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Houston Texans Postgame Transcripts 9/22

Houston Texans Head Coach Bill O'Brien and select players comment on their game against the New England Patriots on Thursday, September 22, 2016.

BILL O'BRIEN, TEXANS HEAD COACH

Q: Bill, can you talk about what stands out tonight, the two turnovers on the kickoff returns.

BO: You can't do that. Can't turn the ball over twice on special teams. You can't turn the ball over on offense. Didn't do anything on offense. You know, look, it was not a good night. Starting with the coaching, the playing, nothing was good. But look, it's early in the season, we turn a page here and regroup. But we just can't do those things if we are going to try to beat a good team. 

*Q: Considering the 2-0 start, being the Chiefs at home, especially on a national stage in New England, how disappointing was the effort, the overall the performance? *

BO: I thought the effort was good. I don't ever really question the effort of this football team or this coaching staff, but I question the execution of the plays. And it starts with me, but it's early in the season, you know, it's only the third game of the year. You guys can write us off for dead, but we'll regroup here and there are a lot of games left. 

Q: What did you see that affected Brock [Osweiler] tonight?

BO: Good coverage, good coverage. Guys, you know, did a nice job of coverage, give all the credit to New England. They did a nice job tonight. 

Q: Are you concerned about the tackling on defense?

BO: No, I think, we have tackled well up until tonight. I thought that we have struggled at times tackling. They have players that are really strong in the open field and we need to tackle better. No doubt about it. We will. We will get back after it. It's not even October yet and we have a lot of work to do. That was not a good night, but there is a lot of season left. 

Q: I know you don't like loses, but if you are going to get one, do you want to get it early in the season where you can correct problems.

BO: I'll never say that I like a loss. Losing is horrible. I mean it is absolutely horrible. There is nothing really in my mind that comes out good, but what I will say is there is a resilient team in that locker room. These guys work hard and like I said in the beginning there is a lot of season left. We haven't even played a division game. We got out first division game coming up October 2nd. So, we will get a little time off here over the weekend and regroup, get back to work on Monday. 

Q: Bill, you weren't able to get into the Patriots territory until late in the 3rd quarter with 1:38 left, what did the offense struggle so much tonight overall?

BO: You know, look, I think that we had a decent plan coming in. You know, they had a good plan too. They executed their plan better than we executed ours. You know, you aren't going to win any games when you aren't scoring any points. So, we really have to go back as a coaching staff and really look at what we did, learn from it, and try to fix it. And see what carries over to the next opponent, but as I said, it was a bad night offensively, but like I said, it's early in the season. We really need to put our heads together and get after it and get better for the next game, no doubt about it. 

Q: With all the offensive weapons you have, especially the changes you made in the off season, are you being too conservative at times with the offense. Obviously you are trying to establish the run, but…

BO: No, I don't think so. You know some of those things, when we are running on 3rd down, we feel like we have a pretty good look to run the ball against. You know, we have, what we would call a fair fight. Meaning, 6 on 6 or 5 on 5, or whatever it is. You know, it just didn't work out as good as we thought it would go and they played well, they played really well and we did not play well. 

Q: What do you think it says about Bill [Belichick], Josh [McDaniels] and those guys, about what they have done 3-0 without [Tom] Brady and [Rob] Gronkowski and now down to their third-string quarterback?

BO: No, I don't think so. Some of those things, Brian, when we're running it on third down, we feel we have a pretty good look to run the ball against. We have what we would call a 'fair fight', meaning '6-6' or '5-5', or whatever it is. It just didn't work out, didn't go as good as we thought it would go. They played well, they played really well and we did not play well."

Q: Bill, what do you think this says about, you've been on the other side, about, Bill and Josh and what they've done, 3-0, without Brady, Gronkowski and down to their third-string quarterback?

BO: Like I've said, those guys, they have a fantastic coaching staff. Their program has been in place for a long time. They have what I think is the best head coach in the history of the league and they do a great job. I've been over there and I know what type of job … they have good players, and they coach well and they did a better job than us tonight."

Q: What did you think of Brissett and what problems does it cause you when you have a guy that nobody has seen?

BO: Look, he did a nice job. We saw some things, we had a general idea of what they might try to do and it was tough to stop. They did a nice job with him, he threw the ball well, he executed the running game well, we knew he had good poise. We studied him in the draft and he's a good player. They wouldn't put the guy in there unless they felt like this guy was a really good player, believe me. So, he played well tonight."

Q: It's obviously going to be an evolution with Osweiler week-by-week, another pick when you were moving the ball there. Is it a case where he is forcing the ball too many times? Are you seeing anything with what he is doing from the sidelines?

BO: It looked like on that one he probably tried to force it. I'm sure you'll ask him the same question. He is just trying to make a play. I don't think it's something that like I said last week is not concerning to me. It's just something that we have to go into the film room with him and coach him up on what that coverage was, what the route was, and where we think we should go with the ball next time. We'll fix that."

Q: When New England plays 2-shell and wants you to run the ball. Is there anything you can do to force yourself out of that?

BO: It wasn't just a '2-shell', it was the type of 2 that they were playing which was very difficult. It was man-to-man underneath most of the night and they did a nice job covering us. Like I said, give them a ton of credit. They had a good plan. Their plan was better than our plan and that sometimes happens in this league. It was a tough night for Houston but I really believe in this team and we'll rebound."

Q: How much of New England's 3-0 performance is based on what they do?

BO: They have a good team, no doubt about it. It's the combination of good players and good coaching and as it relates to us I'm not sure what the other coaches said I can tell you for us we felt like we had a good plan and they executed their plan better than we executed ours."

Q: There is talk this team has struggled to win the big game on national TV, how would you respond to that?

BO: This is the third game of the year. Every game is big but this is the third game of the year. So look, like I said you guys have a job to do, I have a job to do. My job is to get this team better. Your job is to write whatever your opinion is of what you see in this team. I'm not trying to tell you what your job is, I'm just telling you what my job is. My job is to go back to work tomorrow, as soon as we get off the plane, figure out what we did wrong, and get it better. And that's what I'm going to try to do."

The New England Patriots take on the Houston Texans in a regular season game at Gillette Stadium on Thursday, September 22, 2016.

BROCK OSWEILER, QUARTERBACK

Q: Initial thoughts and takeaway from tonight…

BO: Certainly, this is not how we wanted the football game to go. I felt like we had a great week of preparation. I felt like the entire team was very focused in the game plan. Everyone was working really hard during the week, so this is hard to take. Bottom line, New England had a great game plan. They came out and played a hell-of-a game. They deserve all the credit in the world and we'll bounce back from this one.  

Q: Why do you think offensively you couldn't get in a rhythm tonight?

BO: I think anytime an offense struggles with developing a rhythm, struggles with scoring points, I think the first think you have to examine is the quarterback, and I'll take the blame for this one. Anytime a team doesn't score points, it's on me. I'll examine this tape very closely [and] I will become a better quarterback from this experience, but the bottom line is that I needed to play better tonight to allow our team to have an opportunity to try to win the ball game. 

Q: Did you expect them to give you different looks in contrast to what they gave you in the Denver game?

BO: I really felt like it was two different games with certain aspects, but then also at the same time Matt Patricia, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots, they run their defense. Obviously, after tonight's showing they run their defense very well. So, they didn't do anything tonight that we weren't expecting, bottom line. Like I said, I need to play better and I need to play better so I can give this team an opportunity to win ball games like this. 

Q: Is there something that they tried to take away from you and force you into a certain aspect of the game?

BO: Yeah, I think so. If you go back and you watch the tape they were playing a lot of two-high defense and they were very aware of our receiving threats and they weren't going to let us throw the ball down the field. They gave us a great challenge tonight and they executed their game plan very well. 

Q: Can you give a comment on how Jacoby Brissett played?

BO: Yeah, well, he got the win. Anytime I think you get a win in this league as a quarterback, obviously, you did some things right. At the end of the game, I went up to him and congratulated him on his first win and told him to enjoy the night – enjoy this one – it's a special time getting your first win. 

Q: On the interception was that just the case of maybe trying to make a play when there wasn't a play to make?

BO: Yeah, I think so. I tried forcing a football where the football probably shouldn't have gone and that was something we talked about throughout the week. When they play zone defense, just check the ball down, check the ball down, check the ball down, stay patient and that was a play where I thought Jamie Collins was going to be held by the tight end and I thought I had a window to throw and unfortunately, Jamie made a heck of a play and that's a throw I need to learn from. When a team is playing zone like they are, I need to check the ball down and take the sure completion. 

Q: Three of the four interceptions have been intended for DeAndre Hopkins. Is that because he's so good and he can catch and we saw some of those catches tonight? Do you think you can get them to him more than maybe any other receiver?

BO: Every time we break the huddle and a pass-play is called, DeAndre is on my radar. Where is he? What route is he running? Can I get him the football? There are no excuses for the interception. My job is to protect the football and score points and lead this offense on drives to score points, and the bottom line is that I didn't do that tonight. I turned the ball over and I wasn't efficient enough to get our offense down the field for touchdowns. Like I said, this one's on me. I need to play better, I will play better. I'll learn from this experience and we'll move forward.

Whitney Mercilus, Outside Linebacker

(On the defensive play) 
"We just have to go out there and play solid defense and make plays. Stop the line that's the biggest thing."

(On the loss) 
"It was embarrassing, they beat us in all three phases. They did a great job. The Patriots came in, they knew exactly what they were going to do, knew exactly what we were going to do and just they played well, better than us."

J.J. Watt, Defensive End

(On the outcome of the game) 
"The Patriots played a great football game. They played really well and they deserved to win tonight."

(On the Texans' tackling issues) 
"We didn't play well and they played very well. They played a great game and they did a great job all around and we didn't do a good job, really in any category, so they definitely deserve to win."

(On if the Texans' loss was scheme related or personnel) 
"I think we just got out played. I think we just didn't do a good job, obviously as players, we take it upon ourselves. Hats off to them – they had a great game."

(On whether the game serves as a reminder to where the team needs to be)
"I think there are obviously a lot of things we need to clean up. I mean, it's Week 3. There's a lot for us to look at that tape and learn from and go forward."

(On the importance of getting pressure on a quarterbacks first regular-season start)
"They did a good job. They never really put him in a situation where he had to be throwing the ball too much. You know, they did a great job at the run game, and did a great job all around and he played well being in a tough situation."

Vince Wilfork, Nose Tackle

(On the game) 
"We came into Gillette Stadium and got smoked. We've got to regroup. They played a hell of a game. We've got to put this one behind us and move forward quick. It was a real surprise. What can you do? You've got to give them a lot of credit. They came ready to play and showed up and we didn't. We've got to get back to the drawing board. We've got Tennessee, a division game, coming up so we've go to get our head screwed on right. We want to win every game. Unfortunately that doesn't happen a lot so you move forward. That is what we have to do now. Take this ride, look at the film, correct it and move forward."

(On the Patriots injuries) 
"Bill Belichick is always going to have his team ready, no matter who he's playing. We knew that, but we just didn't fight today."

(On being shutout)
"Any time you get skunked it is embarrassing. You've got to take it personally.  If you don't there is something wrong with you.

(On coming back to New England)
"I had 11 great years here.  The fans, my teammates, the coaches, it was awesome and I love my memories here. It just goes to show the mutual respect they have for me. I feel the same way towards them.  I love them. This was home. For 11 years it was home. They drafted me. And for me to come back and show the respect they did it shows what kind of organization they are."

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