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TITANS HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT September 6, 2017**

(on injuries heading into Sunday's game)

After today, everybody practiced with the exception of LeShaun Sims who's got a groin (injury). That's day-to-day. Taylor Lewan twisted his ankle, he got a little bit of a tweak in his ankle. Both of them, day-to-day.

(on if he believes cornerback LeShaun Sims and tackle Taylor Lewan will be out on Sunday)

No, as of today.

(on when LeShaun Sims' injury occured)

Monday.

(on wide receiver Corey Davis continuing to progress as he returns from injury)

He's probably taken more reps today than he's taken all of training camp. It was good to see him in there and take as many as he did. It was pretty productive.

(on if he's worried about players returning from injury aggravating old injuries)

That's burning energy, positive energy, there's nothing I can do about it. Nothing in my control, so I'm just relying on those guys doing what they can in that training room to get themselves back. All of them have to do a great job of getting themselves back.

(on if he's worried about Corey Davis being up to speed)

You don't want the guy to fail. You don't want to put a guy in a position ever to do that. I don't think we're doing that, we're going to be smart with him. We're not going to expose him to things he can't be successful at. Healthy, not healthy, that's just the way we are with our players.

(on if the Raiders will be a test for the Titans revamped secondary)

This is a pretty good test. Don't forget the quarterback, he's not too bad either. They've got a new tight end there with Jared Cook and obviously the back. They've got a compliment of skill players. It'll be a good test for our guys.

(on Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch)

He's just a big, powerful back, great vision, hard to bring down. He's had time off, body's rested. He'll be at full speed, we're not going to take him lightly at all, I can promise you.

(on how rookie cornerback Adoree' Jackson has looked to him this week)

Ready to go as well as he can be right now. They still have tomorrow and obviously they have tonight, hopefully they're putting some time in at home. They've got time to still get ready for this. 

(on the team's offensive success in the red zone)

I think it's a combination of a lot of things. I think our focus goes up down there. You've got to be able to run the ball in the red zone, that's important. Our offense does a good job. That's what we're going to do tonight, is all red zone scheming tonight. I think we do a very good job of that. Terry Robiskie and Jason Michael and that crew does a good job of scheming down there. It helps that Marcus (Mariota) has the ability to get rid of (the football) quickly. Quick release and quick decision making down there is important. All of that plays into it.

(on if players 'get into another gear' when they're in the red zone)

We've got to keep going, we don't want to have a drop off. We were strong down there last year, again that was last year. We've got some different weapons. (Eric) Decker has been a weapon down there. Hopefully we can continue that, but that's not a given, we've got to work at that.

(on if there is any difference between the Raiders last year and this year)

No, it's very similar. Offensively, they've calmed down a little bit with their personnel groupings and their formations, and that may be just the preseason with the new offensive coordinator being there. Defensively, very similar. There's going to be a lot of one-on-one matchups, especially up front, that's the design of the defense, rush five. A lot of single blocks.

(on if linebacker Jayon Brown is ahead of where he expected him to be)

Yeah I'd say that. I could've said that earlier. He's been impressive. Jayon (Brown) has been impressive since they day he got here, and he keeps doing that. It's going to be a good test for him as well against these guys. It'll be a good challenge.

(on how much tackle Taylor Lewan will be matched up against Raiders defensive end Khalil Mack)

A good bit. Again, there's no rhyme or reason exactly where he's going to be. We've watched enough tape on that. They'll be matched up at some point, I don't know how many reps it'll be, but it'll happen in this game.

(on if Khalil Mack presents unique challenges)

Yeah, he's a hard guy to block. He's a really hard guy to block.

(on if the Raiders are more likely to play a base personnel than other teams)

You know, that's the thing about them. They are typically a multi-personnel grouping, they've really been three to four in this preseason, a lot of it being base. That may all change come Sunday, we're ready for it. That's not been their MO for the last couple of years. We'll see how they attack us.

(on the one thing about Khalil Mack that jumps out to him)

He's powerful for his size, the speed. He just makes some plays that you think he's out of it, you've blocked him, and then all of a sudden you see a strip sack fumble by him. Until the whistle blows, you've got to have somebody on him.

(on what the message is to the team heading into this week's game)

There is and I'm going to keep that message in that locker room, and I'm pretty sure they will too.

(on how much stock he puts into winning the season opener)

They're all important to me, they're all big games. This is the big one because it's this one. You like to get off to a good start, I think everybody thinks that, believes that, but it's just one of the 16. 

(on if wide receiver Eric Decker's precision makes it easier to find a rhythm with his quarterback, even after missing time)

Yes, he understands being where you're supposed to be. That's a veteran receiver, lining up in the right place, getting the right depth, being in the right spot, making adjustments off the coverage, that's important. If you don't do that, (Marcus Mariota) gets off you real quick. If you do it right, he's going to get the ball to you.

(on former Titan Tim Shaw being named one of the team's captains)

They were extremely excited about Tim. Tim's going to be at all of our games, home and away. They wanted Tim as part of our group of captains, and he's going to represent us at the coin toss. Whatever we have to do to make sure that happens, we're going to make sure that happens because he's part of us. He's part of this team, he's a big part of this football team. That was important to our team, really important.

(on quarterback Marcus Mariota seeing regular-season game action versus preseason game action after returning from injury)

No, I think he's seen enough. I haven't seen a whole lot of things phase him. This should not be a big deal to him.