TITANS HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - August 5, 2017

(opening statement)

Another good night, another good turnout by the fans. Got a lot of work done. Got 89 snaps in on offense and defense, which is good. Tried to get game-like, so it was a good night for us.

(on cornerback Adoree' Jacskon returning punts)

Pretty exciting player. Showed his speed, showed what he's capable of doing. He'll be a threat, just as he was in college. He showed his speed tonight.

(on what he's seen from players competing for return duties and the importance of preseason games in determining who wins the role)*

This was the first scrimmage-type atmosphere that we've had guys set up and block for them. This is really the start of it, again, we'll evaluate as we go. The preseason games will be important. But we know what a lot of our guys are capable of on tape already, from their history.

(on what he liked from quarterback Marcus Mariota in the non-contact drive)

I didn't like the start, but I thought they put a good drive together. I think it was a 13-play drive for a touchdown, which was good. It wasn't tackling, I know that's part of it. I just liked some of the plays that he made, he made some good decisions. There were some holes there to run the football, we wanted to see if we could do that again tonight.

(on if it's risky to give return duties to a rookie like cornerback Adoree' Jackson when he has no NFL return experience)*

You find out a lot about these guys in practice, about them in these preseason games, in the scrimmage. I don't think it's risky. He's been doing this for a long time, it's not like it's his first rodeo. I'm not worried about him.

(on the team's play in the red zone)

Too many plays, too many plays down there. We've got to do a better job with our one's down there in the red zone.

(on if 'too many plays' was due in part to the players up front)

Yeah, up front. Really all, the back end wasn't real good either on some of the throws, some of the plays that were made.

(on if wide receiver Taywan Taylor is finished with return duties)*

No, we're going to put guys in we feel are a threat. If they have a chance to put the ball in the end zone for us, we're not going to hold them back.

(on left tackle Taylor Lewan's penalty at the two yard line)

I'm glad it took place tonight, I think it's a good example of what we don't want. I've already talked to him about it. I'd rather it happen on a Saturday night scrimmage than on a Sunday afternoon. I don't think that will happen again.

(on if left tackle Taylor Lewan should know what to expect at that point in the game)

He's a physical player and drove Nate Palmer about 25 yards down the field. Just a little squawking back and forth and did something he shouldn't have done, and got penalized for it. But he will not do that again.

(on left tackle Taylor Lewan getting penalties)

There's a balance between physical and making poor decisions. He's had a couple, and hopefully this is the only one he has. I'm glad it's out of the way.

(on if quarterback Marcus Mariota's touchdown was play action)

That was play action.

(on what it was like to see quarterback Marcus Mariota score a rushing touchdown)

It was so good that I got so excited that I forgot to run the next play. We were supposed have another goal-line play, and I went right into the two-point play. It was good to see him out and the play executed so well.

(on this upcoming week's schedule leading up to the first preseason game)*

The players will have tomorrow off. We'll come in Monday and have a walk-though in the morning. We'll have another night practice open to the public at St. Thomas Park, which again, we invite you to come out. It'll be a great atmosphere, it'll be under the lights again. It'll be a pretty good practice since they've had some time off, I'll try to stress them a little bit. It'll be a very physical practice. Tuesday we're in pads in the afternoon. Wednesday we're in pads, Thursday I may lighten up on them. We've got some days in pads coming up here, getting ready for the Jets.

(on players having the opportunity to recover)

Monday night is to let them recover a little bit more from tonight and we'll do that again after preseason games. It's just about recovery. It's also about our fans, seeing if we can get fans out to see us. Those folks that work nine to five and don't have the ability to come out and see us, here's another opportunity on Monday night. Nice beautiful night in Nashville.

(on what he's seen from linebacker Jayon Brown)

He's doing nothing but good right now. He's on an upward climb the way he's doing things. We're not making any changes to who's starting and who's not right now, it's still a competition, it's still going.

(on the team's performance in training camp so far)

Pretty pleased. I've said it before we're ahead of where we were, I think, by a lot. We've gotten a lot of work down. Guys have come in – it's been outstanding the focus, the attention to detail. Things I've talked about the first night of training camp, we've gotten that. We've gotten that from these guys, and I haven't had to push it. It's being pushed by themselves.

(on what he's seen from tight end Jonnu Smith)

Good. Another guy that's making a lot of plays, and then he makes some plays that he's got to fix. Again, his consistency can get better and he wants to be consistent. You saw, he has the ability to be a playmaker as well.

(on what he's seen from wide receiver Mekale McKay)

The size obviously. He was out of bounds on that play, so it should not have been a touchdown. He's a big target in the red zone, he's made some big plays for us. The quarterbacks trusts him.

(on his comfort level with the team as it stands)

We still have a lot of work to do, we still have four weeks of pretty demanding work. I like where we are. I like our attitude, I like the way they come to work every day. If they continue to do that, things will be good.

(on safety Kevin Byard)

Good, I like him. I watched him yesterday, the tape last night. His coverage, there are a lot of contested balls with him. It's going to be tight coverage with him and he's a physical corner, likes to tackle.

(on if he thought wide receiver Tre McBride was out of bounds)

I just heard it was out of bounds, that was it.

(on quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Alex Tanney)

Both can play, both can play at this level. Both can win games for us. Very comfortable in the offense, very confident in what we're doing. There's a big trust factor with our three quarterbacks when they step in the huddle. We're going to operate at a high efficiency. I'm glad we've got the three we have.

(on the competition for return duties)

They're still competing, we're still talking. We've got ideas but nothing is set in stone right now.

(on if he saw what he wanted to from the team during the scrimmage)

Yes, I did. Especially the last period, the last two-minute drills with our second and third group. They're going to be the guys that finish a lot of these games coming up here in the next four weeks. That practice time and those reps are invaluable. We got a lot of work done in a lot of situations, that's what you want to do when you come out here.

(on the final score of the scrimmage)

I don't even know. At one point I heard 21-17. I knew it was close, it's always close.

(on if there were incentives for the winning team)

Not this time. They all get a day off tomorrow.