Texans Quotes: October 9

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Head Coach Gary Kubiak** Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison
T Duane Brown
ILB Brian Cushing
TE Owen Daniels
RB Arian Foster
TE Ryan Griffin
QB Matt Schaub
DE J.J. Watt
QB T.J. Yates
Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher
Rams QB Sam Bradford

Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on if QB Matt Schaub will start this week) "Yes, he will."

(on if it was an easy decision to decide that QB Matt Schaub will start this week) "No, it was a tough decision, real tough. But I feel like it's the best thing for our football team this weekend. A lot of thought went into it, a lot of evaluations and things going on, but I thought it was the best decision going into this game."

(on if he can talk about some of the things that went into his decision to keep QB Matt Schaub as the starter) "Not really. A bunch."

(on what he talked to QB Matt Schaub about) "We talked about a lot of the same things, but obviously I talked to him about my process and what I go through to look at things and just so he understands where I'm coming from. We just had a good meeting and I told him what we're going to do, and we move forward. We talk a lot. It's not like that's the first time we've talked."

(on TE Owen Daniels' status) "Yeah, y'all know about his injury. He's going to miss some time. The short-term IR is a possibility of that happening, so it's something that's being talked about. We don't quite know exactly how many weeks we're dealing with right now."

(on if TE Owen Daniels has been put on short-term IR) "I wouldn't even know. I'm busy with practice right now. I know that Rick (Smith) and them are discussing that, trying to evaluate what's going on. I know it's a possibility though. It could have happened, but I don't know, I've been busy with football today."

(on if he feels better about QB Matt Schaub's confidence after talking to him) "First off, it's only human when you're going through what he's going through. You don't just have a conversation and you're OK. You're OK when you start playing better and your team starts winning games. That's when you get OK. I understand that. I'm just trying to help him work through it. I'm trying to do some things practice-wise that hopefully can help and do everything I can, from my perspective as a coach, to help a player work through something. That's what I'm trying to do and he understands exactly what I'm trying to do."

(on if he's worried about the special teams, more specifically K Randy Bullock) "Yeah, it's a little bit of a concern. He actually hit it pretty good there for a few weeks. He misses one there the other night that could have obviously started the game off better for us as a football team. He has been kicking off pretty well. I have confidence in him if that's what you're asking me. He's got all the tools to be a really good kicker in this league. It's about consistency. What's he right now? 7-for-12 or something like that. So that needs to get a lot better. But our confidence in him isn't going anywhere. We think he's going to be a fine kicker, just need him to be more consistent."

(on if he can address the tight end situation) "Well, Garrett (Graham) obviously plays a lot for us anyway. He's like a starter and so he becomes our starter. Then, our young guy, will play a lot, (Ryan) Griffin will play a lot. And then we went and got (Jake) Byrne back on our roster. That's where we're at. Obviously, we'll miss OD (Owen Daniels). He's a big part of what we do offensively and we've had some challenges offensively. We've lost Duane (Brown). Andre (Johnson's) played nicked up. Now, we've got to work through OD's situation, but that's part of football. We've got to find a way to work through it."

(on if this is gut-check time for the team this week) "I think it's always that way. I think it's gut-check time in this league every Sunday when you take the field. Obviously, we have not been playing the way we want to play in some areas as a football team. It's hurt us and it's something we've got to correct real quick. It's week six and we've got to find a way to win a game."

(on TE Ryan Griffin's role now) "Well, he's a very talented young man. He's very smart. He's done a good job. He has played a little bit. He's played in some of our other tight end sets, so we have confidence in him as a player. His role's going to increase. His role's been mostly special teams from that standpoint right now. Obviously, he and Garrett (Graham) are our guys if we go to a two-tight end system. Just time for him to grow up real quick. It's a lot like (DeAndre) Hopkins. He's a rookie and fixing to play a lot of football. He's got to play well."

(on TE Jake Byrne's role) "We had (Jake) Byrne in camp. He's kind of a line of scrimmage guy. We know he can do some of that for us. The biggest thing getting him back was the fact that we know he can get ready real quick. He knows our system from camp, so it's not a big adjustment. If we need him this Sunday, possibility he could be ready to play."

(on TE Garrett Graham) "He's just turned into a really good player. He's very versatile. Garrett plays pretty good on the run game. He's always been a threat in the pass game. He's somebody that's grown up a lot. How many touchdowns does he have this year? So he's been very productive in what he's doing. But we've got a lot of confidence in him. His play's fixing to pick up big time and he needs to play big time for us."

(on the defense not forcing turnovers) "Yeah, we're talking about that. One thing that would help is if we played in different type of games. You get turnovers when you're ahead in some games and people have to throw. We played a team last week that threw the ball 16 times, so it makes it very, very difficult. But we've played very well defensively. We can improve in the run game. We can improve in the red zone. We can improve in turnovers. As well as we're playing, there are a lot of things we can get better at."

(on his reaction to reports that there was an incident at QB Matt Schaub's house) "None, really. I've got no reaction."

(on RB Ben Tate fumbling in back-to-back games and if that's a cause for concern) "It's a concern any time when somebody turns the ball over, but I've got confidence in Ben, just like I do in our quarterback. We've got to get Ben fixed. We're ripping at the ball in practice, doing everything we can to help him. He's played well for us. I've got a lot of confidence in him. He knows he can't go out there and do that. It goes right with the rest of the turnovers. Those count too."

(on how the evaluation of the team was different this week) "I don't know that it was much different. I evaluate every week. I probably got much more involved at one spot if that's what you're asking me. It was very involved from that standpoint. We're always in an evaluation mode and deciding where we go next and how we go into the next week. We got home real late, I gave the players Monday and Tuesday away from the coaches and had them watch the film and get their workout in on their own because I needed some time and we needed some time just to come to some decisions and stuff like that. But as far as evaluations, we're always in that mode."

(on meeting with the team this morning) "Yeah because I didn't talk to him Monday or Tuesday."

(on the team's injuries, particularly G Brandon Brooks) "He practiced today. It was positive. The guys that didn't practice were Andre, Keshawn, Sharpton, Wade Smith, Dobbins. Duane Brown and Brooks did practice, somewhat limited, but they both practiced the entire practice."

(on if WR Andre Johnson not practicing was because of rest) "Yeah."

(on if the offense has been too predictable) "You always look at yourself. I think we've done some really good stuff. When you're moving the ball for almost 400-yards-a-game in this league, that's pretty good. We're seventh in the league. We feel like we're 32nd right now, to be honest with you with the way it went last week. But we've got a top-five rusher in football. I think we have the number two receiver in football. So somebody's blocking and somebody's throwing it. So there's something good going on, but the negative thing that's going on is hurting all that stuff. So we've got to get that fixed."

(on how T Duane Brown played last Sunday) "I thought Duane played pretty good for missing two weeks. I thought he played pretty darn well. Obviously, they have a very good defensive football team. I think he'll work his way but to totally 100 percent, but for him to hold up all week and be back on the football field today is a good thing."

(on if he'll keep rotating at right tackle) "I think you'll see Ryan (Harris) play maybe a few series or something. I think (Derek) Newton is getting better. He's been put in some tough stops because we've been throwing the ball a great deal and we expect a great deal out of him. I think Ryan, basically what Ryan has done has come in and played for us for a couple of weeks and basically played in a manner that, 'Hey, I maybe deserve to be out there a little bit.' It's more about one guy and what he's done."

(on if the tough start to the season could be a blessing in disguise) "Are you going to convince me of that right now? (joking). That's football. You're right, we were rolling last year and things were going pretty good, playing in totally different football games than we're playing in right now. But it has been rough here the last few weeks. You've just got to be tough enough to get it turned and to start playing the way we're capable of playing. You're always working toward the next win, regardless of what's going on. There's nothing easy in this business."

(on WR Keshawn Martin's status) "Shoulder. He just missed practice today. We'll see where he's at tomorrow."

Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison
(on the decision making process of naming QB Matt Schaub the starter) "100 percent behind it. We all are in this building. When we make a decision, we make it as a group and we stick by it. We're all 100 percent. We're looking forward to the weekend and going out and performing and doing much better obviously on our side of the ball."

(on the confidence level of QB Matt Schaub) "We're out there to practice. We're out there to get everybody better, including Matt. He'll deal with that when he needs to. We're behind him. We're behind every player on our team, it doesn't matter who it is. We're out there as a group to get better and certainly we need to function better. Each guy has to do his job better, me included."

(on QB Matt Schaub needing to play better to feel better and to get a win to help regain confidence) "Sure. We all want to move on to the next one. The last one wasn't so good. We will. We had a good start today and we'll just keep progressing through and get ready to roll."

(on if he thinks that one good game can erase the previous bad games) "Nobody has a crystal ball but we as a group just need to win. We need to get out there and play and win. Our efforts have been good, we're just not coordinated in a couple of different things and that's on us as coaches and that's on them as players to get it all together and to be a little bit more cohesive and consistent as we said throughout the year."

(on how QB Matt Schaub has been in meetings) "My meetings with him, he's been fine. We installed the offense. He understands what we're trying to do as far as the Day One base stuff. It's business, kind of as usual. Everybody is kind of in their routine and making sure we get it all and understand what we're doing. As far as I know, the whole team, we're behind it and ready to go."

(on changing the focus of the offense to keep QB Matt Schaub away from plays that have gotten him in trouble) "We're just trying to win a game and trying to move the ball. I don't think there is a focus one way or another. We're looking for the best ways to attack the rams on defense, whatever they may be. That's what we're working towards."

(on if anything mechanically has changed with QB Matt Schaub over this stretch of time) "Not that I'm aware of. Again, I'm really trying to focus on getting everybody in the same spot and getting them in the right spot to get better as a group."

(on if he has had another quarterback going through a patch like this that he can draw on) "There has been history of guys, I'm not really looking back at anything and I don't really recall because I'm not that focused on it. I'm really focused on the next day's work and focused on our players and make sure they understand to cutting down mental errors and making sure our techniques are correct."

(on if he evaluates himself and his play calls when QB Matt Schaub struggles) "You evaluate the whole process. I don't know that I need to get into every detail, but we're in the business to win games. We're doing whatever we think is best to win this next game. Like every week, we evaluate and make sure that everybody is in the right spot. Did we do the right thing for them? This game was no different than any other. Even if we win, we're still up there talking about did we do the right thing? Could we have done this better? Could we have done that better? I'm not sure that there was that much more extra put into it. We're just making sure that we give our team the best chance to succeed."

T Duane Brown
(on his thoughts on QB Matt Schaub continuing to start this week) "I'm excited about it. Matt's obviously the best guy for the job. We all as competitors, as athletes, have our moments when we don't perform to the best of our abilities. He went through a rough patch, but I have all the confidence in the world in him and I think the rest of this team does. We're going to hold him down. I'm going to protect for him and he's to win some ball games for us."

(on if he sees QB Matt Schaub having fire in his eyes this week) "Absolutely. I think he knows the kind of player he is. He knows that some of the decisions he's made over the past few weeks are not him, that it doesn't define him. I don't think anybody should let that define him. He has a great body of work and he's ready to go. I can look in his eyes today and tell he's ready to go."

(on if the team just needs a few things to go right to get back on track) "Yeah, that's what it's all about. You've just got to hit your stride. We've just had things go the wrong way for us these past few weeks. But we're going to get back on the right track. We still have a lot of football left to play and the possibilities are still endless for us."

(on if the game this week is a must win) "Yeah, we have to win this one for more reasons than one. I think just for our own psyche. To be optimistic about everything, we have to get going in the right direction. We're at home. There's no better time to get a W than at home. Also, from a record standpoint, you want to even the thing out sooner than later."

(on what the offensive line can do to help out QB Matt Schaub) "Number one, we can run the ball better, so we're not forced to drop back as much. We are a running team. We're a run-first team. We have been like that for a long time. Number two, when we're asked to pass protect, we have to hold up no matter how long it's going to take. If receivers have to run longer routes and it takes a while for them to get open, we've got to block longer. Whatever it takes to keep him comfortable back there and keep tall in the pocket, we've got to do it."

ILB Brian Cushing
(on how much of a defining moment Sunday's game can be given the adversity the team has gone through the last couple weeks) "I think it's just important because it's our next game. I'm not sure exactly as far as the adversity and what needs to get done but we understand that we're 2-3 and we need to win a football game."

(on what he thinks about fans screaming obscenities at a player's family at the player's home) "I don't know. Obviously that's something you don't want to deal with and something that's very unnecessary and I believe, crossing the line. I don't know the full details of the story and everything but obviously, that's something that you don't want to deal with and something that is going too far."

(on if he has ever had a fan show up at his house) "No."

(on what the defense can do to improve in the red zone and forcing turnovers and what the defense can do to become a truly great defense) "Those two things are important because if we're ranked number one now, and if we do those things better we can be that much better and we understand that. We can take points off the board and make the games closer and hopefully get the ball back for our offense to score."

(on if the coaches are doing anything different as far as concentrating on forcing turnovers) "Yeah. You can practice as much as you want and really stress getting the ball back but it's one of those things that kind of happen in bunches. Rather, it happens or it doesn't. We'll continue to practice and stress it every day, getting after the ball, stripping it, trying to get tips, overthrows, interceptions, all that. But it's just one of those things that will eventually turn into habit."

(on how much he sees the issues being a quick-fix for the team as a whole) "I obviously think that taking care of the ball is very important. Right now, we haven't been doing a great job on both sides of the ball. I believe that's a team effort and I think once we start doing that, we're going to see drastic changes in the outcomes of our games."

(on being in games where there aren't many chances to force turnovers, like last Sunday's game against San Francisco) "Yeah, we didn't have that many snaps defensively but the ones that we do have, we have to take advantage of and find a way to make a play, whether it's an interception or a fumble or anything just to get the ball back and to control the clock and the possession."

(on if he feels like the defense is tired yet) "No, I don't think so. But at the same time, I think we feel that we're not playing our best football, which is kind of exciting because defensively, we feel like we're just getting going and statistically we're right at the top. But we feel like we definitely have some room for improvement, can get the ball back and play overall better team defense."

(on if there is any reason to think there is a defeatist attitude in the locker room) "No. Just being in this locker room, there's no sense of panic or anything because we know the capabilities and talent we have in here. Yeah, we're sitting at 2-3 but at the same time, we have a lot of football left. As quick as this thing went south for us, it can go right back up again. We know that and it's going to happen."

(on what practice was like today) "Fun. Energetic. These last three weeks we lost in dramatic fashion and in certain ways that we never figured that we would. We're trying to get all of that out of our system right now and know we're not playing our best football. Just be positive. Just be positive and know that we have a lot of room for improvement and it's going to happen."

(on if this is a time when the team will find out what it's made of) "I think we know what we're made of. I don't think we have to find out or anything. We know what we're made of. Maybe everyone else is waiting for us to prove it and that's fine because we know it will happen."

(on if there was any doubt from the players in knowing that Gary Kubiak was going to say that Matt Schaub was the starting quarterback) "No. I think we all pretty much assumed that and we stand behind him and know what kind of player he is. Yeah, he's gone through a little bit of a rough patch but like I said, as far as the team and as a player, as quick as things go south, it could turn right back around in a game and we could get rolling real quick."

(on Gary Kubiak having his players' backs) "When you look at Matt's (Schaub) body of work, a lot, lot more positive than negative. Matt's played very good football for a bunch of years now and he's been an extremely consistent starter in this league and the leader of this team for a while now. He's had a couple rough games. I think everyone does in their career but it's obviously highlighted more when you're the quarterback. He's caught a lot of unfair stress and negativity, complaints about him, but we all have faith in Matt and know he's going to get this going real quick."

(on if this is a must-win game because of what's going on in the division) "It's a must-win because it's our next win. At the same time, whatever is going on in the division, we have a lot of division games left. We understand that and we're looking forward to those games and we're looking forward to winning those games. We'll take care of the division when it's our time to play against one another. We can't worry about the other games, what's going on and how they're winning or not. We'll take care of the division games when they come around. But this is a must-win because it's our next game. It's as simple as that."

(on how he tunes out outside distractions) "I don't really listen to it. It's not going to do anything for me. What's in this locker room is going to take care of itself. The guys in here work and we take care of each other. We can't worry about other people's opinions and what they tell us to do because we know what's best for us and no one really knows how hard we work and what we get done. So we have to worry about ourselves, take care of our business and not worry about outside opinion."

(on if facing adversity early in the season and overcoming it can make the Texans a tougher team down the stretch) "I think so. Last year we started out 5-0 and this year it's a little bit different of a situation. But at the same time, we kind of went through this at the end of last season. So if we go through that again this season and play the way we did at the beginning of last season the rest of the year that would be great. Who says that can't happen? So it's definitely a possibility."      

TE Owen Daniels
(on what it's been like going through his injury situation) "Whenever you're injured, it's not ideal. It's something you've got to deal with though. It's kind of part of the job sometimes. I'm here. I'm going to be ready for the end of the season. That's what the outlook is. The situation, it is what it is but it could be worse."

(on what the doctors told him about his injury) "I fractured my fibula up toward my knee. Something that's like a four- to six-week injury, four- to eight-week injury. They've got me on that short-term IR, designated-to-return, which I think is the best thing to do for myself and the team, bringing an extra body in and giving me the right amount of time to heal up and not rush anything. I'll be around the guys, doing what I can to help out, getting healthy and I'll have those fresh legs for the end of the season."

(on when the injury happened against San Francisco) "I went back and looked at it because I wasn't sure how it happened. One of my legs got landed on. It was the last catch that I caught, the last catch that I had. He landed on me funny; I hopped up and then started to run off. I was getting subbed out. It just felt like I got Charlie-horsed. It felt like I had a bad Charlie horse. I didn't think much of it until the next morning."

(on how hard it is to not be able to help his team out during this tough stretch) "It's always tough when you can't play. You always want to help out, especially the situation that we're in. It's not ideal. Obviously I want to be out there helping the guys out, getting things back on track. But we've got plenty of other people that can do it. I know the tight end group is going to step up and continue to play well like we have been. I'll be ready there later on in the season."

(on what things need to change to turn things around offensively and what Matt Schaub needs to do differently to turn things around) "I'm not about to sit here and critique Matt (Schaub) at all. I don't play quarterback. I play tight end. I can look at other players and what they're doing. I can't critique Duane Brown. I can't tell Arian (Foster) what to do, where to run. I know my job, my assignments and what I'm supposed to be doing and I know everyone else is out there playing hard. As a whole, we need to be more consistent. We ran the ball pretty well Sunday. We had to get away from it because we were down. So you want to have some consistency on both sides. Run to set the pass and that helps everything out, makes it easy both ways. That's always when we've been most consistent and most explosive and hardest to defend, when we're doing stuff off of the run."

(on if having to deal with more difficult injuries in the past makes this injury easier to deal with) "Yeah, I mean I guess having experience with being out and handling things during the season, a period of time during the season I guess helps. I've been around this for a while so I know how to handle myself and making sure that I'm in shape, ready to go, fresh, when I get a chance to come back. It kind of stinks right now but I know all the guys will get this ship righted and be in a good position when I get back so I can help out when that time comes."

(on the mood of the locker room after three straight losses) "I think our spirits are high. There's no point in being down and moping and being sad or whatever that negative feeling is. That's not going to help us out. Wins and losses, you've got to move on even though it's been three tough ones. We've got to keep pushing and I think everyone is on the same page there. From what I heard, there was some more competition out at practice today, which is good. We'll make sure we're having fun playing ball and obviously doing our jobs at the same time but those things kind of go hand-in-hand. The guys will get it back together for this Sunday and have a good outing."

(on if he expects to be back against Jacksonville in eight weeks) "Yeah. I don't know what game it is. I'm on that short-term (injured reserve), so whatever game it is, I guess I'll just see how it goes. But from everything I've heard, most things I've heard is it's four-to-six weeks. It's good to have those extra couple weeks there that are built in for me with the situation so that I can be feeling good. I can't tell the future. I can tell that I've healed well in the past and my bones have healed well when I've had issues with that. I'm going to do everything on my end to do the right thing nutrition-wise and rehab-wise. I anticipate being ready to go."

RB Arian Foster
(on if this game is a gut check for the team) "Yes, yes it is."

(on the team's approach this week) "It's only five games into the season. It's not over yet. I'm not panicking. I don't see anybody else panicking, so we're just going to keep going to work."

(on if this game is a must win) "This is the NFL, every game is a must win game. Every game is big. It's not like the NBA or baseball where you can just casually take L's (losses). The NFL is you've got to win everyone."

(on if QB Matt Schaub shared anything about the incident that happened to him last night) "No, I'm not going to give any light to that anyway."

(on the Houston fans going overboard) "Like I said, I'm not going to shed any light to negative people. We appreciate the support."

(on if he's ever had fans show up to his place) "Hell no."

(on the team struggling early and if that could be a blessing in disguise later on) "No, I don't think losing is a blessing in disguise. I think it's just everything we're doing is correctable. It's not like we're not physically able to compete with other teams. We're in all these games, but we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot. You've just got to keep going to work and correct those mistakes."

(on if it's frustrating that the team is putting up a lot of yards and yet a couple mistakes have cost them) "That's football. Football's a game of inches. I've been around teams where you make a couple of those plays. I've been on teams where you don't make a couple of those plays. That's the difference in 6-10 or 12-4. It's that small, minute of a difference. You've just got to keep plugging away."

(on the Rams front) "They're a good football team. They've had their struggles stopping some things and we've had our struggles executing. It's all about who executes the best on Sunday's."

(on if he's ever had a really difficult stretch in his career and how he overcame that) "You stay as far away from media as possible because it's just noise. With all due respect, you guys have a story to write, but it tends to, at times, mess with people's psyche. It kinds of takes away from your ethos. You've just got stay away from it as much as possible. Get off the internet or whatever. Don't listen to any of the negative. Go back to basics. You're in the NFL. You don't just get here because you're not good. You're here for a reason, so you just cut all that noise off and go to work."

(on his thoughts about QB Matt Schaub continuing to be the starter) "I'm going to ride with him. Coach makes those decisions and we don't have a say so in it, but I still am confident in my quarterback. He needs to know that. I think everybody on this team feels the same way, so I'm going to ride with him."

(on the noise surrounding QB Matt Schaub) "I don't watch TV."

(on the noise other than being on TV) "The only time I hear it is when I get interviewed from it. I promise. I told my family, 'Don't talk to me about nothing you hear.' I don't watch TV. I don't get on the internet. I've got two kids. That's enough."

(on what it means as a player when you're struggling and the coach has your back) "I think it shows everything about who Coach Kub (Gary Kubiak) is. He's a players coach. He really is. He has our back and, when a coach does that, you have to show up for him. I've felt that way that he's stuck up for me in times. I feel like I owe him a lot. I owe this organization a lot because they gave me a chance. That's the kind of organization we have here. We're going to ride."

(on if the team will miss a beat with TE Garrett Graham starting instead of TE Owen Daniels) "I don't know. You never know. OD's a Pro Bowl player, but I can't sit here and say Garrett can't get the job done. He's going to what he can and we're going to what we can to help him."

(on how tough of a loss TE Owen Daniels is) "Yeah, absolutely. One of my favorite guys on the team without a doubt. It's tough, but he's going to be back. Our responsibility is to make sure we put him in a good position when he comes back that we're rolling. So it'll be easy transition for him."

TE Ryan Griffin
(on TE Owen Daniels going down and receiving more snaps now) "Yeah, that's why I'm here. Back up OD and obviously we want him healthy and get him back as soon as possible, but I've got to be ready to play. This is my chance to get some meaningful snaps. And I'm ready."

(on the team using a lot of two tight end sets and he knows he'll play a lot as a result) "Yeah, it's a huge part of our game plan. I'm ready to step in and back up G (Garrett Graham) and take some snaps."

(on how he's adjusted to the NFL so far) "I've just been trying to come in every day and act like I've been the starter. Coming into practice knowing what everybody has. I'm just going to keep with that and stay with it. It's served me well."

(on some of the things he's learned since being here) "A whole lot. I've learned a whole lot, not even just plays and stuff, but just coming in and working and what it is to be in the NFL. There's a whole lot I can get into."

(on if he picks TE Owen Daniels' brain) "Absolutely. I don't even need to ask him questions. He'll come over and let me know when I'm doing something wrong or doing something good. So he's good like that."

(on what part of his game has improved the most since entering the NFL) "I would say everything's taken a step up. Just learning the offense and taking all the details. I'm just learning every day."

(on the intensity level in practice today) "It's been the highest since I've been here. We had an extra couple of periods there at the end and we had some fun with it. I think our whole team's into it. We're just so hungry for a win right now."

(on how much better prepared he is right now for an expanded role than earlier) "When I first came in here, I've just been learning every day. I am ready to go this week, more so than any other week. That's as much as I can say."

QB Matt Schaub
(on what the incident was at his house the previous night) "There really wasn't an incident. No one came to our home or approached our door or anything like that. There was no incident. It's no secret where we live, my wife and daughters and I, but people do drive by. People know where we are, but there was no incident. There really wasn't anything."

(on the report that someone had parked in his driveway and was shouting at the house) "To my knowledge, that did not happen. Whether someone pulled in the driveway or not, I'm not sitting there watching the front of the house all the time, but to my knowledge, no one did. If they did, we'd contact team personnel to let them know that it was going on."

(on if he contacted team personnel last night) "There have been some things going on in the street, passersby and people taking pictures. We went through the proper channels of team security to let them know what was going on and to alert them. No one was screaming obscenities or anything like that to my knowledge."

(on how troubling it is that any random person can just come up to their house) "It's the world we live in. There are passionate fans out there, for better or worse. I understand that. Our team understands that. You hate for it to come to that because we're better than that as a society and a community but it's the nature of what we do. The only thing that can correct that is going out and beating the St. Louis Rams this week."

(on if he has thought about moving to a gated community) "No. We're very comfortable with where we are and we enjoy our neighborhood."

(on if he was worried about not starting this game) "I never was worried about that. I'm a quarterback of this team. I've worked very hard to be in this position and be the quarterback for this team. My focus is to go out and give my team a chance to win on Sunday."

(on what it means for Coach Kubiak to name him the starter) "It was great. It's the confidence from the top. For him to say that and stand behind me after all that we've been through, that says a lot about him and about our team and where we're going. It's an opportunity to go out and correct some of the mistakes that we've been making."

(on his teammates reacting positively to him being named the starter) "Whenever your teammates stand behind you as a player and a coach when he makes decisions and you have that type of relationship, it speaks volumes. At the end of the day, it's all about us in that locker room. It's about us on the field, between the white lines getting things done."

(on how hard this week has been on him) "Each one has been hard. This one has been tough. With the proper support groups: my teammates, my family. We get through it. We lean on each other and we get back to work. We go right back to the grindstone and figure out a way to get things done."

(on how they stop making turnovers) "We need to not make them. We need to make better decisions. We need to crisper and sharper in everything that we're doing as a group. Those things will happen and we'll be better."

(on if they have self-scouted or evaluated themselves to see if they are being too predictable) "We're constantly looking at what we're doing and predictability, different routes, different formations. We're always self-scouting week-to-week, so it's something we're taking a look at."

(on what happened that made him feel as though he needed to contact NFL Security) "When you see multiple people driving down the street taking photos of your home and you're not quite sure why, that usually lends itself to contacting team security."

(on if people were driving by and taking photos of his house last night) "It wasn't just last night, no. It's been an ongoing thing. Better safe than sorry. My main focus is to make sure that my family is safe and protect my home."

(on if there was any incident involving his family) "No."

(on if his approach this week has been any different than normal) "It's still Wednesday. We just started our prep as a group today. Nothing really the past two days that has been any different, just the extra hours, studying film because we are playing a team that we don't play very often, every four years. You want to make sure that you're on top of what they do and their personnel. As far as game week, being in a rhythm and what you do and consistent in your preparation is important in this business. I'm a firm believer in that and so I'm going to t stay true to my preparation."

(on if a team struggling early can help make a team stronger) "I absolutely think it will. I think when we're all said and done and we look back on this, this will be a strength of ours. Going through this adversity as a football team, we're going to be better for it. I think if you have the two scenarios, struggle at this point of the season and get on a roll towards the end or play well throughout the season and struggle late, I think anyone in that locker room would choose to struggle now and get hot late in the season. Our focus though is squarely on the St. Louis Rams and what it's going to take to be the best football team on Sunday."

(on what the keys are to block out all the noise surrounding him and staying focused) "Having three little girls at home definitely keeps me occupied and away from the television and computer and everything like that. It's really not hard to not pay attention or not hear outside noise. You know it's there. I know it's there. I'm not going to say I don't, but to not sit there and listen to it and read it, I'm not going to do that. That makes no sense."

(on if he is confident this is the week they will turn it around) "Absolutely, 100 percent."

(on if his confidence has been shaken at all over the last three weeks) "Not one bit. I'm supremely confident in my abilities and what I can do out on the football field. We just have to back to being conscious of the details and being technique-sound and what got us here as players individually and a team. That's what we're doing. We're focusing on the details and we'll be fine."

(on being able to play through struggles) "Absolutely. Let's go play tomorrow morning. I'm licking my chops to get back out on the field. Every player in that locker room is so I'm looking forward to the opportunity."

(on if he has arranged for personal security for his family) "That's between me and my wife and our team."

(on the team's struggles to get the ball down the field) "Teams have been playing to prevent the big plays against us, plain and simple. They're playing with safeties over the top. They're trying to take away some of the big plays. That's why we've been able to run the ball pretty efficiently. They're not bringing an eighth guy down in the box and preventing those big chunk plays down the field. We just have to go out and manufacture some of those things and just stay true and stay patient, take the check-downs if we need to and eventually those big plays will come."

(on what the team meeting was about this morning) "Just about the direction of our football team, getting ready for this week. We went in there as a team and we wanted to set the path of how we're going to right this ship and make sure that everyone is on the same page."

(on if there was anything special about the meeting) "No."

(on if this game will be any different because his starting job could have been taken away) "Absolutely and rightfully so. He's the coach and he has to make the decisions that are best for this football team, first and foremost. I understand that better than anybody. Has my play the last three weeks been indicative of a winning quarterback week-in and week-out? Aside from two games, you know Seattle aside from one play, yes, but the last three weeks, no. I need to be better. I'll be the first to admit that. I can understand why he was torn in that decision, but I have confidence in my abilities. Him deciding to start me this week, let's go play ball."

(on if there is any additional pressure this week) "No more than I already put on myself. We're going to cut it loose and we're going to go play the game."

(on the mindset of forgetting the past and moving on to the next one) "You have to do that. If you don't, then you're getting caught up in things that are not important to what's right in front of you. For me, that's not difficult to do. I have a great group of teammates that help with that and we're just going to set the course this week and we're going to go out and get a win."

(on TEs Garrett Graham and Ryan Griffin having to step up with Owen Daniels missing time) "They're two guys that work extremely hard. Garrett has been here for a number of years. I have a ton of confidence in him. Griff (Ryan Griffin), since he came in, he's been a pro and he really understands what we're trying to get done. He's gotten a lot of reps in practice and it's going to be exciting to get him out there and cut him loose. I think he's going to be very efficient on the line of scrimmage and he's going to make plays in the passing game when they're there."

DE J.J. Watt
(on if people ever stop by his house) "Yeah, I get a couple times every week, I get people stopping by my house."

(on what people want when they stop by his house) "It's different every time. Sometimes, it's a knock on the door, 'Would you mind signing this? Would you mind taking a picture?' Sometimes, they'll just sit outside of the house. Sometimes, they'll follow me home. Sometimes, they'll be waiting in the driveway. At dinner and at my house are the two times I refuse autographs and pictures. I feel like that's a reasonable for me. Any other time I'm out, I don't mind it. Dinner and at my house are two times I say no."

(on if it's crossing a line when people visit his house) "I feel that way. I feel like your house is your home and it's somewhere where you should feel safe. It's somewhere where you should feel like you can relax and enjoy yourself and not have to worry about that kind of stuff. I'm working right now to get a gate put on my neighborhood, just for that exact reason. In the event that someday I hopefully have a family, I don't want to have to worry about that."

(on if he feels like people crossed a line going to QB Matt Schaub's house) "Oh, absolutely. When you have a family and you have kids, it's absolutely unacceptable. Like you said, I'm by myself. I can handle myself. But if you come around and I had a wife and kids, that's a different story."

(on if he's ever had to contact NFL security as a result of fans crossing the line) "You know, I've done security check with the NFL security. They've come out and looked at my house and told me what I should do. I've gotten very close with the Pearland Police Department. I live down in Pearland. Any time there's an issue, they're more than willing to help me out. But like I said, I've had all just people looking for autographs or pictures. Nobody's trying to harm me in any way or say anything bad. It's usually just me saying, 'Hey man, this is my house, this is my personal space. Not right now.' It's all positive stuff and I guess that means I'm playing all right if people want to come and get a picture or something."

(on if this week is a gut-check game) "Every week's a gut check. This is the NFL. Every single week's important."

(on the tough breaks happening the last three weeks and blocking out stuff from the outside)  "I think that's one thing that's important as a player in this league, you have to be able to block out everything that's going on around you. Whether you are winning or whether you are losing, you have to be able to block everything out and focus on your job, focus on the task at hand. If you look at and you read and you see every single thing that's out there, it can get your head spinning. So you just have to make sure you focus on your job and that's what we have to do."

(on if he sees everything that's said and written about the team) "You see it here and there. I see it. It's impossible not to. It's out there. You see things and you read things, but as long as you know yourself, you know yourself, your teammates, that's what really matters. You know the truth and you know what type of guys you have, what type of men you have. That's all that matters is that you know the truth."

(on what the truth is about this team) "The truth right now, we've had three tough losses. In these parts, with the expectations that we have this year, this isn't where we expected to be. The truth is that we need to find a way to fight out of this hole right now that we're in. The truth is that we have the guys to do it. We have the men to do it and we have the guys to do, and we're going to go out there and we're going to find a way to do it. I'm a competitor. I'm a fighter. I'm not going to sit here and say, 'Oh man, this stinks. It's over.' I'm going to sit here and tell you that we're going to find a way. That's what I believe and I can talk about it all day, but going out there on the practice film and doing it, watching the film in the meeting rooms, that's how it's going to get done. I know you're looking for talk and looking for things like that, but I'm just working to prove it."

(on how important it is for the defense to force turnovers) "Extremely. We need to do that. We can be the number one defense all we want, but we need to force some turnovers. Plan and simple. It's big for momentum. It's big to give the offense the ball back. They're just big plays and we need to start making those plays and we know that. We're very aware of it. It's something we're working extremely hard on and we need to find a way to do that."

(on takeaways) "I think so. I think you definitely to find ways to get the ball back. Like I said, we're very proud to be the number one defense, but we understand that we need to create some takeaways."

(on if this adversity can make the team better down the stretch) "Adversity always makes you stronger. If you find a way to fight through it and overcome it, it definitely makes you stronger. I definitely think it can help us. The tougher stuff you have to fight through, the tougher you're going to be when you have to overcome it. That's what we're trying to do."

(on Rams QB Sam Bradford) "He's a good football player. He's a good quarterback. I think my job every single week is to get to the quarterback and make him uncomfortable. That's my job this week as well, get to the quarterback and find a way to make him uncomfortable."

(on if the intensity level in practice picked up today) "It was fun out there today. It was a fun day on the practice field. I think we got a lot accomplished and we're doing the right things."

(on why practice was fun today) "I don't know. It was a good practice. We had a good practice today. It was good."

(on the defense's mindset after the team started down 0-7 against San Francisco following the pick-six)  "There's going to be adversity in this league all of the time. You're going to face tough situations. You're going to be put in places that you don't want to be put in, but you have to find a way to overcome them. On Sunday, we didn't do that. Plan and simple. We need to find a way to do that. We need to find a way, like I said before, to create takeaways to give the offense the ball back."

(on turning this losing streak around) "Go to work every single day and give everything I have on the field. Control what I can control. That's all I can do. Work my absolute hardest and be the best football I can be. Encourage my teammates to do the exact the same. As a team, we come together as one and, on Sunday, we go out there with one goal, to win the football game."

QB T.J. Yates
(on Head Coach Gary Kubiak saying all the blame can't be on QB Matt Schaub) "In any offense, there are so many moving parts that go into certain plays and depths of routes and timing and all of that type of stuff. No matter what, that's kind of our mantra in the quarterback room, that no matter what, it all falls on us. We've got to make everything right, whether it's adjusting to the receiver, whatever he's doing or making the right play at the right time. We hang our hat on the quarterback room has to make that change. We have to be the one to turn it around and really take the blame and fix it ourselves."

(on if he had any thought that he might be starting on Sunday) "The thought crosses your mind, but I was just going to go about my business like normal. Prepare for this week like always do. Watch film and get my lifts in. That stuff is completely out of my control. There's nothing I can do about that. Just keep plugging away like any other week."

(on if he's talked to QB Matt Schaub about the incident at his place the other night)  "No, I haven't talked to him about it. That's kind of his business and his family. If whatever happened did happen, that's disgraceful. For a fan to do something like that, that's terrible. I wouldn't want to be put in that position with my family. He's got his wife and kids there. I wouldn't want to be in that position. That's for sure."

(on how the team digs its way out of this) "You've got to keep grinding. You've got keep plugging away. We had a good practice today. Energy was high. Everything was going well. We had a nice competition going between the scout team and then first team on both sides of the ball. At the end, Kub (Gary Kubiak) kind of put together a little competing thing for the guys who don't get much playing time. I think it got everybody's spirits up. It got the defense cheering against the offense. It got the juices flowing again. Stuff like this bad happens, you've got to keep your head down and keep plowing away. This is a good football team. We work too hard. We work too hard and prepare too well to be doing things that we're doing out there on the field. It'll turn around for us if we just keep at it and stay the course."

St. Louis Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher
(on his impressions of the Texans) "Well, it's a very, very talented team. All three phases are very, very talented. There are playmakers at just about every position. There's been a bounce here and a couple of things haven't gone their way, but I think they're very well coached. It's an outstanding group."

(on if the Rams are exclusively preparing for QB Matt Schaub) "I'm quite confident that Matt's going to play. When you let a couple slip away or you're not matching expectations, everybody points the finger toward the quarterback. Matt is an excellent quarterback. He's won a lot of games. I've personally faced him many, many times and know what he's capable of doing. So we're going to have our hands full with their offense, which not only includes Matt's arm, but includes an excellent running game."

(on QB Matt Schaub struggling and if he's seen guys experience something like this and overcome them very quickly) "Yeah, you overcome with a win. You overcome them with a big day. You overcome them with running play-action, keeping drives alive and winning a football game. We had back-to-back weeks where Sam (Bradford) threw interceptions for touchdowns. These were, however, deflected, but they were still very deflating. Sam bounced back. Matt's a good quarterback. He's the leader of that offense. Let's be real here, he did a nice job with them last year the entire year and there's a lot of games left."

(on having seasons in which his teams started off slowly and finished strong and what are the keys to be able to do that) "Well, both situations are certainly different. Every situation's different for every team. Any given year is different. But you just take the approach that, if you make dramatic changes in what you're doing, then you're laying the ground work to let everybody know that we started off doing was wrong. You just keep doing what you believe in. You believe in your system. You come to work. You look forward to coming to work. You practice. You meet. You just keep playing and just stress improvement. And things end up turning around."

(on his impressions of the Texans defense) "Well, they're number one in the NFL right now. It's an outstanding group. It's an outstanding front led with the guys up front. J.J., we haven't faced him before and we're going to have our hands full, not only with him, but everybody up front. The linebackers are outstanding and I'm very impressed with the secondary. Wherever Wade (Phillips) has been, he's had a good unit. It's very well coached, it's disciplined and there are not a lot of holes. There's not a lot of ways to attack it."

(on if he worries that his defense could be too aggressive this week looking for interceptions) "No."

(on QB Matt Schaub throwing interceptions and if he feels like that might make his defense become overaggressive as a result) "Yeah, but Matt Schaub's also throwing some touchdown passes. He's also completing almost 64 percent of his passes. So no, I'm not concerned. We have to be disciplined. We've faced obviously some good passing offenses, but this one in particular because, not only the drop-back, but the play-action game is outstanding. This is probably one of our biggest challenges to date. We have a young defense and we've had some injuries in the secondary. I wouldn't go into this thinking our guys are going to be ball hawking."

(on Rams QB Sam Bradford starting slowly this year and if the team is doing anything differently to prepare for DE J.J. Watt) "There's two points there. Sam Bradford's slow start, I don't think he had a slow start. Our football team had a slow start. Sam was attempting too many passes early in the season. We got back last week to a balanced attack and ran the football. Your second comment was related to J.J. Yeah, everybody that plays the Texans defense has to know where he is. The problem is there are other players around that can also make plays as well."

(on Rams CB Cortland Finnegan having a history with the Texans and if he's worried about him keeping his cool on Sunday) "No, I'm not. I will go back, I was standing there witnessing that and he never threw a punch. But Cortland has great respect for Andre (Johnson), great respect. Cortland will be questionable coming into this game with an injury. But I have no concern whatsoever. I think both of those guys have put that behind them and have respect for one another."

(on Rams S Cody Davis playing college football in Texas and him just being promoted to the active roster from the practice squad) "I'm really excited for Cody. We lost T.J. (McDonald) and we brought Cody up. Cody was grinning from ear-to-ear last weekend when he covered the first kickoff and he played his first snap in the NFL. I was really happy for him. In my opinion, for the first time out, he had an outstanding effort on special teams for us. He played on all four core team's units. He's a great young man and I think he's got a great future here in this league. We're happy to have him."

St. Louis Rams QB Sam Bradford
(on the Texans defense) "They're good. They're a very good defense. You at look at them, it seems like most defenses that you look at, you're able to pick out a weakness or a group that's not quite as strong, but form top to bottom, this group is very solid. I'm not sure that they have a weakness and they're playing really well right now."

(on how have they are game planning for DE J.J. Watt) "Would you like us to tell you exactly what we're doing? (joking). Obviously, that was one of the first things we talked about today at our install meeting was the fact that we have to be aware of where he's at on the field at all times because he has the ability and, if you let him, he will completely destroy and offensive game plan. There are some things that obviously we're going to do to try and help ourselves, I guess neutralize him. But I think the biggest thing is we all have got to be aware of where he's at."

(on throwing pick-sixes in back-to-back games and if there's something he did to break out of that) "Really, you just keep playing. The ones that we had earlier in the year, they were rough, but once they happened, there's really nothing that you or anyone else can do about them. You just keep playing and keep slinging it, and good things will happen."

(on if he feels for QB Matt Schaub and what he's going through) "Oh, absolutely. The fact that, I don't know the details, but I saw something that someone showed up at his house last night or a couple of nights ago, I couldn't imagine having that happen. I don't think anyone deserves that to happen. I definitely feel for him and what he's going through right now."

(on if fans have ever figured out where he lives and come stop by his house) "Knock on wood, no. No one's figured that out yet or haven't showed up yet. I hope that's something that I don't have to deal with."

(on if he lives in a gated community) "No, I do not."

(on RB Zac Stacy and what he brought to the team last week) "Yeah, I thought Zac ran extremely hard for us last week. Obviously, the previous two weeks, we had really struggled with the run game and to establish that. Zac came in, I think he gave us a little bit of a spark and it was definitely a spark that we needed. He ran hard. It seems like he was always falling forward. He is always running for positive yards, keeping us ahead of the chains. I think, for the first start of his career, I thought he played really well."

(on WR Tavon Austin and if he's struggling in his rookie year) "I wouldn't say he's struggling. I think last week, it was more on our game plan, the things that we thought we could use to take advantage of Jacksonville and that was playing in more two and three tight end sets where Tavon's role is fairly limited. I think that was more by design last week than anything."

(on if pick-sixes are more demoralizing than normal interceptions) "Yeah, obviously when it gets returned for a score, you're obviously probably a little more frustrated just for the fact that you've given up six points and didn't even allow the defense an opportunity to step on the field and try and stop them. Like you said, interceptions happen. Pick-sixes are part of the game. There's not a lot you can do to stop it most of the time. So you've just got to move on and keep trusting your reads, keep trusting what you're doing and keep throwing it."