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TITANS HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - August 16, 2017**
(on if he grades the team overall or offense and defense separately)
It's hard, I don't know. Coach (Dick) LeBeau said they had a good session on that other field. Obviously, I won't be able to know anything until I see it. It's hard to see everything when you do this split practices. I know we got a lot of work done. I thought it was really well coordinated with both staffs. I'm glad we did what we did. I'm sorry for the delay, but I think it worked out much better than if we had to go inside.
(on what stood out to him at practice today)
Good competition, good work. Obviously, I'm on the offensive side of the field. Working against a different defense, a different scheme – we've been going against each other since April the same 3-4 scheme. It was good work. A lot of good stuff to teach from today.
(on if the players were warned about action after the whistle)*
I don't want to say they were warned, we just talked about it. We're out here to get better and work against each other. We want to stay away from conflict and things you can't do in games, why do them out here, why waste the energy. Both Ron (Rivera) and I talked to the teams about it. It was very clean and that's what we want again tomorrow.
(on the wide receivers facing new competition)
It was definitely competitive in the one-on-one. There would've been a lot of flags on both sides, at least on our field. It was pretty physical. It was a physical practice, I thought, on both sides. Probably the hottest day we've had since we've been here, since the start. That was good to get that, let guys gauge where they are physically, not just mentally, but physically as well.
(on how working against a 4-3 defense changes how the offensive line plays)
There's some change, there's definitely change. There's a couple different schemes, some different line calls. Nothing drastic, but it is different. The combination blocks are different. Tight ends, it's not just the line, the tight ends, the backs, where they fit on specific plays. It's good for us.
(on running back DeMarco Murray)
Good. He's still kind of testing it a little bit, but I think he's progressed pretty well. I'm anticipating him playing. I'll see how he is after getting in the cold tub and getting some treatment.
(on running back Khalfani Muhammad being slotted behind running back Akeem Judd in the depth chart)
I don't know if there's a true pecking order, they've had reps with twos and both with the threes. He (Khalfani Muhammad) did some good things out here. It's good to see in a team environment. That was like a simulated drive, similar to the scrimmage. He did some good things, even in protection.
(on the defense not having the opportunity to practice against Panthers quarterback Cam Newton)*
I think we're getting good work over there. Obviously, we'd liked to have what he brings with the ability to run the ball like Marcus (Mariota), that's some of the things you wish you could get. It's not going to change. We may have to face a non-starter during the season, may have to adjust how we do things, it's no different in this practice.
(on linebacker Jayon Brown)
I think he has stood out since he's been in the OTAs, and for sure training camp. He quietly goes about his business, but he's always around the football. That's been pretty consistent.
(on injuries in practice)
(Dennis) Kelly, (Steven) Moore, (because of) heat. They ran a lot of plays. The drive was designed to go six plays, and if you got it inside the 25 (yard line) the drive could continue, and it did and went a lot of plays. The heat caught up to him a bit. (Eric) Decker had a little bit of a twisted ankle in one-on-ones, so we took him out of the drills. I don't know the extent, I don't think it's serious. He tried to go back in there. Pretty minimal for the type of practice and how physical it was.
(on the team rebounding from the loss from the Jets)
It was good. They came back out Monday night and we had a practice just like this. We've gotten some good work since Saturday, and we needed it, especially offensively.
(on if they're game-planning more for the game against the Panthers than they did with the game against the Jets)
A little bit more because it's a different front. You've got to have a plan for their defensive scheme. Not like we're going to game-plan like when we get going, no. I'm sure they're the same way.
The Titans practice against the Carolina Panthers on Day 19 of the team's training camp at Saint Thomas Sports Park. (Photos: Gary Glenn)