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HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER**
(opening statement)
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I think I made myself fairly clear last night after the ballgame as to what happened and all those things associated with the loss. What we're going to do now is our football team's moving forward with the next most important thing ahead of us this bye week. It's not a normal bye week. It's going to be somewhat different because of the circumstances. We have a lot of things that we need to get accomplished over the next few days and into early next week as we then begin to prepare for the Jaguars. We're going to relearn to throw, and catch, and block, and tackle, and kick, and do all of those things and make plays, and score points and try to improve all those areas that need to be improved. That's going to be our focus. The players were off today. They'll be returning tomorrow and we'll get started bright and early. I guess you should say starting over. This is an opportunity for us to start fresh and that would mean there's a potential for minor roster changes. People moving in and out, we just have a lot of things that we have to discuss.
(on potential roster changes)
I'm not going to go into the details. This week is our week. This is the coaches' and players' week to get things fixed. There'll be things that we won't be able to privatively discuss for competitive reasons. There may be some changes in the lineups. Hopefully we'll get some people back and ready to play for us. But, I'm expecting to put a different team on the field next week for practice as we prepare for Jacksonville.
(on if there will be any trades)
You know, I guess you'll have to wait and see.
(on if a potential change could be at the quarterback position)
Again, as far as the week's concerned, this bye week, we've always gotten reps to both the starter and the backups. Kerry (Collins) will get reps and Vince (Young) will get reps. As far as my decision, that's a competitive issue. I'm not going to go into it right now.
(on if the bye week will be like training camp)
You have to take advantage of the bye week from a rest standpoint. There will be some sessions where we're going to get back to some basic things. But, I also have to keep in mind the health of this football team. There's going to be a number of players that are going to benefit from rest. There's going to be walk-throughs. There's no fixed schedule as far as practice is concerned right now. We're going to be flexible because we have a lot of work that we've got to get done.
(on if there are any potential coaching changes)
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No.
(on if he will be taking over any defensive play calling)
No.
(on how much of his job is to keep players from giving up)
You know, if I get a sense that a player gives up, he'll be sitting on the sideline. He's not going to play. That's simple, players don't give up, they get frustrated. As I said, our guys have every right to be frustrated. If somebody is putting forth less than the maximum effort, he's not going to play. That's always been the case. I don't believe this is a result of effort. This is a result of a combination of things. We just have to get back to basics, avoid the mistakes, avoid the turnovers, avoid the drops, avoid the things that are not excuses but are contributing factors to the losses that have continued to build.
(on potential roster changes because players are underperforming)
We're looking at everything that we're doing right now. We're trying to find something that we do well. Right now, the only thing we do well is hand the ball to C.J. (Chris Johnson) and we're going to do more things well besides just that.
(on if there will be any face-to-face meetings with Mr. Adams)
If there's going to be any kind of discussion and communication between me and the owner, that's between me and our owner.
(on if the dropped balls and penalties are because of lack of effort)
No.
(on if the season can still be turned around)
Well, I'm convinced that we're going to turn this around. I believe that we've got good players, we've got players that care, we've got players that are working, we've got players that are committed during the week to doing the right things, and are playing hard. It's just not happening right now. You have those fundamental ingredients and you've got a coaching staff that's talented, that's working hard, then things turn around. That's just the way things are. I'm not in a position to turn things upside down and start over. We started this, we're going to continue to sort this out so we can get back on a winning track.
(on where to turn to get things turned around)
We're professionals. We have responsibilities to do the best we possibly can. Win or lose, we have a responsibility to continue to improve, to work on our weaknesses and maintain our strengths across the board. That's what we're going to continue to do.
(on searching for balance)
I'll say this, in light of what happened last night I couldn't think of a better time for a bye week to hit. We have some time to digest the last few weeks and to move forward and get things fixed. Not going to make dramatic scheme changes that don't give ourselves a chance to be successful, nor are we going to ask people things that they can't do. We're going to expect a little more out of each person and all these guys that made plays at some point, we just need to play more consistently.
(on if there is any rethinking the talent evaluations)
We're looking at the whole thing.
(on if there was any misevaluating of the players)
No, I see it happen on the practice field. I see some things that are happening in the ball games. Again, if you buy into the premise that you don't ask players to do things that they can't do and you help them to be the best they can, you put them in a chance to be successful. We've had some younger players play because they've had to play as a result of injuries and such that we've had to make some modifications to protect some players at times, which exposes you elsewhere on defense. Those are the kind of things that you go through. Our difficulties are not just simply defensive related, they're team related, they're offense, they're defense, they're special teams related.
(on the offensive struggles)
If you talk about last night, our turnovers are the biggest issue we're dealing with offensively. Last night was difficult because of the footing. The footing, yes it was equal for both teams, they we're better equipped, they were a little bigger team then we were and we got pushed around because we didn't have adequate footing. We dropped balls early. The game got out of hand and we just ran it. We're going to do something that we do well and that's what we did.
(on Javon Ringer saying the team didn't have long enough cleats)
No, we were wearing the same shoe-ware that they were wearing.
(on if he feels he's lost this team)
No.
(on if the team has quit)
This team's not quit. They're doing the best they can, they just have to do better.
(on why the team is practicing well but not playing well)
I can put my finger on why the ball's getting knocked out, because we're not protecting it. Credit the defense with a good hit or whatever the reason is. Just a lack of concentration catching footballs. We're catching them on the field but we're not carrying them over to games. Again, we have to put this one behind us and get back to basics and take advantage of this bye week.
(on if Nick Harper or Cortland Finnegan will return after the bye week)
I'm hopeful that we'll get some players returning. We've got some players that have been playing at less than 100 percent. I hope we get them back to 100 percent as well.
(on if there was any particular reason Steve Underwood was on the sideline at the end of the game)
No.
(on possibly regretting keeping too many rookies on the roster)
We had veteran experience last year. We had that to fall back on and if we got through it healthy, we felt through drafting and planning for the future we could bring some young players along. We didn't anticipate having to play them as early as we did, but that's the National Football League.
(on what to tell the younger players that have struggled)
They turn to the veterans. Those veterans that have won games and done things and have been successful before. You come to work to win each day, that's what you do. You be a pro and come to work and try to improve your skills.
(on Mr. Adams' comments and if he feels he's in survivor mode for his job)
No, I am looking forward to this week. I can't wait to get started tomorrow and work through this week to try and help improve this football team. I am not in any kind of survival mode or fearful of my job or concerned about job security whatsoever. I'm head coach and am going to do the best I can with this football team. I have a good coaching staff. I've got tremendous confidence in my coaching staff and tremendous confidence in our players that we're going to get this turned around.
(on if job security presents any distractions for the team)
There's all kinds of distractions in the National Football League. It's how you deal with them. Injuries are a distraction, off-the-field issues are a distraction, quarterback controversies are a distraction, coaches, head coaches job securities are distractions. It all depends on how you deal with it. It's what you make of it.
(on if there is a quarterback controversy)
No, we're going into the bye week going to work both of them.
(on if the dropped balls by the wide receivers are because of a lack of concentration)
The weather is an issue. Tight coverage was an issue. They made many plays in the same conditions. We need to focus on it. It's something that we need to get past. The throws were there. The throws were good. There were opportunities for big plays, we just didn't make them.
(on if the dropped balls by the wide receivers make it difficult to evaluate Kerry Collins)
Yeah, the balls hit the receivers in the hands. They were good throws. It's kind of unfair. The interception down the sideline to Nate (Washington) was underthrown because he got hit. Our back gets rushed into him and he gets hit. So, you have to be careful when you're judging a quarterback because there's a lot of varying factors that go into each and every play.
(on if there will be any tweaking of the offensive scheme)
It would make sense that we can't keep doing what we're doing. We need to do some things slightly different. That's what we're all about. If we're playing better team football, all around, you can keep doing what you're doing offensively. We haven't scored a touchdown in two weeks. We haven't scored a touchdown since the last time we played Jacksonville. So, we've got to play better there. We've just got to keep trying to creating matchups and get the ball in people's hands that can make plays.
(on recreating offensive schemes)
You do that weekly. We change things weekly offensively and try to create different mismatches and different run schemes and things like that weekly.
(on how the practice time during the bye week will affect the quarterback decision)
I'm going to give most of the backups work in all the positions. That's where you continue to improve your football team. I'm not creating competition in the bye week to decide which quarterback I'm going to start versus Jacksonville if that's what your question is.
(on if it is safe to say there will be a quarterback change)
You can make any assumption that you want. I'm going to get this football team better this week.
(on adjusting the media availability)
It's a different bye week as I said. We have a lot of work that we need to get done. We're going to be flexible as a football team. I've got competitive things that I need to address and this is between the coaching staff and this football team.
(on possible changes beyond the bye week)
No, absolutely not. This is just our schedule for the bye week.
(on if adjusting the media availability will cutback any negativity)
My focus again is on the football team and improving. We're going to give you availability on Wednesday. I'll be available on Monday. We are going to focus on improving this football team.
(on whether embarrassment can motivate players)
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As I said last night, there was nothing good about that last night. It was embarrassing, it was frustrating, and it was one that you have to put behind you. But these guys are motivated. This game last night, I think, as I said, this thing kind of bottomed us out as a football team. We've got no place to go other than up right now, and that's what we're going to do this week.
(on how he would know if players were not motivated)
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You would not have execution on the practice field, you would not have participation and focus and attention in the meeting rooms. They would not bring energy to the game. It'd be pretty simple.
(on the potential for the team to conduct more practices than a usual bye week schedule)
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You know, we're going to be flexible with that. I can't say right now. You can talk to the players. The players were told last week when they can make their travel plans, but that doesn't mean to say I'm not going to go on the field twice or have a walk-through before and after practice. We just have a lot of work to do.
(on if Reggie Hodges has been a disappointment)
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That was a difficult situation last night.
(on Hodges' performance before the New England game)
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He's made some good kicks. The hangtime has been there. We've forced some fair catches. You know, he's not Craig (Hentrich), but he's a very, very good holder, he's a good teammate, and I think he has a chance to get better.
(on whether players were put on notice that they could be replaced)
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Everybody understands that when you're in the situation that we're in – not that you're expendable – but there always is the potential for change. They understand that. They're pros. They understand that.
(on what he tells Titans fans)
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We share their frustration, and as the head coach of this football team, all I can do is let them know that I remain committed to try to do the best we can to pull out of this.
(on defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil)
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You know, he's not playing out there. He's not the one missing the tackles. He's not the one not getting to the quarterback. He's not the one giving up the plays down the field or making the mental mistakes. He's the one that's correcting it, putting the game plan in and making sure that it's getting done on the practice field. He's not playing. He's been in this system long enough. This is the same defensive system that we've used over the last number of years.
