All right. Obviously disappointed we didn't win the game. And as you're going through it, there's just so many things that we need to execute better situation wise. But there's also a lot of good stuff on tape too, a lot of stuff we improved on from last week. So, that's the message to the guys, 'Hey, let's stay steady,' Let's attack the reasons why we lost and where we fell short and then keep improving on the other stuff and make sure we have a heck of a week before we play Cleveland (Browns) and close out the preseason.
What did you think of Sam (Howell)'s first half?
I thought Sam (Howell) was really sharp. I thought we moved the ball. I thought he made smart decisions. We were in and out of the huddle, which I felt like we could improve that in the second half. Pleased. Piggybacking on his performance last week and then in practices on Wednesday and Thursday.
The second half, what do you think about the issues there with the backups?
Well defensively, third downs, penalties showing up, decisions that we're making down the field, how the rush and coverage were marrying together. Didn't execute a couple of pressures. Had a penalty there in the fringe for their third-and-long, which you'd like back. Another thing was the third short penalty. Played the run better in the second half, I felt like. So that was a positive. I think Dave said we had one penalty in the first half and we had six in the second half. We'll see what happened on those plays. I felt like we could have made some smart decisions on some of those situations. And offensively, we weren't getting off the field on defense, and then I think we piggybacked it with a three-and-out or a four-and- out or something like that. So, trying to maintain possession and try to take control of the game in that situation would have been good. But, we put ourselves in a situation where the game, Ty (Okada) made a great play with a tipped ball. Jason (Myers) made a great kick. Unfortunately, we didn't close it out.
Do you think about going for it on fourth-and-one just because obviously if you get it, you could run the game out?
Oh yeah, it was part of the conversation. But we went backwards. So, I just felt like it's okay to at least try to win.
End of the half, 2-minute situation, all of that end of game stuff, is that good for both as coaching staff and for the players as well?
Oh, it's great. It's great for us. I feel like we're on top of it for the most part as a coaching staff. But players talking through some of the situations, especially with the backups in the game, it's invaluable. So we're really going to take advantage of that time to watch the tape with the guys so everybody kind of hears what's the thinking. This is the first time going through it where they're hearing some of those alerts, things like that. So, it'll be valuable next couple of days.
How do you feel Sam Howell handled the end of the first half, two-minute drill?
I thought he did a great job. I thought having the three timeouts is—mirrors the execution and the operation that we had going in there. So to be able to have those three timeouts and thirty seconds, you're able to move down the field and work the entire field. And so, I thought he made some smart decisions. The last play before the field goal I thought was a heck of a play by him. Heck of a play by Brady (Russell) there, and then when we made the kick. So, that was a positive.
You said a couple times you want to kind of throw a lot at Tyrice Knight right now. He played a ton last game, he got on the first team stuff in practice, And now this game. What do see in him now that he goes through all of this?
I told you, he makes tackles. You didn't want to believe me. But, very pleased with the tackles. Time to step it to the next level communication wise, blitz, coverage, play recognition. It's almost like, 'Hey, man, you're not a rookie anymore.' You've got to grow up fast. You've got to be ready to go if your numbers called. So, 'Hey, let's go man.' Let's not be settled with making tackles during preseason.
You've emphasized physicality quite a bit, what has Ty Okada shown on that front?
Ty (Okada) has done that since I've known him. Great attitude, great spirit. Plays physical, plays the way you want. Great mentality, the guys love him. Plays fast, communicates well. So, he's had a great camp.
Can you give us a sense of the guard tandem you went with to start the game today with (Anthony) Bradford and (Christian) Haynes, how that went?
You know, I don't know. I mean, it felt like it was going right, but we haven't had a chance to talk about it, but it'll be fun to watch it and see how it looked. But it felt like it looked good.
Was it a different perspective for you not calling the plays on defense tonight or did it give you a more overarching look at the team live?
Defensively, I'd say, it's tough not to call (the plays). Offensively, about the same. But thinking about what you're going to call next things like that didn't really speed up your between series process. It was a great opportunity for those guys. I thought they did a great job. Calls were in fast. It's interesting to see how they approach some of the situations which kind of opens up for some discussion on how we want to do it. So overall, I thought that was really positive. It's great experience for those guys to game plan and call it on their own.
Easop (Winston Jr.) had the nice touchdown catch. He seems to be getting a lot of catches in practice and games now. What would you say about him?
Well, Sam (Howell) likes going to so and he makes plays when he's given the opportunity. I don't know where we snap that ball, but once you get to the red zone, that's an opportunity to finish the drive as you get the ball down the field, I think we were running the ball pretty good. That's going to be definitely a point of emphasis for us as a football team is can we close out drives and can we close out games. Because these games will be close. We're going to have a lot of these games during the season, and you want to be on the good side of these things.
Is Jack Westover okay? He didn't play today.
He's got a hamstring right now, so we'll see. We'll see how long as we're not really sure on the severity.
Are you worried about tight end depth right now? Do you need to add there?
We'll see. We are figuring out how long it is. So, we might have to do something about, we'll know here in the next few days.
From week one to week two, what are you first impressions without looking at the film and talking to your staff?
I'm pleased with our mentality. Coming across the country and practicing at 8am your time. Just keep answering the bell. As a coaching staff, it's our responsibility to find the corrections and make it right with those guys. But it's their job to have the right mentality and make sure that they're executing on their end. And so, really the message from here is can we take that step? Can we fix some of these things that we made a mistake with today so we can close these games out and make that jump as a football team.
The week as a whole here, how do you assess kind of the whole time out here in Nashville?
I'd say overall net positive. A lot of the things we said we wanted to come down here (for). Fortunate to come out relatively healthy. I felt like we got great work with all ones, twos and threes, and special teams. Great to go against somebody else, like you said. And then, it's cool just to spend time with one another. Would've been great to put an exclamation point on it and come out with a win. But, just kind of leaves us hungry for more moving forward. But net positive for the whole week.
Jerome Baker, is he anytime soon back to practice?
I can't give you a date on when he's coming back, but he should be going here pretty soon.
You assume he will be okay for Week?
Plan is to have him ready for Week 1.
With Pharaoh Brown, did you get any more clarity on his situation?
Yeah. Still working through on some things.
