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TITANS HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT**
(On carrying over the momentum from the Kansas City game)
I wouldn't care if our guys didn't even know what our record is. That doesn't have anything to do with it. This is the next game for us. Just like last week, our goal is to go in and play good football and win the game.
(On the biggest challenges for trying to slow down Dallas)
They've got a lot of weapons. You've got to play disciplined football. You've got to mix your package up, and you've got to match up with them in certain situations, and you've got to win those battles. You've got to at least win more than your share. They're going to win some. They've got good football players.
(On his previous games against the Cowboys)
It doesn't matter. This is a different team. We're playing an NFL team that's a good football team, and they're well coached. It will be a real challenge for us.
(On the need to control the football against Dallas)
If we're successful scoring quickly, I'd be happy with that. It's really about being successful on your drives. You guys said we're six-of-eight on our last eight drives. If we can have that type of production, then it doesn't matter to me what the time of possession is. You would like to, yes, absolutely, but if what you're asking me is do you want to possibly keep their offense off the field as much as possible, yeah, I think that's a fair thing. We don't go in with the idea that we're going to control the clock. I think if we execute and, depending on how the game goes, maybe we can do that, but we're certainly aware that they have a good offense.
(On Jake Locker's performance against the Chiefs)
Jake (Locker) did good. He had a good game.
(On Jake Locker's improvement from last season's opener)
I haven't looked at last year's opener. It doesn't matter. I'm only worried about what he's doing with us.
(On Jake Locker holding the ball too long against Kansas City)
There was one sack that he was responsible for, but other than that, I thought he did a nice job. It's really a feel in the pocket, and he's done a very good job with that.
(On the offensive line's technique against Kansas City)
I'm not going to talk about performances of individual players. We win and we lose as a team. We didn't do well enough in protection as a group. Everybody's to blame for that, and our goal is to do better this week.
(On the challenge the Titans secondary will face against the Cowboys)
Receivers in this league, they're a challenge every week. I don't care what team they're with. There are good ones. There are a lot of good ones out there. It's going to be a challenge every week. You recognize the fact that Dallas has some talented players, but our guys aren't afraid of a challenge, and if they execute like they did last week, we'll have a good chance of winning our matchups.
(On comparing the Cowboys' wide receivers to other teams)
I'm not going to get into evaluating other people's teams. They're an NFL team, they've got good players.
(On when to put Bishop Sankey in the game)
It wasn't the plan, it just evolves. He could be in the first snap this week. It really just depends on the plan and what we're doing. The thing that's important to me is not when he went in, it was how he played. I thought he did a nice job.
(On players knowing how they'll be used in a game)
I think they have an idea, just based on the plan and what we talk about during the week. There are certain packages that they know they're involved in, and the chances of them coming up in the game are probably pretty high, but they do have to be ready, because regardless of where they're involved in a package, anybody's one play away of having to go in.
(On Zaviar Gooden's similarity to Zach Brown)
I'm not going to compare Zach (Brown) and Zaviar (Gooden). Zaviar did a nice job for us in the game. That's what you're expected to do in this league. We're happy with that. The challenge for him and for all of our defense is to continue with that play.
(On using a balanced formation with rushers and receivers)
I don't think it's been that way. We ran the ball last year out of three wide receivers as much as we threw it out of it. It really depends on what you're trying to accomplish with it.
(On giving Bishop Sankey more opportunities earlier in the game)
It could be, but I'm not going to guarantee that. We could get into a situation in a game where we get rolling like we did in the second quarter against Kansas City. To be honest, you don't care who's in there if we're moving the ball and scoring. What I think's more important, I don't think our guys care.
(On the importance of winning at home)
It's important that you win your games at home. I think it's important for our team, and it's important for our fans. Home field advantage in this league, if you can establish that, it really helps you achieve your first goal, which is to make the playoffs.
(On the significance of this game being the home opener)
This is the first time our fans get to see us, hopefully without rain, in the stadium. I think it's important. We have to establish a bond with our fans. We haven't done that yet. This team hasn't done it. That's important for us to come out there and do that. The only way you can do that is playing a game and getting a win, because that creates a special bond. At least my experience in the other places I've been, that can help build that home field advantage.
(On spacing out the offensive line)
They're not further apart than anything I've ever done. If it's something for Jake (Locker), it's something we've been doing. We have spacing based on what we're trying to get done, and it's been consistent through OTAs and camp, and that really hasn't changed.
(On Cowboys TE Jason Witten's success)
I have tremendous amount of respect for Jason (Witten). I remember evaluating him when he came out of the University of Tennessee. You would like to think that you could have imagined him having the career that he's had, but he's been special, one of the best players in this league for a long time. Outside of that, what a great person he is. To me, he embodies a lot of what this league is about. We know that we face a challenge with him, and I'm going to ask him before the game if maybe he'll sit this one out, but I don't think that he will.
(On the challenge of facing Tony Romo)
The guy scares me, because he can play. He can score points in a hurry. They can be a proficient offense, so we've got to do a good job of playing our techniques and matching up against him.
(On cleaning up penalties for this week)
We can't have that many penalties. We've said that. I think where they happened in the game was especially frustrating, because when you get in a position where you put a game away, that's where we had a lot of our penalties. Some of them we've addressed like Blidi (Wreh-Wilson), that won't happen again. Some of them were things that happened during the course of the game, like Bernard (Pollard) grabbing the hair and that being called a penalty. You take a couple of those out of the mix, and it's not such a high number, but it is something that we've talked about. It really hurts your chances of winning, so we've got to do a better job.
