Vikings 31, Texans 23
Q. J.J., at this point now, obviously not where you guys had hoped for. Where does this team go from here to try to climb out of this hole?
J.J. WATT: We obviously have to do something different. We are 0-4. Whatever we're doing is not working. Something needs to change. Something needs to be different. But the only thing that I know I can do is work harder, control what I can control, work harder, be better at my job, do better at my job, be better in my gap, make more plays, get off a double team, get a sack, get a turnover, get a takeaway. I can control what I can control.
Q. How frustrating is it to go four games in a row without forcing a turnover?
J.J. WATT: Extremely.
Q. Can you elaborate?
J.J. WATT: It is very, very frustrating.
Q. Do you have any suggestions about it? You know you're trying to do everything you can.
J.J. WATT: If I had them, I would do it. I'm not saying that your question is a bad one, I'm just saying if I knew the answer, I would implement that answer.
Q. When you hear they had drives of 56, 72, 75, 73, had 162 yards on the ground, how do those numbers hit you?
J.J. WATT: Not good. Not going to win you many football games with numbers like that. Have to fix it, like I said. We're 0-4. What we are doing is not working. It needs to be fixed.
Q. What needs to change from your vantage point? What do you think it is that needs to change for you guys to turn it around?
J.J. WATT: I control what I can control, like I said. I've got to play my gap better, I've got to make better tackles, I've got to get to the quarterback and get the ball out, I've got to get strip sacks. I can control what I can control.
Q. With Cousins, did you think you guys were getting to him enough and do you feel like their play action was a big factor in the game?
J.J. WATT: I mean, I think we had like two or three sacks in the first half. Obviously you want to continue that. We'd like to get the ball out if we can. But I mean, the story of us is we've got to stop the run. That's what we have to do. We have to stop the run, and we have to prevent passing situations. We have yet to put ourselves in a situation where we have a lead almost at any point, so that we put them in tough situations, get them off schedule and give ourselves a chance to get after the quarterback, and that starts with us. We have to stop the run. We have to get them uncomfortable. We have to put them in situations where they have to throw the ball and we can get after that, and right now we're not doing that.
Q. You talked about stopping the run; talk about the plan for Dalvin Cook and what do you think about him now that you've seen him up close and personal?
J.J. WATT: He's a very good running back. I said that last week in the press, and I'll say it again today. He's a very good running back. We knew that going in and we know that now after the game. He can make cuts all over. He can take the ball to the front side, stretch it out and get to the edge with speed. He can have vision to cut it all the way back to the back side and make plays on the back side. It's a matter of playing our gaps, every single gap all the way across the line, setting the edges and building a wall, and today we didn't do that. I didn't do that at times, other guys didn't do it at times. That's what happened. It's a matter of all 11 of us doing our job on every single play, like I said. It starts with myself. I can control what I can control, and it starts with me.
Q. This is uncharted territory for you. This is the first time you've been 0 and 4 and the team has been 0 and 4 since 2008. How worried are you about this team and what it needs to do to make something to salvage the season?
J.J. WATT: All I can do is control what I can control. I'm going to come in, I'm going to work hard, I'm going to try and find a way. I'm going to do whatever possible this week to find a way to get a win. I mean, this is terrible. It's brutal. I mean, it's depressing. It sucks. This sucks. I don't know any other way to put it. Like I said, I don't know any other way than to work harder. I know that working less is not the answer. So I'm going to work even harder.
Q. I know you say you control what you can control, but as a leader on the team, is there anything that you can personally do to try to help your teammates or do something different maybe to help get the team on track?
J.J. WATT: Yeah, I've got to make the plays. That's what I've got to do. I've got to make plays. I've got to get sacks, strip the ball, recover it. I've got to do whatever I can possibly do. So that's what I can do to help my team.
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