Here’s what Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien had to say to the Atlanta media on a conference call on Tuesday:

Q: How is DeShaun playing for the Texans? 

A: "He's a helluva player. Having a good year. There is a lot of improvements that we need to make relative to last week. I think we are headed in the right direction."

Q: What do you see when watch the Falcons on film? 

A: "Explosive offense. I think Matt Ryan is second in the league in passing yards. Julio Jones, (Mohamed) Sanu, (Calvin) Ridley, (Austin) Hooper, (Devonta) Freeman. They've got weapons all over the place. They've got a great left tackle in Jake Matthews. They've got a helluva team."

Q: What was the key to your pass rush last week?

A: "We've got some guys that can rush the passer. I think they are just whether if it's a four-man rush, five-man rush or three-man rush, we've got guys that can get to the passer. We have a good skill-set for that. There's edge guys and inside guys and they are all good players. They play hard and they have an understanding of rush lanes. I think that's a good front that we have."

Q: How does that matchup against Atlanta? They’ve had some injuries up front. 

A: "It's like every week in this league, you have to go do it. They've thrown for a lot of yards and have a lot of weapons on the perimeter of the defense. A great back. We have to show up and we have to play hard. We have to play 60 minutes. They are well coached. This a team that was in the Super Bowl a few years ago. They've got a great quarterback. It's going to be a tough, tough game."

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