 |
TITANS QB MATT HASSELBECK
(On WR Kenny Britt and WR Nate Washington)
"It's a work in progress. Nate is very polished. He's been around; he's a vet, runs great routes. He's just really smooth. He reminds me a lot of [WR] Nate Burleson who I played a lot with in Seattle, just a trusted, dependable guy. He has really good speed. Kenny is a little bit more raw. He's taller and maybe faster or explosive. He's kind of out there having fun just working on his God-given ability. Both guys are really great and they're fun to work with. I'm kind of looking forward to the year just getting better and growing with them each and every week."
(On coming to Tennessee after 10 seasons with Seattle)
"It was a change. It was very different. The only thing I can say is that the team was kind of changing on me the last three years. We had so many new players that I wasn't recognizing a whole lot of players in the locker room anyways. Even last year, there's no way I could have told you everybody's name on the team by the end of the year. It's a reality that happens in the NFL. I think I was really spoiled being with one team for 10 years."
(On why he chose Tennessee)
"It's a great fit for a lot of reasons, but why am I here? Basically because they are the team that wanted me. It wasn't like the Seahawks wanted me back, so this was the team that wanted me and that's why I'm here. Why is it a good fit for me? I think it's a great fit. We've got a great quarterback room. I'm excited about the chance to work with [QB] Jake Locker and just be to him what other quarterbacks were to me early in my career. This offensive line is really, really good, really strong and communicate well. I think it's a strength to our team and kind of the identity of our team. We also have a very good defense, and we also have some weapons at the skill positions—[RB] Chris Johnson, obviously, is an established running back in this league and has made a name for himself. We've got some talented wide receivers. We've got three tight ends that we use--Daniel Graham, Craig Stevens and Jared Cook—all three do a great job for us. I think it's a good fit. What they were missing is a little bit what I think I can bring. I think it's just a fortunate situation for me."
(On having players play at random positions due to injuries)
"It's not ideal. It's not ideal at all. I can remember even as a kid watching the New York Giants. I think [QB] Jeff Rutledge had to go in and play wide receiver for them or maybe [QB Jeff] Hostetler had to go in and play wide receiver for them, but even for us, [QB] Seneca Wallace, when I was in Seattle, he started a game at split end for us, and pulled his calf in pregame. That just was a disaster. We started 11 guys at wide receiver. I think that's really the story of the Denver Broncos right now. They're 1-1 and they lost a tough game. They just have some really, really good players, starters, out. This a team, in my mind, that could very easily be 2-0, probably should be 2-0 if they were healthy."
(On the league's passing numbers being higher than normal after Week 2)
"Maybe just [New England QB] Tom Brady and [Carolina QB] Cam Newton are skewing the stats a little bit."
(On his 358-yard passing game last week -- in response to his previous answer)
"We don't want to be that kind of an offense necessarily. I don't need to be; I'm happy with a little more balance. I think it's exciting. I think there's a lot of questions going into this season without OTAs, without any of that time. How is this year going to go? Was it the offense that was going to jump out, the defense going to jump out? The interesting thing is when you're in training camp, the defense is usually ahead of the offense because the defense is in man or zone and you're chasing the ball. That's usually what you do, and on offense there's so much with rhythm and timing and communication and all that stuff. It's impressive what some of these offenses, some of these quarterbacks, have been able to do around the league."
(On counseling WR Kenny Britt)
"He's off to a good start, but it's just two games. He's a guy that's made some plays in the last two weeks, but what I tried to do when I got here was to just give everybody a fresh start. I heard a lot of different things about a lot of different people, and I just try to give everybody a fresh start with me and I wasn't going to judge anybody before I got to know them. For him, he's a young kid, he's raw and he's out there having fun. He's a competitor. His numbers are really good right now. I'm not sure if we can stay on pace. He's done a great job for us. With him and [QB] Nate [Washington], I think we've got a decent group where if we just keep getting better each week and hopefully win some games here as we're growing together, give ourselves a chance to win our division, and then put the Titans back in the playoffs, which would be a great thing."
(On the differences in the Denver Broncos defense from last year)
"Schematically, defensively, there's a little bit of difference. I think the thing that sticks out is just the pass rushers, the speed rushers on the edge whether it be [DE Elvis] Dumervil or [LB] Von Miller, that's really what sticks out. They've had injuries too, so you don't see [CB] Champ [Bailey] out there; you don't see different guys that are good players—you don't see them on the film. If this team was healthy, this is a really, really talented defense. They've got really good players, and if they were healthy. That's the big 'if'. They just haven't had everybody on the field, but if they could get that going, I think this is a really dangerous team. They could do good things this year."
(On QB Jake Locker)
"He's got everything that you're looking for in a quarterback and really in a teammate—hard worker, he's loyal, he's honest, and he's athletic, very, very talented. He's got all kinds of God-given ability, things that you can't necessarily coach. If he had to play, if he was on some other team right now and they asked him to play, I'm sure he would do a fine job. At some point he may have to play for us, and so I think he's working hard. He's preparing each and every week like he's going to play. He's very talented. He's very fast. I think he ran a 4.39 (40-yard dash) his freshmen year at U-Dub (University of Washington), so he's got a lot of ability. I feel like he could play another position if he wanted to. He claims he could be a good strong stafety. I'm thinking more of a slot receiver, but the fact that he could do it is really amazing. He throws the ball really well, and he's done a nice job coming in here learning our system, learning our stuff in a short amount of time."
(On whether Denver's injury list changes his approach to the game)
"It can, but in this kind of a situation, especially when it's me just learning our stuff, me focusing too much on them, it probably isn't going to happen. It probably isn't going to help me. What I tried to last week when we were playing some great players, similar to Denver's defense we played Baltimore where they have some great players. They've got a [LB Terrell] Suggs, they've got a [LB] Ray Lewis, they've got an [S] Ed Reed. That's similar to a [DE Elvis] Dumervil, to a [S] Brian Dawkins and a [CB] Champ Bailey. What I try to do is not really focus on them too much, but to try to focus on what we do and just be crisp, sharp and worry more about us. I think that's the best approach. I think it worked well last week, and it's probably the same approach I'll take this week especially with not knowing they're situation. I'm not going to care. It's not going to affect me. I'll just go out there and try to play like I do in practice."
(On his brother, ESPN analyst, Tim Hasselbeck saying something on TV that has made him mad)
"Sure, definitely. He's the middle child and he's trying to get his revenge now that he's got a microphone to do so. I don't really mind that; I've got thick skin. What troublesome sometimes is when he'll call out the defense that we're about to play. He called out the Dallas Cowboys a few years ago right before we played them on Thanksgiving. I don't think it sat well to [Dallas LB] DeMarcus Ware, so he had some things to say to me after each hit, after each sack, quarterback pressure, so I appreciate it when he doesn't go after the defense that I'm about to play. I think I should get extra points in my quarterback rating to have to deal with that. What do you think?"
