**
HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER, JAN. 2, 2008**
(on how QB Vince Young was able to participate in practice today)
Well, he played seven-on-seven and he threw individual routes, and he split the team period. So he's getting better. He's day-to-day, but we'll see how he is tomorrow. I don't think this set him back very much.
(on his expectations at quarterback for Sunday)
It's day-to-day, so it's too hard to make a decision right now. We'll try to get both [Young and Kerry Collins] ready to play.
(on whether he would like to get Young the playoff experience if he is healthy enough to play Sunday)
What's good right now is that he was able to participate in some practice. That's essential. So we hope that we can keep him involved on the practice field this week.
(on how comfortable he would be to start Collins if Young is not healthy enough)
Yeah. If for some reason Vince can't go and he doesn't heal up by Sunday, Kerry has proven that he can play and make plays.
(on the impact of losing TE Bo Scaife for the season to injury)
Bo has been a big-play guy for us. In his own way, he's kind of a leader on offense. He's out there every day and gets up from most big hits. And with this one, he did. He came back and played (after being injured against Indianapolis). It's a difficult situation for Bo, but we've got people on the roster that are going to have to step up.
(on why Scaife was placed on injured reserve)
When we returned (from Indianapolis), he had a hard night and was not feeling well in the morning. We took him over and did some tests, and it was discovered that he had a lacerated liver. He was hospitalized and he has been released from the hospital. He was released this morning. The doctors have cleared him to go home. Hopefully he'll make the trip with us. But this is an injury where you have to avoid contact and exercise and such for four to six weeks.
(on if there are any other injuries of concern)
LenDale (White) was excused (from practice) for personal reasons. I expect him to be back tomorrow. Kevin Mawae didn't practice and Chris Brown didn't practice, but everybody has a chance to at least practice this week.
(on having been accused of ordering a hit on Shawne Merriman in the previous game with San Diego)
I've been around a long time. I've been in this league a long time. I'm all too familiar with the emotions of the game and the heat-of-battle type things. I just chalked it up as that. I voted for him for the Pro Bowl. He's a great player and [Merriman's hit] wasn't an intentional hit on our quarterback. A lot of things are said that I think often times are taken back. But he can speak for himself on that. I was not offended by it.
(on the weather report in San Diego on Sunday)
We'll have a couple wet-ball periods to prepare our quarterbacks and receivers for [the chance of rain]. You just go out and you deal with it.
(on whether Young could play if the game were today)
Probably not, no.
(on the temperament of RT David Stewart)
He likes to finish plays, and sometimes he finishes a little too long. We've talked to him about it. It's cost him – it's hit him in the pocket book a few times. He's very aggressive. He's not dirty, he just likes to finish. He's a big strong player, and he's one of the primary reasons we've been able to run the football.
(on whether you need a player like Stewart to keep the offensive line physical)
Yeah, you do, but he's not the only one up there who plays that way. [San Diego's] offensive line plays that way as well. That was the nature of the last matchup. There was a lot of stuff going on up front on both sides of the ball. It was a great battle.
(on whether defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has been contacted by the Ravens about a the head coaching vacancy)
He has not been contacted yet. During the Wild Card week, permission requests are not granted.
(on how much he would like his players to remember or forget the previous game with the Chargers)
You have to take the good from it and look at the matchups, and look at the plays. You have to duplicate some of the things. You have to correct some of the mistakes and the negatives. They're a very good team. They've won six in a row. And we played them to the wire. I think there's a respect level on behalf of both teams. We were clearly the underdogs when they came in (to Nashville), and we're clearly the underdogs now. But we feel like we've got a good chance to play with them.
(on losing to the Chargers on Dec. 8 and the lessons to be learned)
It made things harder on us, obviously, to be put in a position where you had to win three straight and you didn't have, for a couple of weeks, control over your destiny. It was a big game for us. Looking back, I think it was a very difficult loss, a game that we could have and should have probably won. But we regrouped and we came back. I think that's the mark of a team, to come back off a difficult loss like that, a physical loss like that and find a way to win three straight games.
(on having stated that he believed Young could have played again in the Colts game after being injured)
There is a difference between coming in a game full speed and running around and doing things you do when you start the game, and finishing a game. I meant that Vince could have finished the game, handed off and made some throws. Often times, after a game there are different reactions to injuries. There is bleeding and those types of things. Typically speaking, the day after (an injury), players will struggle to play. Bo Scaife is a great example. He came in and finished the game with a lacerated liver, and there is no way he could play football today.
(on if he has any long-term health injuries for Scaife)
No. The doctors have cleared him to go home, and it's just a matter of time. The blood levels are good. Everything's good, everything's safe. We went through a similar experience with Billy Volek with a lacerated spleen. But it just takes time. There's nothing you can do. There's no surgery required. He just has to rest.
