Here’s everything Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said about Week 15’s showdown against the Arizona Cardinals, including an update on several injured players, what to expect from Arizona’s offense and more.
Question: On the injury status of players
DeMeco Ryans: “For all the guys, we’re taking it day by day. We’ll see how the week goes.”
Q: On what getting back-to-back road wins reaffirms about his team
Ryans: “Nothing, for me. I’ve been with these guys. I understand who we are, what we’re about. Our guys are going out doing what we’re capable of doing to help us win games.”
Q: On if there’s anything the team does that allows players to make more acrobatic interceptions
Ryans: “I wish the acrobatic interceptions and passes were from coaching, but it is not. It is strictly on pure athletic ability by all of our guys who are able to do those outstanding plays. I can’t help them there.”
Q: On players giving credit to their teammates and not themselves
Ryans: “Our guys and what we have here in our building, they understand it’s about the team. It’s the team first. They understand the brotherhood. I like how excited guys are for the other guy making a play. Nobody needs to pump themselves up. Nobody needs a pat on the back. They’re excited to encourage their teammates and pump them up because that’s what true team sports is all about, encouraging the man next to you. That’s what our guys have. They have a true love for each other. They truly care about each other. They all want to see each other succeed and do well. That’s why you see the guys comment the way they comment.”
Q: On what allows S Jalen Pitre to be a hard hitter
Ryans: “He’s a Stafford Cobra, hard hitter. That’s where he gets it from. It’s nothing we did. He’s been doing that since Little League. He’s been a fun guy to watch. I wasn’t here but watching his Baylor tape, it was the same thing. He played with his hair on fire, always populated the football wherever it was. Blitzing, whatever he was doing. He’s always an impact player at every level he’s ever been on.”
Q: On how DT Tommy Togiai has elevated his game this year
Ryans: “He’s never had to elevate his play, for me. Tommy has always been consistent and that’s the thing I always said about Tommy and that’s what makes him a true pro. He’s just consistent. The things we ask him to do; he doesn’t play out of himself. He doesn’t try do something; he doesn’t try to make plays where he’s not supposed to make plays. He’s just a smart football player. He plays with great technique and that’s what I always allude to of playing football the right way, playing with fundamentals, playing with technique. That’s Tommy all the time. You get consistent play out of him and that’s why he had the impressive stat line that he had from our game versus the [Kansas City] Chiefs. It looked like every time they ran the football Tommy was making a tackle or making a play. Nobody would expect it. You talk about our four-man rush and our [defensive] ends, nobody would expect that Tommy would be the first guy to sack Patrick Mahomes. It’s about being consistent, doing your job to the best of your ability and you have a huge game like Tommy had.”
Q: On if he recalls the first time they identified DT Tommy Togiai last year
Ryans: “I think we got Tommy late in the season [last year]. We lost someone and we needed to add depth to our defensive tackle room and to get a young guy like Tommy, he’s taken the coaching very well. Coach Rod [Wright] has done an outstanding job with him. I can’t say enough good things about Tommy without saying what Rod has done and how Rod has helped him to improve his game.”
Q: On what he’s seen from the Arizona Cardinals, specifically QB Jacoby Brissett
Ryans: “That’s the first thing that jumps out to me. You see a record, but they are not what their record says. This is a really good football team, a well-coached team. [Brissett] is playing at a high level. I think he’s one of the better quarterbacks that we’ll see all year when you talk to decision making, where he can place the football. He doesn’t make bad decisions. He’s not forcing the ball. If it’s not there, he’s taking his checkdown. He’s tough in the pocket. He’s really great versus the blitz. You try to blitz him, he’s made plays. He’s dropped some dimes on the sideline. So, I’m impressed with Jacoby and what he’s been able to do. With their defense, the way they fly around, the way they attack the football, it’s impressive to watch. Budda Baker, he plays with his hair on fire. He’s all over the field, aligning everywhere. It’s like, does anybody in the league play harder than Budda Baker? I don’t know. It’s hard to say. He has an unmatched energy and he’s a really great football player. They do a lot of great things defensively when it comes to the pressure packages that they have. It’s a lot of different looks, a lot of unique looks that we have to have our eyes up. We have to be aware on our offensive side of the football.”
Q: On Arizona Cardinals TE Trey McBride
Ryans: “McBride is a really good player. The thing that jumps off the tape for me with him is his speed and explosiveness at the tight end position. You truly feel like he’s a bigger guy but runs like a wide receiver. Really runs well. He’s physical. Really great hands. They do a lot of cool things and a lot of different ways to get him the football, whether it’s the tight end screens where he’s on the line. They can align him in a lot of different places where they have him running special routes across the field. He’s really a unique player at the tight end position. He’s done a great job of catching the football, and they’ve done a great job of scheming plays for him.”
Q: On the benefit of having S Jalen Pitre and not having to take him off the field regardless of the situation
Ryans “For Jalen, I call him the X-factor for our defense. He can do it all. When it comes to stopping a run, most of the time you worry about a nickel or a defensive back being in a run fits. But we try to find ways to get Jalen in the run fits because he’s a physical player, because he’s smart. He understands run fits. Throw him in passing coverage situations, he’s able to cover eceivers, tight ends. He’s just an all-around player. You can’t coach him on some of the instincts and things that he’s able to do and some of the plays that he’s able to make.”
On if he thinks the different positions of the defense feed off each other
“For sure. I feel that our guys play off of each other very well. It goes back to earlier where they’re excited to see each other make plays and they’re also a little jealous. When you see one group making a play, it’s like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to raise my level of play to try to make that play and try to outdo them. It’s competitive, but it’s fun. Our guys are feeding off of each other. The more plays everybody makes, I think it feeds our entire team. It feeds our team with the energy and enthusiasm that we need to go out and excel and win games.”
Q: On if the reason the defense is so good is that they are not satisfied
Ryans “If they try to get satisfied, I won’t let them. It’s going to be hard. For us as a team, I know a lot of people are applauding the defense and talking about how good the defense is. But our guys, we all know, we’re honest. I’m an honest coach and there’s always room for improvement.”
Q: On players having discipline in regards to penalties in their matchup versus Kansas City
Ryans: “There was a lot of conversation about how we had to handle ourselves around the quarterback before we went into the game, understanding where we had some bad penalties there last year. You can’t go and do the same thing and expect different results. Our guys played smart football around the quarterback, where we needed to usher them out of bounds, as we talked about last week. That’s what I implored our guys what we needed to do, and they did that. We didn’t get any bonehead penalties. That’s how we have to play the game versus any quarterback, no matter how physical or how we want to swarm and play fast and physical. We know we have to be smart around the quarterback.”
Q: On what his initial reaction was to seeing Phillip Rivers sign to the Indianapolis Colts practice squad
Ryans: “I was shocked, but I was not thinking about me gearing up to go play at all. I saw Phillip [Rivers], I think it was like a year or two ago, down in Alabama. I saw him where he was coaching, so I had talked to him for a little bit. I don’t think either one of us was expecting that he would be back in the league now. Phillip, one thing about him, he’s always a true competitor. He loves competing and you see that from all of his days back with the [Los Angeles] Chargers and what he was capable of doing. Him having the history with Shane [Steichen], I can see why he got him as an emergency guy. If he needs him, he can come in and run the offense well and it’s what you need from that position, someone you can trust, someone who’s smart, capable of getting all the other guys in the right spots and making great decisions with the football. I feel like that’s what Phillip will do.”
Q: On how it felt leaving Kansas City with a win this year and what his rating of CB Kamari Lassiter’s dance moves
Ryans: “Kamari is a dancer, definitely a 10. Definitely a 10. The emotions, for me, it was calm. It wasn’t over the top for me. I understand what I expect from our guys, and I understand what our guys expect from themselves. We’re a confident team, that’s how you should always go out and play with confidence, expecting to go out and play your best and expecting the result to be a win. We have to move in that manner and when you do, you’re not surprised or shocked or overly excited by what you do because we put the work in throughout the week. That’s why it wasn’t anything surprising to me. Our guys worked really hard throughout the week, and they showed up and did the same thing on Sunday.”
Q: On how he instilled that mindset into his team
Ryans: “That’s the only way I know. You never play a doubleheader in football. It’s always one at a time and we work all week. We got six days to work that leads up to whenever that game is and we put our all, coaches, players, staff, we put all of our effort into the upcoming opponent. Sometimes when I say it’s truly one game at a time, sometimes my kids may ask, ‘Dad, who do we play next?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know. I really don’t know who we play next.’ You guys tell me who we play next because I can’t do anything about the next opponent until we handle the one that’s facing us right now.”