**
HC Chan Gailey**
Opening statement:
Let me cover who did work today and who did not work today. Cordy (Glenn), Kyle (Williams) and (Chris) Kelsay did some of the walk through stuff. They did not do the full-speed stuff but they participated in practice. The guys that did not participate in practice today at all were (Andy) Levitre, Terrence McGee and Mario (Williams). The update on Mario is he had a procedure done to relieve some discomfort in his wrist. We expect him back for practice next week. That is all I know at this point, so that is where we are with the guys who worked and did not work.
Q: Was that procedure done in Houston or was it done in Buffalo?
A: I have no idea.
Q: Was the procedure done today?
A: I think it was yesterday, but I am not sure.
Q: How was that decision made?
A: I do not know all of that. They told me what happened and said he will be ready next week. That is all I know right now.
Q: So you are not clear exactly what the issue is with the wrist?
A: No.
Q: Was it his decision to have the surgery or was it made by the team doctors?
A: I do not know how all of that is made, I just know it happened.
Q: Is there the potential he will miss some games?
A: No. He will be at practice next week. That is what I understand. That is what I was told.
Q: Was the surgery necessary given that you are entering a bye week and it was bothering him?
A: Well when you take care of things it is (during) the bye week. If you have some things you can take care of, you do it. Like we rested Andy (Levitre) today. He had some extra work done on him so we just held him out to give him an extra day's rest. That is where you try to take care of all these things.
Q: Is it a good thing for him if he thinks this will help him?
A: Every advantage you can get mentally for every player is great. Everything that makes them feel better about playing, it helps.
Q: How much did you see it hurting and limiting him?
A: I cannot evaluate that.
Q: How much did OG Kraig Urbik do today?
A: (Kraig) Urbik did everything today. He did. He worked today.
Q: Are all signs pointing to Urbik being back next week?
A: All signs are pointing to him being back and ready to roll next week.
Q: Will CB Ron Brooks be able to play?
A: He has come along. He has had no setbacks whatsoever, so that is a positive, too. How much he knows and how much he can catch up, that will be a determining factor. Physically he is fine.
Q: What went into the decision to keep K John Potter inactive on Sunday?
A: We had not been getting the number of touchbacks. They had been good kicks. They had been real good kicks. One of the advantages is you do not have to cover, you do not have to take the licks. You knew it was going to be a windy day and we were hopefully going to be kicking with the wind a lot, so it worked out that we just deactivated him and let Rian (Lindell) do the kickoffs.
Q: Where is DE Mark Anderson in terms of getting back?
A: I think he is on track. They tell me that they have not ruled out Houston. They think the next one has a real good chance.
Q: Does OT Cordy Glenn have a chance for Houston?
A: Yeah, he has a chance for Houston. Yes.
Q: You are seven games in and your punt and kick return games are one of the league leaders. Can you just talk about that?
A: Obviously Bruce (DeHaven) does a great job with organizing the return aspect of the game. He does a good job with all of it, do not get me wrong. But what shows up this year is the return game… I think this year we have a lot of confidence in our return game, both kickoff and punt return. Those guys really work hard at it and we have some good returners.
Q: Have you altered your thoughts about when guys should bring out kickoffs?
A: We do that game-by-game. We say some weeks it is four, some weeks it is seven (yards)—we just make a determination by what kind of kicker he is. Is he a line drive kicker or does he kick it high? What kind of kicking team are they? We make that decision week-by-week and sometimes kick-by-kick depending upon where we are during the game.
Q: I guess that means there are some unsung heroes like DT Alex Carrington and LB Chris White…
A: Yeah, those guys never get talked about and they are doing an unbelievable job in a lot of areas.
Q: If you wanted to change schemes or concepts in your offense or defense, is there enough time in the bye week to do so?
A: Well you cannot make major changes. It is tweaks more than it is major changes. You make tweaks in personnel. You tweak things that are not going well that you need to change. You cannot make wholesale changes now. That is not possible.
Q: Can you asses the job RT Erik Pears has done?
A: He has been hot and cold. He was hurt early and was starting to round back into shape. He did not play as well in this past game as he had played in previous games. I think that looking at last year I know what he is capable of and I expect him to bounce back this week. Last week was probably one of his lowest production games. He has done it before and I have every belief he will be able to get it back.
Q: So if OT Cordy Glenn is ready for Houston, would there be any temptation to give OT Chris Hairston the start at right tackle?
A: No. To give him playing time there, we might think about that. It just depends on how well Cordy is. All of that stuff.
Q: Do you anticipate OG Chad Rinehart going on IR?
A: That could be a possibility when we get the full evaluation of everything and see what they need to do. That could be a possibility, yes.
Q: Could OG Andy Levitre's procedure prevent him from playing?
A: Oh no, no, no. He will be back Monday. * *
Q: In self-scouting, what do you think about your run defense and what needs to be done?
A: I am going to use the same term that I used the other day: consistency. They run the same run four times and we stop it three and let it get out for a big one on the fourth one. You cannot do that. You have to be consistent every time and I think that is the term that we are talking with our players about and making a big deal about. Be able to create consistency play after play and being accountable to each other.
Q: After looking at the film and the situations that you bypassed going for two, do you still stand by that decision?
A: In hindsight, no. If you knew that you were not going to get another opportunity then you should have gone for it before. That hindsight is 20-20. Everybody is good at that.
Q: Does you general philosophy on that remain the same?
A: My general philosophy remains the same. I do not think you do that. I have been in too many games where it comes back to bite you when you do that.
Q: Do you get to take a break here during the bye week?
A: Yeah, a couple days. Sure.
Q: Will you take some perspective and mental rest away from that?
A: Yeah, hopefully.
Q: How do you hope everybody uses the bye week to be most advantageous for the team?
A: I hope they get a lot of rest and I hope they kind of get away from things. Come back refreshed, ready to go and attack the last half of the season.
Q: Is it important for your staff to refresh their mind and maybe come back with some new ideas after the bye week?
A: Sure it is. Just get away for a little bit and get your mind off of things that are problems. That is what coaches do. Coaches think about how to solve problems. If you can get away from that for a day or so, come back then maybe you do have a different perspective or see things a different way. You have to use this to your advantage.
Q: Going back to Potter for a second, will that be a week-to-week decision?
A: Yeah, it will be.
Q: If he is not, how long can you afford to keep him on the roster?
A: Good question.
Q: In regards to Mario, was it a surgical procedure of just a procedure?
A: I do not know exactly what it was to be honest with you. I do not know if they did something non-invasive or invasive. You can ask him, he will be here Monday. You can ask him.
