(on winning back-to-back AFC South Division Championships)
This is unbelievable. I am going to try my best not to get emotional. When we got off the field Titans Amie (Wells) interviewed me and I couldn't stop crying because it is like being here through those times we just sucked, it was just awful. Come in and would have to have a silent cadence because the opposing fans would be in the building, and you couldn't hear your own snap count on your own field. It just seemed like no one even cared about Titans football. I say that, I know there have been season ticket holders since the 90s and all that, I am not coming at them. It just wasn't as big of a crowd as it is now. Like I have said so many times before, I am so proud to be a part of this team. Last year, sitting there at home with a torn ACL and watching the boys win the division – Will (Compton) FaceTimed me in the locker room and I just lost it, I was so proud of being a part of this team and I wish I could have helped more last year. Being on the field today and winning the way we did, I just broke down and started crying. It is just amazing to be a part of something for this long. It is amazing to help change the culture of a team. I am so proud of that.
(on if he expected the season to go the way it has so far)
Every year you think in April that you are the best team in the world. Then you find out who you really are in the season. There has been a lot of adversity for this team this year. There has been a lot of adversity for me this year. Some BS, nagging things here and there and not as available as I want to be. I am just happy we got this win today. We are going to celebrate it for 24 hours and then the Bengals won right? We have a game to win next week.
(on the remaining goals of the season such as getting the number one seed in the AFC)
Like (Mike) Vrabel said leading to our Bye Week, it was a super late Bye Week, we came back and (Mike) Vrabel told us, 'This is when the season is beginning.' In the past there wasn't that mentality. I think last year there was and maybe the year before that. The past coaches didn't set that mentality. (Mike) Vrabel has done that. We really believe it that our season is just getting started now.
(on how proud he is of the running game)
There is always room for improvement. Those guys ran their ass off today. (Dontrell) Hilliard, (D'Onta) Foreman, (Jeremy) McNichols, they ran their asses off. They found holes and the boys were blocking. That is a really good defense. Hats off to the Dolphins. They have won seven in a row for a reason. Their defense was that dominant. We knew we had a lot to play up to. I am proud of that. You miss the King (Derrick Henry), though. Not just him on the field, but him in the locker room with the boys. That guy is a huge staple of our team.
(on returning from the reserve/COVID-19 list and what it is about this team that allows them to perform well despite all the adversity)
Yeah, I had COVID this week. Miserable. I came back on Wednesday and was dying at practice. I think it says more about (Mike) Vrabel and Jon (Robinson) and what they have done putting the guys in this locker room. Drafting guys like Jeffery Simmons, A.J. Brown and Derrick Henry, but also bringing guys in like Denico (Autry). Bringing those guys in knowing what they bring to the table and instilling that in us. It doesn't matter who is in or who is out. I think you saw it in the middle of the year, there were times where we played games and you were picking up dudes off the street. You were like, 'Hey, we need 11 dudes to be on the field.' And those guys took advantage of their opportunities and are still here. It says a lot about Jon (Robinson) and (Mike) Vrabel, and it says a lot about the guys that had to come in on a short week and learn the playbook. It is not an easy thing to do.
(on what it means to win back-to-back division championships)
This team is getting better every single year. Like I said before, Jon (Robinson) and (Mike) Vrabel bringing in guys that are going to help our continued success. Taking it one week at a time. We could tell even during the season, shooting ourselves in the foot too many times. Losing those games you shouldn't lose or ball security and all that stuff. There is still so much more we can get better at so that is really exciting.
(on if winning the division is becoming the new standard for this organization)
I think that is a bold, bold statement, but I think he is right. You win back-to-back – your goal every single year is to win the division. We have the talent on this team to do that and we have done that for the last two years. I would agree with him. I believe that this is the standard for us. This is the standard we should be held to and continue to hopefully have success in this postseason as well.
