HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –current state of the offensive line's health) * *
"They are getting better. You always have concerns, but in this particular case I just think the guys are working at it, they are getting better and we will just see how it goes. These practices today and tomorrow will give us a pretty good indication of where we are."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –assessment of the umpire rule tweaking)
"I anticipate that it will be more like the first two games that we had in terms of preseason where obviously the mechanics were such that it did not slow us down in terms of how we typically operate our offense. That is what I anticipate. They have made some tweaks here and there to make it a little bit better in terms of the depth at which the umpire has to retreat to. That is what I anticipate."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –the quarterback looking to the linesman with the umpire move)
"That's been there. That was I think the second game of preseason that they had indicated that was the trigger signal, but I think we will get a flow and a feel for how they are operating and adjust accordingly"
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –impressions of umpire moving back to original spot at the 5-yard line)
"From what I understand, they are in a better position to see if a runner crosses the goal line. It is a little better view from there."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –if in the long run the umpire positioning will be much ado about nothing)
"I am not certain about that. All I know is we have to play with it this fall. Our job is to win games and we have to make adjustments sometimes, and that is what we are focused in on."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –the thought process of Anthony Gonzalez returning punts)
"He has been working at it and he is a guy that has good ball skills. We know he can certainly do something with the ball once he gets into space. So that is our rational. He's got good hands, he can see it off the foot and he is good in space."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –if he was distressed by Gonzalez' comments on Monday)
"Distressed? No. Probably the best way to sum it up would be this: In that locker room we probably have some of the most competitive men in the world that just have an obsessive desire to be on top. If you don't have that kind of drive you do not last very long in this league, and I think that is something you have to consider. If there was anything in dealing with miscommunication that is strictly my fault. That is one of the things we have to make certain of that we communicate clearly so guys do understand their role. But we have a 53-man roster and it is a 16 game regular season, and that is a long time. Everybody on the team has a role to play, a significant role at that, and we need all 53 men to win. He is one of those men. Even though he may be disappointed about where he is located, I do not think there's one guy that is happy about being anywhere but No. 1 at his spot. I think he will handle the disappointment like a professional, like he always has and we will be fine."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –expecting Gonzalez to be the punt returner on Sunday)
"He has a chance to be. He is certainly a guy that is going to work at it. He has been working at it. He is very capable."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –how much the team is motivated by the Super Bowl loss)
"They have a drive and desire to be the best, there is no question about that. But more so than anything else, I have mentioned time and time again, they are motivated by obviously the challenge of this season. That is what they are motivated by, the here and now, the present, the urgency of now. We have an outstanding team that we have to focus on that has very, very good personnel, a veteran group that has done nothing but gotten better each and every time they have gone out. So, we have our work cut out for us, so to reflect back is something you will find that we do not do very often, and I think we are more motivated by the challenge of the season more so than anything else."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –being full speed ahead no matter who's on the offensive line)
"That would be an accurate statement. We have been able to adjust. I think you can probably remember, I can't remember how many years ago but one of you will remember, Tupe Peko was playing. He was a rookie, he was brand new in the system, started for us in the first ball game. So I think we have done it before and it is something we expect. When a guy is in there, he can do the job, plain and simple."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –how dangerous he considers the Texans' offense)
"Extremely. I mean, it is potent. Schaub is throwing the ball extremely well and operates that offense with great efficiency. He has weapons to get the ball to. (Arian) Foster has been running the ball extremely well. Obviously (Andre) Johnson on the outside has speed, power and you name it he's got it. Obviously, they have (Jacoby) Jones and a whole host of guys (Kevin) Walter, (David) Anderson that can put the ball in the end zone, (Steve) Slaton, a good corps of tight ends, a very, very good offensive line that the tackles are veteran guys. They have a couple of new guys in the inside; the center is good and solid. They are a tough team to handle. They are dangerous."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –how different the defense will be without Brian Cushing)
"I know that there are a couple of guys that are candidates to replace him. He was in there quite a bit (in the preseason) so you did not have a chance to see 52 and 54, (Xavier) Adibi and (Zac) Dials, and both guys are capable. They can run. You can see that they are smart and they operate in their scheme very, very well. (DeMeco) Ryans is certainly the bell cow in the middle and is a guy that runs around and makes plays. I would suspect either 52 or 54 would be the two guys that will probably take his spot."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –the comparison between Houston and Denver's offense when Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak was in Denver)
"There are a lot of similarities. That has always been the case. He brought a fairly significant amount of that offense with him. That is what he'd been running for years and years. When Kyle Shanahan was the offensive coordinator, that is the system that they came from and one that they are most familiar, and thus probably the one that they emulate more so than any other in the league."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on –Texans' running game improvement in the preseason)
"I would say so. I would say they ran it effectively. I would say they were a good running team last year as well. I mean, they ran the ball pretty well against us, obviously, and that is what we are most concerned about first and foremost. But I did see that they look like a team that is very capable of running the ball down your throat if you are not where you are supposed to be."
