**
HEAD COACH BILL O'BRIEN**
Opening Statement:
"First thing, I just want to congratulate J.J. Watt and DeAndre Hopkins for being named to the Pro Bowl. Also, obviously, Duane Brown as a first alternate, just real happy for those guys. I am proud of all three of them, just as I am proud of this football team. As far as it relates to Brian Hoyer, Brian is still in the protocol, he has been cleared to practice on a limited basis, but not cleared to play yet. Cecil Shorts did not practice today. I don't think he will be available for the game. Rahim Moore is sick, dealing with an illness. We signed an outside linebacker to the practice squad, Jordan Dewalt-Ondijo and he is on the practice squad and then we put Tony Washington on the practice squad injured reserve. He is still here and we are trying to get him healthy and be able to work with him, so with that, I will open it up to questions."
Will it be likely that QB Brandon Weeden will be out there Sunday or is it too early to know?
"I think as we go through the week, we will determine that. Some of that has to do with Brian Hoyer and his ability to be cleared. He was in practice today, so he took reps in practice and those things. I am not really going to get into a lot of depth at the quarterback position with you guys. Where we are at right now, we are still working through all of those things."
How is DE J.J. Watt learning to play with his cast?
"Look, here is a guy that is a great player that is having to learn to play basically with one arm. When you really think about that, to me, it's remarkable. His ability to adjust from the New England game to the Indianapolis game and learn and keep being disruptive, I am telling you, it is probably frustrating for him, but you talk about a superb athlete trying to adjust to that type of an injury, that is a testament to him and his ability to still play at a very, very high level."
What have you seen from CB Johnathan Joseph this season?
"He has had a good season. He has had a bunch of pass breakups. He had a big, big play in the Indianapolis game when he caused that fumble. He is one of the leaders of our team, not just that position, but leaders of our team. Great guy, just really happy for him that the season has gone well for him. Right now, with all of those guys, including J-Jo, we really need them to keep playing well because these games only get tougher as we move on down the road here."
What has FB Jay Prosch meant to the team?
"Jay is a really good teammate. You just said it, he does a lot of different things for us. He is a core special teams player and then he is our fullback, primarily used as our lead blocker. Every once in a while we hand him the ball and he has had some productive runs. He is a tough, tough guy. He is a quiet guy, goes about his business every single day. He is always out there. He plays with the bumps and bruises that all of these guys play with and just a good guy to have on the team."
Do you really appreciate DE J.J. Watt playing through the pain of a broken hand?
"No question, I mean to understand that you would probably have to ask him what it feels like, but his ability to have that type of pain threshold and be able to go out there and do that, because you know that it can't be easy, it cannot be easy. There are a couple other guys too, don't forget Duane Brown, playing left tackle with a broken thumb. You've got Charles James playing with some issues with his feet, so you've got a bunch of guys out there, Brian Cushing, I mean right on down the line, Johnathan Joseph like we talked about, Kareem Jackson, I can name a lot of guys, which is probably the same for everybody in this league, but I am always real proud to be associated with the guys that fight through things like that."
Can you talk about bringing in QB B.J. Daniels and rushing to get him ready?
"It's never a rush. Really, I know what you are saying, but I think it is important to note that we give him plays, we talk about our base offense and then he comes back, maybe a couple hours later or the next day and he says, hey, and has these questions, maybe some things that he has done in the past that he thinks can carry, 'Hey, is this like this? I used to do this,' these types of things. Very serious guy. Very business-like approach. Right away he has come in here and gone to work and that is something that has impressed me right away in the first couple of days."
Can you talk about his experience and the type of player that QB B.J. Daniels is?
"He has had a lot of different experiences in his football career between being at South Florida and the things he did there and then being in Seattle, playing quarterback and playing a lot of receiver in Seattle. There is a lot of things that just about every pro football team runs, play-wise, and so he has some carry over to some of the things that he did in Seattle to what we are doing and then there are things that are different. Maybe it is our cadence or, obviously, our play calls or some of the things we read and things like that. He's grinding through it. I thought he went out there today and did a lot of different things for us and looked good."
What do you think is the difference for a quarterback from being thrown into a game as opposed to preparing and starting the game?
"That is a good question. I think the biggest difference is if you are being thrown into that position, for instance, Brandon (Weeden) last week, he only got one rep and I think it was a run, so you are not getting the reps that the starter gets, you just don't have enough time to split the reps 50-50 in a week's time, so the starter gets the bulk of the reps. That is a big difference. I think the other thing is when you are going in there as a backup, it is almost like you are going in there as a relief pitcher. Not to say that there is a nothing to lose attitude, but there is also somewhat an attitude where, you know, maybe I have a chance to do my job and spark the team. Especially if that quarterback, unfortunately, got injured like T.J. (Yates) or what it is. I thought Brandon did a good job. I think the key with these guys too is those guys over the last two years that have been thrust into that role, for the most part, have shown really good poise. They are able to go in there and kind of collect themselves, play it one play at a time and try to do their job for the team."
With QB Brandon Weeden only getting one rep last week, was that a byproduct of trying to catch QB T.J. Yates back up?
"I think that there are a lot of different factors that go into that. I would say, you are trying to balance practicing the running game and then you are trying to practice the passing game and making sure, in that instance, that T.J. gets enough throws with all of the different receivers, backs and tight ends that are going to play in the game. That is a big thing and there is not enough reps to go around, so you are counting on the backup quarterback to get his reps post-practice, maybe he gets out there a little earlier and works out with the receivers, gets them warmed up, whatever it is, but all of the timing is usually done by the starter with the starting receivers or the guys that are going to play in the game, so that is really more of what it was, not really much getting T.J. caught up. I think he was pretty acclimated to the offense, but it was more about getting him with the timing of the passing game."
How much was QB Brandon Weeden on your radar when you needed a quarterback and were you surprised that he was available?
"I'll answer the last one first. Never surprised by anything in this league, ever. Nothing ever surprises me. I'll go back and answer your first question because I think it is a really good one too. What we try to do in the offseason, and even during the season, you try to, you watch so much film. Obviously, you are watching yourselves, you are watching your opponent, but you may grind through some other teams. Maybe it is a team that had a really good offensive game plan you heard about in a certain game or maybe it is a quarterback that you want to take a look at and then in the offseason, you are looking at a lot of these quarterbacks, so we were familiar with Brandon and his skill set. He throws a really nice ball. He has a good arm. He has good poise, like I said, and he was a first-round draft pick, so the guy has a lot of talent and we are glad that he is here."
What have you seen from the play of S Kurtis Drummond?
"A lot of it has to do with him, himself, he is a very hard worker. He is a quiet guy. He is here all of the time. I mean he is always watching film or in the weight room or trying to get better. He works very hard on the practice field from the time he was here in OTAs to training camp, to being on the practice squad, to being elevated, he has never stopped that work ethic. I think there is something to be said about Michigan State and the way that they coach at Michigan State. Coach (Mark) Dantonio does a great job of making sure that guys understand their roles and teaches them how to play tough, hard-nosed football. Max Bullough, Kurtis Drummond, Brian Hoyer, these guys are coming in and they are good teammates, they know what it means to be a part of a team, so I think part of it is that. Kurtis has done a nice job coming in here."
Coming off a natural high in the season, how do you make sure that the team is ready to go again this week?
"I think the big thing that you have to do is you can't just get up there and give them speeches, you have to show them on film, number one, things that we need to correct from the Indianapolis game, but also you have to show them Tennessee. I'll give you a for instance. Tennessee has a lot of good players on defense. I mean you watch Jurrell Casey, you watch (Brian) Orakpo, you watch these guys play defense, DaQuan Jones, (Avery) Williamson, I mean these guys can play defense and so we show them film, this is what we have to get ready for. Offensively, Zach Mettenberger has a rocket arm, he can throw the ball. Their receivers are productive. Delanie Walker leads the NFL for tight ends in receptions, he has 74 receptions, leads them also in yardage, so a lot of good players here. We show them that and we say, 'Look, these are the things that we need to do to be able to beat this team and you better be ready to go,' and I think that is really what you have to do."
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR GEORGE GODSEY
How's QB B.J. Daniels adapting to your system?
"That's it right there, he's adapting. Today was the first day he's really met a bunch of the players and learned the cadence, learned the general offense and start the basics and kind of work our way up from there. Try to see how much he can digest and just really take it day-to-day and by the end of the week, have an idea if he's in there, what he can execute."
Why did you guys chose to sign QB B.J. Daniels?
"We have a group of people, our scouting department mainly. They basically look at players, whether it's the quarterback positon or receiver position. We have a pecking order when it comes to if something like this happens. Thank God that they do that and they're ahead of it because it's nothing that you plan for, going back to last week. This isn't anything that we thought in the spring during OTAs."
What's the key to having a quarterback ready for a game when they've only practiced a few times?
"To me, I'm a firm believer it's the players and not the plays. When it's good, those guys execute. Certainly, when it's not so good, then there's some things that maybe as coaches we can do to get them to execute better. That's just my opinion. I'll say this, anybody that's been here at that position has put a lot of time in. I think that they see that their teammates ultimately are relying on a quarterback to operate the offense. When there's teammates that are working hard and the quarterbacks see that, they know that they need to put as much time into their responsibility."
What it's like coaching FB Jay Prosch?
"Just very serious. He knows his role. Look, the fullback, it's not really a position where everybody comes out to see number 45. Now, I like seeing him in there because he does a good job when he's out there. When he's out there, we usually run the ball well. He's got his plays that are in there. We've got a lot of skill at all the positions. We try to utilize everybody that's on the active roster."
Do you look at what happened against the Colts when QB T.J. Yates went down and think about how difficult that situation was?
"That's why some of those sheets, some of them are bigger than the others that the coaches hold. We've got a sheet that has really, we call it the back of the call sheet. That's what he went in and executed. Look, give credit to Brandon (Weeden) because that – as a backup quarterback, it's difficult because, one, you don't know if you're going to get onto the field and then, two, when you are called upon, you don't know if its third-and-15, if it's two-minute. Certainly, we were able to get some points out of there. It really was a situation that was identical to the situation we practiced earlier in the week, so give credit to the head coach for us going through that. It was basically the same plays that we called during practice."
Would you like to get to a point where you're expanding your offense instead of continuously changing quarterbacks?
"I mean, the NFL, it's about adjustments. That's kind of what we had to do. Each year is different. Each game is different. That's why you can never look past the week that you're on because you don't know what the next week's going to be about."
What happens when a quarterback isn't comfortable running a certain part of the offense but you really want him to? Is there a compromise or do you have final say?
"It's a two-way street. I mean, I can go back to the Jets game where I remember T.J. (Yates) and I having a really good discussion, about a 20-minute discussion about a play and we kept it in. He executed the play on a critical third down and we went down and scored. It's a two-way street. Like I said last week, I feel like, as a coach at this level, you're more of a colleague with the players and so certainly if I feel like it's a good play but we're not executing it, then I think ultimately it's my decision, or our decision offensively, to take it out."
QB BRIAN HOYER
How do you view your potential chances of playing on Sunday?
"I'm looking forward to it. Really it's up to the doctors and I have a great group of people here, (Director of Sports Medicine/Head Athletic Trainer Geoff Kaplan) Kap and his staff, the doctors, (Head Coach) Billy (O'Brien), (Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager) Rick Smith, they've all been great with it and I trust those guys. I know they'll do what's best for me."
Do you have a percentage or gut feeling on if you'll be out there on Sunday?
"I don't."
Isn't that a good thing though because we know how competitive you are and you probably want to be out there now?
"Yeah, it is. For me, you want to get back out there and play with the guys. Putting it in the independent guy's hands is probably the best way."
How does this concussion compare to the last?
"I'm not going to compare the two. Like I said, I've been feeling better every day. It was great to get back out there today and practice. See what the doctor says."
How concerned are you that the concussions have been fairly close together?
"I think I have a great group of people getting me through this and I trust them and respect their opinions. Obviously, like I told you guys last time, I don't take it lightly. I do a lot of research, talk to a lot of people that I really respect their opinions. Like I said, it's in the doctors' hands and those are the real pros at what they do."
What would it mean to you to get back out there with so much at stake this season for the team?
"Yeah, for me, I want to be out there when we do win these games. I think that's just my nature. I'm a competitor. I want to be out there. Like I said, to get back out there today with the guys and be out at practice, it felt great."
What did you think about the way QB Brandon Weeden played?
"He did awesome, man. He did great. I was sitting at home watching and I think I was probably more nervous than he was. For me, to get to see him do well, he's been through a lot. I was with him in Cleveland, so for him to come back and have the success he did, it doesn't surprise me and he's done a great job."
Does it make you proud just based on the amount of time you all spend together in meetings? It's next man up.
"Exactly, I think that's always been the mantra here. I know J.J. (Watt) made a joke about how many quarterbacks have played here. I think it's a testament, not only to the players that are here, but (Head) Coach (Bill) O'Brien, (Offensive Coordinator) Coach (George) Godsey, they really know how to teach quarterbacks and it shows out on the field. I think every guy who's played has had moments of success and Brandon (Weeden) did a great job. I'm going to help him as much as I can because I don't know if I'm going to play. It's just as important for us to win. That's the most important thing."
What went through your mind when you saw QB T.J. Yates go down?
"For me, I've been, unfortunately, in the same spot. I texted him right away. I didn't know when he would get it but I just said, 'It's not a death sentence.' I remember when I hurt my knee, it was really the first major injury I ever had and I didn't know what to expect but I had a lot of people text me and came out and supported me and said, 'Look, just have a positive attitude.' I can't speak for how he feels but when I see him in the building, his head's up high and he's working hard. It's not a death sentence. I think there's so many great surgeons and so many people who do rehab really well. It's actually a pretty unique process. I've kind of offered my experiences to him on that."
What is it about Head Coach Bill O'Brien and his staff that allows them to get quarterbacks ready to play in such a short amount of time?
"I think he does a great job, they both do, with the system that's here. Not only that, but really, applying it to the players that they have. When you have a guy like Brandon (Weeden) that's only been here a few weeks, maybe giving him plays that he's comfortable with. That way, he can go out and execute them in a game. I think we spend so much time in those meeting rooms. Regardless of who's starting, (Offensive Coordinator) George (Godsey) is keeping everyone on their toes. Whether it was T.J. (Yates) who was playing and he was asking Brandon or whether it was me playing and he was asking T.J., they do a great job of making sure they're coaching everyone and not just the player who's playing."
How do you manage being patient and wanting to be out there playing?
"Like I said, I know it's kind of out of my hands at this point. I just keep working to get better and feeling better. When the doctor says go, then I go. That's the way I look at it. Obviously, there's a lot of frustration. You want to be out there playing. You never want to see someone else doing your job, especially in the situation that we're in. I'm doing everything I can to improve my health and I think it's showing. I felt great out there today and we'll just take it one day at a time."
DE J.J. WATT
How's your hand feeling?
"It's only been two weeks, so I just have the cast off because I had to take a shower. I'm getting the cast back on in a minute. It's only been 14 days. It's still in the healing process. There's still a little bit of ways to go, but I get more and more comfortable with it every day. We get more and more efficient at making the club the way we want it. It's coming along."
Are you getting more comfortable playing with a club?
"I am. I get more comfortable. I was more comfortable this game than the last game. I'm definitely going to be more comfortable moving forward here. It's just a matter of getting used to it, understanding what you're capable of and what you can't do. Not trying to do something that you really shouldn't be trying to do. Trying to help my team whatever way I can. I mean, I saw the Florida basketball player that had one arm and he was making layups out there. I have my arm, it's just clubbed up, so I don't feel so bad. That kid was pretty impressive."
How is it dealing with the pain during games?
"That comes in and out. There's moments where it's much more painful than others. There's moments where it really isn't painful at all. It really just depends. Football is a violent game so obviously it's getting smacked around all the time and getting hit. There's very painful moments, but then there's also times where it's not that bad."
How do you handle dealing with the pain?
"It's just a mentality. It's whether you want to play through it or not, that's all it comes down to. Pain is something that is going to be there. It just comes down to whether or not you're willing to play through it."
What's your reaction to making another Pro Bowl?
"It's always a great honor to be selected to the Pro Bowl, no matter how many times you make it. No matter how many years you've been in the league, it's always an honor to be considered among the league's best. It's such a credit to the guys on my team, the coaches, the players, for putting me in position to have success. I'm very fortunate. It's a high honor."
What's your reaction to WR DeAndre Hopkins making his first Pro Bowl?
"He is very deserving. He's a very deserving player. He's an outstanding player in this league and I'm sure it's the first of many for him."
What's it like preparing for QB Zach Mettenberger after facing him earlier this season?
"Obviously, you'd rather have film on a guy than not have film on him. We've played him a few times now over the last year and a half or two. He's familiar with us. We're familiar with him. It's going to be a good challenge on Sunday. It's going to be fun."
How much does the team talk about how you could clinch the AFC South this weekend?
"I think everybody kind of understands the situation, but we also know if we take care of our business these next two weeks, we don't have to worry about any scenarios or anything like that. We just need to go out there, play our game and win. I think there's a lot less talk than people may think because we know all we need to do is play our game and go out there and win."
It could be QB Brian Hoyer or QB Brandon Weeden this weekend. Do you think about the quarterback situation at all?
"I have no clue who is going to play and quite frankly, it's my job to go out there and stop people from scoring points so whoever (Head) Coach (Bill) O'Brien puts out there, we're going to play the best defense we possibly can to make their job real easy."
Are you done wearing a cast?
"No, I'm going to get one in about two minutes here. Like I said, just got out of the shower so I got a chance to take the club off after practice and clean it up so I don't smell too bad."
How nice is it to be playing football games that matter in December?
"This is the time of year you want to be playing big football games, important ones. In my career here so far, it's not that long of a career, but I've played extremely important games this time of the year and games that really didn't mean a whole lot at this time of the year. I'm very fortunate and very happy to be playing games that matter and games that matter a whole lot. It's a great time of the year and we're very excited about it."
QB BRANDON WEEDEN
Talk about your situation and how that helps you going into this week?
"I think it helps. I mean just from a comfort level with the guys around me, now that they have actually heard me call a play in the huddle, it doesn't sound different for them. Yeah, basically two quarters of football and able to do some decent things offensively and, like I said, we got a feel for each other and now it is just seeing where we are at moving forward."
Do you have your arms around just how big this game is for this team with the chance to win the division?
"Yeah, absolutely. It is a divisional opponent, obviously, but it's just against another good football team. We know what is at stake, absolutely, and we are playing for it and that is on the forefront of everybody's mind. We got to win the rest of them and the rest of it will take care of itself. We know how big it is and we are excited about this opportunity."
Is it mind boggling after being release by the Cowboys to now be playing to win a division title?
"Yeah, it is pretty crazy. I am not complaining. You'll get some extra football if we take care of business. I have wrapped my mind around it. Obviously, Dallas didn't have the kind of season that they hoped for and we are in a good position here, so it's exciting. I am excited to be here."
How do you clear the clutter of the Cowboys' offense out of your head?
"When you get here, there is no similarities. If a heard a word that was maybe the same, then in my brain it might – now I am just learning something new, so it is a completely fresh start, learning all new language and that probably makes it a little bit easier."
How does this week's preparation compare to last week's preparation?
"Off the practice field, it is the same. I am going to study the same. I am going to do all of the same things, mentally, to try to get myself ready and then I may get a few extra reps this week than I did last week, a few extra throws to guys that I didn't get in the past and that was probably the thing, I really didn't get the chance to throw that many routes to these guys because there is just limited throws out there, so if I get the opportunity to make a couple of throws I might have to make if I were to play on Sunday, at least I have seen them once or twice and got a little bit of a feel for it."
Can you appreciate what QB B.J. Daniels is going through right now?
"Yeah, I told him, we were watching tape yesterday, and I told him, I said, he was asking me questions and I go, 'I know exactly how you feel. I probably don't know a lot of the answers, but between the two of us, we will find out the answers.' I am trying to help him out as much as possible. Obviously, guys like Brian (Hoyer), T.J. (Yates) and those guys are, even Ben (Jones), Ben also, I told him if you have any questions just ask Ben. Ben will handle a lot of it as far as the Mike points and stuff like that."
Can you give us an idea of the level of comfortability that you have?
"Getting better. I would say getting better every week. They all have said that it is kind of a game plan offense, so last week is in the dead and this is a whole new offense essentially. Now it is just learning it fresh and understand why we are learning certain plays to attack what they are doing. I think for me just going out and doing the little things, day one stuff, get the cadence right, get the Mike points right, the communication, if I can just over-communicate, then we have good players, so hopefully the rest will take care of itself."
TITANS INTERIM HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY CONFERENCE CALL
Can you talk about RB Antonio Andrews and what he has meant for your running game?
"Yeah, he is obviously an undrafted free agent we signed last year, didn't get a lot of playing time last year, had a few snaps towards the end of the year, but nothing as much as he is getting asked to do now. We have run Antonio as our feature guy the last six to eight weeks and we are trying to get more reps in to David Cobb and Bishop (Sankey) to see if we can get a little bit of a rotation going, but he has kind of been our workhorse for us."
With DE J.J. Watt playing with a broken hand, does it change the way you prepare for him?
"No, and I don't see him playing one-handed. I see a reckless, going 100 miles an hour, all out, same as he always does. So no, nothing is going to change how we prepare."
How do you prepare for not knowing which quarterback is going to start for the Texans?
"That won't change either. It's not like you are having one that a, like a (Marcus) Mariota that can run and get out of the pocket and one is a pocket – they are very similar, obviously, a couple of different changes, but nothing significant enough that you would have to change your game plan."
Have you noticed anything about the Texans defense over the past month that has allowed them to get back on track after a rough start to the season?
"I think they have changed a little bit of their philosophy of what they are doing on the back end with their coverages and even doing some things differently up front than they were the last time we played these guys. A little bit more of what (Defensive Coordinator) Romeo (Crennel) has done in the past, I am starting to see that and it looks like they have kind of settled in and comfortable with what they are playing and very confident in what they are doing."
What type of issues do OLB Jadeveon Clowney and OLB Whitney Mercilus cause for you up front?
"Yeah, there are issues. There is no question about it. They are all very good players. It looks like Clowney is probably as healthy as he has been and he is a force to be reckoned with and Mercilus, we had problems with him the last time we played these guys, so we know we have some matchup concerns that we have to deal with and we are going to try and handle that."
How tough of a matchup is WR DeAndre Hopkins for you?
"Well he is the real deal. There is no question. He is a, we call them game wreckers, he is a game wrecker. You got to make sure you know where he is at all times and cover him with two if you can and just not let him get over the top of you. He is a threat. He is a really good football player."
What are you looking for in this week's game?
"I would just like to see us play a complete game, put all three phases together, because when we have done that, we have been playing two different halves the last two games. We have had chances to win some earlier games a few weeks back then when we were playing good football and I would just like to see that for these last two games against, obviously, division opponents and our last one at home. I would just like for us to put a real good game together and see what the outcome is if we do that."
Does your offense have to evolve with QB Zach Mettenberger instead of QB Marcus Mariota?
"Well you are not going to do some of the things that Marcus has done since his Oregon days. Obviously, two different, I was saying that earlier, a little different with the pocket passer, but it is not going to be a complete overhaul. You saw Zach run last week an offense that was designed around Marcus and had some success running it, so it is not a huge change, but there are some variations because of his athletic ability."
How is Titans WR Kendall Wright feeling? Will he go Sunday?
"Well, he practiced more than I expected him to today, which was a good sign, but I am going to wait and see how he progresses. I just want him to have a night after a day of work and see how he is in the morning."
TITANS OLB BRIAN ORAKPO CONFERENCE CALL
When you were with the Washington Redskins, did you play against Brandon Weeden?
"I'm trying to remember. No, I never played against him."
What's it like to go against a team that's rotating quarterbacks?
"I kind of consider it almost more challenging because you really don't know what you're going to get, especially with a guy like (Brandon) Weeden coming in and running a different scheme. You don't really have that much film to gauge it off of. We definitely are going to have to study him a little bit more than the usual."
Do you go back and watch QB Brandon Weeden's game with the Browns and Cowboys?
"Yeah, but like I said, it's more his mannerisms and his style of play, from that aspect, that's why you would go back to Cleveland games and Dallas games. Then with his game with the Texans and him coming in for (Brian) Hoyer, just going through the type of scheme they're running. You kind of take everything from that aspect and put it into one. You learn from that."
Before you went to the University of Texas, were you a Texans fan?
"I definitely was a Texans fan. Obviously growing up in Houston, I became a Titans fan when they moved to Tennessee. Then when we finally got a new team with the Texans, I definitely became a Texans fan because I've always been a local type of guy."
What's it been like going from the Redskins to the Titans?
"It's definitely been a transition, but the move was very smooth. Learning and coming into a situation where the defense is very familiar to me. I had a great coaching staff. The transition was a lot smoother than I expected."
What would it mean to you to stop the Texans from clinching the division this weekend?
"We got some things that we want to – we want to kind of go out with some pride and some dignity as well. Obviously if they win one of these games, they can clinch the division. But at the same time, we're a team that's kind of playing for jobs over here. We don't know what to expect and we don't know how things are going to transpire once the season is over with. Also, playing for pride. We don't want to go out on a losing streak. We definitely want to end the season on a high note."
Is your family Texans fans?
"Yeah, they are. Texans are definitely their team when they're not playing me, obviously. My brother is definitely a huge – like I said, when we grew up, anything Houston, we love. Obviously, they're still to this day. If they're playing the Titans, obviously they are rooting for the Titans but anything except for that, they are definitely Texans fans, no question about that."
What have you learned from Dick LeBeau?
"I've learned a lot. Just from the experience that he's been through, things to help my game. He just brings a different type of energy to the team and to the defense, especially. We all feed off of that. We've had somewhat of a great defense all year long and we kind of fell back off these past couple weeks, but we got to get back on the right track. But he's definitely been a big part of our success this year."
What is the most dangerous part of the Texans offense?
"Those 'shot' plays. Those big plays to number 10 (DeAndre Hopkins). Then you definitely can't discount what (Alfred) Blue brings to the table, their running back. He's definitely a back that can get some yardage if you give him some creases. But we definitely have to do a good job against their shots, their passing attack with Hopkins, their Pro Bowler, leading the way. He's a big-time threat. Not only against us, but he's been doing it all year long."
