TITANS INTERIM HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - December 2, 2015
(on if playing the Jaguars for the second time in 18 days helps them prepare this week)
It does. Again, a lot of familiarity with both systems, or really, all three phases. There are not a bunch of new games you've got to study, and one of the games is your own game that you can throw in there. So there's not as much time spent on personnel and things in meetings. We can spend more time on installing.
(on if playing the same team twice in a short time span benefits one side of the ball more than the other)*
Obviously, not being a Thursday game, you've got more time to look at them and evaluate them and find ways to attack them or defend them, so that helps compared to that short week that we had.
(on if the two teams will end up in a cat-and-mouse approach trying to change what the other just saw)
I think it works both ways with both teams. What you do is look at some of the success you had in whatever it was, running the ball or throwing the ball, and they're going to see if we fixed it. It may not come out the exact same way with the personnel or the formation, but most of these things can be run multiple ways. They're going to find out if we fixed some of the problems we were having in that game, especially early on in the run game.
(on the plays Jacksonville's young receivers have made and if he wants his own young receivers to emulate that)
They have a good group and we have a good group. We'll see how it ends up after this game, but they have a good young group that's developed around (Blake) Bortles. They've been there, I don't know what (Allen) Hurns' status is as of today, but they've really developed well. It will be a good matchup between the two sides in that area.
(on how much time he spends lifting guys up and encouraging them to keep fighting)
I don't have to spend as much time as you would think with the leaders that we have in this locker room. I think it's a very good locker room and again, I'll say this, it feels like everybody has moved on. It's important that we do that. Based on when we come out here, you're able to tell from coaching a long time whether it's affected them or not in the next practice and I didn't have that feel today at all. There is a good approach, meetings are very attentive and they'll be ready to go.
(on Delanie Walker being named the 2015 Titans recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award)
I had forgotten that he won it in 2013. Delanie (Walker) just represents this organization, his family and everybody very well on and off the field in the way he does everything. His foundation, the tight ends, they always put their fines in there. It always goes to that foundation and I like that idea. He's just an easy guy to follow for young players. It's really easy to follow him in everything he does.
(on the unnecessary roughness call on Khalil Mack in the Oakland game last week)
The forearm shiver? I thought it was unnecessary. I'm glad they saw it and they called it. That gave us a little momentum there by getting that penalty. He's a physical player, a tough, physical player; a very good player, but a little after the fact and unnecessary.
(on the Jaguars' success rushing the passer in their last meeting and how they will adjust to that this time)
We've got to do a better job of communicating, and that's everybody. That's ID'ing who we're blocking and recognizing some things pre-snap. That was the big emphasis this morning. There are a lot of things they do that you're going to have an idea that they're going to do it before they do it. You have the answers to some of the questions already. Now how do you respond to it? Now we've seen it, we've had it live against us, we've seen it on tape, there shouldn't be any shock. There are a lot of things that they show pre-snap that if we're communicating, we should be ready for. I've emphasized that it's really nice to know the answers to the test if you can get it. That will depend on themselves studying film and seeing if they can get as many keys as they can get.
(on if he talks about the skid at home with the team or if time will take care of it)
They know the numbers. Again, I said actually this past Sunday and again today that I'm hoping it's this Sunday, we have two home games left, but at some point we've got to make a stand that this is a place people don't want to come in here. It's going to happen eventually. Is it Sunday? Is it whenever we play the next one? Is it next year? It's going to happen. When is it? We'd certainly like to be the team that starts it, so that's been the emphasis, yes.
(on his memory of the Titans' last home win against the Jaguars)
I just remember it was a close game. It came down to that (blocked) field goal (by Sammie Hill). I know the last few years, the teams have split, and it's usually been home and away. Again, you can throw it out the window come Sunday, but they've been tight games the past couple games that we've played.
