Texans HC Lovie Smith says team focused on Russell Wilson, Broncos

The fourth-quarter collapse that led to Week 1 tie vs. Indy is behind them.

Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith said today that the team had put their Week 1 tie behind them, and they are squarely focused on the Denver Broncos for Week 2.

As far as any lingering effects of the way their opening game against the Colts transpired, Smith made it very clear:

“Win, lose, or tie, you move on, and that’s what we’ve done. Denver needs a win just as much as we do. (They’re a) good football team that did a lot of good things Monday night.”

Lovie said the tie has no impact on how the team prepares for the next game:

“The complexity of the week doesn’t change when we win, lose, or tie. You move on to the next opponent. You watch that video, critique everything that needs to be corrected, praise everything that you did well, and you do move on. And for us, we moved on quickly. We had the opportunity, in an ideal world, to see your next opponent play, which we were able to do with Monday Night Football.”

Smith is getting his team ready to play in Denver and take on an offense led by star quarterback Russell Wilson, a task he knows will not be easy for his young defense:

“Russell Wilson has been a good quarterback for a long period of time. (He can) make all the throws mobile, smart. (They have a) commitment to the run, good wide receivers. It will be a big challenge for us.

We played him last year. They’re doing some similar things with him offensively (as the Seahawks did). As I mentioned, (Wilson is) mobile, accurate thrower, smart decisions, all of that. That kind of opens everything else up.”

The Texans head coach also added that their past games against Wilson help them prepare for him now as well:

“Every time you play someone, you rely on all the information that you’ve gathered through the years, so yes, yes, and yes. Experience of being in that situation, of seeing him on the other side. Game planning for him. It doesn’t matter where you are; the person doesn’t change lot; maybe some of the calls have. I’ve seen a similar offensive attack when we played the Seahawks last year. Nowadays, quarterbacks have a big say in what teams do, especially guys that have been around the game for a while. We’ll rely on our video. Even if you don’t know or have not played against him, you watch the video; you start to get a picture in your head pretty quick.”

After many players on defense played over 90 snaps last week, they will play in the mile-high altitude in Denver. How will the Texans prepare for that?

“This is what we ask guys to do each week: get as much rest as possible, hydrate as much as you can, just recovery that you normally go through.”

The Texans face the Broncos Sunday at 3:25 pm CT.