HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
(on how his time with Randy Moss today went)
I met him here early this morning. We had a nice visit, he had to go get a physical, he passed the physical and we got him set up in his locker and all those things you typically do. He's already got a workout in; he's running on the field, spent a few hours with the coaches already getting familiar with the offense.
(on how quickly the Titans can get Randy Moss up to speed)
I would expect him to play this week. I don't know how much, we've discussed it, the one thing he is adamant about is he doesn't want to go out there unsure of what to do and where you put someone in a position where they're going to make a mistake or somebody might get hurt. He doesn't want to be breaking the huddle having to be told what to do. We've got realistic expectations and we'll see how the week goes. He's really a smart football player; he's not going to have any difficulty whatsoever adjusting to our offense.
(on how well he knew Randy Moss prior to acquiring him)
I didn't know him that well, but I've had many conversations with him over the years. Pregame warm-ups and things like that. I know people who are close to him.
(on the risk vs. the reward of acquiring Randy Moss)
I see no risk whatsoever. He is really, really excited to be here. He's, obviously, talked to people, he knows how we do things, he's excited about the team, he's excited about helping us win ballgames, he's heard great things about the locker room and I don't see any risk at all. He's a very good football player who became available to us, and it's a new start. It's a new start for him and it's an opportunity for us to get better offensively.
(on what he thinks Randy Moss learned from his recent stint in Minnesota)
That's not an issue. There are things that take place, and usually it's the case where you don't have all the information—there are a lot of things that go on. I think that was the case there. We've discussed a lot of it, and we've put it behind us. I am excited for him, he has a bounce in his step and he's looking forward to getting on the field and helping us win.
(on if the Titans would have put a claim in on Randy Moss if Kenny Britt had not been injured)
Yeah, absolutely. This is a good player. It created one of those timing things, we've got good receivers, first let me say that. We know what our receivers can do, and we're pleased with our group. I've gone on record saying this is the best group of receivers we've had in years and now we have a chance to get even better. Had Kenny Britt still been healthy we would have done the same thing.
(on if he's concerned that Randy Moss might let his emotions impact his performance)
He's going to fit right in here. Work and practice and do all those things. Regardless of the circumstances and what led to the trade and what led to the release, that's an emotional time for any player in this league to go through what he's gone through. To be able to, as he told me, 'Land on my feet and end up in the best place I possibly could be.' He's excited. We're going to get him back physically; I think it takes its toll on him. He enjoyed his off-week, his bye-week just like we did.
(on the impact any lobbying from the players had on their decision to claim Randy Moss)
You can't let that influence the decisions that you're making as an organization. I made the comment that my back door is open and guys are sticking their head in going, 'Get him, get him!' Well we're going to try, but the odds of us getting him aren't very good. So yeah, everybody that I've talked to is excited.
(on if he could see Randy Moss playing more than eight games with the Titans)
I am expecting that we'll play more than eight games.
(on if he could see Randy Moss playing with the Titans beyond this season)
You know, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. He's got years left; our thing right now is this is a good fit for us and for him. I don't have a ring, he doesn't have a ring, so we're going to try and change that.
(on how difficult it is for a wide receiver to learn the Titans offense)
It's hard for me to say. I think an experienced receiver, that has been in a number of systems, that understands the game and can relate things—I know he is willing to put the time in. It will be a short time, but I'm not going to put a number of weeks before he's playing 100 percent of the plays. The other side of that is, I don't see him playing 60-70 plays a game either. We're going to keep everybody fresh, and he's fine with however we decide to use that.
(on what type of expectations he has for Randy Moss on the field)
He can still run all the routes on the route tree. He's not just a go-route/nine-route guy. He can do all those things, I think that just helps to open up our offense. We're not going to have featured plays for him, we're going to plug him in and run the play.
(on if Vince Young has worked with Randy Moss since he was acquired)
No.
(on if Vince Young is back)
He may be back in town, I haven't seen him yet.
(on Vince Young's injury status)
I think I have to have an injury report on Wednesday.
(on how the players are adjusting to the addition of Randy Moss)
I think by Thursday, life will be back to normal. Once everybody has a chance to meet him and watch him work, we'll resume the way we were.
(on if the Titans are legitimate Super Bowl contenders)
I don't know. We have a good team. I guess based on the record we're ahead in our division, so we've got to just win games. We've won some games as of late after we got things turned around, and we've just got to win games and our attention is on the Dolphins.
(on if Randy Moss was the missing piece to a Super Bowl caliber team in Tennessee)
I know he is going to help us on offense. I don't know where we are. We're going to come back healthy, or healthier. We've got to play hard. We've got a tremendous challenge ahead of us the second half of the season, particularly in our division.
(on the Indianapolis Colts)
I think they're still the team to beat in our division. They played very, very well yesterday considering who went down and who was plugging in and had a chance to win that game at Philly, who as we know is a very talented football team. I don't think because of the injury situation you can count the Colts out. They're still the team to beat, Houston is talented and explosive. I think this only makes them an even more dangerous football team.
(on if he has ever thought about 'what if' he had drafted Randy Moss back in 1998)
No. Every year you pick a player in the first round and you consider other players. That happens every year.
(on if they have a more clear timetable for Kenny Britt's return)
No, other than he clearly won't play this week.
(on how David Thornton has done since being taken off the PUP)
David was good. The encouraging thing with David was he practiced both days. He worked again on Thursday and did well and felt well. He didn't have any setbacks, so this will be week two for him. This will be a long week for him, so we'll try and get him out there for at least two, maybe three days and see how he responds.
(on how he plans to push the players during the second half of the season)
You can't dwell on, unless you're 0-6, you can't dwell on what's going on in the division at the midway point of the season. You have to just focus on the next game. Our focus is clearly going to be on Miami when they come back. Miami played pretty well, had a couple turnovers, and clearly Baltimore found a way to win that ballgame yesterday, but they're a good football team, an explosive team, a big-physical team, so that's where our focus is going to be this week.
(on the importance of winning the AFC South division)
Talking in general terms, and don't share this with the players, because I don't say the p-word during the season. Yeah, you're going to have to win your division to get into the playoffs because the Wild Card thing—there is no telling how the Wild Card thing is going to fall.
(on if he expects Randy Moss to play hard every play)
Yeah, Randy's going to play hard. Yeah, he's going to look around and watch everybody play and play hard. There is not going to be a double-standard here for anybody, there never is. If players aren't playing hard, they're corrected—constructively corrected.
(on if there will be specific plays for Randy Moss)
No, we have an offensive system and for example we're going to install a game plan that we think gives us the best chance to attack the Dolphins defense. Then you insert players into that game plan. There may be some limitations, as the plan goes because realistically speaking we're asking a player to learn the offense and then learn the game plan. So there may be a set number of plays that he has a good understanding of that we'll go into the game with. I hope I'm wrong, but I think it'd be a little unrealistic to think that he could go on and participate in normal down and distance situations, first and second down, and in third down distance situations where Dinger (Mike Heimerding) has the freedom to call anything. I don't think we'll be there this week. I think we have a good chance to be there several weeks down the line.
(on if Randy Moss has met with Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger yet and if so how they got along)
Yeah, he's met everybody in the building. I think they'll get along well.
(on what kind of an impact Randy Moss will have on Chris Johnson's on-field production)
That remains to be seen. If you're going to get some rotation to Randy then they eliminate the unblocked defender in the box and that certainly helps.
(on Randy Moss historically having success against the Miami Dolphins)
He's played a lot of games and he's played against a lot of different teams in a lot of different systems. His focus is on our system here and applying our offense to their defense. I don't think his familiarity with them, because he's obviously been in several different systems, is going to affect it.
(on Randy Moss' media availability)
I think Randy is going to be available. We'll make him available. Robbie (Bohren) and I have discussed it, and we've got a solution and options and we'll make him available to you. Again, I am not going to treat him any differently than any other player on this roster. My recommendation to you is, as soon as the dust settles, nor should you.
(on why Randy Moss didn't meet with the media today)
I don't think we have a responsibility to make any players available. Do we?
(on why Randy Moss didn't meet with the media today as a newly acquired player)
It didn't even enter my mind. What's important to me is to get him in the flow and let him meet his teammates and the staff and get started in the offense. I think he'll have more to say if that's the case.
(on Randy Moss' having already played the Miami Dolphins this season and was held without a reception)
He played with the Patriots. I don't know who was calling plays, what the game plan was, and what they did and what the philosophy was. Again it's a different team. There have been some other games, I'm sure, in his career where people did a nice job or they elected to run it rather than throw it to him.
(on if the Titans will listen to Randy Moss if he has any suggestions for the offense)
We'll be open to it. We have a system and I think we have a capable enough offensive staff to put things together from a game plan standpoint to give us a chance to win. Certainly this would not be the first time that we've taken suggestions from players, specifically veteran players that have had success in other systems. Kerry (Collins) has been the most recent one.
(on why he typically gets along with players better than some other head coaches in the NFL)
I don't have all the information to what happened up there (Minnesota). It's not important to me. I am not concerned about that. What I'm concerned about is what we do as we move forward. Again, I don't think there is a better opportunity for any player then to start off fresh and that's what we're doing. We're starting off fresh and it's a new start. When you have an organization, a team and a staff that is excited about a newcomer and you have the newcomer that is excited about the organization you have an opportunity to have success.
(on the excitement that the Randy Moss acquisition has created)
He's going to be a Hall of Fame player—or is now. Anytime you get a chance to get that type of player on your roster to help you win games, there should be some enthusiasm and excitement associated with that.
(on if he was stunned that they were able to acquire Randy Moss)
I wasn't stunned, I was excited. I wasn't surprised or shocked or stunned, I was excited. I felt like that was going to help our team.
(on if Randy Moss explained to him why he is so excited to be a Titan)
Yeah, he did. A lot was said and that's between Randy and I.
(on his reaction to the Dallas Cowboys firing head coach Wade Phillips)
It's never an easy situation. They've had a tough time, obviously they didn't meet expectations and they're having a hard time right now, in my opinion, without their quarterback. It's just very unfortunate.
(on if injured defensive tackle Tony Brown has benefited from the extra rest)
I think it really helped him. We changed his routine, modified some things; he's taken advantage of the time and feels really good right now.
(on if they made any position changes in an attempt to increase production in the running game)
No.
