HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (opening statement) * *
"We did the things we planned to do, which was go up tempo. It was almost like our two minute operations to take over the game. And that was obviously by design. We wanted to press the issue and be as expressive as we possibly could."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the reviewed play)
"We'd established position in bounds and then recovered the ball. We initially thought that he was out of bounds with the ball as he possessed it, but it actually came loose prior to going out of bounds. We saw it upstairs first and talked through it. I guess where he touched the ball down, where he touched it was on the goal line. That's why they indicated the touchback. "
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on the defense)
"I think when you look at our defense that we did play well. I think we got three three-and-outs at the beginning of the game. We started out like a ball of fire. We had a little bit of a lapse but then they came back and did well at the end."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on Joseph Addai's big run and the running game)
"I think we were pretty efficient. There were times when we needed to run it, particularly on that drive that you mentioned. We ran the ball pretty well. Joseph had some pretty nice runs. He almost caught that draw at the end of the game. That would have been a huge difference."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (on Dallas Clark's 14 catches)
"That's kind of how it happens sometimes. I think Dallas had an excellent day, was one away from the NFL record (for catches by a tight end), I guess. Dallas has had big days for us. He's been playing well all year. He had some big catches against tough coverage."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the fast paced offense) November 8, 2009
"We certainly have that in our package. It is almost a kind of two minute type of offense. We really did move the ball, but we just didn't finish it well. We got thirteen points out of it. Obviously would have liked to have finished a couple of those drives with a touchdown."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the win and positioning in the AFC South) November 8, 2009
"Huge win. Great effort. Great job kind of hanging in there. Obviously everything wasn't perfect, but great job of just kind of fighting and came up with the big win. Houston played well and they have an excellent team. Fortunate to win and certainly always want to win those divisional games, especially the ones at home. We'll definitely take it."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on throwing so much in the first half) November 8, 2009
"We have had some games, I guess, based on what the defense was doing where we did come out and just threw it every single time. Seems like Green Bay a couple years back, we threw it a bunch. It was working pretty good. Just had some third downs. Third and actually reasonable that we just didn't convert, which we have been good on, but haven't been as good on those situations the last two weeks. That is an area we definitely want to improve on and be able to stay on the field on third downs."
QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the rhythm of the offense) November 8, 2009
"It is kind of game to game. Obviously we would like to score more than twenty points. We would like to not kick field goals. Those are obviously our goals. Did a good job of moving the ball. Houston leads the league in three and outs. Thirty-six three and outs coming into today, so we really wanted to kind of answer that challenge. I think we only had one which was a big one because it was our only possession of the third quarter. You didn't really see that coming. We did a pretty good job moving the ball at times, but would like to be a little better on third down and be able to stay on the field and obviously be able to finish drives. That is what you are always looking for; to score enough to win, but we obviously had to have some help from our defense. Obviously we want to our part better and score more points."
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QB-PEYTON MANNING (on the running game) November 8, 2009
"I thought Joe (Addai) popped some runs, a couple big ones on that last drive for the touchdown. Great run by him on the goal line for the touchdown, with some big runs to get down there. I thought Joe did a great job as a receiver and running the ball when we called his number."
TE-DALLAS CLARK (on his performance)
"It was kind of one of those things that you try and take advantage of things that are given us. Even with getting those catches early, they still didn't adjust, they didn't change what they were doing so we were going to try and keep attacking it. It would have been a lot better if they would have turned into touchdowns instead of field goals in the first half. Those are things we need to continue working on."
TE-DALLAS CLARK (on the quick offensive pace to start the game)
"I wouldn't say fun. When you run, I guess I heard, sixty plays in the first half, you are going to feel that Wednesday and Thursday. It's fun for a series. It was kind of a game time decision trying to play some up-tempo and mix it up a little bit on them. It helped. I think we were wearing them down, but we were getting pretty tired as well. But, we were able to keep pressing and keep them guessing. I think it helped us. It was a good kind of a weapon for us and I think it definitely helped us get some tempo going."
TE-DALLAS CLARK (on where the offense needs to improve)
"I think its just everywhere. I think its execution. We had some run plays, we had some passes, we called the timeout where we were kind of mixed up on assignments. Just everything. When you come out and put points on the first couple drives and kind of hit that lull. We did last week against San Francisco. We just can't keep doing that. Our defense is playing tough, getting us great field position, we have to take advantage of that. I think that is kind of the disappointment. We had the ball on the 40 (yard line) probably two times and just weren't able to get points and that is on us. Those are things we need to improve on."
TE-DALLAS CLARK (on improving the red zone offense)
"I think it is a little of both. A little of good defenses that we have faced in the last few weeks and execution. I think it is as simple as that. I don't think we need to change anything or make up new plays. I think we just need to execute the calls that are made. It is a great credit to the defense that we faced. We have faced some good red zone defenses and that is the reason they are good. They are keeping teams out of the end zone and that is something we will continue to improve on and got to get better."
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RB-JOSEPH ADDAI (on taking what the defense gives them)
"Catching the ball, running the ball, whatever they want us to do that's how we're going to do it. We have to give credit to the Texans defense. They played hard. They played real hard. I think the good thing about this is we can go back watch the film and kind of see the mistakes we made and move forward."
RB-JOSEPH ADDAI (on matching up with the Texans)
"I think every game we have to go about it like it's the Super Bowl, regardless of who you're playing. I think the Texans are getting better. Next time around, I think we have to buckle down and bring our A-game and play them because they really played hard. They did what they did and we have to get them the second time around."
RB-JOSEPH ADDAI (on the offensive struggles)
"Tom Moore, he always says throughout the season (that) we'll have storms meaning bad times. I think the great teams know how to get through that. Obviously, we had our chance to get through that today. We'll go and watch the film Wednesday and look at what we can fix and move forward from there."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on the offense having a lot of plays in the first half, but not a lot of points)
"This is the NFL, it's not going to be easy, whether we have 40-some passes or 20, they're all going to be tough. We had some opportunities. Houston is good. They're pretty familiar with our offense. They're rolling right now. They're defense has been playing at a high level all year. They did their job. We just have to do better in the red zone and score touchdowns instead of field goals."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on the offense having a rhythm early, but seeming to lose it)
"It's football. They're on scholarship, too. It's not going to be easy every time. We had a little flow going. They figured it out and they adjusted. Instead of scoring field goals, we should have scored touchdowns. Like I said, their defense has been balling all year. We just have to figure out how to score touchdowns instead of field goals in the red zone."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on what it says about the offense being able to score a touchdown when it needs too)
"The first drive we had in the third quarter we had an opportunity. We had good field position. They had a personal foul that gave us good field position. We didn't capitalize on it. On the sideline we knew it was going to be one of those games where we probably had only one more possession, if that. So, we just buckled down. You take your hats off to Houston. They're a good team, but at the same time, we had so many mental mistakes that we stopped drives. We made it an interesting game. It was hyped up all week about what kind of game it was going to be. I guess we gave everybody what they were looking for."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on if he was trying to throw the ball away on his interception)
"I actually was. I was trying to throw that away. Next time, I'll aim for the blonde in the front row. I was trying to throw it away and just threw a bad ball. That's another mistake on my end."
WR-REGGIE WAYNE (on passing Raymond Berry for second all-time on franchise's career receptions list)
"That's huge...it's definitely an honor. He's still the truth. He started it all. I'm just glad to even be mentioned with his name."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on the offense starting the game with a quick pace)
"We came into this with the idea that we were going to run a two-minute style offense and try to use the up-tempo to wear them out a little bit. I think it worked. We moved the ball pretty effectively, but fell short of getting in the red zone a few times and had to settle for field goals."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on Houston)
"They're certainly a much improved team over the past couple of years. They've gotten a lot better. They have a pretty solid d-line. As we saw today, their offense can move the ball pretty effectively."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on what the win means in the division race)
"It's one of those deals where we have a couple of tough games coming up and then we're going to see Houston again. We have a pretty good run here where we have to hunker down and play well and continue to widen that margin, otherwise, they're going to be right on our heels in a couple of weeks, very easily."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on if the offense is frustrated)
"I wouldn't say anything is off. I just think we're a little disappointed about not scoring touchdowns as much. We're getting our chances. We're in the red zone and then we're stalling out and having to settle for field goals. It's disappointing, but we're still coming away with points. We just have to continue to work on getting those seven points instead of three."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on comparing this year's offense to year's past)
"Every year is different and every game is different. We started this game off with this fast tempo thing trying to slow them down. I think (Senior Offensive Coordinator) Tom Moore says it best, 'Each game has its own personality.' This one was very unique in that we had 60 plays in the first half and three in the third quarter. You just have to take the opportunity to get seven points when you can."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on if the offense lost its rhythm)
"I wouldn't say we lost our rhythm. I think we just didn't get the job done at certain points in the game. I don't know if we were out of sync or what. We'll have to go back to the tape and find out."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on Houston's missed FG as time expired)
"After he had made the long one earlier in the game, I thought this one was going to be a chip shot for him. He missed it, and we were pretty excited. I thought for sure we were going into overtime. The guy is a pretty good kicker. He went wide left, and we win."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on Joseph Addai's touchdown run)
"Great run by Joe. I thought up front, we had a pretty good chance with that play with the look they gave us. He made a few guys miss and maybe dragged one in with him. A great effort by Joe today."
OT-RYAN DIEM (on if there is a risk in throwing it too much)
"I don't think so. I think the way QB-Peyton (Manning) operates he is going to take what's there, whatever the defense is giving us. There may be sometime down the road here where we run the ball 30, 40 times. I don't know if that is ever going to happen. He is good at what he does. We like to put the ball in his hands and let him do his thing."
C-JEFF SATURDAY (on the offense's start)
"We had a good tempo early in the game. We pressed the tempo and tried to keep them at the line of scrimmage, keep everybody on the field and keep them in what they were and just see what they would do with it. I thought they did a good job actually in substituting and getting guys on and off. At the beginning of the game, we were moving it up and down the field, we just didn't punch it in."
C-JEFF SATURDAY (on the offense not being satisfied)
"I go pretty much one week at a time. We moved the effectively in the first half, but we didn't put it in the end zone, and we stress that all the time of it being something we want to hang our hats on as an offense, when we get in the red zone, we score points. I think we had 60 plays in the first half and 13 points. I don't think anybody on our offense is going to be satisfied with that."
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DB-JERRAUD POWERS (on battling through injuries)
"We just had to gut it out. We knew it was going to be a tough challenge. We've been screaming since OTA's a next man up philosophy around here. We looked at it as an opportunity. It was unfortunate we had a lot of guys go out this week but the next guy up is a big opportunity for us and we just wanted to step up to the challenge and make some plays."
DB-JERRAUD POWERS (on whether he received advice from anyone)
"I talked to Kelvin (Hayden). He was just telling me to relax, keep doing what I'm doing and go out there and have fun. He kept telling me 'It's just like practice. Just go out there and have fun and do what you do. Don't worry about the other outside distractions.' He knew there was going to be a lot of talk about we had a lot of guys out. He was just like, 'Next guy up.' That's all he kept screaming."
DB-JERRAUD POWERS (on next weekend's match-up with New England)
"I'm pretty sure it's going to be another tough game (that will) probably go down to the wire again. They've been on a roll lately, just watching them on Sunday games. Tom (Brady) looked back like his old self. They look like they're clicking on all cylinders. We'll have another tough challenge (and) tough match-up. I'm pretty sure this will be a fun one."
DB-MELVIN BULLITT (on getting key turnovers)
"That was key. That just shows how smart some of our young players are like Jerraud Powers just to know to jump back inbounds, grab the ball, get in the end zone and get out of bounds, (which) was just a heck of a play. Then you have Clint Session getting a turnover at the end which definitely built some momentum for us on defense. At the end of the game, special teams did a good job with field goal blocking."
DB-MELVIN BULLITT (on the Texans missed field goal at the end)
"We knew we had a chance at it. We almost had two blocks earlier in the game. I almost had one (and) Jacob Lacey almost had one. On that last one, we just said we wanted to apply a lot of pressure and kind of get in his (Kris Brown) head. If he sees a lot of pressure coming, he feels like he has to get it off quick. All I saw was the crowd erupt. I didn't see the ball go left or right. I saw everybody cheering so I knew we won."
DE-DWIGHT FREENEY (on what the sack streak means to him)
"It's not like I'm sitting there like, 'Oh, I've got to get one.' Every game, my mentality is I have to get three or four every game. Yes, I got one and definitely it's a collective thing. Some of them are coverage sacks, some is everybody playing together and I happen to be in the right spot. I think it's a team thing no matter what individual streaks happen. When it's a team effort, that's why it happens."
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DE-DWIGHT FREENEY (on having a blitzing scheme)
"It's a little bit of a change which has helped us out all year and that really shows the experience of (Larry) Coyer. Him knowing some blocking schemes, knowing when we need to bring pressure and executing as a defense."
DE-DWIGHT FREENEY (on what the win means)
"The big picture is just one more step closer to what we want our first goal. Our first goal is to win the division and we're one step closer to that. We've got to win a few more. It's close. We're heading in the right direction."
DE-DWIGHT FREENEY (on battling with a division opponent)
"It was real tough. They battle. They know us. We know them. We don't ever expect to just go out there and say 'Ah, we're playing Houston,' no matter what their record is. It didn't matter if they were coming in here 0-7, 0-8, it doesn't matter. When you're playing a division opponent especially in our division, it's going to be a tough one."
LB-CLINT SESSION (on beating a division rival)
"We got it done. You have to give Houston a lot of credit. They fought. They know us. We know them. Like I said early in the week, it was going to be a tough game no matter what the records were. They came out, brought it and gave it their best."
LB-CLINT SESSION (on the win giving the Colts a big lead in the AFC South)
"That's what we've been stressing from the beginning, putting ourselves in the best position. We put ourselves in a good position by winning all our (division) games early, now we have to come back for the second round of them. It' gives us a little breather. We're already ahead."
LB-CLINT SESSION (on the defense playing shorthanded)
"As you can see, we played pretty good on defense. We had a couple of guys banged up, but with the system we have guys that can fill in, if not the same talent level, they're right under it. Everybody is filling in very well on this defense, and we need to keep it going."
LB-CLINT SESSION (on LB-Philip Wheeler)
"Philip did real well. I congratulated him a few times out on the field. He had a pretty good game. He was focused on his assignments, and he did it the right way."
LB-CLINT SESSION (on Houston's missed FG as time expired)
"I don't even remember if I watched it. It's a great, great feeling to watch that field goal miss. I feel sorry for that kicker, but, hey, we won."
LB-CLINT SESSION (on his interception in the fourth quarter)
"It was a pretty good interception just because it was a game decision interception. On my part, I probably should have scored instead of going down, but that's the thing I have to learn. That was my first one of the year. It put us in good position to win."
LB-CLINT SESSION (on why backups on the Colts are able to come in and play well right away)
"We plug away. We plug guys in practice, whether they are second string or not. . We'll get some of those veterans out of there and starters out of there, and get some of the young guys a chance to play. That's been helping us out all year. They are always an ankle sprain away, so they're ready."
DB-ANTOINE BETHEA (on Houston's fumble at the goal line towards the end of the first half)
"He broke out, and I was just making a play. When it happened, I told the ref, 'Look man, that might have been a fumble.' He said, "No, he landed on you and you were out of bounds.' I didn't want to argue or nothing. I saw Coach Caldwell talking to him and they showed a replay, and I knew it was a fumble. It was a smart play by DB-Jerraud (Powers), getting both feet back in bounds and getting the ball. That was a heads-up play by Jerraud."
DB-ANTOINE BETHEA (on LB-Clint Session's interception)
"That was a big play. It was a five-man pressure. G (LB-Gary Brackett) was able to get to the quarterback, hit the ball and Clint got a big play for us."
DB-ANTOINE BETHEA (on the defense making big plays in the fourth quarter)
"It's football. That's how it is. Sometimes, the offense has to back us up. Sometimes, we have to back the offense up. It's a team game. Regardless of what happens, when we're on the field, we have to go out there, play 110% and try to make plays."
DB-ANTOINE BETHEA (on the young guys in the defensive backfield stepping up because of injuries to the veterans)
"They've done great. You can't ask anything more of them. DB-Jerraud (Powers) had two big plays today, an interception and a fumble recovery. (DB-Jacob) Lacey plays well. DB-Tim (Jennings) plays well. (DB-Melvin) Bullitt always plays well. Regardless of the injuries and whatever everybody else is saying about the secondary and the young guys, we're one group. We're going to come out and fight, like we did today."
LB-GARY BRACKETT (on young guys stepping in on defense)
DB-Jerraud (Powers) has been starting all year. (DB-Jacob) Lacey has gotten plenty of time in there. LB-Philip (Wheeler) getting one of his first starts of his career, but he played a solid game. In practice when you go out there, you have to take advantage of your opportunities and then when it comes to Sunday, you minimize your mistakes."
