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TITANS HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - October 12, 2017**

(on what he saw from quarterback Marcus Mariota today)

Did more today, positive with what he did. I'll just have to see how he feels in the morning after doing what he did today. He did a little bit more than yesterday.

(on what Marcus Mariota was able to do in practice)

A little bit more, just a little bit more. He threw some balls, just did some more.

(on what Marcus Mariota was not able to do today)

We haven't had him at a full sprint at all, not even close.

(on if Marcus Mariota having full mobility is they key to him starting because he can't suppress the instinct to run)

Yeah, that's been his life growing up of making plays out of the pocket when things break down. I want to be very smart about how we do this. It's more than this game, it's a lot of games, that we've got to be concerned about.

(on how he determines when to test Marcus Mariota's ability to run)

A lot of the way the treatment, the way he's been working and what we're doing with his rehab. It's in stages and we're on track. Guys have done an outstanding job back there getting him ready to this point, I think.

(on if the extra day that a Monday night game allows for is beneficial to Marcus Mariota's recovery)

That's certainly a big factor that we get that much time. That plays a big part in it.

(on if the coaching staff has to keep themselves from using the extra time this week to overthink the game plan)

I think you've got to be careful. We had a conversation today, that we have more than normal, we thought we'd get a little bit more rest with one extra day and we seem like we're here, even with the one extra day, we're here still late at night. We've got to be careful with that, you can overload a game plan. We're going to draw back a little bit with what we're doing. That's always been the case since I've been coaching.

(on if he needs to see Marcus Mariota run a full sprint before starting him on Monday)

I'll have to see more than what I've seen to this point, yeah.

(on if tackle Taylor Lewan practiced today)

He was limited today, but he did more than he did yesterday, but he was limited today. Really, he and Marcus (Mariota) were limited and Corey Davis and (Johnathan) Cyprien were out, the same two.

(on what players playing through injury says about them)

That says a lot about them. I think that's what we like in players, we want dependable players that can be there on Sunday's. Not everybody's healthy, everybody realizes that, everybody's got something going on. It's still early in the year, but there's still bumps and bruises on everybody, and to get out there and play, that says a lot about you.

(on if a hamstring injury to a mobile quarterback is in a different classification that 'just play through it')

I don't know. If he wasn't so mobile, it probably would, but it's his mobility that is one of his strengths that you've got to be conscious of. It's not like a typical pocket passer where there's not a lot of movement, they're going to get rid of it and move on to the next down.

(on if there is a threat of Marcus Mariota injuring himself further if he tried to play through a strained hamstring)

Yeah, that's also true. There's some injuries that you can put a brace on, you can tape it, you can't do more damage than you already have and play with it. This is an injury you've got to be very cautious with.

(on if the team's lack of success on third downs last week can be attributed to their first-down attempts)

I would say a lot. I made a point after the game and after watching film, it came down to our second downs. We had a number of second downs that were second-and-short that we ended up (with) false starts, we had backs running sideline to sideline instead of taking what the defense gave them. We ended up in more second-and-longs than we should have. I thought second down was more of a factor than first last week.

(on wide receiver Rishard Matthews' tweet)

Actually I just learned about it a few minutes ago from Robbie (Bohren). I haven't talked to Rishard (Matthews). I haven't really had a chance to think about it to even comment about it. I just found out.