Quotes of Note: Texans on Facing Titans Again
Their first meeting was not finished at the end of four quarters.
It took a little bit of overtime and a whole lot of Derrick Henry for the Tennessee Titans to defeat the Houston Texans 41-36 back in Week 6. Henry rushed for 212 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown, which he set up with a long reception.
The return match, Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston, will wrap up the Texans’ season. At 4-11, they will not make the playoffs but have a chance to disrupt – or derail altogether – the Titans’ quest to win the AFC South and reach the postseason for the third time in four seasons.
A roundup of some of what Houston players and coaches had to say about the contest:
On the Texans’ attitude ahead of their final game …
• Wide receiver Brandin Cooks: “Any time you’ve got an opportunity to go out there and play in the National Football League, you don’t take it for granted. So, guys are flying around all week excited and working hard and that’s what you expect from the team. Millions of people would love to be in this position, so what you try to do is just finish it out strong and do the best that you can to do be there for your team.”
• Quarterback Deshaun Watson: “Just prepping for the game and going in there to win. That’s pretty much it. There’s not too much to speak on as far as anything else. Just been prepping with the guys and making sure everyone is prepped and ready to go out there and compete on Sunday.”
• Defensive end J.J. Watt: “It’s not good to be out of it. Obviously, there’s a finite end to your season and you know when that is and it’s not enjoyable obviously to know and to have that and to not have the possibility of putting yourself in.”
• Safety A.J. Moore, Jr.: “Really to just go out together and to go out strong. Everybody is ready to go in and just give everything we’ve got and put it all on the line one last time for each other. It’s a crazy business so this may be the last time this specific group will be together. So, we’re just going to go out with a bang.”
On Tennessee’s offense …
• Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver: “I mean they have an obviously very good offense. (Coordinator) Arthur Smith and his staff have done a tremendous job. I believe they’re top three, if not top two in offensive efficiency, so Ryan Tannehill is doing a great job taking command of that huddle and distributing the ball to all of his threats, whether it’s A.J. Brown, Jonnu Smith, (Anthony) Firkser he loves. He’s limited his turnovers, which has kind of been their Achilles heel in the past. So, I give their offense and their coaches a tremendous amount of credit.”
On facing Derrick Henry again …
• Weaver: “You try to tell guys to [go] eyes through the thighs, strive for five and not tackle the guy high and knock down the stiff arm if you see it. I’m just glad I don’t have to face it personally. I’m not trying to be on SportsCenter and some of those things that he’s done, but he is certainly a dynamic back. You’ve got to do everything you can to try to keep him bottled up and keep him from getting to the second level, but that’s easier said than done.”
• Moore Jr.: “He’s one of the best backs in the game but we’re all just – he’s a big target, so we just have to gang tackle him. Everybody get to the ball and play the Texans defense like we know how to.”
• Interim coach Romeo Crennel: “We want to close in on him and try to get as many guys around him as we can. On the stiff arm, we know that it’s a powerful stiff arm and so basically it depends on when he puts it out. If he puts it out early enough you can try to break it down to keep it from being a stiff arm, per say. But, if he’s got good timing with it, which in many cases he does have good timing with it, you’re not able to break it down and then he hits you in the chest, arm, facemask, wherever. That helps him gain yards. He’s a strong, physical runner with really good speed and the thing to do, is if you can keep him from getting to the second level, then that gives you the best chance to slow him down.”
On playing the spoiler …
• Crennel: “It's a division game, and every time you play a division game, you want to win your division games. We want to win the game, one, because this is a division game, and then it would be nice for us win because we know a lot of those guys on the staff. Everybody is competitive. If we can win, we can talk to them about it for a year, or if they win, they're going to talk to us about it for a year. That's the nature of the game of football that we play.”
• Moore, Jr.: “Oh, for sure. I think if we beat them, they may not make the playoffs. We’re definitely going into this game pumped and want to knock them out.”
