Texans - 17, Rams - 15
Q. You had mentioned last week that you wanted to see more opportunities for Dameon, and he didn't play. What went into the decision not to play him today?
DEMECO RYANS: I didn't play Dameon because I've seen enough from Dameon in practice and everything. I've had a good look at Dameon.
Q. About 3 1/2 minutes into the first quarter, I don't know if it was by injury or you had seen enough from Case, he leaves the game, Tim Boyle comes in. Where are you in the thought process of where Case is from a health standpoint? And for quarterback play moving forward, do you use the emergency option for your third quarterback, thinking like that?
DEMECO RYANS: Yeah, we have a lot of discussions to make. You guys ask a lot about the roster and all those things. Those questions will be answered as the week goes on.
As we sit here today, no decisions have been made on anyone. So we'll see how the roster shakes out.
Q. You gave Akers a lot of opportunities today. Talk about his performance and how difficult your decision is going to be at running back and wide receiver?
DEMECO RYANS: Cam has done a really nice job since we got him late at training camp. He stepped in, and he's done a really nice job. Everyone sees, when he gets the ball in his hands in the games, he's able to make defenders miss and able to continue to press forward and make plays.
Exciting, and it's tough. It's also I love that it's tough to make these decisions because that means you have a good football team. When it's not just set, you still have decisions to make, that's how it should be.
Q. Great job running the ball today all together. What have you done about the reserve offensive linemen in the game today and how they improved from last week's performance?
DEMECO RYANS: Just from the sideline watching, I feel like our O-line did a better job of staying detached and finishing blocks today. Always have to go back and watch the film to see who stood out amongst the group, but I like how they worked collectively today to allow us to run the ball.
Q. Has Marcus Harris been at all a surprise? I don't know if it's a revelation, but he's somebody who has played well throughout the preseason for you?
DEMECO RYANS: Marcus has grown throughout the OTAs, through preseason. He's grown. He's gotten better. That's what preseason, that's what training camp is about. Young players like Marcus get an opportunity to get reps, get valuable reps, get in the game, and actually showcase, hey, I have gotten better. I have improved. He's continuing to ascend. He had a nice productive day today.
He was disruptive playing on their side of the line of scrimmage. I'd like to see where Marcus is headed.
Q. What's your evaluation of the linebackers' performance today?
DEMECO RYANS: I thought the linebackers did a nice job of tackling. The guys stepped up. They tackled well. They had a lot of chances to defend the run, to see guys step up and make plays in the run game.
That's where I see it. Again, you go back and evaluate the film to see where we were in the passing game.
Q. You said you want to run the ball better than last year. Because you have so many talented receivers, how do you find that right balance when your passing game has a chance to be great?
DEMECO RYANS: That's a great question. I think for us, how do you find balance, I think it will be week by week depending on what -- who has the hot hand. If that defense that week dictates that we throw the ball more, then we'll rely on throwing the football because we have -- we feel like we have a good core group. We have receivers and tight end to be able to throw the ball around. And when we need to run it, whenever it calls for that, I feel like Joe can do a great job of running the ball for us as well.
I think weekly it will change depending on who we're facing and where we feel like our strengths are needed for that particular week.
Q. Coach, I was just wondering, in the red zone there have been problems getting into the red zone. This year -- I mean, this week it looked like it was a little bit better progress. What is your summary on getting in the red zone prior to the other preseason games?
DEMECO RYANS: Getting in the red zone, it's all about executing offensively. I didn't like the miscues, just still presnap things, formation, getting in line. We can clean up some things there.
It's just staying on schedule. You stay on the schedule, get in the red zone, and we have the opportunity to put points on the board. I think we did a good job of that today.
Q. Coach, in the return game, obviously Des muffs the punt right off the riff there, and we don't see him coming back in. Your confidence in Des being the punt returner moving forward, or is that an area you're still deciding?
DEMECO RYANS: Like I said earlier, nothing is set on punt return, like we have a lot of decisions to be made. We'll see where we end up.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports