TITANS HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
July 31, 2016

(opening statement)

Another good day that I thought we had a lot more put in. Another good day with installation. We had a few more penalties today. Yesterday, I said eight penalties. Really there were only three that were involved in team segments. The other five the officials were working individually with groups. We had seven today. Again, still better than the double-digits we were having daily in the OTAs, so I'm still pleased with where we are for what we've put in, the amount that we've put in.

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(on if he will script the number of designed run plays for Marcus Mariota or determine that game-by-game)**

It's going to be the game plan. We're going to obviously take what the defense is going to give us when we're playing against them. If we see something that's not going to expose him that we have guys to block players—we're not going to leave anybody unblocked for the plays we're going to design. So there's no set number of runs, but if we can—I mean you talk about a threat, a serious threat and a problem for defenses, it's him running.

(on if Marcus Mariota's run plays in Sunday's practice were by design)

They were both designed, yes.

(on if those run plays developed as they were intended)

One better—when you've got three guys leading you, that's pretty good.

(on if the better executed run play had Delanie Walker in motion)

Yes. And again, they were screaming 'zone read.' They kind of had an idea of what was coming, but when there's a lot of moving parts, there's a lot of distractions. The defense has to be right on. You can't be off at any point, or you could get hit like that.

(on if Marcus Mariota's running ability is evidence that he is healthy)

Was is that Dion Sanders' step he did? I'm shocked he did that. I am, but you know, he's having fun out here. I think he's had two very good days. Obviously, that was a well-designed, well-executed play. He had some space to run. You see he didn't run the next play. He came out. He was supposed to be in there. So I'm glad he's having a little fun. I'm glad to see that he's feeling as good as he is. Hopefully we can keep him that way.

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(on if Marcus Mariota was confined to the pocket last season because they wanted him to be more of a pocket passer)**

No, I think some of the injuries—we had to be smart about it. Getting him out of the pocket, getting him exposed, you know, he was not healthy for a good bit a couple times there last year. That's not smart by us to put him out there and put him in position to get hit when he's not full speed.

(on if Kevin Byard has shown that he can push for a key role on this team)

I think he'll be pushing. In the short time he's been here, in the offseason and two practices out here, he's shown that he can play. We're always asking a guy to have a wow factor to be different. I think he's going to be a big factor in special teams, I really do. I think he'll be a core player based on his ability. Nothing has intimidated him since he's been here since day one.

(on what he hopes to see in the first padded practice on Monday)

I'm hoping we're going to get some popping. I want to be smart. I mean I'm going to keep guys off the ground. There is nothing after the whistle. We want to see a good, physical practice. We want to see who wants to hit, who likes it, who's going to do what we want—and they know what we want—and they'll get there first shot tomorrow morning. It will be a good test for some players, especially the rookies. We'll see how they are.

(on the importance of having Amy Adams Strunk address the team before practice)

I think they appreciate her coming out here. This is the second time that she's talked to the team. Her message, again, was she's thrilled with how they've worked, she's excited about the season. I think she wanted to see a response about what's gone on around here. They all were very appreciative of what she's done for this organization with the bubble and the facility. I think they're both pleased with getting talked to.

(on how Dorial Green-Beckham improves in dropped passes)

Yeah, I think he had a really good day yesterday. I mean he did some really good things. He ran a side adjustment off of a blitz, which he missed numerous times last year. Very first time, didn't even blink, ran it. I mean he caught the ball well yesterday and today, not as well. That's what we've been talking about—these guys that can play consistently, come out every day, and day-after-day, make the same plays. That's what we need from them. There is nobody that's going to be harder on him than himself.

(on Derrick Morgan's return following last season's injury)

It's nice to have him back. I know the question is about Derrick Morgan, but David Bass came in to replace him last year, and David Bass made a great play out here today with the breakup, the interception, probably for a score. His level of play has gone up, so now you're talking about we've got two bookends with Derrick being back—and he looks really good. We're being smart about it, but he looks really good. You've got (Kevin) Dodd, who I'm hoping is going to be back in the next couple days, and David Bass. So we've got some depth at that position, which we didn't feel like we had last year.

(on how critical it is to see Tajae Sharpe compete in pads)

That will be critical. We're going to have one-on-ones out here tomorrow—wideouts versus (defensive backs). I'm pretty sure that's scheduled. That will be a good time to see when we get a little physical in the route running and in the coverage, how he handles it. Again, I don't foresee that being a problem, but we'll get a chance to do it tomorrow.

(on if he chose to skip one-on-one drills in practice until the players wear pads)

Yeah. I wanted more individual time. We had 20-minute individual time so we could spend a little more time the first couple days back just going over the fundamentals and techniques.

(on if the offensive line has picked up where they left off in mini camp)

Yeah, for the most part. Here or there, we've gotten beat on more on the physical part than the mental. I'd like to see us get a little better with that as we move forward.

(on if one of the biggest challenges of training camp is building chemistry on the offensive line)

Yeah, out of the whole team, with those five there is a lot of communication that takes place from one end to the other, with Ben Jones obviously being the lead dog on that. For the most part, I've been pretty pleased with it—again, the mental.

(on Kevin Dodd's target return date)

We're conditioning him right now.  We're just going to take it day-by-day, but I don't foresee it being past the week.

(on how Kevin Dodd should not let missing the first part of camp affect his rookie campaign)

Well I think he's already come to us, and basically said that he's disappointed that he let us down.  This took place, and obviously it's not his fault.  It's part of this game, but he stated that when he comes back he's going to be a force to be reckoned with, and I'm hoping that's the case.  I can't let him fall into what everybody else has done prior to this.  We're focusing on the now, and not anybody in the past.

(on Brice McCain's ankle)

He'll be sore tomorrow.  He just twisted his ankle.  I'm hoping it's nothing serious.  I don't think it is.