[Official] Texans @ Chargers 9/9/2013

Dennis Johnson was cut by the Browns today. He has to go through waivers but if he clears waivers I wonder if the Texans will sign him to the practice squad and let Ray Graham go.

 

Saturday's quotes:

Head Coach Gary Kubiak

Spoiler

(onG Wade Smith being back) “He’s going back full-time. He’s been amazing with how far he’s come in a short period of time. When that group of offensive linemen gets together, they’re really close and it’s important to him to go full speed. We talked about it earlier in the week and he said, ‘I’ll prove to you that I can handle it all,’ and so he will. He’s going to work.”

(on if there’s anything new on FS Ed Reed) “He kind of did the same thing today he did yesterday. Obviously, (FS) Shiloh (Keo) will start the game. We’ve got to get it up there and talk about it, but he did practice again today, took all the scout team reps. So we’ve got a lot of time on our hands, but Shiloh will start and we’ll make a decision on Ed here as we get together and visit.”

(on when he’ll make a decision on FS Ed Reed) “That’s a game-time decision really. From now, we’ve got plenty of time between now and Monday night, but practice-wise, he did the same thing as yesterday.”

(on if he plans on working FS Ed Reed out before Monday’s game) “We’ll see. I don’t think that’ll be a difference-maker. I think we’ll make a decision talking with him and talking what we’ve seen all week. As we go into the game, it won’t be a matter of doing that.”

(on the difference in WR DeVier Posey between the Dallas game and now) “Well, the good news is we’ve had, how many days have we had, 10-11 days between Dallas and playing. When you go back to most of the vets only playing against New Orleans, it gets even longer. There’s been a really lengthy workout phase for us going into this game. So it was good for DeVier. I would say he’s in the middle of training camp right now. He’s in week two going on week three of preseason, but his condition level is getting better. He’ll have a big role on special teams and obviously we’ll get his snaps on offense. We’ll try to increase those each week.”

(on RBs Arian Foster and Ben Tate and determining the number of carries between them) “Yeah, we’re going to rotate. First off, I think Arian’s conditioning is excellent. His practice this week has been just excellent. He’s a worker. That’s why he’s play well. I’ve been impressed with how he’s held up, but obviously it’s early in the season. I don’t know how warm it’s going to be up there, but I think we’re smart in playing them both. Obviously, we’ll see how Arian holds up from that standpoint. I don’t think we’re looking at the majority load that we normally look at when he’s rolling. We’ll see how does, but he’s been good.”

(on why this year’s special teams should give fans more hope) “First off, the special teams comes from the youth of your football team. That’s just part of this business. I know we, as a punt team, I think we’ve got three rookies starting on our punt team, but that’s the way our roster’s built. You talk about (OLB) Willie (Jefferson), you talk about (OLB Justin) Tuggle, you talk about (CB A.J.) Bouye, you talk about these guys, (TE Ryan) Griffin. Those guys have to be good special teams players. I think there’s always a progression there. I like what we’ve seen and the fact that these young guys only get better through year one is very encouraging for us. I think (special teams coordinator) Joe (Marciano’s) done a good job getting them ready. I think Lig (assistant special teams coach Bob Ligashesky) has been a big help to that too.”

(on playing in prime time and if it’s a distraction in any way) “You know what? It’s been a long, hard week. It seems like we’ve been practicing forever for this game, but we kept our routine. There was some thought of practicing tonight and that type of thing. I talked to the players and they wanted to keep their normal routine. I think we can really use the rest between right now and Monday night. We need to do a lot of studying and get off our legs. It’s just part of the deal and not only trying to do something different this week, you’ve got to turn around next week and play really, really fast. That’s kind of part of the way it is for us nowadays and we’ve gotten some opportunities to adjust to new schedules. Yeah, I think we’re getting better at it.”

(on if ILB Darryl Sharpton has passed the concussion protocol stages) “No, he did workout today, but he will not even make the trip. We’ll leave him at home. We’re hoping he’s back on the field next Wednesday.”

(on what he tells a guy like ILB Darryl Sharpton who’s had a lot of injuries) “It’s disappointing for Darryl because he’s had a really good camp and everything was going fine and then he has this issue, but we trust Darryl. He’s found a way when he stays healthy to really help this team. He’s a good football player and I don’t see this year being any different. I wish he was going to be there Monday night, but hopefully this is a minor setback and he’s there for the next 15. We like Darryl. We know he can help our team.”