(on wanted to clean things up from today's performance)
Absolutely.
(on if it is good to extend the lead in the division with a win)
I think (it's) really good. Just to be able to do some things that are really positive, to mask some of the stuff that is just going to cause you to lose, which we all know what those are. The poor fundamentals, poor tackling, penalties, you know, protection issues. Not giving Derrick (Henry) enough room in the run game. Just a lot of things, and that starts with me, and it has also got be on the players. Go out there and know what to do, play fundamentally sound. But when we had to have plays, we had them. Impressive to be able to go out there and get a stop when we did, impressive to be able to take the football and control it the way we did.
(on the key defensive plays such as two turnovers and a goal line stop)
The one late. That's how that goes. But start the game like that, with a hammer and a bang-bang play, fantastic. But there's just too many things, and I know that the players will echo this sentiment. Just too many things that we have to clean up and be better. We have to stop the run. We have to go get off blocks, set edges, not dive and go off the diving board and miss tackles. That's what it comes down to in the run game, lining up and trying to beat somebody and shed and make tackles. So, give them credit.
(on the game called by Offensive Coordinator Todd Downing)
All the credit goes to the players. Watch all 16 games from this week, a lot of the plays are going to look the same. It's the players that are the ones that make it go. It's cover one, cover two, cover three, cover four, so on and so on, zone right, zone left. Gap scheme. Mix in some zone read. There's a lot of plays that are similar. And what happens in this league is that when guys know things, like they understand what's being asked of them to do or they're taught well and they can go in there with some confidence, that's what makes it go. That's what makes it (a successful) playcall. That is how it's always been. I know this is your first year with us, you know, guy calls a play. You have to go in the huddle, and at that point in time it's up to the 11 guys in the huddle, the quarterback to echo it. And I thought we did that, a fantastic job down in the red zone. We got in and out of the huddle. Plays were designed how we thought they would be, but ultimately Ryan (Tannehill) had to get guys the football, and when it wasn't there, we went fast and ended up getting Pru (MyCole Pruitt) wide open and Ryan (Tannehill) was able to see it. Credit to Todd (Downing), I guess, great call, but the execution by the players. So that's what it comes down to.
(on it appearing to be more bunch and stack formations and how that allows players to run freely)
I mean, just trying to create ways to get guys open and catch and run and hold up in protection. Even Jeremy (McNichols) helped us out there on third-down catch-and-run. Marcus Johnson, it was good to have him back out there. Everybody that contributed to this victory.
(on how much of today's win was 'staying in the fight')
I think that's a lot how it goes, especially in this league and this division. They're a talented football team, and we're going to have to move on here to another very good football team, but that's kind of how it goes. You got to stick around, and you have to be willing to take some punches in this league to stick around. Like no frontrunners. Frontrunners shouldn't show up because guys aren't going to go away. Teams aren't going to will it on their own. You're going to have to continue to push and pound them until you get some breaks.
(on the goal line stand and the performance of nose tackle Teair Tart)
Yeah, from my knuckle that he punched it, felt like (Teair) Tart was very impactful in that play and that's the expectation for Teair. We can't have the same – we can't have higher expectations for him than he has for himself, and I don't think that's the case. But we've always seen something in him. And Big T (Teair Tart) has always seen something in him, from the junior college journey for however many places that was. And we just keep coaching him and teaching him and focusing on his conditioning, because we understand that that's the type of impact that he can make and the type of plays that he can help us make.
(on the performance of wide receiver Marcus Johnson in his season debut)
Yeah. It was great. He's a fluid mover. The quarterback really developed some trust in him during training camp where a lot of those relationships are formed, and again, when you go on IR, you're limited on what you can do. So, he can be engaged in the meetings but he's not catching any passes from Ryan (Tannehill). So, the ability to get him back practicing last week in a limited role, and then this week, they did plenty of work to be ready for today.
(on coaching with Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer in the college ranks)
I can only coach one team at a time. I'm focused on the Titans.
(on the delay of game penalty in the first half)
We didn't snap it in time. Got a lot of moving parts. Guys are in, guys are out. Trying to focus on a different lineup, you know what I mean? A group of receivers and tight ends. But we got to get the personnel right and we got to communicate that and get the right group out there, and that starts with me. And we just – those are all things we got to clean up. There's a long list of stuff. You'd rather be able to do that after a victory than you would a loss.
(on what happened on Jaguars running back James Robinson's 58-yard gain)
Just a lot of things. Again, we can always go back to when we stopped the run. Edge. Good edge. There's a wall. There's no creases and guys are swarming, and looked to me like there was a crease, and that's not going to leave good results. (We) have to get that fixed and corrected and move on to next week.
(on what he's learned about this team over his career with the Titans)
I think that they're going to compete. You know what I mean? They're going to compete. They're going to fight. They have high expectations. High expectations of themselves. I mean, I've learned I love coaching them. I love coming to work every day and coaching them and building relationships. We're going to learn that we got to get better, too. Thanks.
