Texans OTAs Thread

Newton got injured in the Thanksgiving game against Detroit. He missed the following two games and then played the remainder of the season.

 

Quotes from Tuesday's practice:

Head Coach Gary Kubiak

Spoiler

(on how the team bounced back in today’s OTA) “They’ve got a lot on their plate. Every other day I’m resting a bunch of the veteran guys. I think it’s really helping our team because they’re getting all these young guys caught up. It’s a cram session, like I told you. It’s going to be like that. We’re counting on some really young guys helping this team quick and the only way we’re going to get them there is to just throw it at them, so that’s what we’re trying to do.”

(on if it is about resting the veterans or giving young players more of an opportunity at this time of the year) “It’s kind of both. I look at certain guys that have got a ton of snaps under their belt, have played a ton of football; they don’t need to be out here every day doing that. And then there’s young guys that when those older guys are practicing, they’re not getting as many reps. And I like to see guys work; like (QB) Case (Keenum) worked with the first team today. What was impressive was how he practiced. That’s the kind of stuff you want to see. (WR) Lestar (Jean) worked like a starter today and practiced very well. So those are the things you’re really looking for. Are those guys getting ready? Are they getting themselves into position? It’s exciting to see some of them doing that?”

(on how WR Lestar Jean is doing) “He’s doing really well. (WR) Lestar (Jean) and (WR) Keshawn (Martin) are probably two of the most improved players out here. I could list probably 10 or 12 but they’re very important to what we’re doing. They see their opportunity. They’re also smart enough to know that the young kid has got thrown in there as a starter and they’ve got to keep their minds straight and keep going and if they do that, they’re going to be on the field a great deal for our team. And they’re handling their business well.”

(on what it means that the entire team will be attending the Firefighter Memorial Service at Reliant Stadium tomorrow) “It’s very important to us. We talked about it as a group yesterday and talked to a couple players. It means a lot to us to be there, to show our support for the families and to our community. We’re going to move our day up in the morning and looking forward to being there to support the families.”

(on what FB Greg Jones does for the red zone offense) “Well, he’s got to lead the way for the other guy (RB Arian Foster). He was brought here to be a physical presence and we know that. He’s what, 10 years in the League? So I’m going to bring him along the right way, be smart with him. He went through an injury-filled season last year in Jacksonville. (I’m) trying to do everything I can to see that doesn’t happen.”

(on the right side of the offensive line) “Well, (RG) Brandon (Brooks) has been consistent. Brandon’s been there. The right tackle situation right now obviously is a concern because we did not play as well as we needed to play there last year, especially late in the year and then we’re missing the whole offseason. There’s no fault of (RT) Derek (Newton) but it’s just a fact; and then the young man we drafted (T Brennan Williams) really hasn’t been on the field other than one day. So there’s concern there. We’ll keep pushing. (T David) Quessenberry has made a lot of strides. I think that (T) Ryan (Harris has had a really good camp for us, his second year with us; he’s played a lot of football. Due to that situation, I think he’s gotten better for us as a player.”

(on S D.J. Swearinger) “He’s an impressive young man because he acts like he’s been doing it for a while. But we knew that when we studied him coming out in college. He looks like a player that you could see very, very quickly for us on the field. Very confident.”

(on the Firefighter Memorial Service at Reliant Stadium tomorrow) “It’s important to us as an organization and a team. The players, we talked about it yesterday. We want to show our support for our community and for those families. We look forward to being there to show our support tomorrow.”

(on how far WR DeVier Posey has come in his rehab) “He’s doing great but he can only do so much. He’s doing everything he can do. The old ‘ahead of schedule,’ that applies here. But remember, we’re making a decision on him at the end of camp because of the PUP and those type of things. He’s doing everything he can. He’s going to come back and he’s going to play for us next year. How early is the question.”

(on if he likes seeing WR DeVier Posey out at OTAs helping out) “He’s making sure he gets better because the biggest thing he struggled with last year was just catching up on what we do. Once he did, he was very competitive and played well for us. He’s staying involved in that and that will help him when he comes back.”

(on the competition on the right side of the offensive line and RG Brandon Brooks) “I’ve been very impressed with how he’s handled himself. The competition needs to exist more and I mean that from a standpoint of we have too many guys out right now. We need (RT Derek) Newton out here working. We need (T Brennan) Williams out here working and then there should be great competition. But we’ve got to get us to that point and so there’s got to be some patience here as we work toward July.”

(on what specifically the team is trying to improve on to get to the next level) “I think everything’s new. Every season is different. My concern is how good our team is, not just with the win-loss; how good is our football team? You can win a championship and win 10 games in this League. You can get knocked out in the first round and win 13 or 14. My key is, can we get better? Can we get these young guys to help us real quick? We lost a few more guys again this year to replace. I’m just trying to get this group heading; find out where we’ll be in 2013. But I expect us to be a good team.”

(on what impresses him about RG Brandon Brooks and G/C Ben Jones from their rookie seasons to now) “The game is easy for them now. They don’t have to work so hard at it. They used to have to live in their book every day. That part is easy for them now. Now it’s about repetition and the physical part of what they’re doing.”

RG Brandon Brooks

Spoiler

(on proving himself a starter despite all the other young offensive linemen) “Yeah, competition brings out the best in anybody. Although they picked up young guys, it creates competition and brings out the best in all of us.”

(on looking quicker and if he feels quicker) “Just being a younger guy last year, you kind of feel your way around until you know concretely what’s going on. I got a pretty good understanding of the playbook so I can just go out there and play instead of having to think. That’s where you’d see me playing a little slower last year.”

(on head coach Gary Kubiak saying that Brandon Brooks is practicing like a starter) “I appreciate the compliment, but for me, I want to keep it going and become more consistent, do it every play, every day.”

(on having veterans on the offensive line as role models) “The first thing I did when I came back was get with Wade (Smith) and just let him know that I am completely serious about this and that I would appreciate it if yourself, Chris Myers and Duane would took me under their wing and they did that. When we would meet in the offseason, I would go an extra 30-45 minutes with them, so I would know what they would see along with what the coach sees, so we could all be on the same page.”

(on the key to his weight loss) “Mostly salads and fruits to snack on.”

SS Danieal Manning

Spoiler

(on the entire team attending tomorrow’s Firefighter Memorial and that not every team would necessarily come to it) “This is why they’re one of a kind. You don’t have guys like this. You want to have an organization, you want to have a community in a city that’s like this. We’re expecting maybe 50,000 or 60,000 people here and I think that’s great. We’re pushing time up and nobody’s complaining about being here early in the morning because we know what this really is about. It could have been anyone’s family member, so you always want to be able to show support in that way.”

(on it not taking long for the team to decide on going to the Firefighter Memorial) “It doesn’t take any time to just go there. You should want to do that. We’re all supposed to all treat each other right and do the right thing, so that’s what we should do.”

(on having relatives who are firefighters and knowing what they go through) “It’s not fun but those guys keep us safe. They bravely go above and beyond. Somebody has their life in danger, you’re going into it to save people’s lives. You’re pretty much sacrificing your own life. That’s what happened with these guys.”

(on how the secondary is coming together during OTAs) “I’m excited. We’ve still got a lot of learning to do. Still trying to play with those guys. We’ve still got some positions that we need to get solid players in again; that’s all through the defense, even offensively. The secondary, I think we’re starting to thicken up a little bit and it’s pretty exciting.”

(on if OTAs can be used to set the bar high for training camp) “When you get in, it’s always putting on the pads and seeing exactly what type of team you have. Right now, guys running around padless, you can make plays staying off of guys but you really don’t know how good of a football player when the lights are on. That’s why camp is so good. Before you get into those big lights, you go through camp, see what type of player you have and you can start moving pieces around. I think that’s what OTAs also are for.”

QB Matt Schaub

Spoiler

(on the entire team attending the Firefighter Memorial Service at Reliant Stadium tomorrow) “It’s huge. It’s something that as players we talked with the coaches and just tried to work it out when we found out it was going to take place in our building tomorrow. It’s important for us, being members of this community to be a part of that community and when something like this happens, we all rally around each other as citizens. So I think it says a lot about what’s important to us as a football team and an organization.”

(on what sticks out to him about WR DeAndre Hopkins) “What we do every day is not too big to him. He comes out, he’s learning. He’s gotten a lot thrown at him but he’s like a sponge. He’s absorbing as much information as he can. He’s listening, he’s taking instruction and he’s really applying it to what he’s doing on the field. The more he grasps, the more his playmaking ability; what he can do with the football in his hands will take over. It’s impressive to watch his progress as we move through OTAs.”

(on how important it is now to get timing down with WR DeAndre Hopkins) “It’s huge because right now he’s going against (CB) Johnathan Joseph, (CB) Kareem Jackson; they’ve been doing it a long time. (CB) Brice McCain. And so the more reps he gets against defenders, obviously we’re not in pads, we’re not combative in anything we’re doing, still he’s able to feel route adjustments and understand where we’re expecting him to be as quarterbacks and where we’re going to put the ball. It’s all very important for him, and all those receivers for that matter, because once we break camp here, it’s just going to be us throwing on air rest of the summer. That’s going to be good for us and vital but it’s important to get these reps before we go to camp.”

(on the importance of timing with receivers re-emphasizes the need to be out at OTAs) “Absolutely. This time period is huge for us because for veterans, it lets us get back into the groove, get back into what we’re doing, drill work and just seeing things and play. For these young guys; how we practice, how we prepare, how we meet, how we go about our business, so when camp comes, we can just go.”

(on the importance of the team attending the Firefighter Memorial Service at Reliant Stadium tomorrow) “It’s huge for all of us. When we heard it was going to take place here tomorrow at Reliant, as players and members of this community first and foremost in the Houston area, for us to show our support and rally around each other as a collective group and Houston really says a lot about what we are as an organization and what this city is about. As I understand, it’s going to be a pretty large crowd tomorrow and rightfully so, because the tragedy is just unbelievable.”

(on the additions of FB Greg Jones and WR DeAndre Hopkins helping in the red zone) “It’s huge for us. When you’ve got a guy like (FB) Greg Jones, who’s done it for a number of years, nine years now, who we’ve had to face twice a year for nine years, I understand what he’s all about; and the ability to open up holes for our halfbacks, for (RB) Arian (Foster), for (RB) Ben (Tate). It’s going to be huge because down there, the best thing you can do in the red zone is run the football. When you have a fullback that can create those holes for him, it’s huge. (WR) DeAndre (Hopkins), his playmaking ability with the ball in his hands, being able to go up and get the football in the red zone, it’s going to add a dimension to our offense.”

(on FB Greg Jones being in on play action making the offensive more effective) “Absolutely. If we can run the football and be effective with that when we play-fake; we’ve always been a good play-action team. It’s just going to sell it even more. The more people that we can bring in to help that process, the better.”

(on WR Alan Bonner’s progress) “He’s doing well. He’s making plays, he’s doing what we’re asking. He’s doing a lot. We’re doing a lot more than he’s probably every had to do in his past and position. He’s understanding his adjustments and what we’re asking him to do. So the more he can grasp and understand, the more he can just let his athleticism and playmaking ability take over so then he won’t have to think as much on the field.”

(on the most important thing to him during OTAs) “Just keeping sharp in our skills and integrating all these new faces into our offense because it’s a time period where we all try to get onto the same page going into training camp.”

(on how often he sits down with WR DeAndre Hopkins) “We definitely have a lot of that. It’s hard to find that time right now because of all the meeting time we have as a group. We have a lot of time this summer to go back and watch film, watch last year, talk through things, let him understand what we’re trying to get done with certain routes.”

(on if he likes seeing all the young competition at wide receiver) “Absolutely. It makes everyone better. It makes me better. It makes everyone in our group work and compete that much more when you have that many guys working for a handful of spots. It’s making everyone better and they’re all in the meeting rooms taking notes and trying to do the best they can.”

(on what the young players have brought on the right side of the offensive line) “They’re doing well. They understand their role. Making that step from year one to year two is huge in any position in this business and you can really see those guys understanding their responsibilities, what their calls are, what they’re being asked to do.”

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/a...As-Day-8/0f564ae1-68ca-4582-983b-7318c6573902

 

Quotes from Kubiak after this morning's practice:

Head Coach Gary Kubiak

Spoiler

(on why it was so important to go the Firefighter Memorial Service at Reliant Stadium as a team) “Our community means so much to us as an organization, that goes without saying. These players, they come from all over the country and they become a Houstonian. We put a team together and get very close to our city and it something that we talked about as a team with the players the other day. We get so much support from them and its time for us to show our support for these families and the people that serve our city on a daily basis. It’s interesting; we’ve had a few things happen this offseason with coaches’ families and a few things going on. It kind of makes you stop and we’ve got a lot of other things other than football going on in our lives that we’ve got to handle, too. We want to help these families handle this situation.”

(on if there was a different feel at today’s OTA session) “Obviously you know something’s going on all morning and to see the fire trucks lined up down Kirby (Drive) as we walked over. I think it keeps things in perspective for you, what’s going on. But we were able to get out here this morning, have a good workout. Obviously looking forward to going in there and showing our support this morning.”

(on TE Ryan Griffin finding open spaces in the last few days) “Yeah. He has a chance to be a really good player and I think he can get bigger, too. So we’re excited. He fits the mold with what we do at tight end with the guys we have. He’s very smart and I saw him make a few plays out here today. It was a good practice. We were only out here about an hour and 20 minutes trying to teach no-huddle and hurry-up. I think we got a lot out of it.”

(on the pace of the OTA session being good) “It was very good. It’s kind of good, too, that it happens at 8 in the morning because that’s when we practice during camp so it teaches those rookies how to get their clock going early and get over here. We try to simulate as much as what we’re fixing to go do, so it was a good practice.”

(on the play of QB Case Keenum) “He’s playing really well. You all see it. You all come out and watch practice. He’s got a ton of confidence. He knows exactly what’s going on this year, so that’s not going to be the problem. It’s just a matter of getting it done and he’s operating that way. Every time he’s gotten a chance with his group he’s made plays and he’s protected the ball well, too. That’s one thing I’ve been impressed with. I think he’s thrown maybe one interception throughout the course of the OTAs, so he’s come a long, long way.”

(on QB T.J. Yates) “(QB) T.J. (Yates) is fine. When you’re working as the (No.) 2 (quarterback), you’re working against the first-team defense in certain drills, so that’s a tough deal. I understand that. I did that for a while. But T.J.’s doing good. He had the OTAs. I think he’s made progress off the last year but he’s getting pushed and he knows it and it’s going to make them both better.”

(on what he’s seen from K Randy Bullock) “I don’t watch him as much with (special teams coordinator) Joe (Marciano) until we start doing the team stuff here. But I thought today in kickoffs he was excellent. I think he was 6-of-8 today in field goals. We need him to be automatic but we’ve got a lot of confidence in him. That’s why he’s the only guy here, basically. We need him to come on real quick for us. Need it to get done.”

(on when FS Ed Reed will be in Houston) “He’ll be here next week. He’ll be here basically for just an evaluation process. Obviously he can’t do anything. But, well on top of what’s going on. We know who’s working with him in Atlanta and then we’ll get him here next week.”

(on LT Duane Brown’s health) “I was going to tell you guys that but nobody asked. (LT) Duane (Brown) was not here this morning. Duane has a bone spur that’s been bothering him somewhere in his ankle area and made a decision yesterday to go ahead and shave it. So he’s having that done this morning. It’s a minor procedure. He’s fine. We just want to make sure it’s something that’s not a problem when we go to camp, so we decided to do it.”

(on if he expects LT Duane Brown to be fine in time for training camp) “Yeah. I expect him to be fine in a couple weeks. It’s just a decision we made yesterday. It’s bothered him the last couple days and he doesn’t need to go through a whole year worrying about that so that’s why we did it.”

(on if there are any other injuries) “(DE Earl) Okine did not practice today. He’s got a leg bruise but should be back next week with the guys.”

(on if anyone stuck out during the OTA session) “I’d have to go back and look; we were practicing so fast this morning. I thought some good things happened. Obviously, we changed the tempo of practice and it caught some young guys off guard, as far as some of the things they were doing. But yet, you saw some other guys keep up real well. It was a good day.”

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Per his agent Frederick Lyles, the <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23Texans">#Texans</a> have signed Adam Schiltz, a tight end out of Emporia State.</p>&mdash; Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) <a href="https://twitter.com/taniaganguli/status/342407190788857856">June 5, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Today was the 10th and last OTA session. Here are quotes from the final practice:

Head Coach Gary Kubiak

Spoiler

(on wrapping up OTAs) “I think it was a good 10 days. Today we were just teaching and doing some situational stuff. I think the biggest thing is we threw some young players in some very tough positions. You look at (S D.J.) Swearinger and where he got thrown into right away because of (S) Ed (Reed) not being here. Then you look at us taking (WR DeAndre) Hopkins, our number one, so I think we’ve come a long way as a team. Instead of it taking us two weeks to go through that in camp, I think those guys are much more advanced. Obviously there are some concerns. Up front, the right tackle has got me concerned right now. Guys have missed a lot of time, but I think the work has been good. We got out of this thing healthy. All these guys that have missed a little time will be back. We’ll finish up next week with just the young guys.”

(on what he sees out of his outside linebackers) “I see a young group. It’s very young, when you consider (Bryan) Braman is working as a starter and you’ve got two draft choices. It’s young, but it’s talented and athletic. (Linebackers coach) Reggie (Herring) and (defensive coordinator) Wade (Phillips) have a history of getting those young guys ready to go real quick, so that’ll be very important to our team.”

(on the progress of OLBs Sam Montgomery and Trevardo Williams) “I think it’s been good. I think Trevardo is a little big a head of (Montgomery) just from the standpoint of playing the position, the true position. Sam is trying to go from hand down to standing up, so that’s different for him. The talent is there for both of them.”

(on what he’s looking to accomplish next week in minicamp) “What I’m going to do is I’m going to go back and basically have the tempo we had in practice today and hit all these young guys with everything for about the fifth time. Really, I’m not concerned about the physical part next week as much as I am at just t getting them all a bunch more reps. That’s what we’ll do and workout the older guys.”

(on the status of T Duane Brown) “Duane is fine. He’s here today. He just didn’t come over. He’s fine. I saw him in the cafeteria this morning. He’s doing good. (DE Earl) Okine is doing fine, possibly back next week. (WR) Lestar (Jean) has a family issue he’s dealing with today. (WR DeAndre) Hopkins is sick today. He came in this morning about 5:45 or 6, but he’ll be okay.”

(on how he sees the special teams improving) “Well I think there are a couple of things going on with our special teams. First off, we’ve got a lot of young guys that can run. That is where your special teams come from. I think getting (special teams coordinator) Joe (Marciano) Lig (special teams assistant Bob Ligashesky) to come in here and help him has really been a big help for Joe from a teaching process and a load standpoint. I think that’s been very good. I think we’ve got a chance. We’ve got a heck of a punter. I think we have a lot of confidence in him. We’ve got a young kicker that has got to come a long way. I think the youth and the fact that we can run gives us a chance to improve.”

(on ILB Tim Dobbins missing from OTAs) “Like I’ve said, it’s voluntary. I’ll see him next week.”

(on if he has any concerns with S Ed Reed being out) “No, we know exactly where Ed is at in the process and what’s going on. We’ll get our hands on him next week and get him in town.”

(on if he expects to find some veteran help at right tackle) “The guys are all there. The problem is that they’re just not healthy right now. (T Derek) Newton is going to be healthy. He’s going to be ready for camp. (T Brennan) Williams is going to be ready for camp. The competition is there. The answerers are there, but we have to get them out here. I think, as a team, you never say never about anything, but the fact that those guys are in place and everybody is going to be ready to go on the 25th (of July), that makes me feel good.”

(on if he has heard that there will be an opera based on the life of Bum Phillips) “Really? Good. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. What did Coach think about it? [‘Coach thinks it’s great, although he says he can’t sing.’] Yeah, I can’t comment on that. I don’t know, but the Coach is a good friend. If they’re going to do one on somebody, they couldn’t do one on anybody better. I know that.”

FS D.J. Swearinger

Spoiler

(on how important the last few weeks have been to his development) “It’s tremendous. I’m glad that I learned the way I did; learned fast. I’ve basically got the whole defense already. I’ve just got to keep studying to make it second nature and I’m going to be great.”

(on if he feels like he’s light years ahead of where he was when he first arrived) “Yeah. From the first time I walked on until now, I’ve gotten a lot of knowledge, a lot of different knowledge. I’ve just got to polish it up and just keep studying.”

(on taking the next step) “I’m just ready. I’m just ready to keep studying and see how I do once I master everything. I think the sky’s the limit once I master everything and get to playing like how I really want to play.”

DE Antonio Smith

Spoiler

(on how he views things now that OTAs are over) “It looked pretty good to me, man. It was a pretty good set of OTAs. I like looking at some of the rookies we got. We’ve got some talent, man. We’ve really got some talent; some that in a few years are going to be giving some guys runs for their jobs. Whenever you’ve got that two, three strings deep, you’re going to be alright. I think that we’ve got a lot to learn. Rookies have always got a lot to learn. I think, as veterans, the ones ran smooth after that first week. That first week we were a little rocky but after that, we went smooth and it was a pretty good OTAs overall.”

(on if there are some shuffling pieces on the defense) “Well, there are some shuffling pieces right now because we’re waiting on Cush (ILB Brian Cushing) to get back. But other than that, it ran smooth. Everything was good. We learned each other’s techniques and what moves each other do so we can blitz and things like that and hug rush. Everything’s coming together. There isn’t any need to rush it. It’s going to come together like it’s supposed to. We’re not a young team anymore, so we know what needs to be done and we know what time frame we have to do it.”

(on how fast FS D.J. Swearinger has picked up the defense) “All of (the rookies) are like that, I’m telling you. This group of rookies is ambitious and you’ve got to like that, even if some guys might feel like they’re scared for their jobs. Not anybody, I’m just saying in the past. I love rookies like that. I love rookies that are going to come in and try to be what they dream to be, not just come in and just hope they make a team, or something like that. They want to be stars and they want to be stars. When you’ve got rookies like that, you’re going to have a great team.”

(on how much of a teacher role he has taken on) “Pretty much a lot. I’m fixing to start charging extra. I might even get two checks for my coaching expertise. I’m going to go into guru coaching.”

(on if he’s looking forward to seeing ILB Darryl Sharpton healthy and what he can do on the field) “I’m always looking forward to seeing (ILB Darryl) Sharpton. I don’t know if people really give him credit for it, to me he is an aggressive, electrifying type of player. Every time he gets in his groove, he’s had an injury, so I’m just hoping and I’m going to keep praying for him that he stays healthy because he can really help this team.”

The three-day minicamp begins Tuesday with it mainly being the young guys practicing.

 

Quotes from Day 1 of minicamp:

Gary Kubiak

Spoiler

(on ILB Tim Dobbins working out with the team after missing OTAs) “He looked good. He’s on top of his stuff. We had a lot of reps today. I was pleased with what we did at practice. We threw a lot at them and he handled himself today.”

(on the plan with S Ed Reed) “He’s been back for a couple of days now. We’re just working the rehab process and continue what he’s been doing in Atlanta and setting our gameplan for now up until training camp. But yeah, it’s good to have him back.”

(on if he is encouraged with where S Ed Reed is at) “I don’t know. They tell me he’s coming along fine and that everything is going good. It’s just a matter of continuing the rehab process and obviously we’ve got a target date that we’re shooting for and hopefully it will work out.”

(on ILB Tim Dobbins being back at practice) “He looked fine. He did his job today. I thought they all did a good job. It’s good to have him back.”

(on ILB Tim Dobbins saying he hasn’t spoken with Kubiak yet and what his message for Dobbins would be) “I’ve barely seen him yet today. I’m glad to have him back. I’m glad he’s here. We’ve got a lot of work to do and he had a lot of catching up to do, but he was on top of stuff today.”

(on the veterans not participating in minicamp) “They’re just working out. They’re working out with (head strength and conditioning coach) Cedric (Smith). What I wanted to do was take all the young guys and go back, everything we did the last month, and just kind of have a crash course—kind of a test in a lot of ways. I’m not so concerned about the physical part right now, finding out where they’re at mentally. I was impressed with what they did today. They obviously looked at it hard and were ready to practice today so that was impressive.”

(on the fitness level of ILB Tim Dobbins) “We didn’t do much. We were really a jog-through tempo today in what we were doing. We ran a little bit at the end.”

(on if he feels good about where all of the first-team guys are at) “I think I’ve done that the last three or four years. I just think they’ve had 10 good practices under their belts, healthy, relatively healthy with all the things that are going on as far as everybody being ready for camp. They don’t need three more days of the same reps. These young guys need them. I think as a coach, it’s my job to get them in a position where they can compete to make a team. That’s why we’re trying to get them the reps.”

(on WR DeVier Posey’s progress) “I was impressed today. I watched from afar while he was doing his work over there, but I watched him run and watched him work. Like I told him, hopefully he makes a real tough decision on us as we get towards camp and those PUP decisions and that type of stuff. Hopefully it’s going to be a very, very tough one, but he’s doing his job. He’s working hard.”

(on if he will have WR DeVier Posey on the field at all this week) “Posey? No, absolutely not. No.”

(on S Danieal Manning sticking around to watch the younger guys practice) “It means he probably has nothing else to do. No, he’s a great kid. He’s a mentor to those young guys. He’s just one of those guys that loves being around ball all the time. He’s standing back there with me making calls. I think that’s great. As I told the guys just before we left a few minutes ago, everybody can’t make our team, but everybody can make it in this league. So we’re trying to help everybody have a chance to play in the National Football League. We’ve got a lot of guys working hard to do that.”

(on T David Quessenberry) “I’m impressed with how far he’s come. He’s obviously been put in a very tough spot, but sometimes that’s how you find a heck of a player. So he’s working as a starting right tackle in a lot of situations along with (T) Ryan Harris. You never know. There have been some sixth and seventh round draft choices in this league start and be great players. With the work he’s getting, he’s going to get a good chance to have that type of situation as a young player, so we’ll see what happens.”

(on if he thinks ILB Tim Dobbins hurt himself by not coming out for OTAs) “No, they’re voluntary. That’s the way it works.”

(on the health status of RB Arian Foster and T Duane Brown) “They’re both doing fine. Arian is doing good. Duane had to shave the situation he had on his ankle. He’s up and around and doing good.”

(on the progress of QB Case Keenum) “It’s been very impressive. He’s very comfortable in what he’s doing. Its second nature to him now, so you see his talents taking over. He did some great things over OTAs. He ran the team today. It’s going to be very competitive when we go to camp. He knows that. Everybody knows that in what we’ve seen, but that’s what we expected. He took advantage of last year. That’s what a young guy on a practice squad does. He took advantage of it and he’s ready to compete now.”

(on the progress of T Brennan Williams and his knee) “It’s slow. He needs to be out here, but he’s not. Nothing we can do. My biggest concern with him, he’ll be ready for camp, but my biggest concern is his conditioning. All these young guys know what Houston is about and know about the heat and have been doing a pretty good job of that. He hasn’t even begun to figure that one out. That’s my biggest concern right now.”

(on what T Brennan Williams had done to his knee and if he had to have anything repaired) “I’m not sure what he had. He just had a clean-up, whatever that means.”

(on if the team knew S Ed Reed would need surgery on his hip after going through the physical when signing with the team) “I guess the best way for me to answer that is that we did not expect for him to have to have a surgery, if that’s what you’re asking me. After he started to have some issues during his workout routine, we thought the best thing to do was to get it cleaned up like he did the previous time, which obviously we weren’t a part of. He’s been through this process before, but once this started to bother him, obviously we got aggressive in getting him ready to go for the season.”

(on if he knew he had a torn labrum in his hip) “No, obviously I didn’t know.”

ILB Tim Dobbins

Spoiler

(on being at mini-camp) “It’s great being back out here with the team. Running around here, it’s hotter than what I was running in already.”

(on what he feels he missed out on by not being at OTAs) “The camaraderie of the team, as far as that but I’ve been running in this system for eight years, so I’m pretty sure it’ll take just brushing up on my skills and knowledge of our scheme just to get back where I was.”

(on why he was not at OTAs) “I had obligations with my family. We were renovating the house, that’s what it was. We were renovating the whole house. I’ve been having this house for a year already. I (demolished) all myself, I’ve been trying to work on it all myself and just trying to learn another skill, as far as that. But I definitely missed out on some things, learned some names and seen some new faces on this team.”

(on if he feels like he let some of his teammates down or if they understand why he wasn’t at OTAs) “I’m pretty sure I let some of the guys down, but at the same time, I’m hoping they understand. I hope they understand that I’m here and when I’m here, I’m giving them 110 percent of everything I have. There’s nothing left in the tank. So I don’t want them to have that doubt that I’m not going to be a part of this team and give all my effort on this team.”

(on the pros and cons of not coming to OTAs) “The pros; I don’t want to say it but, it’s just more rest even though I was still working out. But it’s still more rest and spending more time with my family. This was the longest time I’ve ever been with my family, which was a treat for me. But that’s pretty much about it.”

(on if he was making a statement that he wasn’t happy with his contract by not showing up to OTAs) “No, it wasn’t no statement. I have nothing against this franchise, this organization. I appreciate the contract they gave me. As a person, you always want more though, but it’s definitely nothing with that at all.”

(on if he’s worried about losing his job or being demoted because he didn’t show up to OTAs) “My first goal here on this team is special teams and I hope they know I know how to do that. As far as being a starter or a backup, I feel like that’s second nature. I feel like my role on this team is special teams. It’d be a positive thing for me to play on defense but I have no control of that.”

(on what head coach Gary Kubiak has said to him) “We have not spoken today. I am looking forward to it. I’m sure it’s not going to be anything polite. I already know how he feels about the whole situation and I feel disappointed in myself, but there was nothing I could do about it. It was something I had to do for my family.”

(on if he would do anything different if he could do it all over again) “No, I would not. I would do it all the same way.”

(on if it was his decision or his agent’s decision not to go to OTAs) “This was pretty much my mine; all mine.”

(on what type of role his agent played in the decision not to attend OTAs) “At first, I was nervous about the whole situation because I had never done this before in my career. I kept calling to make sure there was nothing they could do, to make sure they didn’t want to fire me. I had to make sure what was mandatory, what was not mandatory. So I was pretty much on top of making sure I didn’t miss anything.”

(on what he did to work out while he was not at OTAs) “I trained at D1 (Sports Training) in Nashville, Tenn. I pretty much did some boot camps for a little bit. Then I started practicing with a college guy named Sam that goes to Austin Peay and then I just jumped on his program and started working out and running with him.”

(on how he was received in the locker room) “Everybody, they seemed like they were happy to see me but I was happy to see them. I feel like everybody was happy I came back, but at the same time, I just came here to work.”

(on head coach Gary Kubiak had expressed disappointment that he was going to miss OTAs) “Before I had made a decision, I had came here and worked out for like two days because he wanted me to and I talked to him and he let me know then and there that he was disappointed. But it was still my decision if I would come or not. He just let me know, if I was not here, he was going (to be) disappointed and that he expects me to be here.”

(on if he understands that some fans are upset that he was not at OTAs) “I have no idea about the fans because when I’m gone, I’m gone. I didn’t look at the news, I didn’t watch the news or read the newspapers. I didn’t do anything. But I hope they know I’m here. I’m ready to work because I don’t feel like I lost anything.”

FS Ed Reed

Spoiler

(on if he feels like a Texan now that he is in Houston) “Yeah, man. Once I got everything done with my other team, you know, finished up everything, I gave it a 24-hour grace period to kind of let that soak in and make that transition, to really get acclimated. It’s going good. Guys are welcoming, like it was when I first came. Just starting to get it going.”

(on his timeline in Colorado) “I had surgery on April 30. I was there for four weeks. Just like I had surgery the last time, I stayed for about a month or whatever. That was the best thing to do, as far as the physical therapy. It’s going well right now. There’s really no timeline. I know what I want and I know what we want as an organization. We’re just going to keep on grinding and keep on working and shoot for September.”

(on potentially playing in the first game of the season) “Like I said, we’re going to keep working out this offseason. Once training camp comes I’ll have a better bead on it, as far as my progress. Right now, I can tell you, it’s going well; going really good. No setbacks. I’m actually just coming from working out. As you can see, I’m a little fatigued from them getting the best of me. You know, that’s part of it. It’s looking really good right now.”

(on if he’ll be disappointed if he’s not ready to play in Week 1) “Like I said, we’re going to continue to work out. No disappointments because rehab is a process. I’m going to keep working out. Come training camp, like I said, I’ll have a better bead on it, a better feel for it. Right now, it’s still offseason and everybody’s working out.”

(on if he was surprised that he needed surgery and how that worked out) “Yeah. I mean, I really didn’t know. I knew there was something there but it didn’t seem major at all. Honestly, it was a slight tear and we did due diligence on both sides. Me, my doctor, Kap (Texans director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer Geoff Kaplan), the head doctor here and Dr. (Marc) Philippon; we all put our heads together to make the best decision and that was the best decision. We’re going through the process.”

(on if his hip injury was something that showed up after he had his physical before he signed) “Yeah. We just really had to look into it. Like I told Kap (Texans director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer Geoff Kaplan), once I came here and started to run, it’s like, ‘Let’s look at this again.’ We did an MRI, sent it to (Dr. Marc) Philippon and had a better image of it. It revealed two things. The other one was slightly and I thought it was a minor procedure that I had to have done, but being that it was a slight tear in the labrum. It took me back to when I knew it could have had happened but I played in the Super Bowl. It’s something that happened. Injuries happen in football all the time. We’re doing everything and I’m in the right place to rehab and to get this thing rolling.”

(on if he got an MRI when he was here for his visit) “No. After I came back, I got an MRI. We did everything. We did all kinds of stuff when I was here last time.”

(on when he thinks the tear occurred in his hip labrum) “If I go back to it, the only play I can look at is when I got kicked by a certain quarterback. But like I said, even then, I played in the Super Bowl and you saw what happened there. Even then, I had two MCL sprains; a second-degree one on my left in the Super Bowl in the first quarter and played through that. So, if you’ve got any questions, I think that can answer your questions about my heart and how I play and how I work. We’re going to go through this, process.”

(on if the quarterback he was referring to is Tom Brady) “It was, but it happened. (Tom) Brady called me after and apologized, but that’s neither here nor there. What happened, happened and we’re moving forward.”

(on how this latest hip injury is different from the one he had a couple years ago) “Aw, man, the one a couple years ago, he had to take a piece of my IT band. I had to have reconstructive surgery. I had to have some bone spurs shaved down. This was a minor procedure. I definitely feel a lot different than I felt last time. Like I said, it’s minor to the one I had in 2010, so the recovery is going a lot different. Being that I had surgery then, same surgery, I think the body is more receptive to it. I’m doing a lot of things differently than I was then; eating differently. When I stayed out in Vail, I had a chef out there who really helped me out, according to my diet. That helps to recover a lot better. Like I said, I’m a lot stronger. If you ask my trainers, if you ask my doctor, they can’t believe where I’m at right now. But it’s still a process and regardless, we’re going to be smart through it because at the end of the day the smartest thing to do is to be ready when it really counts; that’s the latter part of the season, when you’re trying to make that run or you’re making that run to the playoffs and on to the Super Bowl in New York.”

(on if having this injury could be a benefit in the sense that if he’s not ready to play until Week 3 or 4, he may be fresher at the end of the season) “We’re going to go through the process. I don’t know when I’ll be back. I know what my goal is and I know what the team goal is. But I know being here and just talking to everybody and even when you see Mr. Bob (McNair) there, it’s about being smart and getting the longevity out of it. The season is a grind, man. The season is a grind. Of course, you never want to have surgery. I fought with it, man, because I had to sit in an office by myself and they were like, ‘You’ve got to make a decision.’ And I’m in the office by myself, just praying, ‘Lord, I don’t know what to do.’ Because I don’t want to have surgery if I don’t have to. But the smartest thing to do, the smartest decision at the time was to have surgery.”

(on if it was in April that his hip was bothering him enough to have it looked at again) “It was like March, April. Yeah, like right before.”

(on how long he waited between thinking he might need surgery and actually deciding to have the surgery) “All it happened in like a day’s time. It happened like that. I talked to (Houston Texans general manager and executive vice president of football operations) Rick (Smith) and Rick was like, ‘Let’s get the doctors on it and see exactly what it is.’ The decision and everything happened so quick. It happened within a day’s time and I flew out to Vail. I really just flew out to Vail to get evaluated and if I had to have surgery, I was already there. Dr. (Marc) Philippon saw a tear and was like, ‘Look, a tear would heal pretty much everything else in the hip.’ Him and Dr. Myers had a talk in which; if you do the history, they know each other very well. Like I said, it was the right decision; had every head on it here. We’ll be fine. Trust me, we’ll be fine.”

(on if he had to have any bones shaved down during his surgery) “No. Not at all.”

(on if he will tell the media his goal) “I mean, when you set goals, do you tell people your goals? My goals are simple. My goal was to be part of this organization that welcomed me, that wanted me, that respected what I did knowing what I’ve done on the football field and know what I’m capable of doing. Yeah, I’m older but I’m still gonna give everything I’m going to give to this sport and definitely to this organization for what they’ve done for me, my family and how they’ve backed me. I’ve made promises that I intend to keep.

“I mean, my goal is New York, if you really want to know. And I think everybody knows that because that’s the ultimate goal at the end of the day. It’s not San Diego. It’s not Baltimore. It’s not New England. It’s not the Colts. It’s New York and I’m talking about Super Bowl, if you must know. That’s my goal. That’s our goal.”

(on the talent on the Texans’ defense and playing with them) “Oh, man. That was part of the decision to come here. I knew what these guys had. I knew what they’ve been going through. I knew the grind, I knew the battle that we’ve had when I was part of the Ravens. Like I said, they welcomed me. The door was open and I just want to be that piece that fits right in to the defense, that keeps that train rolling and start to make some plays.”

(on President Barack Obama giving him grief at the White House) “He wasn’t giving me grief, man. That’s the President. If you’re in any situation, any of those surroundings, when you’re with a team and the President’s talking to you; that’s what he’s doing. It was more like a conversation, man. He wasn’t joking on me or anything. That’s the President. I actually was answering him back and forth, so it was good, man. I enjoyed it.”

(on President Barack Obama saying he looked like an old man) “I mean, he’s not lying. I’ve been having the gray hairs since high school. My foundation, working with kids and stuff, it tends to do that. When you’re trying to help people, it tends to put a little bit more stress on you than the norm. It’s something I embrace, Obviously, I don’t cut my hair. I’m not putting the Just For Men in there to try to hide the gray and what not. It’s something I embrace as part of me. It says a lot. I have a lot of wisdom and I’ve experienced a lot.”

(on what he was saying back to President Barack Obama at the White House) “I just told him, ‘You know what your job can do to you.’ And he was like, ‘I understand exactly what you’re saying.’ It was a great time and I really enjoyed it.”

(on where he is at in his rehabilitation) “Week 7 tomorrow.”

(on what sorts of things he is doing in his rehabilitation) “Rehabbing and working out now.”

http://www.houstontexans.com/news/a...mp-Day-1/9e04bb86-0d1c-4a86-989b-328a0eff7865

 

Quotes from Day 2 of minicamp:

Head Coach Gary Kubiak

Spoiler

(on S D.J. Swearinger’s growth) “It’s been excellent. In a lot of ways, he’s operated like a starter from the standpoint of how much dime were playing and what he’s doing for us in that position. Boy I was talking to a couple of coaches today, I think our young guys have probably come as far this offseason as we’ve ever had a young group of guys comes. It’s going to be interesting. We’re going to have some guys really pushing people for jobs and it’s going to make our team better.”

(on the energy of S D.J. Swearinger) “He’s just very confident. You can see how he handles himself. He feels like he belongs and he does. That’s what he did in college and that’s why we drafted him that high. We’re going to put him to work right away. The fact that (S) Ed (Reed) is not out here right now really accelerates the process. I think that it’s going to be a good thing for him in his career.”

(on how OLB Sam Montgomery is picking up the position and the defense) “He’s doing OK. It’s a big change to go from hand-down to hand-up in this league. But (defensive coordinator) Wade (Phillips) and (linebackers coach) Reggie (Herring) have done a good job of settling him down in one spot, making it pretty simple to make him comfortable doing certain things. (Special teams coordinator) Joe (Marciano) has done the same thing. We knew what we were dealing with when making the change for him, but I think he’s done some good stuff. He and (OLB) Willie (Jefferson), Willie’s really done some good things. We’re very young at linebacker, especially outside right now, but we’re very talented. We just have to get them all headed in the right direction and nobody better than Reggie to get that done.”

(on if it is key for OLB Sam Montgomery to make that transition smooth since they are so young at the position) “Yeah, it’ll be very important because look (OLB Bryan) Braman is operating as a starter this whole camp. There’s an excellent opportunity for Willie (Jefferson), Sam, (OLB) Trevardo (Williams) to be big contributors for this team very quickly. I think the biggest way they do that is special teams-wise initially, but obviously you never know.”

(on his philosophy of resting veterans to give younger players more reps during minicamp) “First off, my attendance is tremendous with my team during the offseason. Like I said, we had everybody here except for one. We understand that. I think they give me everything they’ve got. We’ve been excellent through OTAs and I just believe the key to our team is me getting the young guys in position to push my older guys and compete. Instead of going back and rehashing maybe three more days of what we’ve been doing all summer long, I think it’s better for these young guys to basically go through an exam, find out where they’re at and know what they’ve got to get done to come in here and help this team so that’s what I’m trying to do.”

(on S Danieal Manning saying S Ed Reed was willing to sacrifice a lot for the secondary) “I don’t know. Only Ed can answer that question. I know he’s here to do a job and he’s committed to doing that. We brought him here to lead the way and he’s done that for many, many years. We’re just excited to have him and it’s kind of new for all of us, as far as him being a part of us and that type of thing, but I’m looking forward to it.”

(on how the young guys have responded to his ‘test’) “Yeah, they’ve been pretty good. I gave them a ton of reps yesterday, a ton today. We’ll do the same thing tomorrow. I think we’re in a position right now, where we’ve got some players to replace and last year, one of the keys to our season, was that we replaced eight or nine quality football players pretty quickly. Can we replace the four to five more that we have to replace this year? There are some good things going on. I like the progress we’ve made. We’ll see how it pans out when we put the pads on.”

(on OLB Bryan Braman’s journey) “It’s been interesting. First off, as a coach, it’s one of the reasons you coach. It’s nice to see players basically come from nowhere so-to-speak and take advantage of their opportunity. I look at (RB) Arian (Foster) being a free agent and what he does now and what type of living he makes now. That’s why you coach, to help guys like that. You see a guy like Bryan who came here with a lot of talent, obviously he had some issues, but had some guys stand up for him and say he could do it and he’ll do it right. He’s done that. We’re happy for him and he ought to do it for a long time if he keeps working. We’ve got some more guys like that coming up this year and I want to see them do the same thing and take advantage of their opportunity.”

(on OLB Bryan Braman saying that he is not established as a player) “Well, that’s good because most great players in this league consider themselves that way until they tell them ‘No’ everyone I’ve been around. Hopefully he keeps that same attitude and does it for a long time.”

(on what FS D.J. Swearinger has done to impress him) “Very smart; picked things up, what we’re doing. So that hasn’t been a problem. There’s a thing about playing safety in this league; can you tackle and can you cover? So you don’t have to change defensively much when people are changing personnels. That’s what we’re looking at him as a player. He’s shown the ability to do both.”

(on FS D.J. Swearinger still having training camp to get ready for the season) “Obviously the next load is coming and that’s training camp and putting the pads on and all that stuff but he sure has handled himself like a second-, third-year guy around here. We’re excited for him to be a part of our team. I think he’s going to be a big contributor early.”

(on RB Dennis Johnson having a burst) “He’s looked really good. Backs are hard to gauge when you’re out here in the offseason. Fullbacks are hard to gauge. I love his conditioning. He can run all day. He’s obviously got some skill. Can he pick up protection? Can he be a three-down player? Can he play special teams? Don’t answer those questions until you put the pads on.”

(on who are some of the standouts in this mini-camp) “I couldn’t say anybody is standing out in this mini-camp. I could talk about the whole offseason. Right now, with what we’re doing, it’s more mental than anything else. I think our young guys as a group have been pretty darn good; are pretty consistent. Like I said, they’re going to have to contribute to us pretty darn quick.”

(on giving veterans like WR Andre Johnson more rest this offseason) “I haven’t really given them any rest, just these three days. As far as we handle Andre (Johnson), Owen (Daniels); we’ve got certain players, I think our approach and having a plan with those guys is just like having a plan with practice. I’m trying to get Andre to be on top of his game on Day 1. I’m not going to let him leave it out here. That’s important. But you can only do that with players when they take care of their business. He takes care of his business. He’s excellent; always in great shape. Like I said, just hopefully we keep him going for a long time.”

(on what he expects from WR Lestar Jean) “He and (WR) Keshawn (Martin) have had really good offseasons. They’re pushing to play very quickly. Obviously, somebody’s going to play across from Andre very quickly. That’s why we’ve got (WR) DeAndre (Hopkins) and those two guys are pushing him. The key is we need to have a good group. I think (WR) Jeff Maehl has been excellent. Watching (WR DeVier) Posey, Posey’s going to put a lot of pressure on us to probably get back earlier than we expect and that’s a good thing. I think we’re young but I think we’ve got a chance to be pretty good out there.”

(on hearing that Vonta Leach’s agent said he wanted to come back to play for the Texans) “That’s a compliment. I think the world of Vonta (Leach). I’ve talked to him quite a bit; actually talked to him the morning after they won the Super Bowl. A good friend of mine. I respect him a lot. Hell of a player. (Mike) Sherman and I got him; he was a linebacker coming out of East Carolina; had went through Green Bay and he ends up a big-time Pro Bowl fullback. So just proud of him. Wherever he lands, he’s going to play well. That’s a compliment to our organization that he feels that way.”