TITANS HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT, August 11, 2015
(on how the team will attack Atlanta in Friday's preseason game, given that they are a regular season opponent as well)
I think the first game, we're going to play a lot of guys, so it's really about running plays that you think they can execute. So it's really not as much about game planning as it is about putting our players in a position to see where they can be successful. I mean obviously we're going in there with the desire to win the game, but in regular season it's different because you game plan things, and I'm sure there are things, by the time we play them in the regular season, that come up that are different than what we're doing now. So you don't worry about that right now.
(on if playing Atlanta will be beneficial for the team in the preseason before playing them in the regular season )*
Anything that you do against another team in preseason I think is beneficial, whether you're playing them in the regular season or not. And it's not so much about them really as it is about us, and about what we're doing. I mean there are a lot of things that we may or may not do based on how they work in this preseason game just because we're trying to find out about ourselves too. So you do get a little bit of an evaluation of their personnel, but once again, that can always change by the time you play them.
* (on Harry Douglas returning home to Atlanta)*
You know it's always interesting when that happens. Whether you're a coach or player and you're going against a former team, there's always an emotional aspect of it. I think Harry (Douglas), I'm sure, going back into a place he's played a lot of games, it will be different for him. But we're certainly excited to have him. I don't think it will be a big deal. I think if it was a regular season game there, and it always is a little bit different when you do that, but preseason you know, he knows he's going to play only so many plays, so it's just a little bit different. It's not a big deal I don't think.
(on what Michael Griffin brings to the league and the Titans locker room, given his experience )
Well I think leadership is a big part of that. We've got a lot of young guys, which we've talked about before. You've got a veteran that's been here, that's spent his entire career here, that understands what it takes as far as how you work and what our expectations are, and he helps convey that message to the younger players. I think you can see athletically he's still got it, he still can contribute. So he got a lot of respect from the guys in the locker room for what he did last year (playing through an injury), and you know this league is a lot about respect. So it gives him tremendous sway when he's pushing our guys when we go through a practice like today where it's hot, and they're banged up from a tough practice yesterday. So his leadership, his athletic skill, they're all important things towards building that chemistry for us.
(on how anxious he is to see what David Cobb can do under the lights)
It's been nice to see David (Cobb) progress the last however many days we've been practicing. Missing him in the spring hurt. Getting the pads on and being able to do some of these drills, like the goal line drill here at the end, even some of the other drills, or some of the other team aspects, you can see flashes. But it's always different to see how they do, they break tackles, they make runs in game because the blocking schemes are a little bit different, a little bit different intensity. So I'm excited to see David (Cobb).
* (on what he has seen in Marqueston Huff's development)*
He's more comfortable with everything he's doing. I don't think the injury thing has anything to do with where Marqueston Huff is. I don't know that we have any injuries there at that position, but Huff is a good young player and his contribution will be significant on special teams as he works his way into the defense. He's done a nice job, the problem is he's got some good players in front of him but that's a good problem for us to have, because he's developing, he's learning from some good veterans, but he'll be able to contribute on game days. He gives us a lot of flexibility, so it's exciting to see him progress.
(on if he envisions using Marqueston Huff at cornerback and safety as he is listed there on the depth chart)
It depends on how the game goes. I think he's done that before, we drafted him as a corner with the idea of potentially moving him to safety. One of the things that you really like about Marqueston Huff is he can play nickel, he can play corner, and he can play safety. In some of the packages that you can do defensively, having that versatility really helps him.
