DL Myles Garrett:
On if there is extra motivation playing in the same game as Texans DE J.J. Watt:
"He is ahead of me [in sacks] so that is a motivator. Other than that, not really. I know that he is a great player, but I play with great players every week."
On Watt:
"One of the best defensive linemen of this decade. That is it. You have to prove it every week, just like everybody else."
On if he compares himself to Watt's career:
"No, I want to be the best player that I can be evert week. I feel like that is who I put on film. It just depends on what I do. He is up there, but if I were to pass him, who is next? You have to keep on trying to exceed yourself."
On is he studies Watt at all:
"Yeah, I study him."
On benefits of studying Watt:
"That he can do it all. He can play the run. Play the pass. Get you around the edge. Get you inside. Go through you. There is no way that he would be able to have two 20 sack seasons by just being one dimensional."
On Watt's playing hard throughout games:
"He does play hard. I think that a lot of guys have good motors. You could measure a player off of their motor or measure them off of the big plays that they make or the plays that they make in general. Once you have both, you have a really good player. I think that he has both. You should not discount a player if plays do not get by him because he is making those plays in front of him. You should always definitely have a good motor."
On Texans QB Deshaun Watson:
"A guy who like to hold onto the ball but also likes to scramble. He is quick. He is elusive. He can make plays down the field. Have to make sure that we keep him in the box and keep him trapped."
DB Jabrill Peppers:
On how much film he has watched on Texans S Tyrann Mathieu:
"When I was coming out was when I watched the most film on him, but as of late, I have just been studying my matchups and what offenses are doing."
On if Mathieu's game is similar to his:
"He does what he does the way he does it, and I do it the way I do it."
On Texans QB Deshaun Watson:
"He extends plays, and his guys get open to catch the ball for him. He is an athlete back there, and he breaks a lot of tackles, which most people do not understand. Once you get your arms around him, you have to wrap him up and make it hard for him. Do not give him any pitch and catches. Make him beat us with his arm."
On how demoralizing it is when a QB scrambles for a big gain after believed to be stopped:
"It sucks, but you can't get too down on it. Snap and clear. As long as you get it down, you always have a chance to get off the field."
On the Texans running game:
"They do what they do well. They are more of a stretch team with guys out the gaps and cut it up. (Texans RBs) Lamar (Miller) and (Alfred) Blue are making guys miss tackles. Missed tackles leads to explosive plays so you definitely have to wrap both these cats up, have gap integrity and play stout against the run."
On how not being on the field as much the past couple weeks has helped:
"That has been tremendous and when the offense is controlling the ball like that, it definitely takes the load off of us. It is misleadingly low because of things we were doing wrong – out of gaps, missing tackles and things like that gets you beat. We have to come in with the fewest mistakes as possible, gap integrity and make these guys work."
DL Chris Smith:
On if it feels like the Texans are trying to not put all of the offensive responsibility on Watson with increased production in the running game:
"You can ask any quarterback in this league, if you can establish the running game and run the ball well, it makes it easier on them. That is why I think that the main emphasis is on making them one dimensional."
On if this game can be considered a measuring stick due to the Texans' success:
"I think it is what GW (Head Coach Gregg Williams) said, if you watched the game last night – the Cowboys and New Orleans – anything can happen. It is a week-by-week league. The main thing is that it is all about us and what we do. As long as we are executing, it is not about anybody else that we play. We stack two in a row, we stack three in a row and we just keep that same mindset."
On if the game is treated as a must-win game:
"Like GW said as far as practices, games, everything is a playoff game right now – playoff meetings and all of that. We know that we most likely will need to win out to get to where we want to be. Let's just take it one day at a time, one practice at a time, one game at a time and just see what happens."
On LB Joe Schobert's intelligence:
"Very smart. I owe him like half of my check every week (laughter). Quarterback on defense. He reminds me a lot of when I was in Jacksonville of (former Jaguars and Bills LB) Paul Posluzny the way that he gets everybody lined up, knowing what the offense is going to do before they do it. He is a hell of a player. I think everybody appreciates him. When he is not on the field, you feel it."
On how special it is to have a player as prepared as Schobert:
"You can let him tell it because he went to Wisconsin and stuff like that (laughter). Just a student of the game. We call him Coach Schobe because of what he does. He knows as much as GW. GW learns stuff from him. GW would tell you that himself. That is just one thing about it is he is a student of the game, knowing what is going to happen before it happens makes you a faster player and it makes you a better player. That is one thing that he does. It makes all of us better as players out there."
On if Williams brought up New Orleans' 10-game winning streak being broken:
"We kind of brought it up. We saw it last night. I watched the game last night. That is the thing about it – it is a week-by-week league. That is the thing about it, we have to come out there and I feel like just stop that running game. Their running game is very powerful. They have been very successful with it. We have to stop their running game. I hope No. 51 (LB Jamie Collins Sr.) makes a lot of tackles for loss out there, too."
