Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel
On the performance of the young players on the roster:
"There were guys that we wanted to evaluate and wanted to see. Throughout camp, this is another extension of the evaluation process and take the practice and carry it over to the game and see who plays with some composure to them and make some plays. I was happy to see [Titans QB] Logan [Woodside] in there. [Titans WR] Kalif [Raymond] did some nice things and [Titans WR Cody] Hollister. All those guys that played down the stretch. I know they were playing hard on that [offensive] line. We got [Titans RB Jeremy] McNichols a couple carries, [Titans RB Dalyn] Dawkins always runs hard. We'll take a look at it and then we'll move on."
On Titans WR Kalif Raymond's preseason debut:
"I just think there's a toughness to him. When you watch him, I think he loves football. We're trying to get as many guys around us each and every day that love football. It makes it fun to coach, makes it easy to coach. Not that there's not going to be mistakes, but it makes it fun to coach guys that love football."
On the evaluation of the quarterback play:
"I mean, we'll look at all of them. It's all relative. But it was important, I think, to get Logan [Woodside] in there to get him some throws. That was fun to see."
On Titans QB Ryan Tannehill:
"We expect the same thing out of every player – be ready to go, know what to do, play fast and aggressive and do everything in their power to help their team win at as many positions as possible."
On the chemistry between Titans QB Marcus Mariota and WR Adam Humphries:
"That's why Adam is here, to be a guy that is reliable and dependable. The quarterbacks have trust in him. I thought it was pretty windy early and kind of swirling with the storm coming in. We were able to convert there a few times on third down and then the drive stalled a little bit, but we were able to get the ball back in decent field position with the defense."
On the decision to have Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith on the sideline:
"As a lot of things in our daily life in this league, the headsets were down upstairs up until maybe 30 or 40 minutes before game time. So we had made a decision before that to have him downstairs and work in operation with a few guys upstairs and then they said [the headsets] were back on. Arthur's comfort level was to be down on the field in case those went out again."
On the flow of the game:
"I think okay. [There were] too many penalties. Ten guys in the huddle on third-and-two, special teams guys forgetting to remember they're on the special teams unit on defense. Those things happen in preseason, we just have to eliminate them and make sure we're keeping those timeouts for when we need them as opposed to bailing us out when we have ten guys in the huddle and the delay of games."
On Titans QB Ryan Tannehill's ability to deliver off the bench in the preseason opener:
"Again, I'm going to reiterate what I said earlier about every player on this team has to be ready to play -whether they start the game or they go in the game via injury or substitution – and that they're ready to go and they give the team the best chance to win. Ryan was one of those guys that did that tonight along with a lot of other guys."
On the importance of the backup quarterback on the depth chart:
"Well, I think it's always vital. It's vital at every position to have depth. We're trying to build depth with our team and have the strongest possible roster and competitions at every position."
On the aggressiveness of Titans CB Adoree Jackson on plays downfield:
"I don't think that's being reckless or being aggressive. Being aggressive would have been to take his left arm – which we all know is the long arm, the one closest to the ball – and bat it down. But it was great to see him come back and make some plays and challenge. Sometimes you don't always execute the play or the detail how we coach it, but that's football and that's life. Living out there on the corner position, you have to be come back and understand they'll throw at you again and I thought he was ready to go the next couple times."
On the performance of the Titans tight end corps:
"[Titans TE MyCole] Pruitt has been grinding away and trying to improve. As long as he catches every one we throw him – he's probably not going to be the primary target – but as a quarterback progresses through, as long as those guys catch every one thrown to them, I think they'll have a productive game and a productive season."
On Titans WR Taywan Taylor's drops:
"You'll be able to ask him here in a second. I can't tell you how hard he was concentrating or how little he was concentrating. I think understanding the situation of where we're at on third down, we're you're at on the field, and when we take shots down the field we all have to be able to come down with them and give guys a chance to catch it. We need to make those plays when we get them."
On the veterans supporting the young players in the late stages of the game:
"It's something that I ask. I've been one of those guys that has been out there in the fourth quarter of these games. It meant a lot to me at the time that I played when I would look over there and guys are yelling, 'Hey, be alert for this' or whatever, just cheering them on and encouraging them. We ask them to keep their pads on and stay focused on the game and help those guys in any possible way."
On his impressions of the defense:
"Well, this was just the next step in really where we are in practice. We'll look at it and see where we were with missed tackles and try to coach the penalties. That's something that, I think, we all believe in. We have to play aggressive in this league, but do it without 12 penalties or whatever we ended up having."
Titans QB Marcus Mariota
On the good connection with WR Adam Humphries tonight:
"Yeah, and he makes it easy. He finds soft zones. He is a tough matchup for other teams. And again, he just makes it easy on us."
On what it means to have a backup like QB Ryan Tannehill:
"Oh, huge. Our quarterback room is something pretty special. We have a pretty good group of guys. [QB] Logan [Woodside] and Ryan, both, have been a tremendous support and I think for us it's just a competition. We get to go out there and try to compete every single day. And I just like the atmosphere, I like the culture of the quarterback room. I love the culture of this team. We are just going to continue to build off what we've done and lean on each other."
On how big it is having a guy like that who can back up if something happens and who knows the game and has been around:
"Yeah it's huge. I think for all of us, Ryan has done a great job of just coming in and being that support system. For me especially, I can't say enough to have a guy that's played in this league that's got the experience that he does, means the world to us. He has been nothing but help to all of us."
On communication with Titans Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith:
"I thought it went well. I thought it went really well. Pretty smooth. I thought the operation in and out of the huddle went well. And I think everything was pretty clean and crisp."
On if he played about what he thought he would and how he thought it went:
"We had an idea. Once you get into it you obviously want to play a little more. But for the most part, again, I thought we did a fairly good job early on. We converted some third downs and then just got stuck. But no matter what, we have something to build off of, a good amount of plays in. And looking forward to next week."
Titans RB Jeremy McNichols
On scrimmages this week leading up to the home opener against the Patriots:
"That's going to be exciting -- being able to have a joint practice with New England [Patriots]. I mean, we get to see another team again and we get to play another game next week. It's always fun."
On preparing in camp coming into the game tonight:
"I mean, you just have to put all of your preparation in practice and everything coach is telling us into the game. It'll pay off once you listen to them and just play hard."
On how being on the practice squad last year prepared him for this year:
"Anytime you're around this NFL environment, you're going to get smarter. You're going to get a lot of reps. I was on the practice squad so I got a lot of reps at practice. It just prepared me for these moments coming up."
Titans WR Taywan Taylor
On the adversity he has faced throughout his career:
"I would say, I just need to get my confidence back to where it used to be. Play in and play up. Sometimes I found myself thinking about outcomes and I just can't do that. I need to be in the moment. I can't look ahead and can't look behind. Just in the moment. That's my thing. I know what I need to do, especially going into the season. I am definitely going to get it right."
On whether this is the most adversity he has faced throughout his career:
"Definitely. Like I said, me believing in myself every play, knowing that I am going to win my battle, get open and make a play. That's my thing. I can't be thinking about what happened on this play or that play.
On how to overcome the adversity he is currently facing:
"It is one thing to say it, but I know what it takes because I have been playing football my whole life. We are all here for a reason. I know what I have to do, just lock in and live in the moment. Don't look forward and don't look behind. When I catch myself not living in the moment, that's when things go wrong."
On polishing his skill-set:
"More reps on the jugs, releases, seeing coverage. It all adds up."
Titans WR Kalif Raymond
On how he felt the offense did as a whole:
"As a whole we put up 27 points. I think that's huge for us to come out the first game and score 27 points and to continually get better as the game progressed, that was awesome."
On whether he had any idea that he would have so many opportunities in tonight's game:
"I don't think you really worry about that, you just go out there and play and pray that the opportunities come. Thankfully, that put me in position where a lot of them did come my way. So I'm thankful for it."
On what his mentality is when deciding to compete for contested passes and put his body in harm's way:
"The crazy thing is, is that a lot of the decisions come right before the ball is thrown. When the ball is coming across the middle, you make a decision to go and catch it. Even with punt returns, you make a decision to go and make those plays, and I think a lot of it is the mental preparation that we've talked about that prepares me to go and handle those."
On whether something 'clicked' for him when WR Cameron Batson went down on IR:
"I think just trying to seize the moment, staying in the present moment and not thinking about what's going to happen at the end of camp. If I can take control of the present moment then I'll be alright, so that's what I try to focus on."
On how he developed that 'dog' mentality:
"I'm five-foot-eight, so I kind of have to have that in me, because if you go in there and you're a little hesitant then it's tough to go out there and play."
On how big a step it was to perform well in the game:
As you can see there are a lot of things that I can continue to correct. These are opportunities but, they are also building blocks so I can create a foundation so that when it truly matters, and these games truly count in the regular season, I'll be ready and even better."
Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson
Q. What do you know about QB Nate Sudfeld? (Les Bowen)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Nate had x-rays at halftime, and we found out that there is a break in his left wrist, which is his non-throwing wrist. He will have surgery in the morning to repair it. It is not season ending, so we are excited about that. After surgery we will have more of an update for you probably on Saturday when we get back together.
Q. How long of an injury is this? (Dave Zangaro)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: It is not season ending, so we are excited about that. I will probably have a better update for you on Saturday once he gets out of surgery tomorrow.
Q. Will you look at another quarterback at this point? (Ed Kracz)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Right now, we are going to continue with who we have. We are comfortable with [QB] Cody [Kessler] and we will get [QB] Clayton [Thorson] more work. Again, with Nate, this is not a season-ending injury, so we are excited about that.
Q. If you were to bring a quarterback in, how long would it take to get him up to speed before the season? (Dave Zangaro)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: If that were the case, day-by-day just getting him in the playbook and getting him caught up, but we are not at that point yet.
Q: How does this impact your plan for QB Carson Wentz for the preseason? (Tim McManus)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: We still have a plan with not just him, but with all of our guys and all of our starters. We don't play the Washington Redskins for a few more weeks so the goal is to get ready for that. But I have to evaluate these guys in the next couple of weeks and see if they need to play in some of these games and make decisions that way. You have to be smart with it and give them enough work. They are getting great work in practice, which has been very pleasing to me and we are going to continue down that path.
Q: Would this change your mind if you had thought about playing Carson some in these games? (Les Bowen)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Every case is different. Getting back to Nate, because this is not season ending, it doesn't change anything. We just stay on task.
Q. Before the injury, how was Nate handling it? (John McMullen)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: I thought he was playing well. He was seeing the field well, had a great touchdown throw. Had a couple opportunities -- missed a little bit wide on a couple throws early but I thought he really showed great poise going in against their No. 1 defense out there and was doing some really good things, kind of getting into a rhythm, too, right there before the half and felt like we had an opportunity to get some points there in the half.
Q. You mentioned getting Clayton more work – (Mike Sielski)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: First time out -- I've been there as a young quarterback, nervous and excited and wanting to do well, and that all stems from -- you look at some of the balls he threw a little bit high and a little erratic. It's just nerves and calming down and playing in these games. He'll get better and he'll get more reps now and this will be a great experience for him to watch this tape and learn from.
Q. What were some of the things you saw from some of the younger guys? (Rob Maaddi)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Offensively, I think [T] Andre Dillard and [T] Jordan Mailata both did some good things. Looking out there, [WR] Marken Michel had the big touchdown reception. [TE] Dallas [Goedert] in his second year, he did some good things early. Defensively, I thought [DE Daeshon] Hall came in there, once he settled in, made some plays on the D-Line. There were just enough guys that, you know, one of the biggest things I think for me, too, is just getting tomorrow, just taking a look at this film and evaluating everybody. Wanted to get everybody in the game. I believe we did that. Those are just a couple of guys.
Q. Overall, in the summer, how have you liked Cody Kessler, do you see a situation where he could go into the season as a backup? (Dave Zangaro)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: He's a veteran guy. He's started games in the National Football League. He's shown us he's been able to hand the playbook and incrementally getting better every day. He gets out there and takes reps. Looking forward, we're not there yet, but he's been in that role before, so he's accustomed to being a backup if that's the case. But right now, we're focused on these next few days and getting ready for Saturday.
Q. You sat most of the starters, but you played RB Jordan Howard, why was that? (Zach Berman)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Wanted to see him live. Wanted to get him out there. He and [RB] Miles Sanders split the time in the first quarter, and seeing both of those guys together, that was the plan going in.
Q. Why did Miles Sanders play so little? (Mike Sielski)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Again, the plan was to let those two guys play the first quarter and then get the other guys in the game. Other than that, that was really it.
Q. Is it more important at that particular position to see guys live? (John McMullen)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Yeah, it's great to see them live, not only running the football, but pass protection, catching the ball. We have a lot of running backs right now, so it gives everybody an opportunity early, in this first preseason game to give everybody opportunities and touches to show us where they are and what they can do.
Q. Why not add a quarterback? You said you are going to stick to – (Zach Berman)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: I can come out of retirement [jokingly/laughter].
Q. You could, but you're the head coach. (Zach Berman)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: You'd be all over me for that, too.
Q. But why not add someone when you have Carson and then two other guys? (Zach Berman)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Two other guys have names.
Q. Yes. Okay. (Zach Berman)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Cody and Clayton. Listen, we're not there yet. I mean, Nate's going to be fine. He's going to be back. We're optimistic about that and then at the same time, this gives Cody and Clayton opportunities to continue to prove themselves right now and we're comfortable with them. With the 1s, with the starters taking the majority of reps in camp, it also gets Carson and those guys enough time to get themselves prepared for the opener, as well.
Q. Let's say Carson is not playing a whole lot in the preseason games, wouldn't you need another quarterback to push out a game? (Martin Frank)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: I don't know. Right now, we've got the three guys and we'll see. We're not there yet. Like I said, we'll evaluate it in the next couple of days. See how Nate does overnight. Our thoughts and prayers are with him going into tomorrow and we'll see.
Q. The play that Nate got hurt on, it's right before the half, you're probably going to pull him at halftime anyway and it happened on a roughing-the-passer penalty. How frustrating is that, considering how close he was to being done for the night? (Dave Uram)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Listen, you look back and hindsight is 20/20. You never second guess. It's just part of football. It happens. It's unfortunate for Nate that it happened right before halftime, but look, it could have happened in the first quarter. It's just the way it is.
Q. Did you think it was a dirty play? (Les Bowen)
HEAD COACH DOUG PEDERSON: Obviously roughing the passer. We had one later in the game on us. It was part of the game. Guys are playing hard, battling, and just took an unfortunate fall.
Q. The third-and-ten, 20-yard throw that QB Nick Foles threw after he came back in the game to TE Zach Ertz, can you kind of walk us through the call? (Paul Domowitch)
DOUG PEDERSON: Just a call that's been in our offense. Again, thinking of our playmakers, obviously, [WR] Alshon [Jeffery] making a tremendous catch and then Ertz. The two defenders for Houston actually collided, which allowed Zach to really pop free and Nick did a great job there of just being able to be patient in the pocket, find him and put up a good throw and then have the awareness of getting out of bounds.
Eagles QB Cody Kessler
On how his mindset changed once QB Nate Sudfeld left the game with an injury:
"I just, you know, my first concern is with Nate. You know, make sure he is okay. Yeah, it's part of it. Injuries happen. It's kind of that mentality where I just come in and however [head] coach [Doug] Pederson says 'Go work with the twos," if something else happens, whatever does happen, my mindset is continuing on this offensive team. Play at my pace and show I can control the huddle. Take what happened tonight and learn from it and move on."
On what his comfort level is with the offense:
"It's nowhere near where those guys who have been here three years are. But it's getting there. The biggest part of it is repetition. That's something that you get with each practice day in and day out. Whether it's mental reps watching [QB] Carson [Wentz] go or physically being on the field or in the film room."
On how helpful getting extra reps will be in speeding up his comfort level with the offense:
"Like I said, it's unfortunate the way it happened. I've known Nate [Sudfeld] for a while so it's tough to see that but it's part of it. I'm going to be ready to go and step in there. Obviously he will still be around and talking to Carson [Wentz] and all of those guys. I'm very thankful I got those reps I did in the spring. Even though it was a little, you know to kind of not to get thrown in it right away. I had a couple months now with this offense and I'm feeling a lot better with it.
On his field position issues tonight:
"I mean it's just nice to get those first team reps out of the way. You know, live game reps. The first play they brought cover-zero on me so it was kind of an introduction to playing here which is nice. It's something to build off of, something to learn from. I made some good reads and some stuff I could have fixed. That's kind of just part of it."
Eagles RB Miles Sanders
On how he felt on getting a taste of the NFL:
"Not really jittery or anxious anymore. I am just ready to get back to work on Saturday and get ready for the next preseason game."
On the moment he walked onto the field for the first time:
"It was crazy. It is everything I have been dreaming about. With a place like this, the fan base is crazy. Coming from Penn State, I felt that same vibe I felt at Penn State."
On whether it was hard to get into a rhythm not running with the first team offensive line:
"No, we just have to come back to work on Saturday and just get better. We have three more games to get opportunities right and that is what we are going to do."
Eagles LT Andre Dillard
On whether there were any challenges he felt like he had to overcome and work through:
"Just like little tiny technique technical things, really."
On whether it's different for him now that the quarterback is live and he can actually get hit versus in practice:
"There is that aspect that kind of adds that inner bodyguard in all of us."
On whether it's hard to summon that inner bodyguard in practice sometimes:
"No, it's just like, you know, it's live now and something can really happen."
On what makes him feel like he's made the biggest strides from college until now:
"A big part of it is that I'm not in school anymore and football is my life now. I get a lot of time to focus on that and improving my game."
Eagles TE Dallas Goedert
On his mindset going into this game and how he feels about his performance tonight with three catches and almost 17 yards a catch:
"I felt like it was a good day with the little bit I played. I was just excited to hit somebody else. We weren't playing the same defense that we have for the last two weeks, so it was fun. We got out there and just kind of did what we could and we'll get back to it on Saturday."
On how much more he's enhanced his route running this year compared to last year:
"I feel like quite a bit. The more you get to do it against elite defenders, the better you get at it. So I feel like it's definitely improved since last year."
On whether there's any motivation to help the team expand his role:
"Like I said before, I just go out there and try my hardest every play and do what I can to be on the field and that's what I'm going to keep doing."
On whether he feels that there isn't a linebacker that can stay with him in the open field:
"I think it's a tough matchup for linebackers. I've been playing with [Eagles TE] Zach [Ertz] for so long that I haven't had a lot of linebackers on me but I did today and I was able to have fun out there."
Eagles WR Marken Michel
On the emotions going through his mind in the end zone after he scored his first NFL touchdown:
"It's been a long road. It's been long. I feel like I put in a lot of work. Definitely the work is not over. Only the people that's closest to me know the things that I've been through to get to this point and to get that touchdown. For me, that touchdown wasn't six points. It was way bigger than that."
On getting adjusted to not having free space after his time in the CFL:
"I feel like I never got out of that because while I was up in Canada, I wasn't really doing much motion. I was pretty much stationary. I was playing the outside. That's something that I didn't have to get used to, or readjust to NFL football. It was all the same."
On making big plays tonight and proving to himself that he could do it during games:
"One hundred percent. I feel like while I was in Canada, it was funny because a lot of people kind of deemed me a 'gamer.' In practice I would make plays, but in the game I would get it done. So I kind of take that mentality. Even though I go hard in practice, when the lights are on, it's showtime."
