HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER, AUG. 13, 2008
(On how much the Titans are preparing for the preseason game against the Oakland Raiders)
Well we have a short week because we lost a day going from a Saturday to a Friday game. But at the same time, each preseason game you add a little bit more to your offense and defense. We'll have one additional practice session, one more than we did against the Rams in preparation. But we actually practiced against the Rams or with the Rams rather. But we're going to do a little bit more. We kind of follow this course throughout the preseason. We'll add a little bit more to it next week. As far as the playtime is concerned I think as mentioned we're going to play everybody a few snaps more than we did last Saturday night. We may push some people up, back and forth, in the lineup just to evaluate some people. For example, Chris Johnson behind a starting offensive line and so on and so forth.
(On how much the team is currently preparing for the Jacksonville Jaguars)
The staff has been preparing and we've had some work against Jacksonville already.
(On how impressed he was with Jason Jones in the Rams game and in practice since then)
He's bounced right back. He feels good. His recovery time was very short considering the plays that he played. He's looking forward. I think in his opinion he's probably playing a better group up front than he did last week, so it will be a big test for him.
(On what the wide receivers need to do in the game against the Raiders that they didn't do against the Rams)
We didn't have a lot of opportunities in the ball game. We had several drops, but we didn't have a lot of opportunities. So we want to try to create more opportunities for them this week just by design.
(On if Chris Johnson will be taking most of the snaps in the first quarter of the Raiders game)
Not necessarily. He'll play in the first quarter but we're going to continue to use LenDale [White] and Chris [Johnson] behind the starting offensive line.
(On what is the current stage of training camp with regard to difficulty)
Well the days go quicker only because that next game is looming out there and so they know they don't want to start backing down physically tomorrow and pick up the preparation. This has been a short week for us and we'll follow the same schedule next week.
(On if there is anyone in particular that he would like to watch closer during the Raiders game)
Behind close doors we talk about putting specific players in different positions. For example, we look at some of the younger guys on special teams during the ball game when they're playing against probably a better core group and see how they match up. As far as that's concerned I'm really looking forward to watching our backups play. They physically dominated the line of scrimmage a week ago and I want to see if they can do that again against another group. Was that an anomaly or is it going to become a trend?
(On if the run defense will be tested more against the Raiders it comparison to the Rams)
They rushed for almost 250 yards last week. Justin [Fargas] is a fine back. [Darren] McFadden had a decent day. I don't think he had a lot of carries, I think it was about four or five yards a carry. He can take it the distance. They are very physical upfront and they want to get back to the run game because they have a young quarterback. So yes, our defensive is going to get tested early and late too. It appears that that's how they want to finish games – with their run game.
(On if he empathizes with Lane Kiffin and some of the problems that he has experienced in Oakland since he himself was once a young coach in the league)
Well, he's had change. He's had staff changes. He's got a good running back on the roster in [Justin] Fargas and now he's got another one, so he's got to deal with that. I can sympathize with him a little bit. It's a good organization and they're loaded with talent right now.
(On if he remembers who the last Raider quarterback was to beat the Titans)
It was probably number five [Kerry Collins] and he threw an interception to Rey Hill right before the half.
