POSTGAME QUOTES FROM HOUSTON TEXANS

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HEAD COACH BILL O'BRIENRB JONATHAN GRIMES CB ANDRE HALOLB WHITNEY MERCILUSWR DEVIER POSEYQB TOM SAVAGEG/T XAVIER SU'A-FILO

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HEAD COACH BILL OBRIEN (Transcribed by Laci Theriot, Nida Chaudhry and Ellie Pardee)

(on the performance of the quarterbacks) "Again, like I said, halftime wasn't very good, but again, I think it's important to note that it is a team effort, whether it is a protection breakdown or maybe a wrong route. Obviously, the quarterback made some mistakes, but it is a team effort and no one out there on offense really did anything worthy of note, including the coaching, so both the players and coaches need to improve. At the same time, preseason is over. We begin the process of getting down to the 53 man roster here over the next couple days and we head into the regular season. It is what it is, and we are moving on."

(on if he is comfortable with both Case Keenum and Tom Savage as quarterbacks) "We are comfortable with both guys. They put a lot of work in even though tonight was not a great night, it is a body of work and there has been some decent play from those guys, so we are comfortable. We will always do what is best for the team, that is something we will always do as long as we are here, but as it relates to those two guys, they have shown flashes of good things and some not so good things just like everybody else. Again, preseason is over and we are moving on to the regular season."

(on how hard it is to evaluate the offensive problems) "Yes, it is because you have 11 guys out there and you try to get those 11 guys to do the right thing, you know, and sometimes, if two or three guys don't do the right thing and eight guys do, then that doesn't really bode well for a successful play, especially in the passing game of the quarterback. We will have to look at the tape, we will have to evaluate it and see what happened, but it was not a good night offensively."

(on how important it is that everyone is healthy for the Redskins game) "It's important. It's important. We're looking forward to Monday's practice. We're looking forward to tomorrow, getting some conditioning and lifting done. We're looking forward to moving on to the regular season."

(on if Clowney is still on track to play after preseason) "He's still on track for the opener."

(on if the three quarterbacks will be on the 53-man roster) "Again, I've said all along that these three guys have put a lot of work in. We will evaluate everything that they've done, really tonight. We'll do it tonight and we'll do it tomorrow. We'll take a good look at it, we'll meet as a staff on it and we'll decide what to do, what's best for the team. If keeping these three quarterbacks is what's best for the team then that's what we'll do, but just coming in here off the field, it's something that we can't answer right now. We have to go upstairs and figure it out and watch some more tape and meet as a staff and go from there."

(on if T Will Yeatman was not ready to play tonight) "Right, not ready to play."

(on if he wasn't ready to play because he was injured) "Not ready to play."

(on what he feels good about going into the season) "I feel good about the veteran leadership on this team. I feel good about both sides of the ball, offensively and defensively, knowing their assignments, knowing what we do schematically. I feel good about, for the most part, our draft class, our rookies, where they are right now relative to being rookies. I feel that our role players, guys that we feel have really come on as far as special teams and offense and defense, whether it be a backup or a guy that's on all the special teams. I feel good about some of our role players. And then there are some things that we really have to improve upon. That's what we'll continue to do starting tomorrow and Monday through Friday."

(on what improvements he thinks the team needs to make) "Situational football, I mean it happened again tonight at the end of the half. We got a chance to drive the ball in two minutes, start the drive with a good screen pass and then had a miscommunication on a route and one guy ran one route, the quarterback threw another route and we had an interception that led to a touchdown. I think offensively we were directly responsible for I think two touchdowns basically. So that's not good. We have to fix that. That's something that we'll continue to try to do and do that throughout next week."

(on his comfort level with the outside linebackers) "What is the deal with the comfort level questions? I'm comfortable with the outside linebacker position."

(on comfort level with LB Whitney Mercilus) "I'm comfortable with Mercilus. I think that he's playing with better knowledge of the scheme and he's able to go out there and play without thinking. There's a lot of communication and technique and things that he's done in the past that are different than what he has to do now. For some guys, that may take a little longer than others and I think in the last two weeks you've seen a guy who has really learned it and got it down pretty well and made some good plays. He's played well these last two weeks. I saw it out there tonight. I thought he made some good plays tonight."

(on S Shiloh Keo's performance after missing a few games) "He looked like he was moving around and made some plays tonight. He made some tackles and looked like he was pretty active tonight. From where I was standing on the sideline, yeah, I think he made some plays. Again, just like everybody else, I'll go back and watch the tape and figure it out from there, but it looked like he made some plays."

(on Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel going into the regular season) "I feel really good about Romeo. Our staff is a good, strong staff. Good communicators, good teachers, guys that have won a lot of football games; both at this level and at other levels. Romeo has done a really good job of coming in here and teaching the scheme and getting those guys to understand the scheme. The preseason I would say that every game that we've gone into, we've tried to keep the gameplan fairly basic so that our guys can go out and play. Now it's time to become what we are, which is a gameplan offense and defense, meaning every week we come in and we look at what the opponent does and try to gameplan the opponent. That'll be a big part of what we do this week and what we've seen in practice from Romeo. On offense, George Godsey doing a lot with the offense. Ligashesky with the special teams, I think there's been improvement and I'm looking forward to get going in the regular season."

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RUNNING BACK JONATHAN GRIMES(Transcribed by John Byczek)

(on running back corps getter) "I think the running backs understand the team concept and helping each other. That's going to make yourself better; that's going to make the whole team better. It's really a team-first atmosphere."

(on what's been different this year over last year) "It's more opportunities really. Just trying to become more of a student of the game and always looking for room for improvement as far as pass protection, catching, running; everything a running back has to do. Even on special teams I try to step it up on that, too."

(on what it's been like learning a new system) "It's a really fun experience learning new plays and just learning different ways people look at attacking a football game. I've learned a lot this offseason about defenses, special teams, everything. It's been a good experience."

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CORNERBACK ANDRE HAL(Transcribed by John Byczek)

(on making a big play) "It's exciting. You know, you just have to take advantage of all your opportunities."

(on how much he has progressed from the beginning of camp) "I just got more comfortable. I just learned the system and been more ready."

(on his pick-six) "Well, guy ran a hitch. I guess it went through his hands or something. I saw the ball, I grabbed it and I took off with it. I saw the end zone; I just wanted to score with it."

(on what he's been focusing on) "Man, since day one I was trying to make the team. I tried to come in, compete with the other guys, learn from other guys, learn the defense as fast as I can so I can get on the field and compete."

(on what he's been getting better at) "Better at? Just being more confident. More confident in my skills, more confident in my technique, just more confident with the playbook."

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OUTSIDE LINEBACKER WHITNEY MERCILUS(Transcribed by Omar Majzoub)

(on his improved play) "It's about being comfortable within the defense and not thinking a whole lot. I'm preparing throughout the week and practicing hard. It has paid off."

(on how it feels to be playing well) "It feels good. It just shows that I'm making progress."

(on proving himself to the new staff) "Yeah, I'm not a proven veteran in this league yet, so I need to keep on working my butt off. I'm still young. This is only year three for me, so I still have to show everybody I can play."

(on how he will be used during the regular season) "I have no idea. We will see exactly what happens during the season. I feel like there are some things that can be cooked up."

(on the difference between regular season and preseason) "People are going to start bringing out the top plays and all that. We need to start game planning and having more preparation built into the week. That's pretty much the difference. Preseason is vanilla because you are just trying to see if you have guys who can play."

(on playing with his instincts) "In the past, I was thinking a whole lot. Once you know the defense inside and out, you can get comfortable about preparation and understanding your opponent. It helps out a lot. For me, it just clicked. I know this defense, so now I just go out there and play."

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WIDE RECIEVER DEVIER POSEY(Transcribed by Trevor Caswell)

(on how things change now that pre-season is over) "Just coming in and understanding how important it is to prepare, understand coverages, down situations, and just try to make sure we're prepared for Washington next Sunday. Just looking forward to the regular season getting going. Preseason is such a long time; you get excited for this time of year."

(on how far the team has come thus far) "That's just the maturation of a preseason from the spring to the summer time. What we do with our free time, is a reflection of what you see and how much we've learned and how much we've grown in this offense. Just being able to be around these guys, they're true professionals, they come in every day, they know their plays, we all lean on each other to get better each day."

(on what went wrong on Case Keenum's interception) "I don't know. We've just got to get on the same page, get out there tomorrow and do some corrections. We'll fix it, I haven't had a chance to see it and I'm pretty sure he hasn't either, so we'll get out here and we'll get it right."

(on how the offense has progressed over the preseason) "As a unit, we've had good times and of course, we've had bad times just like all thirty-two teams in the pre-season. Just making sure that we go in and watch the film and correct it and we understand that this time it's for real and we'll put our best stuff out there."

(on being ready for game one) "Of course man. Anytime you go through four preseason games, you're ready for that real one coming around, so just mentally and physically, I think we'll get there."

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QUARTERBACK TOM SAVAGE(Transcribed by Zach Mayer)

(on what happed on the interception he threw) "It's just anticipation. I've just got to get the ball out quicker. I think it was the right read. It was just the ball has got to be out and that's something I can definitely improve on."

(on how disappointed he is tonight coming off of last week's win) "It was disappointing but obviously you've got to bounce back from it and keep on improving because unfortunately it's probably not going to be the only pick I throw in my career so just got to keep getting better and learn from my mistakes and watch the film and see what happens."

(on if the offense was lacking rhythm) "No, it was just we weren't really playing complementary football out there. We put the defense in some tough spots for sure, not converting on third downs, pick-six obviously doesn't help because they're playing a heck of a game at the beginning and it was just a tough outing."

(on how difficult it is for him to take a step backward in his performance) "I think it's going to be a good adventure for me, I think. I think as a young player you've got to be able to handle these situations and trust me, it sucks to lose. Excuse my language but it's just the tough feeling. As a competitor you want to go out and win. It doesn't matter if you're playing checkers or playing football. So it stings, but you've just got to keep improving."

(on the ups and downs of NFL life so far) "Yeah. I'm in a good spot here. I think the coaches do a really good job of helping me out and watching the film and critiquing what I'm doing wrong so I've just got to keep grinding, really, and keep improving. It's a crappy feeling right now but it'll get better."

(on when he hurt his knee in the game) "I don't even remember. It's just a little bruise."

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GUARD/TACKLE XAVIER SU'A-FILO(Transcribed by Omar Majzoub and John Byczek)

(on what he learned tonight) "A lot. Playing tackle is a little different than guard. It was good to go against a few different rushers because things are different. I saw different angles and used my hands differently. I have to continue to build on it." 

(on if playing tackle helps him at guard) "I think so. Overall, just seeing the scheme of the defense and seeing what rushers are where and what packages they are using. It just helps my awareness."

(on how much he expects to play in Week 1) "I'm not sure. That's a great question. I just have to come ready next week and see what the coaches want me to do. I'll see what they have for me and I'll be prepared."

(on if it's hard switching back and forth between guard and tackle) "It is sometimes. The mindset is the same, but you have to be a lot more patient at tackle as far as pass protection goes. Coaches do a good job of moving me around, so I really just need to continue to work on my technique and fundamentals."

(on if he is prepared for the regular season) "I think through camp I have learned a lot. I have been able to progress. It's my first time, but I feel prepared and hopefully, I capitalize on it."

(on if Duane Brown helps him at left tackle) "No doubt. After every series he tells me to make sure I do certain things and look out for certain things. It's just little pointers that I really appreciate from a veteran guy like him."

(on learning more throughout the regular season) "Here in this league you have to retain information quick and know information quick. You have to know the game plan and when your number is called, no matter where it is, you have to be ready to come in and do your job."

(on his experience playing left tackle) "I played a little bit in college. I also played a little against Arizona and got some good reps there. I would say I have played it a fair amount."

(on trying to comprehend everything going on) "I'm trying to get to the point where I can work on one or two things and concentrate on those and be consistent at them. I think that consistency for me is being able to get information quick and being able to adjust on the run and do it good."

(on difference between veterans and rookies) "I think as the regular season starts, I'm going to see a lot of different vets and how they operate. The preseason is over, we'll be able to see how they prepare for a regular season opponent and I'll be able to learn and piggyback off that and I think be able to just start to do things more professionally."

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POSTGAME QUOTES FROM SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

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HEAD COACH JIM HARBAUGH

LB CHRIS BORLAND

CB CHRIS COOK

RB LAMICHAEL JAMES

QB JOSH JOHNSON

WR LANCE LEWIS

WR KASSIM OSGOOD

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HEAD COACH JIM HARBAUGH(Transcribed by Hannah Pietsch, Rachel Jacob, and Stephanie Weaver)

(on what changed his mind about playing the first team offense) "I felt like a short week travelling down to Houston, I just decided to make a battlefield decision and treat it like a bye week going into the first game, rather than play a majority of the starters."

(on when the decision about not playing the first offense was made) "We decided that for sure yesterday."

(on what he thought about QB Josh Johnson's performance and QB Blaine Garrett's performance) "Very good. Very good, and, Blaine as well. I was impressed. Blaine got hit in the shoulder pretty good, pretty good thump. He's going to get an x-ray, but you know he comes back in fires a perfect pass one foot in front of the numbers and Asante (TE Asante Cleveland) made a great play on it. And Josh, I thought he had a great night. Really the one bad throw on the hitch route and left it inside and then it just got tipped perfectly right into the chest of their defender. Might have been one other play, one other time he didn't bring a motion in far enough, but other than that, he had one heck of a game."

(on if QB Josh Johnson did enough to warrant a roster spot) "I've been convinced of that for a while – that he warrants a roster spot."

(on if he would keep three quarterbacks on the roster and why) "I'd really like to. We've done that most of the time."

(on Linebacker Chris Borland's night) "Great. He did a great job jumping the route. Great hands. Made some real stout plays in run defense as well. Several guys, (CB) Chris Cook, he had a heck of a night. (WR) Bruce Ellington flashed once again in the punt return. (WR) Lance Lewis did a nice job. (TE/LS) Kyle Nelson, wow, big time night for Kyle. (WR) Kassim Osgood, great game for him. He was doing everything. There are guys. We will look, I'm sure like we told the team after the game, there are guys that played the best games of their careers tonight. It was exciting and what we wanted to see, what we asked them to do, and so many guys responded that way it was great to see. I thought (RB) Alfonso Smith was outstanding. The offensive line units played really well together, that second unit all preseason. Thought they played really well again tonight. Defensively, (LB) Chase Thomas and (LB) Aaron Lynch and (DT) Quinton Dial and (DT) Tank Carradine continued to keep coming. So many exciting things. (LB Nick) Moody was good. Thought the secondary play was very good. (CB) Darryl Morris made some plays in coverage, special teams, etc. Some really good games. Real exciting for our guys. So many of them with their uniforms sweated all the way through, grass stains all over them, it was great to see them having fun playing a game of football."

(on the difficulty of the upcoming roster cut) "It's never easy. But tonight, it was about tonight. It was about the excitement of guys playing the game, playing it the way it is supposed to be played and having a lot of fun doing it. That sure was exciting to be a part of. Some of the starters didn't get to play and that was a decision to keep them from that kind of fun. I feel bad about that for them, but some of the other guys got the chance to play the best game of their career.  That is really exciting to me."

(on the health of starters going into regular season) "We'll see. I think it's pretty good."

(on QB Blaine Gabbert needing x-rays) "He was walking down to x-rays when I was in walking here."

(on QB Blaine Gabbert playing through injury) "Yeah, he came right back in and through a touchdown pass.  I took him out. I was trying to take him out of the game. I told him we would look at it at halftime and if things were OK then we would put him back in at the second half. He just ran back out on the field and went for a touchdown pass. I never get mad at touchdown passes."

(on if QB Blaine Gabbert's injury was to his throwing shoulder) "We will let you know exactly the details after we get it looked at."

(on the game balls that were given out following the game) "I gave out two. One to TE/LS Kyle Nelson and one to WR Kassim Osgood."

(on TE/LS Kyle Nelson's transition following the touchdown) "I think he was a little tired too, but he got it done. He had a touchdown block last week, had a couple catches this week. What, two touchdown passes he caught?  It was a pretty fun night for him."

(on if WR Brandon Lloyd would have been healthy enough to play in this game) "He was still dealing with something. He would have played if he could have."

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LINEBACKER CHRIS BORLAND(Transcribed by Lance Jaramillo)

(on his interception for a touchdown) "Pre-snap they had a big split between the second and third receiver and often times that's a tip for an out route by the third receiver.  I was keyed in to it before the snap.  We were in Cover 2 though, so I had deep responsibility.  It was a little bit of a risk but it paid off."

(on if he's been told the situation for the starting job) "I haven't, no. Mike (Wilhoite) has had a tremendous camp.  I think he's got a great shot.  Whatever happens I'll just continue to work."

(on if tonight's game helped his cause for the starting position) "Hopefully.  I made some mistakes and made some plays.  That's kind of been the story this pre-season, so I have some things to improve on.  It can help."

(on if he feels encouraged by the progress he's made) "Absolutely.  Early on I had some jitters and was playing hesitant, but I got more and more comfortable as the game slowed down.  I had one of my better games, but I still made some mistakes."

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CORNERBACK CHRIS COOK(Transcribed by Edgar Veliz)

(on making a big play during a game that will decide roster spots) "Anytime you can get a turnover in a game especially in a two minute situation, it's fun.  It's football, it's part of the game and especially as DBs that is all we really want, get the turnover."

(on making the interception) "I think they had miscommunication. The receiver ran a comeback and the quarterback just threw it up. I don't know if he had pressure in his face or anything like that. I was running with the receiver looking through him back at the quarterback and I saw the ball coming. I think he thought his guy was going to bend it in by the way he threw the ball. They had a miscommunication and I capitalized on it."

(on the play of Case Keenum) "I wasn't really paying attention to him, I was playing my man. It seemed like he would get off his receivers pretty fast to me and go to his second read, third read or just scramble outside of the pocket."

(on his role with the team and ability to play in the system) "I feel good. I like the system a lot and I like the players I'm around. When you're around good players you have no choice but to be better. I go against some great receivers everyday at practice and they definitely make me better."

(on his play throughout the preseason) "I think I played pretty well. I didn't give up any balls over the top. I think they completed one ball on me and that was today, that went for about six yards. I think I'm doing pretty well and you can only get better. "

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RUNNING BACK LAMICHAEL JAMES(Transcribed by ReShun Gilmore)

(on what they expected to get out of a preseason win like this) "Momentum heading into the regular season. Coach (Harbaugh) said we have been 2-2 for however long (preseason), so that just gives us a bonus to go out there and compete and just try and make the best of it."

(on their offensive momentum heading in to the first game) "I think tonight we really hit it off on offense and I think we did a good job."

(on what he saw out of the backups in tonight's game) "Everything was clicking. It's NFL players regardless of whoever is in the game and everybody is trying to make the team regardless of who is out there, so I think everyone did a good job."

(on playing in front of a hometown crowd) "I love Texas, I absolutely love it."

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QUARTERBACK JOSH JOHNSON(Transcribed by Ryan Cantrell)

(on his performance tonight) "I felt great and really comfortable out there. We were able to go out there and play like we are supposed to. It was a balanced attack, both running and passing, and we were able to put a lot of points on the board."

(on his comfort with the offense this year as opposed to previous seasons) "I felt like I've grown as a player every year. Last year I put myself out there as being a duel-threat and this year I feel more comfortable just getting and staying in rhythm and getting the job done as a quarterback by not trying to do too much, but just taking what the defense gives me and moving the chains."

(on having more touchdowns than incompletions) "It's kind of a dream night, but the credit goes to my teammates. These guys worked hard and a lot of us are out here fighting for jobs. For us to go out there and have that much fun and execute at such a high level is fun"

(on how many quarterbacks they might keep) "All I was worried about tonight was my performance. I don't put the roster together. I don't determine the depth chart. The only thing I determine is my performance, and I felt like I was able to make a strong case for myself tonight.

(on the pressure brought from the Texans defense) "They mixed it up tonight. They ran some blitzes at us, but we were able to execute. Most of the time when you execute when a team blitzes they tend to stop, but tonight they kept coming and we kept executing, so it worked out good for us.

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WIDE RECEIVER LANCE LEWIS(Transcribed by Edgar Veliz)

(on the long pass in the fourth quarter that set up a scoring opportunity) "It was a play they called on the sideline and I was told not to go too quick. It was a stop and go play. I was patient with it, set him up and ran with it."

(on his play throughout the preseason) "I just got here. I played last week and I played tonight, and I'm not where I want to be. I still have stuff to work on. I'll put it on tape and let everyone see it, and hopefully I'll be somewhere."

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WIDE RECIEVER KASSIM OSGOOD(Transcribed by Ryan Cantrell)

(on trying to make the team) "I mean you never know, I am just going out there trying to make as many plays as I can. I am just living in the moment, having fun, and I know that whatever decision they make will be what is best for the team. Hopefully I will be a part of that."

(on how he feels about his chances to get picked up elsewhere if he gets released) "Hopefully I have done enough this preseason and that my body of work is good enough that I will be on a team week one. That is ultimately what I am shooting for."

(on how long he plans on playing) "As long as I can keep running and do a couple jumping jacks, I am good to go. I did a lot this offseason as far as my health goes by changing my diet and being able to rebound every day and be available every day. In the NFL if you are available every day that just speaks wonders for your ability to be on the team."