TITANS vs RAVENS
AFC WILD CARD
Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021
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Q. You get I think five seconds and a turnovers from your defense. How much did the offense let the team down today?
MIKE VRABEL: We let the team down. Just wasn't good enough. Wasn't good enough as a team. That's how it goes sometimes. You know, you're going to need all three phases to execute. Give them credit. They won the game. It's a good football team. We knew they were good. But nobody let anybody down.
Q. The decision to punt on fourth and two at the beginning of the fourth quarter, can you walk us through your thought process on that?
MIKE VRABEL: No, just decided to punt. Thought we were playing well defensively. Thought we would get a punt inside the 10 and be able to play the field position game. Had some time there that I felt like, you know, we could, and we held them to a field goal. It's just we were playing against a kicker there that kicks them from the 40. Becomes a field position battle, and I thought that we'd get a stop and hit them inside the ten. The way we were playing defensively, I was really proud of those guys. Obviously, Lamar (Jackson) had a fantastic day but I thought we were dialed in. I enjoyed watching those guys play defense.
Q. Can you speak to the disappointment level and the finality of it all after losing a playoff game?
MIKE VRABEL: I don't think that anybody prepares speeches about losing and what you're going to do after the game. We're preparing for what the opponent is, what's going to be the schedule moving forward and how we're going to win another game. My disappointment is obviously for the players who put so much into it that are beat up, that play this game far less than anywhere close to 100 percent, that battle and compete out there on the field. I'm disappointed for them. You know, you don't like to see the people that you care about frustrated or disappointed, and certainly we all are.
Q. You seemed to have something going earlier with A.J. Brown in the slot against Humphrey. Was there anything that pulled you away from going to that? What happened there?
MIKE VRABEL: Just trying to stay balanced a little bit and that's a good matchup. It was competitive. Tried to get it back to him and batted one down. Just wasn't enough. Just weren't able to get anything really going there offensively.
Q. What happened with Corey Davis? He wasn't in there on those last couple of series on offense.
MIKE VRABEL: I mean, obviously he wasn't able to go, so.
Q. A week ago in the Houston game, similar situation in the fourth. You guys are down, it's fourth and 11 and you go for it. How different is it today when you decide to punt?
MIKE VRABEL: I felt like the way our defense was playing and every situation is a little different.
Q. What was your vantage point on the interception? Did you think that Raymond got bumped before the ball got there? What was your view of that play?
MIKE VRABEL: Same as yours, probably. I asked the official and he said Kalif (Raymond) ran into him. That's what the officials saw. I mean, clearly these guys aren't calling any penalties. We recognized that a long time ago. They are just going to sit there and try to hold on to another week and see if they can officiate as long as they want and not call any penalties. We know that going in.
Q. Overall, the failures of the season, in your judgment, equal parts poor play player, bad coaching or failed player acquisition?
MIKE VRABEL: I'm excited that we won our division. I'm disappointed we lost against a really good Ravens team that we fought, our guys competed, but yeah, maybe we catch up in March or April and we can clear some things up about all that other stuff you just asked me. We won the division, hosted a home playoff game. Wasn't good enough today. Our guys competed and battled and we came up short.
Q. Obviously the sledding was tough for him all day, for Derrick, but when you're in that drive before the punt, you're at second and two from the 40, in a normal world, do you want at least one of those plays to go in his Belly in retrospect?
MIKE VRABEL: You know, again, we showed up today as a team and we're going to leave one that. We just didn't do enough in all three phases. A lot of things to second-guess. Felt confident about being in a one-score game and the guys put us in position to do that, and we weren't able to pull it out.
Q. What did the Ravens do well defensively to bottle up Derrick and did Williams and Campbell being in the lineup have some impact on that?
MIKE VRABEL: I mean, usually when you stop the run to set the edge, go to the wall and swarm, we had a couple creases, but just not enough. You know, too many of those inefficient runs. That just kept us just not getting into a flow or feel for anything.
Q. Lamar's language touchdown run in the second quarter, you had a shot at him early in the play. Was that a big moment in turning this contest their way, you think?
MIKE VRABEL: I think that he made a play and we didn't do a very good job of making him go lateral. He broke down in the middle of the defense and he's dangerous and everybody's seen that throughout the year. I thought we certainly battled back and just – I don't think that play was the difference, but it was a big play. Give them a lot of credit.
Q. You mentioned how well the defense played, and early on, especially, but Jackson still ended up with 301 total yards. Can you talk about how difficult it is to hold that guy down the whole game?
MIKE VRABEL: Very difficult. They have got a very unique scheme and one that makes you defend the entire field, every player. And he's a dynamic athlete. You know, certainly great for our game. Great for our league. Tough to defend. You know, just have to do better the next time we play him.
Q. Obviously have to ask you about the local celebration, the way some of the players went right into the tunnel afterwards. Do you have any thoughts on that or comments?
MIKE VRABEL: No. I coach the Titans, not the Ravens.
Q. Adoree' looked like he had some tough moments out there today. Do you think he ever caught up in the few weeks he played to compensate for being out for so long?
MIKE VRABEL: I don't know, we've got – you know, just everybody, when you come back from an injury or you're out and you're away, you take advantage of the opportunities you get and the snaps that you get. That goes for everybody. I don't know really what the – some time off and make sure you work your way back and practicing, and just be ready to take advantage of your opportunities when they come.
