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HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK
(on whether the weather limited Kenny Britt in practice)
Just to run on his own. He wasn't going to practice. He felt better this morning. That's one of those things where he could feel a lot better by Sunday, so we'll just have to wait and see.
(on if Kenny Britt is capable of contributing on offense on Sunday without practicing this week)
He is. Nate (Washington) did it a couple weeks ago in San Diego. You don't want to have to do that. It's just something, you leave your options open. We had one game where we thought (Javon) Ringer was healthy, and the next thing you know, he's got an elbow the night before the game. I think you always go forward on a Sunday. You try and get everyone ready, and you make those final decisions on Sunday after you work them out in the morning.
(on if he's safe with four wide receivers)
If that's what we have to do, yeah, we'll be fine.
(on how important it is to improve time of possession)
It's huge. It's something we've been struggling with as an offense. It goes back to us talking about finishing drives. The thing last week is we had big plays, so that hurt. Big plays on special teams also take the ball away from the offense. Last week that was one of those deals where we scored a lot of points, and the offense had a couple one-play drives or two-play drives. Special teams scored, so the defense had to go back for those too. I think we're heading in the right direction. If it was a normal game, I think we would have stayed on the field last week. Hopefully that will show up this Sunday against this team who is number one in the league in possession already, their offense is. We're going to have to do our best to reverse the trend on that.
(on if the extra time the defense plays during games begins to pile up as games go on)
I think it piles up for the defense. You start worrying about guys getting hurt and working too much. It is what it is. I think this last game hurt us, the last two were a little different—we got behind. This one was kind of a tough one. It definitely will take its toll if we don't change that.
(on if he's optimistic that Jared Cook will play)
He's done what you'd hoped he'd do. He practiced yesterday on a limited basis. He came out today feeling fine, better than he was yesterday. He practiced more today. So yeah, we feel good about it going in. Again, when it's not an ankle or a knee or something that affects a receiver or a tight end, like it does Kenny (Britt), when you have to run so much…It's good to see that he's heading in the right direction. Kenny is getting better, it's just a matter of how much he can do on that ankle.
(on what Zac Diles gives him that Will Witherspoon might not)
Being a little younger, a little more energy, maybe a little more attack at the line of scrimmage. Just a different type of player, a little different style. (Will Witherspoon) is the guy that's been around. He can get them lined up right, he can make sure there is no communication problem. They both bring something different. You'll probably see, depending on how the game goes, I'm sure Zac (Diles) will play more as he's getting comfortable with the defense. He got the chance to play last week, and I'm sure this is a game where he'll get rolled in a little more than last week.
(on if Zac Diles' background with the Texans will help him)
I think we're all familiar with him. I think the good thing is we're a young football team, but last year we played them twice. These guys have a good feel for how they play and what it's all about, the D-line does now. Last year it was a little different when you had (Jurrell) Casey and the other linebackers, then you had Casey and (Karl) Klug and guys that hadn't played. Sen'Derrick (Marks) was playing a new position last year. I think it's good knowing that we played them twice last year, and they have a good feel for what they're going to get out there this weekend.
