TITANS HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - August 16, 2015
(on the first practice after the first preseason game)
Interesting day. It's always tough this close after a game to come back out and practice in pads and have a physical one like we did. So it was really good to see our guys respond that way. I thought one thing that stood out to me in this practice was both sides of the ball had periods of good, which is what you want to see. Offense did some good things, defense did some good things. So that was really what we needed to do, work on getting that done today, and I compliment these guys on doing that.
(on going through film after a preseason game compared to a regular season game)*
I think corrections from a game are always important. Nothing changes with that. I mean, we had a lot of guys play but you still have a lot of guys that you want to correct. There were some guys, like Andy Gallik, that didn't play a lot of snaps but can learn from those corrections. So there were some things that we had to clean up and we went through it just like we do normally.
(on if the offensive line shifts have changed and competition has increased)
They've been there the whole camp. (Byron) Bell's had a lot of snaps at left guard in camp and Jamon (Meredith)'s had them in everywhere on the line of scrimmage. They've all rotated in that position. They've had snaps with the ones all of camp.
(on how quickly the first team offensive line will be finalized)
That's not really a decision that you can force. I think we got some information after last game, we'll get some more in this game, and then we'll assess it after that. We're still in training camp mode and we've still got a lot of practice that we can do this week, so we'll find out. In competitive situations like today it's important because you get a chance to evaluate them and we'll continue to do that. I don't really have a time table on it.
* (on Byron Bell progress after seeing him in Atlanta and if he is playing better at right tackle than at left)*
I don't look at it that way. If he can help us at any position, that's something that we need. He's played left tackle for us in camp too, he's had some reps with the first team there. I think what we're trying to do is find out where Byron Bell fits into the whole thing. He's new to us, we're new to him, but he's been doing a good job.
* (on how Fernando Velasco has done)*
He's a vet. He did a good job coming in here on short notice when we had the problem at center in the spring. He did a nice job. He's a solid guy. That's the reason that he's here. He's a veteran that's played and he can give us something at that position.
* (on Delanie Walker's injury and how close he is to being back to normal)*
The stitches aren't out but he is healing up and getting close to being normal. It was good to see him out there practicing.
(on if Delanie Walker needs a lot of time in preseason games)
I think he wants to play, so obviously we want him to play. With this situation you probably limit the number of snaps that he would get, which is OK. I think coming into training camp, one of the things that we said is that we didn't want to give Delanie (Walker) too much work because of all the snaps and things he did for us last year in season. So this kind of works out in a weird way to be a beneficial type thing.
(on Delanie Walker's stitches)
They will come out, they're right on the cusp of coming out. I don't know for sure, they could have come out today, but I believe they still probably have a day or two before they come out.
* (on if he is looking at options at outside linebacker)*
Well we've looked at some guys but the market is not flushed with guys out there so I think what we've got to do is really determine what's going to happen with the guys that are injured. I don't know for sure yet of a time table with these guys. I think this week will give us a better sense of that. But there's no question that we've got to be looking at that position because just from a standpoint of having bodies in here, with three guys down, it would be something that we'd look at.
(on if Jonathan Massaquoi is expected to play this week)
Yeah, I do. I expect (Jonathan) Massaquoi to play. He worked today, some in there with the team reps. So we're just going to bring him along and get him ready to play this week.
(on if Jonathan Massaquoi had any kind of setback)
That was the scheduled rehab period, so we knew coming in that it was going to be after that first game.
* (on David Cobb getting time with the ones and what more he can do to get there)*
I think I said he's earned the shot to get in some with the ones. I think I also said we'll work him into that. So we've got a lot of time before we play another game, and we're in the process of seeing how he handles a lot of different situations. But there's no question he did a nice job in the game.
(on David Cobb's pass blocking)
He pass blocked OK. I mean, sometimes you get in there and you're not really tested. So there wasn't a lot of pressure that tested that. But that will come up in the next two games, I guarantee you that.
(on the depth at cornerback given the injuries at that position)
I mean it's no different than it was a week ago, so we brought the one kid in, Will (Brown), and we had some really young guys playing in the second half of that game. So whenever we get those guys back, certainly it will be good, but they're both making progress and as they get closer, if something changes I'll let you know. Right now I can't tell you when exactly they'll come back.
(on the game plan for St. Louis game)
I think the thing is, this week's a little bit different because it's so long until we play the game. The important thing is, we've got to stay in training camp mode. That was the message with our players today. We've only had one game. We've still got things that we have to do. We've got to work through a lot of different things. Being out here in pads two days after a game is one of those. It's kind of a test. So as we get a little bit later in the week, just like this past week, we'll spend a little bit of time with St. Louis, but not a lot. Really, we're still more about our guys and trying to figure out a lot of different positions because of the young guys we have on the team.
