Houston Texans quarterback David Carr has been sacked 24 times this season and the way Jets safety Kerry Rhodes has been attacking the quarterback, keeping an eye on the second- year safety will be at the top of Carr’s check-list.
“You have to see where he is, based on your formation, whether he’s trying to come down to play man coverage or whether he is coming down to a location where there is no one to cover. Then he has a chance where he can come get you,” Carr said. “You keep an eye on him, not like he’ll tip things off, but he’s a big part of their defense, a big key of where the pressure is coming from.”
Read below for Carr’s complete conference call transcript
Houston Texans’ QB David Carr, 11.22
On his progress under head coach Gary Kubiak…
We’re just trying to get better and our team is getting more consistent. If we would have won the game it would have been a whole lot nicer, we would have gotten a lot more publicity for it and all the good things that come along with winning and our team would have gotten more respect for what the guys did. The worst part about last Sunday was losing the game. After that, the records and everything are great but, you want to win football games.
On the Jets defense blitzing more…
They’re getting more confident in what they’re doing. The guys outside, they feel like they know what they have out there. They guys can make some plays. Really the guys up front, (Jonathan) Vilma and those guys, they’re going to be good players and be solid for you. They’ve kind of gone to some more “get after the quarterback” situations, just against (Tom) Brady alone, which shows they don’t care who they’re coming after, they straight out blitz. Straight man coverage, no free safety in the middle, no nothing, twenty something times. They are definitely getting more aggressive. When you play a team like that it’s going to be one of those games where they are going to win some plays but if you’re on stuff and you have big playmakers outside, you have a chance to hit some big ones. It can go either way really quick. If Andre (Johnson) and Eric (Moulds) and those guys can find a way when they get singled up, with no help, if they can find a way to break one tackle then its lights out. There are some things that you can take advantage of but you definitely have to be careful with all the looks you get.
On wanting to see the Jets play that way…
It would be kind of nice, to tell you the truth, from what we’ve seen in the first nine, ten weeks of the season. We’ve seen a lot of cover-two defenses because of what the two guys outside (Andre Johnson and Eric Moulds) can do and are capable of doing. We’ve seen a lot of two deep safeties. Andre and Eric are both capable of making the big play. Andre in particular, can go up and take balls away from people. If there are not two or three guys down there, if there is just one, I have my money on him (Johnson). If we can get it (the blitz) blocked up, it would be nice to get some shots when we have one-on-one coverage down the field.
On Kerry Rhodes…
You have to see where he is, based on your formation, whether he’s trying to come down to play man coverage or whether he coming down to a location where there is no one to cover; then he has a chance where he can come get you. You keep an eye on him, not like he’ll tip things off, but he’s a big part of their defense, a big key of where the pressure is coming from. If he is anywhere where he is not in coverage mode then you have to be ready for that kind of defense. He’s definitely making some plays, because he’s coming free sometimes and making some good tackles and some good plays, so we have to be aware of him.
On the Texans’ running backs having a good game against the Jets…
I think it’s going to be that way every week for our offense. If we are able to run the ball a little bit, like we were able to last week and those guys get open, then we’re able to make some plays. That’s where the bootlegs and stuff are going to come in too, that aspect of our offense, both us and Denver, if you watch them. We have to have a strong running game to be able to get that kind of play-action, move-the-pocket and that’s where big plays down the field are going to come from.
On having a former quarterback as a head coach…
It’s nice. Automatically, he has my respect, just from the guys he has coached, that he’s played this position at this level. It’s really easy for me to buy into what he’s doing. These last couple of weeks it’s becoming more comfortable for me. It’s really something that doesn’t take a lot of effort for me, I just have to buy in and we’re successful for the most part. The wins haven’t really racked up like we’ve wanted them to but, they will, they’ll start to come in.
On playing two games in the Meadowlands in a short period of time…
I don’t think it’s going to hurt us, staying in the same hotel and doing the same things. We’ll be there more then we’ve been home the last month. It’s not going to be an unbelievably great advantage, because obviously we’re still on the road, but it’s not going to hurt us either.
On Coach Kubiak showing any signs of being a rookie head coach…
Not really, and if he is, he’s honest enough to go out and say it. The thing that impresses us the most is the way he carries himself with confidence. He acts like he’s been there before. He may not have been a head coach but he’s been in some big games, he’s won some Super Bowls. That kind of helps him with the transition from being an assistant to being a head coach.
On it being easier to play for someone who you have an immediate respect for…
Yeah, he’s (Kubiak) has come up through the coaching ranks and then he’s also played the game. He’s coached some great quarterbacks and he’s also played at a high level also. He has the best of both worlds and that what you’re looking for.
On getting sacked less as a result of Coach Kubiak being a former quarterback…
I don’t think so. He just understands that and he’s not going to hide it. That’s the first thing that he tells everybody, “There’s two things that you have to do on offense, you have to be able to run the ball and you have to protect the quarterback.” He doesn’t give lip service, the first thing that we talk about during meetings is, “How are we going to protect against this and how we’re going to protect against that and now we can work, now we have routes and what routes come off of this and this.” It’s not really protecting, it’s not really keeping guys in, and it’s having route concepts where you have a place to throw the football, a quick place to get rid of it. It’s kind of built into the system. You always feel going up the line of scrimmage that you have a chance. That’s a comforting feeling as a quarterback.
Wednesday Injury Report
Jets
Questionable: FB B.J. Askew (foot), CB David Barrett (hip), CB Andre Dyson (neck) & RB Cedric Houston (knee)
Probable: *RB Kevan Barlow (calf), *LB Matt Chatham (foot), WR Tim Dwight (thigh), *OL Pete Kendall (knee), *WR Justin McCareins (foot), *DL Rashad Moore (hand), & *QB Chad Pennington (calf)
Texans
Doubtful: DE Antwan Peek (knee)
Probable: *QB David Carr (R shoulder), FB Jameel Cook (knee), WR Andre Johnson (thigh), * LB DaShon Polk (knee), *T Ephraim Salaam (ankle), *DE Anthony Weaver & *DE Mario Williams (foot)
