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HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - Wednesday, November 29, 2017 **

(opening statement)

Injury report. Did not practice today, (Da'Norris) Searcy, ankle, day-to-day. He should be hopefully tomorrow. Rishard (Matthews), still a hamstring. Again, day-to-day, could be any day with him. (Brian) Schwenke was sick, hopefully he'll be better tomorrow. (Brian Orakpo) Rak, gave him the day with his shoulder. He should be all right hopefully tomorrow.

(on if he sees any improvement in wide receiver Rishard Matthews' hamstring)

Just monitoring. Going to be smart with him.

(on how the change at quarterback for the Texans changes their offense as a whole)

It's similar, they were a little more – very balanced offense, very balanced. They're almost – looking at their numbers prior to the injury. Now, it's a little more pass-heavy, 60-40 pass. That's the only thing I see different with it.

(on how to beat one-on-one matchups with Texans DE Jadeveon Clowney)

I think they do a good job with him. He's going to be all over the place especially in sub-situations and third downs. Everybody is going to get a chance to block him, I said that this morning. You can't rely on him being in one place or another and that's an advantage to them, and we've got to block him.

(on the performance of Texans DE Jadeveon Clowney in recent weeks)

Very disruptive. You saw what he did on Monday night, he's just very disruptive, very hard to block and he's playing at a high level.

(on the challenge of game planning for the Texans using film of Houston players who are injured and won't be in Sunday's game)

We use a lot of games with them and without them. We have enough information for us to go ahead and put a good game plan together.

*(on how much sacking Colts QB Jacoby Brissett eight times reenergized the defense) *It puts the standards a little higher. I think all the work and the effort that they've been having in other games, it was good to see it come to light with what they did. Hopefully it's going to give us a little confidence and certainly nothing negative about – coming away from that game, what they did.

(on the role the defense's pressure plays in limiting Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton and Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins)

That's as much of the coverage as anything. There were a number of times guys were about to come open, especially down in the red zone where you had some guys that had beaten the coverage. Just enough pressure that he (Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett) couldn't get it off and got sacked. That's the biggest part to me in some of these coverages, is our rush helping our back end. That was a big key, take the pressure off of them with the pressure on the quarterback.

*(on how much the Texans disruption upfront has helped their secondary play well this season) *Has a lot to do with it. Since we've played them, they've had 108 pressures on the quarterback, 18 sacks and 10 picks. That's without some of their best players. They're a good defense, they're just very sound, very well-coached. When the opportunities are there, they've made the most of them.

(on if he views this week as a revenge game after losing to the Texans in Week 4 or if it is just another game)

Next game up, it is. It's the next game up. That game, just like this past game, is over. Nothing we can do about it, so this is the next game we've got to win in order to accomplish what we want to accomplish this year.

(on Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins' physicality and if he tells the cornerbacks to prepare for that)

No, we know who we have out here playing him. We're trying to simulate it as much as possible, the physical part of it, and get as much of a good look in practice as we can. Plus we've played him, these guys know him well enough. It's a physical matchup. One thing he does, he presents problems. I think they've got the most pass interference calls against them in the league, and they've got the second-most holding calls in the league against the opponents against him. It's a tough challenge covering him.

(on how the unknown game status of Texans wide receiver Will Fuller V changes the game plan)

Nothing, nothing will change. We've got to cover whoever is out there, that won't change. We're going to kind of plan on him playing and if he doesn't, it won't make a lot of difference in our plan.

(on if he takes the same preparation approach with Texans ILB Brian Cushing)

Yeah. There's nothing we're going to change, we don't know if he is or he isn't. We're going to go with what we've put together and whether he's in there or not, we've got to block him.

(on how the Texans offensive line has looked in recent weeks)

They're doing a good job of – 12th in the league on offense, they're doing good. They're running the ball, they're sixth in the league in rushing the football. Again, they're all 'next man up' kind of mentality. They're doing a good job with it, they always have.

(on if he watched the Texans this past Monday on television)

I had it on. We worked Monday night, (we) were getting ready with a plan. You just watch it, what you can see from the naked eye and then you'll get that game. I watched it first thing Tuesday morning again and just kind of confirm what they're already doing, see if there's anything we need to change. Got to sit down on the couch with a beer – no that was not part of it.

(on the challenge of a team playing on Monday night on the road and then the following Sunday on the road like the Texans will do)

It's always challenging but again, I think we've all been a part of it. You adjust and again, I'm sure he's taking care of those guys with the way they're practicing, and adjusting the schedule a little bit just to help them recover. It is a challenge but not as great as you think it is.