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GENERAL MANAGER MIKE REINFELDT**
(opening comments)
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As you know, we just took our first round draft pick, Derrick Morgan, defensive end from Georgia Tech. He is a talented individual, a two-year starter that had 20 sacks the last two years. We think that he fits what we do well, so this is a good thing for the Titans.
(on whether this is as good as he hoped to do with the pick)
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At the press conference the other day we talked about there were three of them that were close. I think even internally in a lot of our mock drafts and what if scenarios this is a guy that we thought would be gone when we picked.
HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
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(on if he is the most NFL-ready of the three)
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He is a very, very productive player. He has played the end position very, very well. He is technique sound. I think he is going to love our scheme. We are going to let him do a little bit more. They used him as good as they possibility could use him in their defensive system, but we are going to put our ends outside and we go. That is one thing that he can do. Again just to kind of reiterate what Mike said, we were very pleased and surprised. There were a lot of different scenarios where we were somewhat nervous we weren't going to get the defensive lineman that we wanted. We are very excited, as he is.
COLLEGE SCOUT COLE PROCTOR
(on the kind of player he is)
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Number one is his work ethic. The guy comes off the ball, his feet never stop and he is going to chase sideline-to-sideline. The production is there and I agree. When we move him outside in our defense and of course with [Coach] Wash coaching him out there, the production we have had in our defense, I think he is going to reach the top. He is going to go right off the scales for us.
HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
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(on if he is going to be a starter opening day)
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He is going to play. Whether he starts or not, there is a lot of time between now and then. He is going to play. He is going to be active and play football for us. We rotate our guys. He really helps us up front. We are doing well right now up front. Sen'Derrick [Marks] is having a great offseason and Jason is healed up and of course we have Tony [Brown] locked up. We feel pretty good about where we are up front.
(on playing both right and left end at Georgia Tech and what side he is better on)
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It is a good question. He plays both sides very, very well. You will find not only players that are draft eligible, but players that have been in the league for years that struggle flipping sides. He doesn't. He is very, very talented.
(on how important he is with the departure of Vanden Bosch)
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I don't think you will ever match a Vanden Bosch motor, but he will come close. He does it because that is the way he plays and he has been doing it for years. He has made a lot of plays because of that with tackles for losses and sacks. He has been very impressive.
GENERAL MANAGER MIKE REINFELDT
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(on where he was rated on the board)
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He was just about there in the top ten. I think that is the fortunate thing, is we got a really high rated player from our board at a position of need.**
COLLEGE SCOUT COLE PROCTOR
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(on how many times he saw him play)
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Just a steady player that gives you all he's got every time the ball is snapped. I saw him play twice in two years and of course practices and pro days and combine and all that stuff. He is the same every time you see him. I have never seen him let down and have a bad game.
(on a comparison in the league)
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It is hard to draw a comparison to anybody. We will let you guys do that after a couple years. He is going to make a lot of plays for us.
GENERAL MANAGER MIKE REINFELDT
(on if they got phone calls from other teams to move up)
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Yeah, during the course of any draft, there's calls to go up, go back, and you analyze each call. You analyze each scenario. At the end of the day, we felt we were at a spot where the player we wanted was there, so we were comfortable with that.
(on if he felt confident Morgan would be there)
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We felt confident we were going to get a good player, but we get them throughout the course of each player being taken. We had a call this pick, after this pick was another call. You know, we had a number of calls.
HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
(on if any of the calls for potential trades were tempting)
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Yes.
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(on if they were surprised or worried that the trades ahead of them were to acquire players the Titans wanted)
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That was part of a lot of the discussion. We thought, based on the information we had, that Philly was interested in the safety. We were a little surprised at that pick. There were a couple other moves there ahead of us that surprised us, but it didn't deplete us, per se. But we're not in other draft rooms, so we don't know what people are thinking or what kind of calls they're taking.
GENERAL MANAGER MIKE REINFELDT
(on the activity ahead of them)
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Yeah, I think there were some tense moments, but at the end of the day, it turned out just the way we hoped it would.
HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
(on how confident they were two picks away that they would get a player they wanted)
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That's correct, and there were other players we had rated with equal value. Anytime you have that situation, then you're willing to entertain thoughts of dropping down, picking up another pick knowing that you'll get the value. But this was one we couldn't pass up.
GENERAL MANAGER MIKE REINFELDT
(on if the avenues are closed on getting back into the second round)
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I wouldn't close the door completely, but to get back into the second, you'd have to give up a first for next year. So unless someone unbelievable is there during tomorrow night, I think it's highly unlikely.
HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
(on what the team will address in the draft on Friday)
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I think if you look back over history, we're going to address most of the positions. The one thing that's encouraging is that this is a strong draft, specifically on the defensive side of the ball. So if there's an offensive need that pops up, or there's a player available that pops up, we can at least discuss that scenario, potentially make that move because with the number of picks we have and the depth of the defensive draft, we're going to get some good players.
GENERAL MANAGER MIKE REINFELDT
(on if the addition of Morgan eliminates the possibility of trading for a veteran defensive lineman)
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It strengthens our defensive line, obviously, so it makes us less likely to consider defensive line additions, if that's your question.
HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
(on if the door is closed on trading for Albert Haynesworth)
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That door was never open. But I mean, if you think about it, if there was the potential scenario—now, he's under contract, I have to clarify that—our strategy would have changed in the first round if that scenario was available. Therefore, I think we can all come to a conclusion that the door is shut.
(on if the scenario could have worked out any better)
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No, this is a good day. It worked out very well. We're very pleased.
GENERAL MANAGER MIKE REINFELDT
(on if the scenario could have worked out any better)
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I think it turned out really well for us.
