Following are quotes from the Texans after the team's 24-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Reliant Stadium in their regular season opener.
** Head coach Gary Kubiak
(on his thoughts of today's game)** "I'm very disappointed. I don't think any of us saw this coming. We were ready to play and came out with a lot of enthusiasm. We have a lot of work to do and knew that before we stepped out on the field today. We'll keep working until we get it right."
(on the running game) "We knew this team would be difficult to run against. They did some things defensively to take our running backs out of the game, and when they do that you know you're going to have to make some plays in the pocket. We just did not run the ball well, and their defense made it very difficult for us."
(on the positives from today's game) "I think our quarterback played well. He made some plays on his own, and even though he went down five times, three of those were a bust in the protection. I think he did some good stuff and is only going to get better. I think Eric (Moulds) and Andre (Johnson) did some good things, and I think defensively we played very well early."
(on the play of LB DeMeco Ryans) "It looks to me like he is exceptional out there. He's making tackles, plays his heart out, and will do that until the end of the game. We'll evaluate him like we do everybody else, but I know we have a fine young player."
**FS C.C. Brown
(on WR Donté Stallworth's touchdown)** "I didn't read my keys. I took my eyes off my keys and he scored."
(on the defense's play) "I thought with the way we started, it was going to be a good game. But, we slowly got out of place, and we started shooting ourselves in the foot. We knew them backwards and forwards. For them to come out and do this, it's hard to swallow."
**QB David Carr
(on a frustrating second half)** "The second half was pretty frustrating. It started off decent, but we really could never get anything going after that. For our offense to work with play action, boots, and keeps, we need to start running the ball better."
(on the five sacks in the game) "Every sack is frustrating, especially when you've got guys open. The guys are battling out front but it's not just them, we've all got to play better. Those sacks aren't just the guys out front, not just the quarterback, not just the receivers, they're everybody and we've got to find a way to fix it."
(on the batted down passes) "You get in obvious pass situations and when defensive linemen don't get a good pass rush, they put they're hands up. It mostly happens when you're trying to check the ball down when the defense gets such a good drop that you don't have anything downfield. The balls that get knocked down are when you're going to your last resort to check it down and those guys are standing two yards in front of you and they're ready to knock it down."
(on the frustration of losing the opening game) "You know these fans want to win and I'm getting a little frustrated with losing, too. It's not something we want to get going with. I think the guys in this locker room understand that we're very capable of winning football games. We have the system, I think we have the players, I know we have the heart to go out and do it."
**C Mike Flanagan
(on the Eagles' defense)** "After we moved down the field, obviously, they are going to change it up a little bit. They started going back to their four weak, four strong defense which we have seen. We had some break downs both physically and mentally in protection. Then when you get behind like that its tough. With this offense you want to run the ball and establish the run, but then it gets to the point that you just have to start winging it. When you start winging it against a team like this, with the talent they have and the scheme they have its tough. They have four lined up right down the middle, four to the left and four to the right. They are bringing four from one side and half the time you guess right and half the time you guess wrong. You saw what happened when you guess wrong."
(on what happened after the first series) "We broke down in our execution. As a whole we knew what they were going to do and we just didn't execute. Mainly as an offensive line, but as an offense as a whole."
(on Texans QB David Carr) "He was having a heck of a game. He was giving us every chance we could to win the game. If Dave (Carr) wasn't playing as well as he was it could have been a lot worse. The sacks he was taking weren't his fault. He was making the right calls, he made the right throws. We as an offense, particularly as an offensive line, weren't good enough to give him a chance to let us win."
**DT Travis Johnson
(on inability to get to the quarterback)** "We were surprised. They came out and max protected and kept everybody in. They had double teams all across the board. It was a difficult task and I think we just need to work harder."
(on learning as a young team) "As far as being a young team, we need to learn how to come out and do it again in the second half. We have to bring the same intensity that you brought to the first kick off to the second kick off. We have to keep the motor running and keep climbing."
(on this season being different than last year) "It is not going to be like last year. I think everyone in the stands feels it. From the first series of the game you can tell it is not like last season. For a second I had to look at my uniform and realize that this is the pros. The crowd sounded like we were in college, you couldn't hear anything. It is not going to be like last year."
**RB Wali Lundy
(on the offensive line's performance)** "They played hard. Some things didn't go our way today, but they were out there playing. We were out there bleeding together, and we're going to get better together as a team."
(on the best aspect of the offense) "We did a lot of things well. We had some good run plays and good pass plays, and we just have to build on the things that we did well."
(on the Eagles' experience versus the Texans' youth) "They have a lot of veterans, but we come out and expect to win every game. That's the attitude you've got to have. They came out and played well, and my hat's off to the Eagles. We've got to get better from this and move on, because we have a game next week."
(on the running game) "We didn't have our best day. I think our best days are ahead of us. We've just got to keep working."
(on the Eagles' defense) "They have a great defense. They played very well and held us to ten points, but we've got to get better. We're not going to see many defenses that are better than them."
(on his first game as a rookie and the speed of the NFL) "I wouldn't say it was faster. It's the same game. Things don't go your way all the time on the field in any football game, and you've got to be able to overcome adversity and you've got to get better."
*WR Eric Moulds *
(on today's game) "We have to learn to play a little bit better, and I think that was a good test for us with one of the better teams in the NFL. Hopefully next week we'll have a better showing."
(on how good the Eagles looked today) "I think that is going to be one of the top teams we're going to play this year. We came out early, and we hit them in the mouth and made some plays. Like a good football team, they responded and kept their poise and came back to make plays. We can learn a lot from that football team. It's a good football team. Hopefully we'll turn the corner and be that type of football team soon."
(on the touchdown pass from QB David Carr) "I think (QB) David (Carr) played well overall today. Except for a couple sacks here and there, I think that he was poised in the huddle. He did a great job for throwing the ball to (WR) Andre (Johnson) and myself, and mixing it up to the tight ends. We still have to improve on a lot of things that we didn't do well today. For the way we played early, I was excited about it, but the way we played in the second half, we have to pick it up a little bit."
**DE Antwan Peek
(on the end of the first half)** "We thought we were going to go into the half with the lead and come out feeling good, and they made some plays. It's frustrating as a defense, and we can't have that. We all need to look inside ourselves and know that we have to get better for next week against
."
**CB Dunta Robinson
(on the end of the first half)** "They had a lot of momentum going into halftime. They came out in their first drive, we made a couple of mistakes on defense, and they punched another one in. In this league, you can't make mistakes."
(on being prepared) "The coaches did a good job all week preparing us for everything they were going to give us. We have to know what situations we have, and just go out there and play."
(on the Eagles touchdown pass to WR Donté Stallworth) "He thought it was a run, and came up to play the screen, but it wasn't a screen. And, he beat us over the top. That's the way this game goes. You can't make mistakes, especially against a team like this and quarterback like this. He has been in every situation. He's going to take advantage of any mistake you make, and that's what he did."
(on the rest of the season) "We're not going to get down on this game. We have 15 games left. It's not going to be a repeat of last season. We're going to get better in practice this week and we're going to go into
and try to win. It's the NFL. You're going to have ups and downs; just try to have more ups than downs. This game is over and done with. We're going to come in, watch some film, and put it to bed."
**DE Mario Williams
(on playing in his first regular season game)** "For it to be a loss, it obviously leaves a pretty bad taste in my mouth. We have a lot of improving to do, and we'll keep chipping away."
(on his performance) "It wasn't good enough. I got doubled here and there, but I have to get past that and break through and keep pressuring the quarterback. I played nose guard about half this game, and that is something I have to get used to doing and get better at."
(on the difference between preseason and regular season) "It was a different team, with different personnel and a different intensity level. I really don't think it was that much of a difference, besides that we played the whole game."
(on the defense's performance) "They had way too many yards, and we didn't get the quarterback down on key
third downs. So, we'll come in Monday and we'll correct it. We're not going to
pout or whine or complain. We're going to come in, watch some film and correct
our mistakes."
