TITANS HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - October 12, 2015
(on team injuries)
I don't have much information for you. I feel good about where we'll be Wednesday. Obviously, we'll have a little bit more information then. But we're still working through some things with our guys.
(on Avery Williamson injury)*
I don't know for sure. We just sent him into the tube with his leg. I don't know if it was a cramp or some soreness with his leg, so we'll see.
(on Chance Warmack's recovery)
I expect him to be back Wednesday. Obviously, we can't speak until we get him in to practice.
(on Taylor Lewan's shoulder issue)
I mean I don't know that you can ever be confident enough to be able to play the whole season. But I think we have a good treatment plan as far as trying to help correct that with Taylor (Lewan). We'll see as that progresses.
(on how Taylor Lewan can clean up the number of penalties he commits)
He cannot put his hands in their face. First of all, he's a target. That's what every other opposing coach is telling the officials when they come in. He's got to do a better job of that. We had a discussion about that last night. I know he feels badly about that and he's going to work to correct it. We can't have those penalties. Those hurt us, they're hard to overcome.
(on how Taylor Lewan is a target after only being in the league for a year and a half)
It's something that's a point of emphasis. When you hit the hot button, the point of emphasis, when you're talking to the officials, they naturally look at tape and they see it and it's an easy thing to see. There are a lot of things in there that are hard to see. Like for instance, when a defensive lineman grabs an offensive lineman, you can't see it. But the hands to the face when they're looking for it, especially when it's something that's been brought up before the game, that is something that you can see. But look, there are going to be times when that happens, when you get the hands in the face, just because a rusher is leaning over or coming into you. I understand that. What we've got to do a better job of is getting it off and getting it replaced. That's what we've got to work on.
(on if Taylor Lewan is wearing any type of brace or harness on his shoulder )
He's not wearing a brace. No, I don't think so. Once again, if you play football, you're going to have some of these things that happen. I think part of it is a rehabilitation plan and talking with (Director of Sports Medicine) Todd (Toriscelli) to see how we're going to try to attack this thing. I think he feels good about that.
(on Wesley Woodyard starting over Zach Brown)
They both played. I think their snaps were fairly similar. We were pretty good yesterday defensively. To give up 206 yards total offense, I'd take that any week. I think I said after the game, we have a rotation that I feel like is going to bring out the best in us and there may be times when one plays more than the other, but they're both going to be involved.
* (on if Wesley Woodyard is a more physical tackler and if he is better at defending the run game)*
Well I think he gives you competition, and I think anytime you have competition, it brings out the best in the players. I don't think that's a big issue when you have that.
(on how Justin Hunter's positioning affected the interception on the last play)
There are a whole lot of things that go into that last play. Obviously, number one, it wasn't a great call. It's one of the ones you want to have back. You get feelings in a game when you think they're going to be successful, and obviously they didn't play out. Specifically on that play, it's his job to take two posts. He's supposed to take the corner and the middle safety with him, which will open it up. We did get the look that we thought we would get. But there's another thing in there, actually. The defender stumbled. The only reason he was able to get the stop was because he stumbled. If he hadn't done that, I don't know that he would have made a play on the ball. But that's where he's supposed to be.
(on Kendall Wright saying he doesn't feel relevant after the game)
I don't know if that's what he said, feeling relevant. I know what you want. You want players that want the ball. I think when you lose a game like we did yesterday, like the last two, when you felt like you should win, everybody gets frustrated. Kendall (Wright) obviously feels like he can help us win. There's no issue there. We talked today, I talked with Kendall today. I think obviously, if you look at it statistically, he is an important part. He's our leading receiver and he's getting a lot of targets and his production is way up. So he will continue to be a big part of our offense.
(on dealing with discord in the locker room and trying to maintain focus)
I think the one thing you have to be careful with is saying that there's discord in the locker room on the day of an emotional loss. I think our guys have done a pretty good job. We have a pretty tight group. It's been tough. When you lose three games, especially two the way we've lost it and you get a guy right after a game like that, it's emotional. A lot of times you say things that aren't really indicative of the way you really feel as a group or individually. I think we talk about those issues or situations and the best way to address it is get a win and those things aren't an issue.
(on how tough it is to balance receivers and keep everyone happy)
I'll say this: in the era of fantasy football, you can't keep everybody happy. Regardless of what you want to do or how productive you are, that's the way it is. Everybody has become more stat-driven because of their involvement with, let's face it, fantasy football, and that affects it. You can't keep everybody happy, so you just have to do what you think is best to move the ball and score points. We have been doing that, so there are some good things.
(on if he'll show Kendall Wright the statistics after a negative comment to convince him he is still a big part of the offense)
I don't know why he would think that. He certainly doesn't get that from us when we're in here talking, and I don't get that from him. Once again, I think you're putting a lot into an emotional statement after a game. Even if you look at, we had a double move to him that unfortunately, we didn't throw it right, the most important play of the game went to him, and we targeted him a number of times yesterday. But once again, I'm not trying to justify that in relationship to Kendall (Wright). He's a good football player. He's a part of our offense, and I don't have to sit here and say that he is. You can look at the statistics and say that.
(on Marcus Mariota's performance yesterday)
Going against a defense like that with the front that they have, I thought he did a nice job. It was a multiple look defense that gives you a lot of pressures and a lot of trouble and he handled it well from that standpoint. There are always plays that you want back. There are a lot of calls that I want back. But when you compete against a team like that that has a very good front, that gives you a lot of looks, I think for a rookie player, he handled himself well.
