the reps he played, he played extremely well. He was very, very productive when you look at snaps to sacks and those types of things. It was extremely productive. That's what the business is about; you lose players. I told the guys yesterday in the team meeting, 'Whitney, that's why you're here. That's why we brought you here. It's time to go.' He knows that. He's had a great offseason and is doing really well out here."
(on DT Sunny Harris) "Sunny and TE (Phillip) Supernaw, yesterday, both hurt their feet. Each of them hurt a foot, so they're being evaluated right now. You won't see them the rest of the week for sure."
(on OLB Bryan Braman) "It's been good. Obviously, he's getting a chance to work with the starters right now. Usually when guys get put in those positions because of Brooks (Reed) moving or whatever, it' doesn't matter, but when guys get put in those situations, you'll see them flourish and take off. It's interesting to watch him right now. He was good yesterday and I'll go back and watch him today. Here's an opportunity to say, 'Brian, can you start? Can you be a starter in this league?' So we're going to give him a chance throughout OTAs to see how far he can come."
WR DeAndre Hopkins
(on the biggest challenge going from rookie mini-camp to OTAs with veterans) "The tempo is different and the speed. You're going against Pro Bowlers, so it's a big difference."
(on his confidence growing) "It's growing every day. You've got to have high confidence to play in this league. You can't have low confidence at all if you want to play in the NFL."
(on if anything about OTAs sticks out to him) "Everything sticks out to me; the urgency of guys and the competitiveness that everybody has and the goal and the want-to and will. Everybody wants to be successful and they want success for this team."
(on what WR Andre Johnson says to him) "A lot. He's been mentoring me in all aspects."
(on throwing out the first pitch at the Houston Astros game tonight) "I am. It's going to be exciting. J.J. Watt told me to aim high."
(on his collision in practice) "I'm okay. I just bruised my knee. I kind of landed on him (CB Brandon Harris). I don't know what I hit. I just kind of bruised my knee but I got right back in a couple plays later. Hopefully he's okay."
DE Antonio Smith
(on if his family and friends in Oklahoma are all okay after the tornado) "I checked with my family and everybody, other than property damage, the most important thing was everybody was alright. Your heart has got to go out to those families that weren't so fortunate, especially with the kids and the school. As I can remember in my life, every five years we get a big one like that that comes through there, sometimes a little bit more. It seems to turn up through Moore and takes it on into the city."
(on where he lives in Oklahoma "I live in Oklahoma City."
(on if everything was okay with where he lives) "With where I live now, yeah. Mostly, where I used to live and where most of my family lives, it's pretty bad out in that area."
(on if he had any family suffer any destruction from the storm) "I had some family members lose some houses, but they're happy their alive. I'm feeling blessed for that."
(on being out on the field for OTAs) "Oh yeah, it's always good to get back out here with your boys. Even though sometimes you feel like you dread it, once you get back out here with each other, it brings it all into perspective."
