I still feel hurt that Texans lost. But heads up guys, Texans will be even stronger than ever next season and they learned the lesson from this game. We just need to draft some good players (maybe offensive lineman and defensive linemen) and sign few available free agents that should give Texans enough impact. Great season, Texans! I am still proud of them. They are improving every year and they will go to Super Bowl when it's time. 12-4 is still impressive.
Quotes from Kubiak from Monday's press conference: Head Coach Gary Kubiak Spoiler (on if any other players require surgery besides WR DeVier Posey) “Oh, you got me. I couldn’t tell you that right now. Obviously going through all the checkouts today and doctors evaluating everything, I don’t know. It will be a couple days before I could tell you something like that.” (on how much of a blow WR DeVier Posey’s injury is) “It’s a big blow. You just feel bad for the kid because I think he had put himself in a position to come back here next year and push for a starting spot on this football team with his play over the course of the last five or six weeks. I just feel really bad for him. We’re still in an evaluation process here. We know he has an Achilles that has to be repaired. Now there are different levels of how they’re repaired and whether we’re talking about six months or eight months. So we’re going to sit here and hope for the best right now, but obviously it’s a big blow to a young player who has a bright future.” (on what QB Matt Schaub could have done better this season) “Well first off, we could all do something better. But when you’re the quarterback of the team, obviously that’s where a lot of praise goes to and a lot of criticism goes. So I understand that. I would talk about (QB) Matt (Schaub) like I would talk about every player on our team. We left a lot of plays on the football field as a football team. And when you’re playing a great team like that, you can’t leave any. There’s plays for him to make, but he did make a lot of plays, too. We could help him. We could have got him off to a great start if we make the play early in the game. Those plays help a quarterback. It goes with the territory, he understands that and he’s tough enough to work through that.” (on if he would draft a quarterback in the second or third round of the draft if he liked a certain player) “Well we always look at everything. We get ready for the draft and those types of things. If you’re asking me that question from the standpoint of what I think of (QB) Matt (Schaub). I believe in Matt. He’s the quarterback of our football team, I’ve got no doubt about him. I think over the course of the last two years, he’s won 70-plus percent of his starts. That’s hard to do in this league. I feel very good about our quarterback. Our whole team has got to get better, that includes coaching and playing, for us to take the next step. And Matt is part of the team, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in him.” (on what message he imparted to the players today as they left) “It’s a tough day. You talk to them after the game and you give them your feelings after the game, but today is more about just telling what you thought about their season. What you expect from them coming back and going from there. It’s a brief meeting today. I’m kind of a little bit different. I’ll meet with them, I’ll wait a couple of weeks, and then I’ll go back and start calling them again and talking with them again after I’ve had a chance to sit down and digest things a little bit better. The first part of the process is over. I’ll work on the other part here in a few weeks.” (on why the team ran so many underneath routes) “I thought we threw the ball down the field yesterday. Our quarterback threw for 300-plus yards in the game. We were going to have to make some big plays. We went in there to be aggressive. There were a couple of times that we had a lot of third-and-longs, first off, and had to get rid of some balls because of pressure. We were hot in some situations. They busted some protection schemes, so give them credit. But that’s part of football. Sometimes you have third-and-11, you throw a 7-yarder and somebody’s got to go get another four. That’s part of the game. But we could have been better on third downs.” (on why the team never went in any four wide receiver sets) “Well we did do a lot of three wides in the game. We had four wides in the game plan, that’s not been us. We’re more of a two tight end, sometimes three wides. But we were very aggressive in the football game and what we were trying to do. They gave us a chance to make some big plays. We made some of them, but we didn’t make enough.” (on having ILB Barrett Ruud on the edge covering RB Shane Vereen) “That’s not unusual when you play these guys. They shift to empty sets, and some of those things they do you’re going to get caught in those matchups. And we were caught in quite a few of them throughout the course of the night. Some of the plays they made, some of them they didn’t. They made a great play right there. When you play New England and they go to a lot of those empty sets, you’re going to get caught in some of those things.” (on who evaluates him and how his self-evaluation process goes) “Well, my first process is I sit down with Mr. (Bob) McNair. That’s the man who evaluates me. I always take a look at what I did and how I handled situations and those type of things. I’ll be doing that as I watch cut-ups and go back and review our season. But as far as this guy personally, Bob is the guy who evaluates me and I’ll sit down with him here pretty quickly.” (on if he feels like the team took a step forward even when the team lost in the same round of the playoffs) “Oh no doubt. No doubt in my mind. We’re very disappointed. We didn’t win a championship, that’s the big disappointment. But our franchise won 13 football games and there’s a lot to be said for that, even though as tough as it is to swallow right now, I think this organization continues to move forward. And no doubt in my mind it’s got a chance to win a championship. For us to be sitting here last year, we’re excited to be in the playoffs and all those type of things and now we’re really, really disappointed because we’re not in a Super Bowl. We’re not playing this week to get in a Super Bowl. That’s a big compliment to everybody in this building and how hard they work and the coaches and the players and that’s the expectations of this franchise now. That’s a huge compliment. And I expect it the same way. And we will always be that way now, and I expect to be that way for a long time.” (on how he evaluates how close he thinks the team is to where he wants to go) “I think every year is different. I don’t think you can sit here, couldn’t sit here last year and say, ‘If we just had this or this, we would get over the hump.’ And I don’t think you can say that today. I think the biggest thing is you have to be in the position every year to be a playoff football team. To have your team good enough to where you can win on any given day. Obviously there’s things that go with that, a few breaks along the way, that give you a chance to win a championship. But there’s no one player or one thing. Next year’s team will be totally different, too. As I told y’all before, there were 21 new faces playing in these playoff games for this team. And really a lot of good things going on. Next year I’m sure there will be a lot of new faces again. We have to go back and put a team together next year that has a very strong nucleus right now that gives us a chance to be, in my opinion, successful for a long time.” (on what the biggest thing was that limited RB Ben Tate this year) “That’s the biggest thing. Ben (Tate) is a three-year player and really a one-year big-time contributor. It’s been about injuries. It’s been about staying on the field consistently. You know there’s nothing you can do about that as a player. His first year was totally lost to surgery. I thought he played extremely well last year. This year had some good moments and then got set back by injuries and missed a lot of time. Obviously you’re not taking the ball out of (RB Arian Foster’s) hands, especially late in the season. He needs to bounce back next year, and we’re looking for consistency from him as a player and helping us on the field.” (on starting fast offensively, how the offense can improve its tempo) “I think we started fast in a lot of football games. We did not play the way we would like to play toward the end of the year as a team, not just offense or defense or special teams. As a team we didn’t play as well as I think we could play. Yesterday we had a chance to start real fast. We had a big kickoff return. We should score right there, but we don’t’ execute and we don’t get it done. But you have to overcome those things. You play four quarters. You play all day and you have to have the character and everything about you has to be able to move on from stuff like that. It was disappointing. We could have started a lot better yesterday than we did.” (on how tough it was for ILB Brian Cushing to watch the last 11 games from the sidelines and what he talked with Cushing about in his meeting today) “Injured players are guys that I haven’t’ talked to because they’re going to be around here, so I’ll be seeing a lot of them. I know it’s difficult. I watched (ILB Brian Cushing) stand there as we were warming up for the game. The hard thing in this business is you only get so many opportunities. And for him not to be there with us over the course of the last two weeks, first off hurts our team. He’s a great player and I know that as a player you can’t take those opportunities for granted. I know it’s been difficult on him just like it was for (QB) Matt (Schaub) last year. But Cush will be back. He’ll be back better than ever and we’ll be a better team because he’s back.” (on the one thing he wished the team could have done better during the season) “Well I just didn’t like our consistency down the stretch. I could say that’s as a team. But offensively, this year we scored more points than we’ve ever scored in the history of this organization. We had the number two receiver in football. We had the number three or four rusher in football. We had a 4,000-yard thrower. We want to be the best. There’s a lot of good things going on right there, but we want to be the best. And being the best meant that we could have been more consistent in the last month of the season that could have been a difference for our team. That’s the biggest thing right now for me is why weren’t we more consistent in third down playing and those type of things late in the season like we were in the first three quarters of the season.” (on how important it is to get another player who is explosive if WR DeVier Posey can’t return to start next season) “Well you’re always looking for playmakers. This game comes down to making plays, and no bigger example than last night. You watch that football game, you watch the film and I see the opportunities that we had to make plays and like I said, we made some, and there’s a lot of them we just did not make. And then you watch some of their opportunities that they had, especially in the first half. Some of the third-and-tens, third-and-nines that they converted on just some great plays by (WR Wes) Welker, some of the catches he made. So it’s a playmaker’s game and you have to have plenty of them. We’ve got some good young guys that to me are only going to get better because of their experience this year.” (on his mood at this point and if he is down) “I haven’t been to sleep. I’m not down. I’m okay. It’s been a late night. I’m alright.” (on if he’ll try to incorporate some youthful mobility into QB Matt Schaub’s game) “I think you build your team a certain way and I feel really good about our football team. You’ve got two guys lining up in the AFC Championship this week that don’t run around for 100 yards a game that are pretty darn good in (Tom) Brady and (Joe) Flacco. I think there is all kind of ways to win and be successful in this league and I think our guy has done that. I’m committed to getting this team better to where we can continue to help him do that and continue to win at a good clip. You build your team a certain way. You go play and try to be as good as you can be.” (on DE J.J. Watt’s evolution this season) “I had a great visit with him today. His year, I think of all my years in football, and I’ve been around a couple of MVPs, is as good a football season as I’ve ever seen and he’s a second-year player. That’s what’s amazing about it. I think the sky is the limit for this guy. I think you’re going to watch a big-time career and like (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) has said this guy is playing like possibly a Hall-of-Fame-type guy as he moves forward if he continues to do these types of things. The thing I want him to do is raise this team’s level of play and see us get past that step that we haven’t gotten past in the last two years. I think he’s committed to doing that. I think he’s going to be a leader on this team for a long time.” (on OLBs Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed not getting to the quarterback as much this season) “I think we lost some balance in our pass rush with (OLB) Brooks (Reed) being injured. I think (ILB Brian Cushing) Cush being out for our defensive football team, not an excuse but we had a lot more balance rushing the passer with some of the things that he can do inside and some of the things (Linebackers Coach) Reggie (Herring) and (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) do with him. I think Brooks and (OLB) Connor (Barwin) played well. Sometimes because they’re not numbers, the perception out there is somebody is not playing well because they don’t have sacks, but I can tell you that can be far from the truth. I think they play well. I think they were productive. You’re always trying to get to the quarterback, but I think they’re both two fine young players that we can count on for a long time.” (on if he’s happy with the offensive line) “I was really impressed. I think with first off coming out of last year I thought we had one of the top offensive lines in football. I really felt that way and then we have a situation where we have to start over on the right side, which that’s part of the game. I think (Offensive Line Coach) John (Benton) and (Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison) Rico did a tremendous job with (RT Derek) Newton, with (G Brandon) Brooks, with (G) Ben (Jones), working through the situation. Like I said, you sit there and you’ve got a guy doing what (RB) Arian’s (Foster) doing and doing what (WR) Andre (Johnson) did, somebody’s got to be up front doing a hell of a job. Last night we throw the ball 50 times and I think we had one sack and it shouldn’t have been a sack. That’s a ball that we ended up dropping. These have come a long way. The future is very bright. The left side is very good and the right side is very young, but it’s got a very bright future.” (on the Patriots giving the Texans problems when they played fast) “They’ll catch you. They don’t change personnel. They do a lot of speed formations and those types of things, things that we worked on throughout the course of the week. We did not handle them as well as we practiced them. That was a big disappointment on the defensive side when you go back and look at the film. They did catch us from some assignment standpoints and those types of things. Other than telling you it was a disappointment the way we handled some of them, that’s all I’ve got.” (on if he’s been asked permission for other teams to talk to coaches other than Offensive Coordinator Rick Dennison) “No, I have not.” http://www.houstontexans.com/news/a...nference/43c12074-0844-4b3e-9392-2e8b5aa5f632 Also, here are some quotes from some players as they cleaned out their lockers: G Brandon Brooks Spoiler (on ending the season this way) “No one likes to lose. I especially hate losing, but just go back to the drawing board and try at least get back to where we were next year.” (on the youth and optimism regarding the offensive line) “Although I guess you say we’re young on the right side, we lean a lot on the left side just to help us out on our game. They’re all veterans and everything. Although we’re young, I think we’re going to be really good in years to come. I think we’ll be alright.” (on what he’ll do the next week or two) “Just kind of clean up my house. I think I’m going to go back home a little bit so clean my house up and pay some bills and everything like that, get everything taken care of before I leave.” LT Duane Brown Spoiler (on the biggest thing he takes away from this season) “It was a great season. That we grew as a team from last year. Even though we ended in the same position, I think we definitely grew as a team. It’s going to be a memorable one for me. And I’m just looking forward to next year.” (on if he sees things that the team can build on from this season) “Absolutely. I think we had some problems that were consistent throughout the year offensively, so it’s definitely something that we’re going to have to put an emphasis on when we start back up in April or May, whenever we start back up.” (on if he has any message to the fans) “Definitely. Our fans have been with us throughout the whole year. We really appreciate the support. We would have liked for it to keep going past this week. Unfortunately we fell short. But I just want to say thank you to you all. It definitely made playing at home an awesome experience every week. And it was great to see fans as well on the road travelling. We will definitely make an effort to improve individually and as a group this offseason to bring one home to Houston.” (on what he thought when he saw the fans at 2:30 am last night) “It was awesome. It was awesome because I know how long that flight was for us, so I can only imagine staying out there. It was pretty cold. That’s why I felt obligated to go greet them. They didn’t have to do that. I know there’s a lot of people who are disappointed. But those fans just show how much they love us, how much they support us. The support makes it through defeat. So it felt good to go out there and meet them and greet them.” DE Jared Crick Spoiler (on the sting of yesterday’s loss) “It was tough given the fact that we had a chance in that game and an opportunity to move on in the playoffs. It is what it is and just got to get better and get ready for next year.” (on improving next year and what it takes to beat a team like the Patriots) “I think we saw what we need to do after yesterday. We know what it takes now. I think we’ve got the talent on this team. We’ve got the drive and definitely have the motivation. I think going into next year we’ve just got to get it done. We wanted to do it this year, but obviously it didn’t happen, so more incentive for next year.” (on what he’ll work on to improve this offseason) “Just my all-around game, I can improve on everything so that’s what I plan on doing, planning on talking to coaches and just working my tail off to get to the player where I want to be.” RB Justin Forsett Spoiler (on how close the team is at this point) “I think we’re right there at the cusp. I really think we’re a couple of plays away from moving onto the next game and being where we want to be. I don’t think we’re that far away.” (on coming onto the team when he did and having this kind of season) “It was amazing. It was truly a blessing. Just to end up in a spot to where I can play with a great team and get the opportunity to play and show what I can do. It was awesome and something I can hope I can continue to do.” (on if he formed a close bond with the other running backs) “Definitely close friends with (RB) Arian (Foster) and (RB) Ben (Tate) and some of the guys that came and left. Very close group. Definitely be in my life for the rest of my life.” (on where the team stands on QB Matt Schaub) “I love our quarterback. You can’t just blame it on one person. There’s a lot of things that we could have done to help ourselves out to get where we wanted to go. It’s a team effort. It’s not an individual sport. We win together, we lose together. We love (QB) Matt (Schaub).” TE Garrett Graham Spoiler (on his increased catches this season and his progress personally) “I feel good about it, grateful for the opportunity I got this year and looking forward to making the best of it next year.” (on the keys to him getting better this season) “You know (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach) Cedric (Smith) in the weight room in the offseason. He really helped me out a ton, getting me bigger and stronger and having those preseason games before the season started, just getting my confidence up playing with those guys, getting their confidence and the coaches’ confidence. I think that really helped me out.” (on his personal goals moving forward) “It sounds cliché, but bigger, faster, stronger, working with (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Cedric Smith) Ced. I’ll be up here working with him and a couple other guys. There are a lot of things you could do in the weight room that’ll help you out, in the film room watching what you did last year and learning from things like that.” (on if improvement is a matter of personnel or performance next year) “I think performance. I think we’ve got the guys. We believe in the guys in this locker room. We won a lot of football games this year and I think we can do that next year and win even more. We look forward to the opportunity.” K Shayne Graham Spoiler (on this season) “I think you look back you see that we had a lot of positive things. We were in really good position, but obviously we never want the season to end shorter than we expected. We build from it and who knows what developments the team goes through this offseason, but I think you walk away with a good ride that we had this year. Guys go through things together. When you go through things it makes you better. I think that we showed a lot of resiliency to some tough situations, but I think we also played really well and did some really good things that I think it was a good thing to see when you’re a part of a team. Obviously, we’re disappointed. We would’ve liked to have gone farther, but nothing we can do about that now.” (on the team’s optimism) “Well you look at what our, especially our defense really stands out as a lot of big plays. Our offense was high-octane at moments. Who knows what other developments are added to that or young guys or free agency, things like that, or who’s not here. You always build on those positives and try to make them better. I think that that’s something that’s going to go on here because I think we’ve got a good organization that knows how to do that.” (on this season was like for him personally) “To be on a team that one, had such a good family feeling, everybody seemed really tight and to come in here, I’ve kind of bounced around and filled in for injuries here and there. It was kind of nice to be a part of that and have the camaraderie. To be able to come in and be part of something, it’s something I really hadn’t had in a while because I kind of skipped around and filled in for injuries and stuff. To be a part of that here was a great feeling and I hope to stick around. Who knows what happens, but it’s a great feeling, especially to have the success that we had and the potential to have the position we were in to go farther.” (on his 55-yard career-long field goal in the Divisional game against New England) “It meant a lot. I think that I know I’ve got the leg to make those kicks. I know I’ve missed a few of those this year. My focus was just remaining smooth and just swinging through the ball and not over kicking, trying to kick it too hard. I felt like I hit it well. It was a good feeling to have going into the locker room. There was a lot of excitement going into the locker room. Who knows what could’ve happened differently, but it was good to be able to help out in that situation.” (on his optimism about returning next year) “That decision is out of my hands. Obviously, I’d like to be back, but players play, coaches coach, management manages. I don’t have any real control over that. I’d like to be here, but who knows what happens.” G Ben Jones Spoiler (on the Divisional game against New England) “It was definitely a tough one. You want to go out there and get a ‘W.” It’s a big game for us. We went out there. We played hard. It’s just a couple plays if we’d have made it could have been a difference. That’s all about winning these games in the NFL. It’s just two or three plays a game you’ve got to make. Whatever team makes those, that’s the one who ends up winning, usually.” (on his rookie season) “It’s been definitely a learning experience. Coming in as a rookie, just trying to get the grasp of the offense, then learning how to be a pro, that’s been the biggest change because in college, high school you had school. You had to come home, get all your schoolwork. This is your job. This is what I’m focusing on so you got to come in here, watch your film. It’s a lot that you got to do on your own time where in college you had your coaches right there hassling you and stuff. It’s some positives and negatives to it, but you just got to grow up and be a man quicker than you really have to be in college.” (on how he improved this year) “Definitely, I’ve grown a lot. I give all that credit to (C) Chris Myers, (LT) Duane (Brown), and (G) Wade (Smith), they really took me under their wing and showed me how to be a pro. I definitely sat here and watched a lot and didn’t say much a lot of days. I just watched what they did and how they prepared for games because you really don’t know how to do it until you get here because in college you’re coming here you’re hitting every day in pads every day. These guys come out to practice, no matter if they have broken ribs. They come out there every day showing you how to practice when you’re hurt and everything like that. I really respects those guys for that.” CB Johnathan Joseph Spoiler (on what needs to change next year for the team to improve) “To be honest, I don’t really know because obviously we had the right guys in here to win 13 ball games to get us up to that point. Whatever reason we didn’t advance, I still can’t put that over because I think we were a better team, we just didn’t make the plays that needed to be made at the right time.” (on if the team lost its edge in the last month of the regular season) “I don’t think so. Like I just said, it comes down to making plays. Any time you’re in a big game, each ball game comes down to four or five ball plays at the end of the game. At the end, if the other team makes more than you, that’s what the end result usually is, a loss.” (on the biggest thing he will take away from this season) “Just get better. Obviously, we took a step from last year, I think, with our young guys stepping up. I just think we have to build on that and just continue to go forward.” (on if he sees the core talent on the roster continue to get better) “Absolutely. It’s just important for the younger guys to understand that if they’re on the team, how important you are. Each man that’s holding a position on the team has had some value. I think for the most part all the young guys understood that and took care of their business. But it’s all about getting everybody on board and on ship. I think just another offseason will us with the young guys that weren’t caught up to speed.” (on what he’ll be doing between now and the Pro Bowl) “Watching TV, playing video games, playing with my son. Nothing else.” (on what he’s most proud of about the season) “To see guys like (CB) Kareem Jackson, (SS) Glover Quin, all those guys, take the next step in their careers. It’s big. Just to watch those guys mature and things like that. To see (DE) J.J. Watt have the season he had. For (WR) Andre (Johnson) to have the big year he had, which is big. All those guys. Just to see team have another big year and win the division. I think that’s another step in the right direction. If you want to be dominant, you have to do it year-in and year-out.” (on the biggest thing he and the secondary need to do in the offseason) “Just continue to get better. Just build off (this year). It’s a tough league. There are going to be some ups and downs. We fall through it all year and just learn from it. Each year you want to do better than you did the year before. We’re a close-knit group and we’ll be working hard together.” SS Danieal Manning Spoiler (on if this season was a success) “Definitely, I know most guys say it’s not because the ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl, but I feel like we’re in the process of doing something tremendous. A lot of guys, we just can’t see the full progress of it. I think we’re building on something.” (on closing the gap on teams like the Patriots) “I wouldn’t say we’re just closing gaps on other teams. I think what we’re doing and we’re just trying to develop a winning tradition around here. With younger guys, you’ve definitely got to build on with those guys and we have collective veteran players that have been around that can also help put into that. That’s why we’ve been so successful now.” (on what has to improve) “Right now it’s hard to even think about how to get better at this point. Right now, our season is over. I think guys just want to try to get away from football at this point. I know that’s what I’m trying to do. Usually around this time after those games or your last game, you don’t really think about how to get better. You just try to reflect on the season.” (on if he feels like the team was really close and if it just needs a few tweaks here and there) “I do, tweaks here and there, some players we lost here and there, and some plays. That’s pretty much how everybody’s season will end at some point. That’s what happened to us. We got our shot early.” (on how important it is to bring back FS Glover Quin) “I think that would be tremendous. I’d love to get him back. I’m not the GM or anything like that, but I think they’re going to do a good job of keeping him here.” (on the letterman jackets) “I just feel it’s unity and family and this commitment that this team made. It wasn’t no joke or pun to letterman jackets are high school kids or anything like that. I just feel like some guys came up with a great idea. It’s something to give back and guys will never forget this.” (on how tough it is to clean out the lockers and depart today) “That’s the hard thing. Guys you may not get to see. You’re not having meetings. Guys shoot off real quick. You probably won’t get to say your goodbyes or anything like that, may not see those guys again. That’s one thing. This team will never be the same. Some faces will never be here so that’s just the natural of this game. If you’re going to play long enough, you’ve got to accept that.” C Chris Myers Spoiler (on the season not being everything he wanted it to be) “Yeah, lots of ups, lots of downs, more ups than downs, but for the most part, just inconsistency towards the end of the season. We got ourselves in the position to win the division and have that home playoff game, which is what we were shooting for, then kind of gave up that first round bye which made us go up to New England. We were in that position last year, had to go up to Baltimore. We knew what to expect. We had some experience on the team, but when you go up to a place like that against a team like the Patriots when they’re tested for the past decade doing that kind of stuff at home, you have to be on all your Ps and Qs, and you have to be on – playing at the top of your game – and we weren’t yesterday.” (on if this season was a success in his mind) “It’s a success to certain standards, but not to the standards that we held to ourselves. We understood where we were last year as a team and where we wanted to get. And when you make it to the second round last year, and obviously we’re a young team in the playoffs, but we wanted to be able to get to the Super Bowl, and that was no secret. In that sense, yeah it was a disappointment, but from here on out you have to kind of just analyze yourselves now and move on. It’s a big disappointment, but we have to be able to take this and run with it now. We had a lot of young guys playing this year and we have to understand that this is going to be that next step as well. It’s very frustrating and it’s so soon. It’s 9:45 in the morning the next morning after we played, but you go from there.” (on what are some missing elements that would push the team further) “You try and digest that second half of the season, last quarter of the season, even in the playoff games, where you weren’t consistent, what areas you needed to work on – all sides of the ball. It wasn’t just one side or the other. We have to be able to play better in general. Yesterday our offense, yeah we had yards, yeah we were two-for-three in the red zone, but when you don’t score enough points to win the game it doesn’t matter. So you have to be able to play up to the standards of every team that you play and not expect to only have to play to how you want to play week-in and week-out. You have to all play up to the winning par.” (on if he thought about losing the home field advantage yesterday during the game) “That’s all ifs, ands or buts. You never know. Obviously you want to be able to handle your own business at home; and you see how great it is and what an advantage it is to play at home. And you want to have that first-round bye. Obviously it’s going to help, but you have to play with the cards you’re dealt, and we had to go with it.” (on if that thought ever crossed his mind yesterday, losing the first-round bye) “You think about it beforehand, but once you get up to New England, there’s no point in thinking about it. You have to handle your business. You have to be a professional.” (on if it’s frustrating to not be able to get the first-round bye) “Yeah it’s frustrating. The last quarter of the season, to lose those three games and lose to New England twice up there, it’s a frustrating thing. And I think it’s going to be one of the things that makes this team even better down the line. And it’s really hard to say that right now, not even 24 hours out. But to be able to go up to those places and play teams with that nature and understand that that’s the place we want to get to. That’s the place we want to get this franchise up to. Those standards. It’s a big huge test for us and it’s a big learning tool.” (on QB Matt Schaub, his performance and the criticism he’s taking right now) “I mean, 345 [passing] yards. He had that one pick, but Matt is the guy. Everyone is going to [criticize]; that’s the way the League works. They’re going to pick on the quarterback. They’re going to pick on the head coach when things don’t go well. If the ball would’ve bounced our way and he had the same stats, no one is caring about the pick. No one is caring about certain things that he did. That’s the way it works. Matt is our guy. He’s our team captain; he’s always going to be. And whatever happens, happens. But as players, as a team, he’s our leader.” (on if this team is still moving forward with young talent) “Even with all the success we had, tremendous upside with all the young guys we had. Just offensive line-speaking with (RG) Ben Jones and (RG) Brandon Brooks and (RT) Derek Newton, first-time starters there on the right side, coming into the year, you didn’t know how it was going to be. There was a little uncertainty not knowing how they were going to take to the whole scheme, but they played well for first-year guys coming in there. You kind of expected it to be a little bit harder for the communication and the camaraderie between the line, but they came in, they played well and, like I said before, tremendous upside for the future.” (on what he’s going to work on personally in the offseason) “I have to go back and digest. Like I said, 24 hours out, I don’t even know yet. You know, just one of those things you have to be able to see where your flaws are, whether it be run blocking, pass blocking in general, finishing blocks. It’s just one of those things. It’s kind of an all-around type thing. You kind of pick apart your game just for an overall perspective and see where you need to go. There’s not one area. You just need to work on your overall game.” (on what he’ll be doing before his trip to Hawaii and the Pro Bowl) “I’ll be in and out of here kind of hanging out and working out and staying in shape and just kind of seeing the guys. Everyone is going to kind of do their own things now and take off, but I live here in the offseason, so I’ll be kind of in and out. You’ll see my face.” (on a lot of the guys living in Houston and spending time together during the offseason) “I think it’s a big key to a lot of the team’s success is the guys that do stick around. And it’s easier for guys who have families living in their city. We’ll go a month, not even, not doing anything; just working out on your own, then we’ll all get together. Come mid-February, about two weeks after the Super Bowl, everyone is kind just wanting to get working out again and throwing. That’s what (QB) Matt (Schaub) will do. He’ll get the guys together and start throwing, wherever it may be, Rice or the University of Houston. And we’ll all get together. We start working out in gyms around town and stuff. It’s just one of those things that I think the camaraderie between us that whole offseason for those few months before we even hit OTAs (Organized Team Activities) is the biggest thing that leads to our success.” FS Glover Quin Spoiler (on yesterday’s game) “I think that we kind of got a little momentum going into halftime. We come out of halftime and I think they had a drive right there in the first drive of the third quarter. I think if we would’ve got a stop on that drive that probably could’ve changed the game.” (on if improvement is a matter of personnel or performance next season) “Performance. At the end of the day we have to play. I don’t control personnel. We prepare like none other. We practice hard. We study so I think it comes down to us just playing. We have the right guys so we’ve just got to go out and do our job.” (on if he reflects on what he could have done differently) “I think everybody in the offseason reflects on things during the season that they could’ve done different, reflects on things that happened during the game that you could have done differently. I’m pretty sure, win, lose, you always see things or feel things that you could’ve done differently. Obviously, when you lose you probably think of more things or just feel like we probably could’ve done more of this, some kind of way, made another play here somewhere, but it didn’t get done. We have a whole offseason to think about it.” (on what he’ll reflect on) “I know one big play they had on their first drive coming out at halftime (TE Aaron) Hernandez basically just ran me over, the same thing that they called a penalty on in the fourth quarter. They didn’t call it on that drive. That was a big third down, but it was a big play in that drive and they end up getting a touchdown. Maybe I could’ve played it better, but at the end of the day I don’t feel like a guy could just run you over and not be something, defense or offense pass, something, but whatever.” DE J.J. Watt Spoiler (on if this season is a success to him) “No. I don’t see it as a success. We don’t’ have a trophy, so it’s not a success. And in my mind in this league if you don’t have a trophy then you’re not a success. So we work hard this offseason, put every single thing we have into it, and we’re going to come back next season with that trophy on our mind.” (on what was missing over the last month for the team) “Wins. We needed to play better. We played good football teams and they beat us. I can’t sit here and tell you one thing or another the reason why. We got beat and we didn’t do our job.” (on what the team has to get better at to go a few steps further next season) “It’s too early for me to sit here and talk about specific things we need to look at and get better. I have to sit back and look at the whole thing. Look at the big picture and we’ll figure it out and we’ll get better at it.” (on what he takes away from this season) “I take away that I had a lot of fun. I love all the guys on this team. It was a blast. We came up short and I’m disappointed and I apologize to the fans for that. I took away that personally I can get a lot better and I’m really excited about where I can go and I took away that this team has what it takes to win a championship. We just need to put it all together. We have the group of guys we need to do it. And I’m really excited to move forward with this crew.” (on how he can get better personally) “I have so many things I can do to get better. I’m still young. I’m still learning the defensive end position. And my pass rush can get better. My run stopping can get better. There’s a whole bunch of stuff I can do to get better. And you can trust that I’m going to put every single ounce of energy that I have into making all those things come true. This whole offseason, all my work, everything is going to be focused on making myself better so that I can help this team get to the next level.” (on how much not having ILB Brian Cushing impacted to defense) “Of course. You’re missing a defensive captain. You’re missing a guy who’s one heck of a football player. You wish you had him out there. But injuries will never ever be an excuse.” (on if he will be in Houston during the offseason) “I’ll be all over the place a little bit. I have a couple of things I need to do. I’ll be training back home some. I’ll be training down here. But wherever I’ll be, I’ll be training.” (on what he learned from the impact of New England’s offensive style) “I mean we knew what they were going to do. We know that they have that up-tempo when they decide to use it, and they use it well. All we can do is do our job, play defense and execute our assignments. I’m not going to sit here and make any excuses. We got beat by a very good football team. They deserve the win so they get the credit.” (on the team’s core talent, if it allows the team to improve) “Yeah. I think we have a tremendous amount of core talent. I think we have all the pieces in place, we just didn’t put it together yesterday. And obviously it hurts, and it’s going to hurt for a little while. But I’m not going to sit here and sulk about it forever. I’m going to go back to work and I’m going to make sure that next season doesn’t happen again.” (on when he is going to be able to appreciate how good of a season he turned in this year) “Not yet. It’s too early for that yet. I’m sure in a few weeks or so I’ll sit back and I’ll look at it and I’ll say ‘That was pretty cool. It was crazy.’ But right now this hurts. It’s a big loss for us and it’s a team game. It’s never about one guy. But I do want to say thank you to all of my teammates and all my coaches and everyone for making me look good all year. They’re the reason that I get the individual awards. They’re the reason I get the individual accolades. I appreciate them and I can’t thank them enough.” (on if there was something this team lost after going 11-1) “I don’t think so.” (on what Gary Kubiak told the team after the game) “Obviously he’s disappointed. He’s disappointed and the rest is for us to know.” (on if he thinks he can have a better season than the one he had this year) “Just watch this way next year. I’m 23 years old. I’m two years into the league. I’m still learning what I’m doing out there. I’m just trying to have some fun. I have a lot of time left in this league I hope and I have a lot of improvement to make. My second year is not going to be my best year in the NFL, I promise you that.” (on what he’s going to do between now and the Pro Bowl) “Rest a little bit. I’m going to let my body relax. Probably see my family. Just relax. I have to get some gifts for the defense because I have to show them how much I appreciate them. Just relax. Kind of get away. That’s about it.” (on if he’s looking forward to the Pro Bowl) “Yeah. Obviously I’m excited. I get to go to Hawaii, spend some time with my family out there, play with some of the best players in the world. But it’s bittersweet.” (on if this loss is just another loss) “It was a game that we lost. They’re a very good football team and they played a great football game. We made a few mistakes that when you’re in a playoff game like that against a very good team like that you can’t make those mistakes. That’s the way it goes. We need to clean those up. And to take that next step we need to play great in situations like that.” (on if he’s enjoyed his celebrity status this year) “Yeah, it’s been a lot of fun. There’s a lot of things that come with it though. There’s highs and lows with it. Every move you make is under scrutiny. I can’t thank the fans enough. The fans are unbelievable and I appreciate them so much. They made this year so much fun. And like I said before, I can’t ask for much more at the age of 23. I have a great team. I have great fans and I have a great family. And I appreciate every single group.” (on seeing the group of fans at 2:30 a.m. when the team got back) “We appreciate it, but I feel like I let those people down. I feel like they deserve better. We gave it everything we had. We left it all on the field. But we came up short, and to me success in this league is a trophy. And we came back empty handed, so my entire goal is to bring that to this city and to show this city that we are a championship team and we’re going to bring them a championship.” (on if he’s expecting a lot from being 24 years old) “I’m excited to see what 24 holds. I have a couple of months of 23 left, but 24 is going to be better. You’re always working to make the next one better, so I can’t wait to see what 24 holds because 23 has been good. But I’m always working my tail off to make everything better.” (on Joe Namath saying ‘I can’t wait until tomorrow because I get better looking every day’) “I don’t’ know if I’m getting any better looking. I’m already not exactly the prettiest thing to look at, I’m sure. But it’s going to be fun. I can’t wait.” (on what he says to people who question whether or not QB Matt Schaub has the ability to win a Super Bowl) “Have they ever been in his shoes? If you want to sit here and question our quarterback, that’s fine. But every guy in this room believes in him. And we all trust in him and we all believe that he can take us there. We’re not going to listen to what the outside world says.” http://www.houstontexans.com/news/a...ker-room/6a2dd8c7-c338-415e-8e11-2c6d59f8fa48
Just watched the game. Was in Lebanon snowboarding. Pretty much the score id figured it would be. And damn.....it was hard to stay off clutchfans last night to not spoil the game for me.
I wanted them to win so bad, but the D and QB play was Dallas-esque...giving up the big plays and dumb decisions...
Kubiak's problem as a head coach/OC is that right now is trying to play "old man football" and just punch other teams in the mouth. However, to do that you HAVE to be dominant in execution on the lines with noticeably better talent. Compared to the Patriots, we do not surpass them with overall talent and execution on either line. In fact, it is really hard for anyone to consistently have that much better talent or execution in the NFL just base on how close the gaps are between teams. In today's, NFL you score and win based on one-on-one battles set up by schemes, deception, and adjustments. These are all things which they have NOT been doing. As a result, when injuries pile up, or your team just fails a little bit on execution things blow up in your face. Not sure where this team goes from here. The NFL is such a difficult league because typically turnover from good-to-bad teams is quick, player's careers are short, and windows for teams are very brief. For all the people who want Schaub or Kubiak gone, it is extremely difficult to find replacements who will surpass them and meet your expectations. You can say all you want about how you cannot keep doing the same thing, but if you bring in a new person that they fail horribly, that window is entirely over. Essentially, the first thing is that they need a new ST coach with better blocking. They need a true OC instead of Kubiak doing 2 jobs. They need a true 2nd WR that is more of a threat than Walters, who can go get a catch like Welker's down the sideline or Torey's in the end zone. Then need to play more true hurry up and allow Schaub to make reads and audibles at the line. Then need more depth to allow for more flexibility on the defense front seven. This draft is a great one for a good NT. Draft one, so that you can change it up when teams are eating you away with runs instead and Wade's no-need for a true NT doesn't work. There are some very good ILBs and such on the market this year that could go cheap due to high supply.
