Following are quotes from the Texans after Sunday's third preseason game against the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High.
**Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on his homecoming) **"It doesn't feel too good right now. I think our defense played excellent to keep us in the game with all of our offensive struggles. They (the defense) just did an excellent job. We need to find out how to be a better, cleaner starting team. You have to be ready to move the ball on every snap and we were not."
(on QB David Carr)"A lot of the things that happened early in the game were David's fault. On the interception I think he tried to dump it to Wali Lundy. He (Carr) has to protect the ball. He is in charge of protecting the ball. I think we proved that we can be a pretty good team, without the turnovers."
**(on Coach Kubiak's return to
/ personal level) **"It was nice to see a lot of people who were a big part of my life for a long time. But once the football starts, it all goes out the window. We played in a tough environment tonight."
(on seeing Coach Shanahan)"We didn't say much. I basically just said thanks. We have a lot of respect for one another. We will get a chance to talk more later."
(on LB DeMeco Ryans)"He is a quality, quality person and a great football player. To ask a young rookie to be the Mike linebacker in an NFL defense right from the get go has to be a challenge. With him and Mario Williams we should be able to build a pretty good defense around those two guys. We have a lot of young players on the defensive side."
(on WR David Anderson)"He is a competitor. Some people say he is not tall enough or fast enough. But when the lights go on, he just competes. He did a heck of a job out there tonight and had a great camp. He is just a football player."
(on QB David Carr's early struggles)"As a coach you have to try to find someway to calm him down with some automatic completions. Those are hard to come by in this league. He did come back and make some very nice plays, but as a coach I need to figure out how to start the game and calm down."
(on running game)"I think we left some yardage out on the field. We blocked some plays better than we ran them."
(on familiarity with the Broncos)"I don't think I am that familiar with them, considering the way we were moving the ball. They know what they do and they do it dang well. Their personnel is as good as any in the NFL. I told my guys tonight that they won't play a group any faster or better than
. When we play teams like
**Quarter David Carr
(general) **"We started out really slow and we couldn't get anything going. We had the tipped ball and the holding penalty early. We kept hurting ourselves on offense. Our defense kept us in the game, they were awesome."
(on his interception)"I was trying to check down to the fullback but the defender got in the way and tipped the ball. Those things are going to happen."
(on preparing for the season)"We have things everyone has to work on and there are things I have to work on.I felt good with what we did out there tonight."
(on head coach Gary Kubiak)"He is awesome. The composure he has is great. He talks with me in between plays on the sideline. Those are things you don't see. He is tough. That was a defensive scheme that has seen this offense everyday in practice."
**RB Vernand Morency
(general) **"The thing is that you are only as good as your running game and we are only as good as we practice. I made a lot of mistakes out there tonight. I want to check it out on film so I can go out and work on that stuff. I left some yard out there. I'm going to correct my mistakes. I'm a professional. I go to practice to fix my mistakes. We started out slow, we have to go out and find our groove. Give credit to their defense. They work hard, especially out here."
**WR David Anderson
(on playing professional football) **"It is a lot of fun. I have got to expect the best out of myself because everyone in the pros is good. In college there were four or five really good players on every team, but now every player is good."
**(on coming back to
**"It is always really good to see guys like Bradlee Van Pelt and Cecil Sapp. Those guys are real clowns and it is good to hang out and have fun before the games. But during the game you have to hate them for a little bit."
(on making the team)"It is hard and it is the nature of the game but I am out here just trying my best to make the team."
**DE Mario Williams
(on his performance) **"I started slow, I was out there contributing. Our first drive was something like 18 plays long and I think the air is a little thin here or something. I got my second wind and I got adjusted and comfortable. I was getting off the ball and getting in the face of the quarterback."
(on being a professional)"I am working how things work. I'm learning how to prepare my body. I need to get my second wind at the beginning of the first quarter. I am using the preseason as a guide. In the middle of the second quarter I was energized and I felt a whole lot more comfortable out there."
**CB Lewis Sanders
(on Matching up against Rod Smith) **"They went at me three or four times and I did well. I'm just trying to work hard and make plays. I'm going to keep going out there and trying hard at practice to get better. I try to use my size as an advantage. (As a defensive) we haven't really gotten after (the other team) yet but we are going to be aggressive this season."
**RB Wali Lundy
(general) **"(The running backs) are going to be a big part of our offensive. I expect a lot of myself so whatever anyone expects of me can't be as much. Mentally, I just need to be prepared."
(on learning the offense)"I'm pretty much getting it but there are some tweaks that I am still learning."
(on Broncos Defense)"They knew all the plays and all of the audibles. They had an edge. In the end
they have to stop the plays and I have to be a playmaker."
