Great break down, hey now. It's all simple math. Back in the vanilla defense era with no running game, kubiak's menu called for 596 pass attempts, almost 38 per game. Schaub completed them at an 68% ratio at 8 yards per pass. Matt has always been tops in the league at yds and completion percentage. If he passed it as much as the "elite", now that we have a defense, his numbers would be around 4,600 yards, 30 tds/10 ints with an 12-4 record and a superbowl contender. However, we could win the superbowl and idiots will still say "he will never be the E word." The question should be.. is Kubiak's ihop menu preventing fantasy geeks everywhere from enjoying the circle jerk of the century? Instead of schaub leading the league in passing, we're barely going to get 4,000 yards/ 22 tds/with a lame qb rating of 95! And the running backs.....nearly 2,oo0 yds and 17 tds .how lame! Balance sucks! Seriously, fans and some offensive cough cough coordinators act like running the ball is a sin. There is nothing wrong with opting to run the ball once inside the other teams 5 yard line. I feel bad for baltimore fans and Ray rice having to deal with Cam. Ok I don't feel bad for them. anyways, stay strong through the bye week. The battlefighting has just begun. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoy_en_la_revolucion/8113571092/" title="saving schaub by *The last son of krypton*, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8471/8113571092_07ae6f8d76.jpg" width="500" height="312" alt="saving schaub"></a>
I always wonder . . . why they just don't platoon the whole second unit on those last drivers or victory formation? Just get them some reps. . . esp Yates Rocket River
"*Jo Joseph looked fast to me. Receiver couldn't catch him. He needs to protect that ball before the goal line. We rested him some during the game. He came back strong and played well." what wade means is now show boating like that, do the Neon not the Leon(lett)
only one on the internet... <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SqtxT5peMdQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
He was faking a stunt with Barwin, I think Barwin was doing a spin move toward the inside to sell it.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Gary Kubiak says RB Ben Tate has slightly pulled hamstring/his biggest concern butpoints out Tate has time to get healthy w/ the bye week.</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/260836786471858176" data-datetime="2012-10-23T20:15:10+00:00">October 23, 2012</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Here are quotes from Kubiak and some players as they take the rest of the week off: Head Coach Gary Kubiak Spoiler (on how he would evaluate his special teams, particularly K Shayne Graham and P Donnie Jones) “I think they’ve been bright spots. I think (P) Donnie (Jones) has punted very well. (K) Shayne (Graham) has one miss, otherwise he’d be perfect, so he’s about a yard and a half from perfect, missing that 52-yarder. I think those two guys have been bright spots. They’ve held their own. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got to get a lot better special teams-wise. Probably the two most disappointing things have been covering kicks and kickoff return, which that boils down to your field position as a team and where your average drive starts. That’s something that we really spent a lot of time on as a team with (Special Teams Coordinator) Joe (Marciano). We’re going to start from scratch. We’ve got to get it improved, but we’re going to start over here when we come back from the break and obviously we’ve been looking at it. Hopefully we do some things that can help us out.” (on where they have struggled on special teams) “It’s a lot of things. I think I let our returner bring the ball out of the end zone too deep. I think that’s on me as a coach, trusting us to come out of there seven or eight yards deep. That’s something that we’ve got to assess. Do we hit a knee or do we give our guy a chance? Some of our blocks up front and our technique and how we engage and where we engage, we think that’s a problem and something we’re working on. As for covering kicks, covering kicks is different against a lot of teams. We have a lot of positive, a lot of inside-the-20 plays, but when you give up big plays and you give up kick returns for touchdowns. You give up two outside the 40 the other day, or whatever that was, and all of the sudden your coverage yardage is going to drop real low so it boils down to big plays. I think there are just a lot of things that have to get better. Me and (Special Teams Coordinator) Joe (Marciano) coaching it, and players doing it. We may have to get a few starters involved in what we do as we get deeper into the season too.” (on if P Donnie Jones has been better than they thought he’d be) “I think he has. He had a good camp. He was solid throughout the course of camp. It really was his from the get-go because of the situation that we had with our other punter being suspended. For him to not only get the job, when we made the decision, but to perform the way he’s performed, I think he’s been a very bright spot. He’s an excellent holder, too, so that was very important.” (on if there are repercussions to using more starters on special teams) “Well, that’s always a possibility. Everybody has roles on the team. The backup players should be your top special teams players. That’s what they should be doing. I think there comes times throughout the course of the season where hey, (WR) Kevin Walter has got to go play a special teams play or (OLB) Brooks Reed has to. I think that comes up all the time as you go through the course of a season. You hope it doesn’t come up too often, because you’re trying to stay healthy throughout the whole thing but as we move forward and as you get deeper and deeper in the season, I think it’s something you have to think about.” (on injuries to his team) “Of the guys that are injured, I’m not real concerned about (NT) Earl (Mitchell). I don’t know if Earl will be back on the field Monday when we come back, but I expect him to be back on the field Wednesday and be ready to go. (OLB Bryan) Braman has been cleared.He’s fine. He practiced today. (RB) Ben (Tate) does have a hamstring pull, a slight pull. There is some time there, but he’s the biggest concern of the three right now.” (on what his message to the team was at the break) “What did I tell them? I told them I wanted them to get away from the grind and everything, but I don’t want them to get away from the opportunities that this football team has. I expect them to be back here on Monday, fresh and ready to go. I think everybody needs a break, coaches included. I’ll get them a break at some point this week, but we need to come back fresh. We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us as a football team and an organization. I’m looking forward to it.” (on what young players are going to need to contribute in the second half) “We’ve got a lot of guys that are going to get a chance to contribute big-time to this team, like (DE Jared) Crick the other day. (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) and (Offensive Coordinator) Rick (Dennison) talked to y’all yesterday, but Crick showed up on film and did some good stuff. (WR DeVier) Posey and (WR Keshawn) Martin, I think are going to be big. I think (WR) Lestar (Jean) is going to be big in the back half of this season. I think (RT Derek) Newton, I’m already watching him grow up. (C/G) Ben Jones has really stepped up his game and played very well. How far we come with those young guys and how much they contribute and how much better they are as players, the only thing I told them was that they’re not a rookie anymore. We’ve been here for 11 games, so you’re in year two, so there are no excuses, let’s go. They’re going to have to play even better than they’ve played.” (on how he would tell his quarterback to deal with a defensive player like DE J.J. Watt) “Boy, I tell you what, it’s difficult. He’s not the one that has to deal with it. It’s not like you can duck and throw under him and stuff like that. I think it’s more your technique and what you do up front. If you can run the ball and do those types of things, hopefully they’re not standing there beating and batting them down. The good thing about that with what’s going on is it’s spreading. The other day (OLB) Whitney (Mercilus) bats a ball down and it gets intercepted by GQ (FS Glover Quin). (DE) J.J. (Watt) got one and (OLB) Connor (Barwin) got one. It’s contagious right now on our football team. If you can’t get there, get your hands up and it has turned into a lot of big plays for us.” (on if he’s been surprised with what DE J.J. Watt has been able to do this year) “I wouldn’t say I’m surprised after what I saw in the playoff games last year. I think what’s happened is (DE) J.J. (Watt) is playing exactly how he played against Cincinnati and Baltimore last year and has just continued. He’s a smarter player and what I mean is he is seeing players for the second time, playing against them for the second time so he knows them better. He’s got a gameplan so to speak, it’s not just all his ability, but he really works at what he does. I think (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line) Bill (Kollar) has just done a tremendous job with him.” (on OLB Whitney Mercilus getting more playing time) “We’ve been wanting to get him more involved. We had a little package in for him against Green bay. I don’t know if y’all noticed, he played a little bit against Green Bay. We’ve got to give (OLB) Connor (Barwin) and (OLB) Brooks (Reed) a break at some point. When you start talking about snaps, we’re at 480-90 offensively and like 420 or something like that defensively. That’s a lot of football. At some point, you have to take some of those snaps off of guys. His confidence should really jump right now. I basically practiced young guys today. Me watching him today, it was like night and day practicing. You could see confidence coming out of the Baltimore game with him on the practice field.” (on if the rookie receivers have shown him enough thus far) “Yeah, I have confidence in them. If Dre (WR Andre Johnson) is out of the game or if (WR) Kevin (Walter) is out of the game, I’m not going to call the game different right now. I’m going to call what we’ve got. To the credit of those two older guys, they’re playing pretty darn good right now. They were actually our Offensive Players of the Game in the game, Kevin and Andre. I think they combine for 13 or 14 catches and 180 yards, something like that. No, I have confidence in them. I think it’s growing from (Offensive Coordinator) Rick’s (Dennison) standpoint. (Wide Receivers Coach) Larry (Kirksey), as we got started, Larry may have come to me and said here’s what I feel comfortable doing with them. Now, they’re fine, just go ahead and call it the same what you call it. That’s important to the team.” (on WR Lestar Jean) “I still see (WR) Lestar (Jean) a little bit ahead of both of those guys (WRs DeVier Posey and Keshawn Martin). It hurt him. The first week back against Green Bay, he wasn’t himself. He was better last week. He’ll be better in two weeks, so that’s part of the process, but I have a lot of confidence in Lestar. I really kind of see him as our three. We try not to move those guys around too much so we don’t get them confused.” (on handling expectations and postseason possibilities) “It’s so early. It’s just so early in the season. I think those things may come up way down the road and hopefully we’ve got that problem seven, eight weeks from now, still talking that way. It’s way too early in the football season. I think and probably the thing that I’m most excited about our team is that I don’t think we’ve touched the surface of what we can be up front. I think we can be much better. I think receiver we’re only going to get better. I see our team getting a lot better throughout the course of the season so we’re going to stay away from that one. We’re just going to try to play every week and find a way to win every week and see what happens here down the road.” (on how he’ll handle the bye this week) “I go about the bye really by what’s going on with the team right now. The league it set up where you can work three days basically with your players, but I’ve got a group of guys right now that have played so much football, been on the field for so many snaps that I’ve got to get them fresh. I had a group of guys today that really needed to work and we did that. I feel good where we’re at. I think this week will do us a lot of good. We got a good group of guys that are going to have to just stay right here and stay in the training room. We’ll find a way to still get better. Obviously, we’re all going to get a break, but there are some guys that still got to stay here.” (on CB Kareem Jackson’s development) “That’s why it is so impressive. Guys make it in this league because they’re pretty tough mentally and what they’re made of. What he went through and the growing pains that he went through to withstand that. Now he gets a new coach to come in, and he really gets his confidence. Now he’s out there. (CB) Kareem (Jackson) is playing so well right now. The ball used to come his way all day long. It’s going to both sides of the field now. That’s how well Kareem is playing and to just watch his confidence on the field, you’re happy for guys like that. That’s the guys that end up playing 10-12 years and being really good players when they can withstand some hardships early in your career when you’re young and battle through, make you better.” (on young players who experience adversity early in their careers) “To be honest with you, the majority of them, you’re going to go through that. It’s just part of this game. A lot of guys that have so much success right off the bat, to me I remember having (RB Steve) Slaton . He had so much success early. I remember telling him,‘Steve, your next 1,200 yards will be the toughest 1,200 you’ll ever get because now everybody knows who you are and what you’re doing.’ I think that’s almost harder for players that have so much success early, to come back in year two and year three and everybody is expecting that as compared to that guy that maybe got beat up a little bit but he stays the course and keeps going. It boils down to it’s about a career. It’s what it’s about. You want to have a good career. He’s working his way toward doing that.” (on RB Ben Tate’s hamstring) “I’m a little concerned because what year is (RB) Ben (Tate), three or four? We’ve had a few hamstrings with Ben along the course, so this is not the first time.So until he’s back out there, I’m confident, but I have a lot of confidence in my other guy. He’s a good player. He’s done a good job so if Ben can’t go, (RB) Justin (Forsett) will play well.” (on evaluating the team) “We’re just going to go to Buffalo and see what we got to do to beat Buffalo. We’ve spent yesterday and all day today, all we basically did was study ourselves. Said, ‘This is what we are, this is what we’re doing, this is what we’re good at, this is what we’re not good at.”And did it as coaches, too, and,‘This is where we’re going.’ Every player leaving this building today knows what we think and where we’re heading as a football team. That was the most important thing, but we’ve got to figure out a way to win a seventh game and that’s what we’re going to stay focused on.” (on the things he’s most concerned about and pleased with) “I would just go right to average field position. If you look at it, we’re losing that battle in this league but yet we’re still finding a way to win games. We’re a team that’s built if we can play the game on your side of the field, defensively throughout the course of the game, we ought to be pretty successful. That’s the one thing that’s bothering us right now and something we’ve got to improve on. The thing I’m probably most pleased about is how well we’re playing when we protect the ball. I think we’re protecting the ball as good as anybody in football right now. If we continue to win that battle throughout the course of the season, we’re going to be successful. Those are things we’ll stay concentrated on.” (on if they’ll continue to play seven offensive linemen) “We played pretty good for the next three and a half quarters. Like I said, we’re going to continue to play those guys. I think the young guard has improved drastically. I think (G Antoine) Caldwell has played pretty consistent, but he’s had a hard time staying healthy and being consistently on the field healthy and those types of things. That’s something he’s got to work on. I think our young tackle is much improved from Week 1 to Week 7. I think (T) Ryan (Harris) has helped (T Derek) Newton improve because he’s taking a little a little bit off of him. He’s taking 15 plays off of him, 20 plays off of him. I thinkNewton has responded and played better. Hopefully we’re headed toward somewhere late in the season where we’re settled down to our five. If we think it’s best to play our seven, we’re going to keep doing that.” OLB Connor Barwin Spoiler (on getting his first sack and if it changes anything for him) “No, same thing moving forward, same thing I did the first six weeks or five weeks. Definitely happy to finally get off the schneid so to speak.” (on if he’s happy to not have to answer questions about getting his first sack anymore ) “Well not really about answering the questions. I don’t care about answering the questions. It’s just I wasn’t happy that I wasn’t contributing you know what I’m saying. I’m happy to finally be able to say that I did that.” (on how much he’s looking forward to resting) “I’m definitely looking forward to it to get away for a little bit. Four days away will be nice. I’m healthy, knock on wood. Hopefully I can stay healthy. Obviously to get away to clear your mind a little bit is nice.” (on how often the defense talks about sack totals) “We’re not very high right now in our room so there’s not that much talk about it yet, but in the past you’re always competing against everybody to try to be at the top in those kinds of stats.” (on how batting down passes has become contagious) “I think (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line) Bill Kollar deserves the most credit for that because he emphasizes that. He’s emphasized it ever since I’ve been here, even my rookie year. You won’t hear too many other d-line coaches that say a batted ball is the same thing as a sack. We continue to hear that for years now, and I think guys remember and think about that when they’re out there rushing the quarterback and they see they’re not going to get there. They remember to put their hands. You’d be surprised, well you guys see, how much you can hit balls down when all you have to do is put your hands up.” LT Duane Brown Spoiler (on if he’s looking forward to the time off) “Absolutely. The season is a long grind. It’s just good that we’re able to celebrate time off being that we’re in the position that we are right now.” (on leading the league in time of possession) “It’s great. It can be a bit tiring, but it’s worse on a defense. For a lineman, you love to be able to run the ball constantly, and eat up the clock the way we do. It’s a great feeling.” (on if it means more for an offensive lineman to lead in time of possession) “Definitely, because that means you’re controlling the ball. You’re running the ball well. Teams that control the clock usually don’t drop back as much as other teams. I think that’s a testament to the work we put in.” (on if he welcomes the break even though the team is playing so well right now) “Absolutely. We’ve been going at it hard since the end of July. It’s good to have some time off. Guys that are nicked up, banged up, get a chance to get a few days to themselves and get your body back and just get away from the sport mentally, physically. It’ll help you prepare and refocus and rededicate yourself to it.” (on what he’ll do during the bye week) “I’ll be traveling a little bit somewhere a little tropical, just relaxing. Any physical and mental stress is out the window.” (on what he’d like to see the offense do better after the bye week) “Just be more consistent. I think we’ve had flashes of a good running game, flashes of being able to drop back, everything, but we’ve had a lot of lulls in the game. We’ve had some spurts where we ran the ball for big yards and then we got a lot of plays with no yards so just being consistent week in and week out.” FB James Casey Spoiler (on what Head Coach Gary Kubiak told the team to do during the bye ) “He said enjoy it, just try to get your mind off of football for a little bit because we got a grind coming up toward the end of the season. We’ve got to make sure we get ready when we come back be ready to go. Go home, visit family, and just stay out of trouble, of course.But get your mind off football but be ready to come back. We’ve got a lot of work to do when we get back.” (on improving after the bye) “You always want to work on just small stuff, just try to be perfecton anything you do. You’re never going to have a perfect game, but as far as what I do as fullback and doing a little tight end stuff, just trying to stay on my blocks longer, trying to get up in the pass game and make plays when I get opportunities and just work on the small stuff. As I get more and more opportunities, I think I’m only going to get better as the season goes on.” (on what WR Andre Johnson does for other members of the offense when he’s spreading the field) “It makes it a lot easier for us because I know going into the games defenses are not focused on me. They’re not really game planning for me at all. We’ve got a lot of really good playmakers like (WR) Andre (Johnson) and (RB) Arian (Foster) and (TE) Owen (Daniels) and (WR) Kevin Walter so I know they’re not focused too much on me. It opens up things underneath for me and they’ve got to send a safety over the top of Andre, so it opens up a lot of check-down stuff. When he’s on the field it also helps out the run game.” (on leading in time of possession offensively) “It’s a great feeling when we’re out on the field for a long time because we know how important that is to our defense, keeping them off the field, keeping them fresh. It’s always a good feeling when you can win the game when you have the ball in your hands at the end of the game. When we’re running the ball really well that’s what we pride ourselves on and having the time of possession like that it helps out in so many other factors like keeping your defense fresh and it starts wearing down their defense.” CB Johnathan Joseph Spoiler (on what he’s going to do in the bye week) “Rest up, man. Rest up and spend some time with my family.” (on how improved CB Kareem Jackson is) “I think he’s improved on. I would probably say he’s playing on the highest level he’s probably played since he’s been here. He’s made steps and he’s one of those guys you can count on each and every week to show up. It’s the same thing I’ve been saying since I’ve been here, that I had seen in him last year when I first got here.” (on how the offense eating the clock benefits him and gives him time to rest) “It’s good to see. Anytime you can control the game the way they control the game on the offensive side, it only helps the defense out because it keeps us fresh. And once we get out there we know we have the ability to go out there and play all out because we get back to our offense they’re going to rest us up and give us another opportunity to go back out there.” (on the offense helping the defense) “Yeah, I think it all kind of ties itself in. To have a great defense, you have to have a great offense to control the game and things like that. You can’t go out there and just throw it and expect us to go out there and hold up each and every time. They do a good job of keeping us on the sideline and things like that, getting first downs and things.” (on if the bye week is coming at a good time) “I just think if you can have a bye week, this would be the perfect week for us. At this point, we just happen to be coming off a loss then we go and get a big win.” OLB Whitney Mercilus Spoiler (on if he’s more comfortable in the defense following the game against Baltimore) “Yeah, I think I’m a little bit more comfortable, a little bit more confident than I have been. Seeing different types of looks, getting different types of pass sets from offensive tackles and things like that. As I progress, I think I’ll just get better.” (on if getting his first NFL sack helped his confidence) “Exactly. That was awesome. I finally got that out of the way. I’ve just got to continue to get more.” (on if OLB Connor Barwin told him how his first sack provided more motivation for Barwin to get his first sack of the season) “He didn’t tell me that at all. I could probably suspect that, of course, if he got one and he didn’t have one, he would definitely be (upset) if that happened, so I’m glad he got his sack.” (on if the Texans’ coaching staff will expect more out of him when the bye week is over) “I haven’t been told anything, but I would expect so, showing out a little bit in the game and things like that, playing a little bit faster than I have been and I guess I just can’t slack off.” (on if things have slowed down for him yet) “Yeah. I would think so. A lot of things slowed down. It’s not too bad now. It’s just a matter of protecting my craft.” (on his plans for the bye week) “Just got back up to Illinois, catch up with my boys up there and check out the game this weekend against Indiana. Try to get them right for that game because they’ve been letting me down a little bit lately.” (on how he’s developed as a player from the time he arrived in Houston until now) “I first came in, going through OTAs and things like that. I’ve never stood up before on two feet, so that was an adjustment for me, trying to be explosive off the ball, trying to get off on the snap and all that. That was a little challenging. Also, learning the playbook wasn’t too difficult beginning with the mental reps and also physical reps. For me, I’m more of a hands-on person. That’s how I learn fast. Learning that aspect wasn’t too bad. As time progressed, I got better and better. I had my ups and downs. I was fluctuating. Hopefully I’m just solid right now.” RT Derek Newton Spoiler (on what change he saw in his play) “I became less tense, it became more easy for me to just go out there and play. I was doing a lot of thinking, worrying about what was going on, trying to worry about what to do on the play. But as the weeks went on, just learned to be patient and take it one play at a time.” (on what it feels like to have Head Coach Gary Kubiak say he was much improved) “That’s good. That just tells me that I got to keep working hard and keep getting better. Just keep working to be a better player.” (on if T Ryan Harris has helped him become a better player) “Yeah, week to week I’m still talking to him, (LT) Duane (Brown), (T) Rashad (Butler) when he’s around. Just asking those guys is helping me out a lot.” OLB Brooks Reed Spoiler (on feeling left out with his lack of big plays) “Yeah, I’m feeling really left out after last game. I’m ready to come back stronger this kind of second half of the season here. Get ready to go.” (on how it feels to have the best record in the AFC) “Feels really good. It was a very important, vital one for us last week. We knew even before the season started that that would be an important game. So it feels good.” (on the importance of the win over Baltimore) “Yeah, it was right after a tough loss, a bad loss. So to have a game like that really boosted our confidence back up again, kind of reassured us as players and the coaches that we do have something special.” DE J.J. Watt Spoiler (on having the opportunity to see his brothers play football this weekend) “It’s unbelievable. I’m really excited. It’s my brother’s senior year of high school, and they’re undefeated and hopefully making a big run in the playoffs, and obviously Derek is starting as a freshman for Wisconsin, so I’m really excited. It’s special for me to be able to see them play.” (on whether football is becoming the Watt family business) “It is. It’s a lot of fun to see them succeed because they put in so much work. They work their tails off, and I love seeing them reap the rewards.” (on the reaction to NFL Films’ ‘Miked Up’ segment featuring him from last week’s game) “It’s funny. I think it’s funny. It’s just part of the game. It’s funny to see that, because normally nobody ever hears what you say out there.” (on Baltimore RB Ray Rice’s reaction to Watt saying he’d eaten burritos bigger than him) “They muted his part out for a reason. I’ll leave it at that.” (on what he takes away from the first seven games of the season) “We’re having fun. We’re on top of the AFC and we’re playing very good football. You can’t ask for much more. We’re headed into the bye week and we’re going to get good rest, and then come out in the second half and try to keep doing what we’re doing.” (on whether the bye week comes at a good time for the Texans) “Yeah, I think it’s good. I think we’re going to rest up and we’re going to get our legs back under us and we’re going to make a huge run here in the second half of the season. We’re on top, and you can’t ask to be anywhere else but on top.” (on seeing his teammates sacking the quarterback last Sunday) “I love it. It’s so much fun to see everybody in on the party. It’s so much fun when everybody’s making plays, everybody’s getting their chance. You see a guy like Whit (OLB Whitney Mercilus) getting his first sack, you see a guy like (OLB) Connor (Barwin) getting his first sack of the year, a big safety, so it’s awesome. It’s so much more fun when everybody’s making plays.” (on how the Texans offense leading the NFL in time of possession helps the defense) “It gives us a lot of time to relax on the bench, catch our breath, and get ready for the next series. I’m not sure if I have it right, but I think we lead (the NFL) in three-and-outs from a defensive standpoint, and I think part of that is we’re so fresh and we’re so ready to play because our offense takes a lot of time off the clock. We get a lot of rest, we get to look over the plays, talk about what’s going on and then go out there and execute.” (on how he is dealing with becoming the focus of opposing offenses) “It’s a good challenge. I love it. I love that I have to fight through a double-team or I have to fight through a chip block to get a sack, because it’s so much more gratifying to get a sack when you have to beat a couple guys, and I love it like that. They can put all the guys on me they want. Then they’ve got (OLB) Connor (Barwin) coming free off the edge, they’ve got (OLB) Whitney (Mercilus) coming free off the edge, they’ve got (OLB) Brooks (Reed). So give me all the attention; let the other guys get the sacks. I don’t care. As long as we’re getting the sacks, it doesn’t matter how.” (on whether quarterbacks ever say anything to him after he bats down their passes) “I’m not going to tell you anything anybody says on the field to me. I’ll let you guys think about that. Maybe you’ll catch it on ‘Miked Up’ sometime.” (on what Head Coach Gary Kubiak told the team before they broke for the bye week) “He said it was a good part of the season, obviously be safe and smart, get your rest and make sure you get away from football a little bit, get your mind back and then come back ready to play. We have a great opportunity in front of us, he said, and we know what’s at stake and we need to come back here focused and ready to go in a week.” (on when he first started being called ‘J.J.Swatt’) “I couldn’t tell you. I’m not a huge fan of it. I like my last name, and so I don’t like that people mess with my last name, but I understand it, I understand why it’s a big deal, so that’s cool. But I like to honor my grandparents and everyone, so I like my regular last name, too.” (on taking the nickname as a compliment) “Oh, absolutely. I appreciate it, and the signs are cool and the big hands in the stands, and all that comes with it – the Swatt Team, the whole deal. The fans are great. I love what they do, and any way they support me, I appreciate it and accept it. It’s unbelievable. I love this city. I love the fans of this city; I love everyone who comes out to support us because they’re such great people and they’ve welcomed me in an unbelievable fashion. I’ve never seen anything like our fans and they’re awesome.” (on dealing with his celebrity and fans being so excited to meet him) “I love it. It is one of the coolest things ever. It’s what you dream about as a kid: you’ve got fans asking for autographs, asking for pictures. It’s getting a little crazy, chasing my car and places I go, seeing me at breakfast and stuff like that, but it’s all part of the fun. It’s a blast.” TE Owen Daniels Spoiler (on the significance of the win over Baltimore) “I think it was a really, really big win for us. If you look at the circumstances losing a week earlier and having a big game going into our bye week and playing against a really good team, to be able to get a win in the fashion that we did was huge for us going forward confidence-wise. It’s a great way to go into this bye week to get some rest. I can’t overemphasize the confidence of the situation.” (on if they welcome the break given how well they’re currently playing) “I think we welcome the break. I don’t think we’ll have any problems getting back into sync once we get back to work next week. I think we just feel good about where we’re at and we’re going to take advantage of the time off and get refreshed mentally and physically. We’ll be ready to go back to work when we come back here.” (on if this is the best that he’s felt since the 2008 season when he made the Pro Bowl) “Yeah, I think so. I guess since the beginning of the 2009 season where I felt pretty darn good. Yeah, I feel great physically. The coaches really took care of me during camp, giving me days off here and there. I think that is translating into feeling good now and hopefully it will later in the season too.” (on if he thought the Texans were very well-rounded in the win over the Ravens) “No question. Everyone contributed, all across the board, all three phases. We were as balanced as we could be on offense, running the ball and throwing the football. We were pretty darn good on third downs and staying on the field. Our time of possession was huge, keeping their offense off the field. Obviously our defense made some huge plays and got things rolling for us. When they’re scoring point, it just makes it easier to win games. We had a good contribution on special teams, but obviously, it was a very well-rounded game for our team.” (on the play of QB Matt Schaub) “I think he’s playing unbelievably well. Coming off the injury that he had and getting back on the horse and being as in sync as he is, you know he’s always going to be prepared. The way he’s playing and holding up physically, he just keeps getting better. It’s fun to watch.” (on Coach Kubiak saying that he is playing as well as he was the year he made the Pro Bowl) “It’s hard to compare but I think I’ve improved as a player. I think I’m better in terms of holding up in pass protection and blocking in the run game then I was back then. I think I’m a little more physical now. You like to see that, the longer you’re in the league, to get a little better at that type of thing. I feel pretty good about running my routes and catching the ball. That’s more of the thing that has come naturally but being able to improve in the run game and having the coaches having the confidence to put me one-on-one in pass protection is a good improvement.” (on his ability to overcome some injuries a couple years ago) “There are always bumps in the road and everyone has them. I’ve really put in a lot of work to get back to where I was and feeling the way I do physically. I think I’m more of a complete player then I was back then for sure.” (on FB James Casey and TE Garrett Graham) “James is just an amazing athlete in my eyes. He’s continued to improve. I don’t think he really has a natural position, other than just being able to move around and run routes. He’s taken on that fullback position and jumped in with two feet. He’s knocking guys’ helmets off like any big-time fullback would. He’s going in there with confidence and he’s playing really well. He’s improved a ton from last year and you can see him improving day-by-day and game-by-game this season. Garrett, I think he’s just having an opportunity to play. Knowing that, I think has lit a fire under him and you could see that improvement from OTAs and camp and obviously he’s playing really well right now. It’s great for our group to be able to be playing well as the three of us have been and being able to contribute and be involved in the offense.” (on TE Garrett Graham’s acrobatic catch against the Ravens) “It was so sick, man. Watching that thing on the TV copy in slow motion, it was like he was going up to dunk the ball, it was an amazing catch. He had amazing concentration. He never took his eyes off the ball. You could see it the whole way. It’s good to see flashes like that out of him when he’s getting a chance to make plays.” (on his secret to scoring so many touchdowns this season) “I’ve been getting lucky, man. I don’t know. Just taking advantage of my opportunities I guess. I don’t always get looks down in the scoring zone, but when you do, you’ve got to make the most of it. I think that’s been the key.” (on what is said in the huddle and on the sideline regarding the slow starts) “I think we just look at each other and not much needs to be said. Enough is said by going three-and-out. We’re pretty hard on each other as it is. We expect a lot out of what we’re doing. We just try to tell each other to lock-in a little better and get more focused. Sometimes defenses have a good scheme to start the game and you’ve got to give them credit sometimes for being able to stop us. I think that’s one thing we’re going to look at tomorrow as well. We’re going into the second half of the season looking to start fast. In our position to get points on the board right away, a lot of time we’re getting the ball to start the game and that’s what we like offensively. To put points on the board with the defense we have early in the game, the first drive if possible, it’s really important. We have to do a little bit better job of that.” (on what the Texans are doing better offensively than they’ve ever done) “I just think we’re more balanced than we’ve ever been. I don’t think there is one guy that is carrying the ball all the time. In the past, Dre (WR Andre Johnson) has had 100 catches but now the ball is getting spread across the board between him, (WR) Kevin (Walter), myself, (TE) Garrett (Graham), (FB) James (Casey) and some young receivers. Then we’re running the ball really well behind that, this past week especially. Offensively, I think that’s what makes us successful. There are so many people to game plan for and prepare for week-to-week for opposing defenses. That makes it easier for us.” ILB Bradie James Spoiler (on how he’s adjusted to playing more with ILB Brian Cushing) “It is definitely different from going from playing about 25 plays to 60 plays. I’ve done it before. Haven’t had to do it in a couple years. (The) great thing about was coming into this offseason program, Ced (Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Cedric Smith) has done a great job with everybody. This is a younger group, so I’m the old man on the team, or one of them. You just have to fit in and just being in better shape definitely has helped me to be able to make that transition.” (on if he has to have a different mindset playing that many plays) “The thing about being able to play with a player like Cush (ILB Brian Cushing), what makes our team and what makes the defense real good is everybody understands their role. Coming in, I wanted to make sure that not only did people understand their role, they had to take it to another level. No matter what your role is, it’s very important to the success of the team, defensively, offensively and special teams. I was fitting in, getting ready to enjoy my 30 plays and then football happened. We got an injury to one of our better players, one of our best players on the defensive side of the ball. I wanted to definitely have a better rapport, to have more time with him. But now you just pick up and try to pick up where he left off. The only way we can do that is by committee and I think we have enough players to really do that.” (on if playing in Defensive Coordinator Wade Phillips’ defense has been better than he expected after playing in it with Dallas) “Right before I signed, I got a chance to really see these guys on film. I didn’t know what was going on down here I should say. I got a chance to see guys like (OLB) Connor (Barwin) and (OLB) Brooks (Reed) and (DE) J.J. Watt. I saw J.J. on film and I said, ‘Hmm. This is different.’ This is why was (Defensive Coordinator) Wade (Phillips) tailors his defense to the players that he has. It’s not only by the high-motor guys we have on the team, it’s a tribute to the second year also. And then a couple guys coming in like myself and Dobbs (ILB Tim Dobbins), who had played under the same scheme for a while, we can help people out. My focus is definitely to be the best teammate I can be to help as many guys as I can because it really does take everybody.” (on how important it is to the team’s success to come out of the bye week and pick up where the team left off) “The thing about the bye, especially when you have good seasons, is you’ve got to get away from the game and come back with an almost renewed commitment because you have to use that time off. That’s why it’s so important to win going into the bye, so you don’t have things lingering on while you’re supposedly off. You want to be playing some of your best ball going into the bye and then you can tail it down a little bit while you relax. And then you can come back just re-focused, fired up and ready to finish that second half because the first half is what it is. One thing about this team, you talk to (Head Coach Gary Kubiak) and the fabric of this team is just its work ethic. He always talks about just going 1-0. You don’t really try to bit the whole pie. You just take one piece at a time.” (on how important it is that the team has the best record in the AFC at this point in the season) “It’s huge. It just lets you know that every game is very important and definitely when you’re winning and when you’re on top, people are always gunning for you. The week before we lost, it was very humbling because guys had to focus more, do a little bit more and then pay attention to the details and that’s why we were able to play as well as we were able to this last game. I think it’s really more about and how we feel, it’s really more about us instead of whoever we’re playing because it’s about how we prepare and how we approach each week. That’s another great thing about this team.” (on DE J.J. Watt having 10 passes defensed this season) “It’s unreal. For me to be in my 10th year to have a player like that in front of me, I’m so thankful and so grateful because with me knowing the scheme, I just really play off him. Because sometimes he just does some things and you’re just like, ‘I don’t know how he does that.’ And to tip the ball consistently the way that he does, man, we’re watching something that never really happens. I’m sure he’s on pace to break whatever record it is, I don’t know, I know you guys keep up with that but I’m sure he’ll break that record. He’s an asset to this whole organization.” (on how important it is to have had four people score on defense this season) “That’s another thing that doesn’t usually happen during the season. But we actually practice that in practice. You guys get a chance to see what we’re doing in practice in a game on Sundays, and really, that’s when it counts. It’s huge. It gives everybody a boost. I think OD (TE Owen Daniels) alluded to it earlier, talking about us scoring. I think the statistics are off the charts, at least 90 percent when a defense scores on the defensive side of the ball increasing the chances of winning. It’s huge, man, for everybody. I mean everybody feeds off of that, defensively, offensively on special teams. We’ve just got to keep grinding and get some more.” (on his plans during the bye week) “Going back to Dallas with a smile on my face.”
I agree with everything in the nice post you wrote except this. Dre is definitely a down field threat, even now. In the Ravens game, if you watch over they still shadow him with a safety deep. Therefore, he is still a down field threat.
I got it.. give me a sec. edit.. ok here ya go for anyone that missed this very elusive move. This footage was very hard to capture as evidence that this is only the second known video on youtube of the skill shown. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Z-Pz-A8TpN8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
