Everything Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said following roster cutdown day

Here's everything Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said following roster cutdowns on Wednesday morning, including an update on the roster, Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon and an early game plan for Week 1's matchup against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium.

Question: On how he feels about the initial 53-man roster

DeMeco Ryans: “I feel really good about our team. Our initial 53-man roster is set. It’s initial. Things are always in flux, things are always moving, we’re always looking to improve our roster as best as we can. But we feel really good about the 53 men that have made our team so far. Those 53 guys definitely deserved it and there are more guys that are deserving, we just couldn’t keep more guys. But I would’ve loved to keep more guys but we had to make some tough decisions. But we feel really good with where we are.”

Q: On keeping 10 defensive linemen

Ryans: “For us, when it comes to the defensive line and keeping 10 guys. We feel really good about those 10 guys and how those guys can help us when it comes to playing how we play. We like to rotate our defensive line a lot. We don’t want to wear guys thin at the defensive line spot. So, it was important to keep as many of those guys as possible. Again, all those guys are very well deserving.”

Q: On if DT Tommy Togiai has exceeded expectations

Ryans: “Tommy hasn’t exceeded expectations, Tommy expects high things from himself. He shows that every day in the manner in which he works. I don’t think there is a harder worker on our team than Tommy. I can vividly remember coming in the building in February after the playoffs and the first player I see in our weight room is Tommy. He’s in there working out, squatting, grinding already. It’s not a surprise to us what Tommy has done because in the background he’s always working. As consistent as ever. That’s what it takes to be a pro. Guys who make it in this league, guys who play for a long time, they’re consistent. You can count on them. Their teammates can relay on them. You know what you’re going to get down in and down out, that’s Tommy. That’s why he made our team. So, I’m very proud of Tommy and very happy for him because he’s a guy who definitely deserved to make our team. He made play after play throughout training camp and he’s for that. I know Tommy can help us win games.”

Q: RB Joe Mixon update

Ryans: “For Joe’s situation, we just take it one day at a time. Joe has played a lot of football and whenever that time comes for Joe to be back and get back in the fold, it won’t be anything revolutionary that he hasn’t seen before, he hasn’t done from the football perspective. Joe is an outstanding football player. So, whenever that time comes, I feel like he’ll have a very easy transition back to football.”

Q: On RB Joe Mixon’s recovery timeline

Ryans: “My expectation is, for Joe, we’re taking it one day at a time and when he’s ready to be back, he’ll be back.”

Q: On how he’s evolved as a coach

Ryans: “For me, I feel like I’ve grown in a manner of, I’ve talked about this a lot, delegating more, taking more off my plate. I feel like we’re in a really good spot as a team of just trusting more of my staff and people around me. I’ve got a really great staff. When it comes to that part of it, just being able to delegate more. I feel like I’ve evolved in that area. But every year it starts over for me. Right now, the intensity level is up, it’s game mode. It’s all in on how do we go get the Rams. That’s where I’m at right now. Whatever I have to do from the Head Coach position, whoever I have to help from a staff/player perspective, I’m always in position to help the people around me as best I can to be successful.”

On his approach to disclosing injury information

Ryans: “Everything we do when it comes to injuries… I don’t talk about the injuries much because I’m thinking about the player. It’s different for me, I played the game. So, I can see all the news and media that’s circulates on everybody speculating. It’s not us speculating, it’s everybody who’s writing the stories [that] are speculating. So, it’s more let’s not speculate if you don’t know the true information. Everybody is so quick to find some story on a player when he’s dealing with whatever he’s dealing with, that’s his personal information. I don’t think anybody would speculate on; the people that are writing the story, your medical situation because would that be fair? No, it wouldn’t be. It’s all out of respect for the players and the men who put the work in, in the locker room, to grind and what they put their bodies through to be on the field. That’s always at the forefront of my thoughts. Everybody doesn’t care about our players in that manner. Everybody just wants to write a story. Now, in the day and age we are, everybody wants to be first with a story. There’s not repercussions for people writing inaccurate stories about our players. You can just put something out and you don’t really know the information, it’s not true but nothing happens. You just take it down. Where is the old-school reporting where people used to fact find, take time, really dig and find the true accurate information on players. That doesn’t happen anymore. I get it. It’s the microwave society. Everybody wants it quick, everybody wants it now and that leads to inaccurate information. I would just say it’s really Joe’s [Mixon] business, that’s whoever’s business and don’t talk about it. Let him be at peace, let him do what he has to do to recover and get back right to play the game that he sacrificed his body, time for. All these guys do that. So, the speculation, it isn't from our end. It's from everybody else who wants to be first. I get it. It's the clickbait. I want to be first. I reported it first so I'm the best. Well, how is that helping our players? It's not and it's inaccurate. What happens to you when you put out an inaccurate story? Nothing. So, who's the benefit from this? Our players aren't benefiting from it. Joe isn't benefiting from it. So, what are we talking about here? For me, it's always about protecting our players because I truly care about our players.”

Q: On how he feels about the offensive line

Ryans: “I feel really good about our offensive line situation. We have guys who we feel really good can play tackle. We feel good about that. With Cam [Robinson], with Tytus [Howard], with ‘Tae’ [Ersery], feel really strong about our tackle position, inside guys as well. You want to be strong at that position. Similar to what I spoke about the defensive line, as we know, as you go throughout the season, things happen. You don't always have the same guys that you start the season with. So, as many depth players we can have, as deep as our roster can be, we're going to need everybody. That's always my line to our guys. Like you never know. You're one play away. We need everybody to be dialed in and ready to go at any given moment. Something can happen on first play of the game, are we ready to go? Are we ready to adapt and adjust? So, feel really good about where we are with our depth.”

Q: On depth at the linebacker position

Ryans: "Our linebackers are very athletic guys, playmakers. I’m really encouraged with getting [LB] Christian [Harris] back in the fold, getting E.J. Speed, two very athletic, fast linebackers. I feel like they can take our defense to the next level. So, I feel really good about those guys when it comes to different packages and stuff, it just gives me more flexibility. If we want to play base, nickel, whatever we want to do. Having guys who can run, be athletic and make plays in space, it really opens up the playbook for me.”

Q: On keeping a third quarterback in QB Graham Mertz

Ryans: “Great question. One of the most valued positions in our league is quarterback.So, when you have a young quarterback who shows some promise, as Graham [Mertz] has done, he showed a ton of upside. You want to keep as many of those guys around as possible, because as we see the trades and things that happen around the league, everybody is searching for that backup quarterback. As we know, if you're not deep in that position, you don't have a guy, if something happens to your starter, you don't have guys behind him who can go out and perform and keep the team moving then, most of the time, your season is just done when you don't have that next quarterback to step in.So, I feel really good about Davis [Mills]. Davis has had the best camp that I've seen since he's been here. Graham came in, worked himself back off injury, missed a ton of time during the spring so training camp is where he was just starting to get started. But I feel like he has a ton of room to grow. In our last preseason game, he showed that he can have the command that it takes. He has that leadership ability that it takes to be the quarterback for our team.He's done a great job, and I want to see him continue to blossom and grow at that spot.”

Q: On if they’ve solidified the specific positions on the offensive line

Ryans: “Wherever they can help us win.I think we're ten days away, so we got a little time here to figure it out. But it's a good problem to have. We got guys who have played a lot of ball, guys who have grown, gotten better and play well together.I feel good about the guys we have and whoever's out there we just expect our guys just to do their best with whatever comes our way. But I feel good about the offensive line and we'll see who lines up there in ten days. I know you guys are going to ask me again next week. I don't know, we'll see what happens.”

Q: On having particular players playing in a specific spot on the offensive line consistently

“It always depends on the player. Some players, they certainly can handle one spot, or they've done that one spot.Like Laken [Tomlinson], he's been at left guard for his entire career. He's done a really good job there. So, if some guys have done it for a while, then there's sometimes where you really can't control it and you have to move guys around. But, for me, you have to move guys around in practice as well. So, when the game comes and something does happen, that's not the first time a guy's been in that position. So, that's why we move guys around in practice, as you guys seen in training camp. Just so if something happens, ‘Hey, I've been there before, I've done that before.’ It's not only the offensive line, it's also defensively. Think about linebackers. I put different guys in the MIKE linebacker spot to give them the communication to see how they handle it. So, we get in a game, they can't say, ‘Coach, I've never done that before.’ Well, yeah, you have. Remember in OTA's, Training Camp. I put you through that gymnastics, not just to put you in a bad spot, but just so you have an awareness for what it takes to be in that position.’”

On the growth of the secondary and their communication

“Our communication, it's been great. The guys have done it for a long time. They've been doing it for three years now and the more you do it, the easier it gets. So, you'll see guys passing off things in coverage or making the right checks and things, getting us in the right spot. It helps. It's time on task. It helps that they work hard at it. So, you'll see, if we do it the right way, we should be in a good spot to allow our defensive line to get home.”

Q: On how the growth and maturity of QB C.J. Stroud and DE Will Anderson Jr. has influenced younger players

Ryans: “That's the cool part about leadership, seeing Will, C.J., just seeing them flourish as leaders, not so much worried about themselves and doing what they need to do on the field. We know they're going to play at a high level. Now, not just how they play, but how do they interact with their teammates? How do you bring other guys along and show them what it looks like? Not only on the field, but off the field as well. I feel like both guys have matured as they should, both are more mature. Every day, just being off the field, just seeing these guys interact with their teammates, they're more mature guys. Therefore, it allows them to be better leaders, when it comes to leading the locker room. So, I'm proud of the leadership that Will and C.J., they've shown. [Derek] Stingley [Jr.], how he's shown Kamari [Lassiter] and Calen [Bullock] the things that he does to take care of his body and taking those guys under his wing, getting them in early, doing all those little things. Everybody sees the production, they see the big play, the interception but you don't see the work that Stingley does behind the scenes. So, for the young guys to see that, oh, you want to be a great player? Well, this is what one of the best players in the league does to take care of his body. So, a lot of it, from Stingley, it's just his actions. He doesn't have to say much, but you can see by his actions. They look to him, they're looking up to him. They're looking up to Will every single day. Those guys are leading in the right way. I couldn't ask for better leaders. From a coaching perspective, for me, I don't have to say as much, Will, C.J., other guys in the locker room, like Azeez [Al-Shaair]. We have a ton of great leaders who our young guys can follow.”

Q: On if he likes where Texans were ranked in the Top 100 players

Ryans: “It's a credit to those guys; that's a big deal. It's a big deal to a lot of our players. So, just for bragging rights, I think it does mean a lot to those guys. Who was our top guy? ‘Sting’ [Derek Stingley Jr.]? So, we had a few guys on there, I think. Well deserving. A lot of guys made it because they're great players. They're some of the best players in the league. So, I'm proud to see our guys make that and get that recognition. It's pretty cool when you're working a lot, Texans don't get a lot of coverage. But, when we do get the coverage to see our guys get recognized on that national level, that's big for them. I'm proud of those guys for that.”

Q: On what was most important when he was looking for an Offensive Coordinator

Ryans: “The most important thing for me when I was looking for an offensive coordinator was the connection piece. It's about how you interact with the players. That was the most important piece to me because I feel like coaching is all relationships. If I can build that deep relationship, that trust factor with a player, as players and coaches we can accomplish anything because we have that tight relationship. It goes to the guys I'm looking for in our team. I talk about looking for everybody to come together and be a tight-knit unit because when the ups and downs of the season, it's going to happen. There are going to be some high moments. There are going to be some low moments. But who are you in those low moments? The only thing that can allow you to survive those low moments is having a trust, having that true trust, having that true deep connection and relationship with your coaches and players. That allows you to get through everything. So, that was the main thing.”

Q: On why it’s important to have veterans on the roster along with younger players

Ryans: “The league has definitely gotten much younger. But you still need those vets who've done it at multiple places, done it at a high level at different times throughout their careers. I think it's always important to have the veteran guys because the vets are the ones who pass the game down. They pass the traditions down to the young players. In this league, for me, myself coming in as a young player, I was able to stand on the backs of the guys who paved the way before me. So, it's important for those guys to understand that, understand the history of the game and understand the game doesn't grow without the guys, the sacrifice they did before you. So, it's important to always have those guys in the locker room. Not just because they're 10-year vets but because they're good players as well and they can still go perform at a high level.”

Q: On what makes him feel confident about his run game this year

Ryans: “I'm more confident in the run games because of what I've seen through training camp. I've seen our guys improve on just their blocking combinations up front. I've seen us run the ball and not give up immediate penetration in the backfield making our backs stop their feet. So, I've seen it time and time again since we've been here throughout OTAs and throughout training camp. I've seen the production that our run game can have, strictly because of what those guys are doing up front. Our tight ends are doing a much better job of blocking at the line of scrimmage. Our offensive line is doing a much better job of knowing where they're going and working in combination, working together, making the right calls, the right checks. So, we're starting cleaner, we're starting right. That allows me to have the confidence that I have that we should be able to run the football this year.”

This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said following roster cutdowns