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TITANS HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT**
(On Chiefs QB Alex Smith)
He's a good quarterback. They gave him an extension, so they must think highly of him. I think he's had tremendous success. I don't think you can argue with his wins, so I think he's a good quarterback.
(On what concerns him about Alex Smith)
He can run with the football. He does a great job of running that offense, but I've seen him use his legs to beat some teams. That's one of the things that you have to make sure you're aware of.
(On the Chiefs' inexperienced receivers)
I think a lot of it is defending their system. They've got five running backs, too, so you never know who's going to be active or what the configuration's going to be. All you can do is try to plan and play your defense.
(On getting into a rhythm when calling plays)
Other than being a lot of fun? When you're moving the ball and making first downs, making plays, that's part of why we do this. Every situation's different. There are times when things are working well, and there are times when things aren't. You strive for it to be that way every game, but it's not.
(On whether he prefers long, successful drives or big plays)
It's funny. It really depends on the situation in the game. I enjoy them both. I think it depends on where you are, what the situation calls for. It's always good to hit a big play for a touchdown and anything like that. It's also good to control the clock and move it. I like them both.
(On the number of punt returns in a game)
I don't have a criteria for that. I think there are so many different factors that are involved with it. Everybody wants to put a number on it, but different things are required, different situations. I think as long as we don't have turnovers and we're productive with it.
(On stopping Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles)
I think that's something you look at after the game, and you say, 'Were we successful or not?' A lot of it depends on how the game goes. I don't have a set number that you want to keep him under, but we certainly don't want to let him beat us.
(On the Chiefs' pass-rushers)
If you look at what they did last year, they were pretty good at it. They've got some good rushers, and they've got a good scheme. Coach (Bob) Sutton does a nice job with how they put things together. They've had success with it.
(On Chiefs RB De'Anthony Thomas)
We've seen a lot of him on preseason tape. He's all over the place. He's a guy that you certainly have to be aware of. I think that's what happens with a lot of teams, though, in the NFL. They have guys that you have to be aware of. I hope that there are some guys on our team that they have to be aware of. When you have a player like that, you try to put him in multiple spots, which I'm sure they'll do, try to create matchups, and he's shown that he's an explosive player that can do that.
(On the Chiefs using De'Anthony Thomas the same way they used Dexter McCluster)
They've shown that they can do that. They've shown they can use a player like that, so I'm sure they'll have some packages that they try to use him to create the matchups they feel like he's good at. I couldn't tell you what exactly he's proficient at, but I know he's made a lot of plays.
(On how he expects the game will go)
If I did that, I could make a lot of money. Once again, who knows? You just never know how those games are going to go. I guess that's what everybody's excited about seeing Sunday.
(On how he would like the game to go)
Us to score a lot of points and them to score not very many at all. That's pretty obvious.
(On Andy Reid's success turning around the Kansas City program)
He's a good football coach, and they've been together, his staff, for a number of years. Their system has shown to be successful, so I think they went in there, and those guys bought in. They had some things go their way early in the season, and they were a good football team, so hopefully we can be a similar-type team.
(On the Chiefs' performance between last season and this preseason)
I think you know what they're capable of. You've seen that from games last year. Just like us in preseason, there are probably some things they didn't show or they are going to do differently. I think we probably have a little better idea of what they may do as opposed to what they think we're going to do. They'll look at San Diego tape, they'll look at some of the tape from last year on our players. That's always the first game, that's something that you deal with.
(On how long the Titans' element of surprise will last)
I hope it's every week. You strive to change things up so you keep people off-balance.
(On Kansas City's change in offensive linemen)
You've got to play disciplined defense. You've got to play your gaps, you've got to run the defense that's called. It doesn't really matter who's over there. If you use good technique and you execute it the right way, then we have a chance to be a decent defense.
