**
TITANS HEAD COACH MIKE MUNCHAK **
(on the importance of the turnovers)
It was huge. Anytime you can get five turnovers in a game, like you said it's a great thing. On the other side of it, we didn't have turnovers. So I think that pretty much usually means you are going to win the football game. You should win it by more points, because like you said, we really didn't capitalize on getting the ball back a lot of times, especially the last one back inside our five, a couple of more at midfield. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get anything going. Give credit to their defense for that, but the positive thing is that we didn't turn over on our edge. When we had to score, we finally put a good drive together when they finally took the lead on us at 10-7. We came right down the field and I don' think we had a third down, actually. We made plays. We wish we could have done it all day long, but we did it when we had to. We got the 14-10 lead and the defense did a great job of protecting that. It got sloppy along the way, but the bottom line is that we hung in there, something we hadn't been able to do the last two, three weeks of holding onto a lead or find a way to win in the fourth quarter. This time we did, so it is just good to win a game. It's been a while and feels good to win
(on assessing Jake Locker's play)
I thought he missed a couple of guys that were open, a high throw, a low throw there in the fourth quarter when we had a chance maybe to convert some first downs. A couple of things were receiver-related. Like you said, he ran the ball when he had to and made the touchdown run which was huge for us, obviously at that time. Sometimes getting the penalties hurt us, putting us in some tough spots. You know, obviously there were way too many penalties in this football game. The one on (Kyle) DeVan, I thought was questionable, but that's how it goes sometimes. They called them and put us in some first-and-20s too often. That hurt a few of our drives. hurt the situation with him (Locker). It was a game, I just thought we couldn't turn the ball over. If we did, obviously they haven't been scoring a lot of points, either. I thought we were able to not turn the ball over and give them a short field. So other than that punt at the end, we made them go long distance. The defense did a great job of putting pressure on them, getting four sacks and getting some hits on the quarterback. That was some great stuff. Our defense is getting better and better every week.
(on punter Brett Kern having a tough night)
I don't know. You thought at first glance on that last one you thought maybe someone got a hand on it. They didn't. I think he just hurried up his mechanics and miss-hit it. Kickers don't do that very often. That was a kick that we needed, hit a bigger one than that. It put the defense in a tough spot. Luckily, we got the turnover after that on the first play. We were able to escape that probably.
(on Michael Griffin needing tonight's performance)
He did, I think the defense in general. I just think finally things….balls coming our way a little bit. We made some plays. They had a drive going there on us. We got the interception there at the end zone. They had something going there in the two-minute drive, about 25 yards to go. Yeah, I really thought it was fun to watch the defense step up and really control the game for us. Five turnovers, four sacks, that's how you win football games.
(on injuries)
I'm not sure of the extent of anyone right now really. The three guys that went out, Kevin Matthews went out early with the ankle, high ankle, he didn't come back. Kyle DeVan got a chance to play, we're glad he's here, he's experienced, he jumped in there and played three quarters of football, which again it seems like the linemen we just can't keep healthy this year. But he did a great job of going in there. C.J.'s (Chris Johnson) big run was one of his first plays. He did a great job of blocking there. We had 46 run and C.J. made a great run obviously there. He also made a 94-yard run, so that was something special to see. I think Kendall (Wright) has the rib, we'll just see where that's at as far as…he tried to come back in with that. I think we had (Ryan) Mouton with a hamstring somewhere along the way. So we won't know the extent of those until tomorrow.
(on Monday Night Football as a pride game)
It was for us. We aren't happy the way things have gone, especially the last two-three weeks of games that we felt that we could've won or played better in. Yeah, this is our second time to have a chance to play on national TV, so like I said during the week, I knew that these guys would come out ready to play, play hard. We did that, didn't always play smart, but we played good enough to make enough plays to win the football game, had some big plays. We did things when we had to on offense with C.J.'s big run, with that drive that Jake (Locker) scored on that called quarterback sweep play, which looked real nice. The defense just kept stepping up every time the Jets were trying to get some momentum, trying to take over the game, the defense did a great job for us. Yeah, it shows a lot about these guys and like we said, they're going to play hard the next two weeks and we know all it is is record and we know we can't…7-9 is the best we could do, so we're going to do our best to finish 7-9.
(on emphasis on creative offense)
We just think it's more that, Jake (Locker) can do a lot of those things. There are things that we worked on during training camp and during the season but never…because of him coming back we wanted to limit his running. But yeah, the option, it would've been nice if he kept that one, you know. He pitched it and that's the chance you take when you run as many of those plays, like you mentioned we did with Vince (Young) in the past. He'll get more comfortable with that because that's a huge weapon for us, we feel, going forward, the sweep, Dowell (Loggains) put that in also, I thought that was a good idea. It worked. He called it at a great time. We got points on that one. See, I think we are searching for things where we're using our guys, the things they can do better, we know that Jake's such a good athlete. He ran the quarterback draw a couple of times and one was a big first down, one we got a holding call, and those are the things that kind of hurt us through the game. That was like a three-point play. He ran that enough to get a field goal and we got a penalty and got knocked out of field goal range. We hurt ourselves along the way, but we got better in certain areas. The bottom line is we needed to win and we won.
(on pressure on Jets QB Mark Sanchez)
It was huge. I think the defense the last four weeks, maybe five weeks, have really, since the Miami game, have really turned up the heat. I think Jerry (Gray) has put them in great situations, I think the young linebackers are getting a feel for how to add with pressure and take advantage of the protection schemes, I think we're getting better understanding that. Zach Brown is getting more and more comfortable the more he plays, Akeem (Ayers), I mean, you've got some guys that you're going to hear about for a long time around here that have a chance to make a lot of football plays for this team. Yeah it was fun to watch, us getting after him, getting after the quarterback, making hard for him, forcing some of those turnovers that you saw in the secondary. Jason McCourty does a great job again with some plays. Guys really stepped up and we talked about making plays, we haven't been making them, enough of them, and today we made…we had to make a lot of them to win this football game and we got it done.
(on Derrick Morgan's performance from beginning of season to now)
I think he just keeps getting better. His pressure…last week we bragged on him he had six or seven hits on the quarterback last week. He's making plays. He's just getting better, I think, in our system, getting a better feel for what he could do, I think he's a guy that needs to keep getting better because he's a guy we're counting on to help us going on into the future and hopefully he'll finish the season strong. The guys on the side, the DTs are jumping off sides twice, again things we can't have that hurt us. In situations we're still doing those things that put us in situations where the game is a lot closer than it had to be. We got five turnovers, it should be 14-10. We should've had a chance to put this game away with the way the defense was playing. Unfortunately, we didn't, but the bottom line is we hung it together enough to where we won this one.
(on whether Tim Tebow plays were surprising)
No, again, we worked on it, but again, it's something, that's the hard thing for a defense during the week, you work on all of those things but until you actually see it…they got a couple of 10-yard runs on us early that we came back and made some nice plays and then we had one series where we kind of talked them out where we made a couple of nice stops and then we had the sack pressure on Tebow and did some good things there. Yeah, it just adds another challenge that you have to prepare for and until you actually go against it and rep it, like I said, I think they got a couple of runs early but I think we did a good job of adjusting and kind of shutting it down.
TITANS RB CHRIS JOHNSON**
(on his touchdown run)
It was an inside zone play. They were pressing. Kyle DeVan got on his man and I came right behind him. Once I jumped through the line, I seen nothing but daylight. From there, it was just hitting it.
*(on putting the names of the victims from the Connecticut shooting on his shoes)
It's a situation when you have kids and you wake up see that on the news it's kinda heartbreaking. It's something to try to give back and show tribute to those families. I know how much they hurt. It's a situation on Monday Night Football where everybody around the world is watching. It's just a football game and not really watching nothing else. I felt like it was a good deed.
(on if his touchdown run had more meaning because he had the names on his shoes)
It was much more meaningful. Just thinking about those kids all week and the whole game. Just how fortunate it is for us to be able to come out every Sunday and Monday and play on this field.
(on why the shooting in Connecticut had an effect on him)
It was the situation. I don't care who you are. Anytime you have kids, you just think about that situation. It's really though. It shows you how blessed you are to see your kids every day.
(on why the offense struggled to get things going against the Jets)
The Jets have a very tough defense. We've got the nice run in there, but we still struggled a lot throughout the whole game. It's a situation you can't do nothing but be happy for this win, but we've got to come back Wednesday to continue to work and continue to try to get better. Right now, we are fighting through so many injuries. We took another blow to the offensive line tonight. It's a situation that seems like nothing can go right for us. We've got guys that are here working hard every week in practice. They are stepping up and giving their best.
(on why he was able to break a long run against the Jets defense)
It was a situation that their defense plays so many guys down in the box. No matter what run you have, you always know if you get behind those guys there is a good chance you can go all the way. The Jets pride themselves on stopping the run and running the ball well. It's a situation that I just read it and stayed with it and cut back through the offensive line, that's when I saw the daylight.
(on why he has been able to score long rushing touchdowns during his career)
It's a situation that just I feel like once I get through the line or whatever, I don't feel like I can get caught. It's a situation where a lot of teams like to play a lot of guys in the box for me. Anytime you do that, you are not going to have a lot of good runs like that, but you've got to take advantage when they slip. When they slip, you've just got to make them pay for it.
TITANS QB JAKE LOCKER
(on the touchdown run and the blocking)
My blockers did a great job. They locked on their guys, stayed on them, and allowed me to get into the end zone. It was really well executed by the guys out in front.
(on the struggles of the game and needing to make just one more play)
The Jets have a good defense. It is what their team is known for. We knew we were going to have to earn every yard we got today. We moved the ball well at times, but we also set ourselves back with some penalties. When you set yourself back behind the chains it can be tough playing a team like that. Those are some things that we have to clean up and don't do along with taking sacks, personally, in situations when I need to get rid of the ball. It hurt us during the game, especially in that two-minute drive when we had a chance to go down and get some points, and that makes the difference. You have to find points in a game like that. We didn't do a great job, but we did what we needed to.
(on the disappointments of not finding more points after the turnovers)
Yes, of course. But I am proud that we found ways to be the last team to score and find a way to win the game.
(on the drive to take the lead)
I thought the drive was crisp, with a lot of needed tempo. There weren't any mental mistakes and we executed really well. When you do those things, a drive like that, is what you are capable of doing. We need to find ways to do that more throughout a game.
(on the touchdown run by Chris Johnson)
I had the best viewpoint in the house. Once he gets in the secondary and gets by the second level defenders, I am willing to say we are celebrating in the end zone 100 percent of the time. So once he got by that safety we knew we had a big touchdown run.
(on the way the defense lined up against the running game)
On the Chris Johnson touchdown run, he hit that hole so quick, he caught them out of position very quickly. That is the kind of explosion he has and that is something he brings to the table.
(on the injury to Kevin Matthews)
We have a lot of faith in all the guys we dress. I thought Kyle (DeVan) came in and did a great job. He made a key block on that touchdown run so he stepped up and did a great job, but we are keeping our prayers with Kevin, hoping that it isn't a serious injury and that he is OK.
(on feeling comfortable about moving around more)
I thought we had some success with keeping me moving. We were able to window dress it a few different ways and put some pressure on them defensively. I thought it worked well for us today.
(on the offensive line being beat up)
I have a lot of confidence in our backups. I think they played really well today. They did a good job in the run game and a good job in the pass game. So they stepped up big tonight.
(on Michael Preston having a good game)
He is a guy that has really come along for us. He is a big body receiver for us. He plays hard in both the run and pass game. He has been able to come in and make some plays for us these last couple of weeks. It is awesome to see him out there contributing and he is a great teammate.
(on the deep balls and over throws)
We had a few early on that we missed by just a little bit. I think we had a chance to get a few of those completed, I just missed them. On the one to Kendall (Wright), it happened too fast, I think he outran my arm a bit on that one.
(on the satisfaction of not having any turnovers)
That was one of our keys coming into the game, to win the turnover battle. That is something the Jets defense prides itself on, finding ways to get the ball. We did a good job running and throwing and taking care of the ball. We managed not to give them momentum with our turnovers.
TITANS LB ZACH BROWN
(on stopping Jets' running attack tonight)
We just stopped the run. We didn't make any noise, but just wanted them to know 'Hey look, we're not going to let you all run on us like this. We play football here at the Tennessee Titans. This is what our defense is doing'. So everyone was focused and just doing their job, and making plays.
(on recovering Jets fumble to put the game away with under a minute to play)
I was like, 'Oh, the ball, yes!' Because the first time they fumbled it, I was there, but I didn't recover it. But this time it was 'Yes, the ball, and I'm getting it'. And once I fell on it and it popped out again, and (Jurrell) Casey covered me up and I recovered it, and I was then like 'Hey, we won the game.'
TITANS FS MICHAEL GRIFFIN
(on the Titans holding on to the halftime lead)
There have been plenty of games where either we've been up or we've been close, but we just didn't finish. Both times we played the Colts we were up going into the half, and both times the Colts managed to beat us. So halftime, one of the main things on the defense was that we can't worry about the offense scoring points. If they (Jets) don't score, we win the ball game 7-3. But we gave up a touchdown, but our offense managed to put another seven points up, and then again, it was up to the defense. They don't score and they don't win. So it was on the defense. It's been put on the defense a couple of times this season, but we have to live up to the challenge. It's a team sport and we all work together.
(on the Titans defense taking the field after the short Titans punt near the end of the game)
We knew we had to go out there, with 40-something seconds left. They needed a touchdown. So as long as we kept them out of the end zone, they had four downs and one timeout left We just had to go out there and do what we had to do. They lost the ball and we managed to recover it. Finally the ball bounced out way.
(on stopping the Jets 'Pound & Ground' offense tonight)
They've got great running backs. And going into this game, we had to stop the run. Watching film, this team loves to run the ball, and rely on their defense. We managed to get out there and stop their run, prevented the big plays, and we were able to make plays. So it was in our favor, tonight.
TITANS CB JASON McCOURTY
(on the Titans' defensive effort)
Man, we knew coming into the game, they were going to pound the ball. And we knew when the put the ball in the air we were going to have the opportunities to make plays. We just felt like that for in the past however-many weeks, as a defense we needed to step up and give our offense more of a chance to help us put points on the board. And we were able to do that tonight. … That's the one thing I thing, that after that Chicago Bears game, as a defense, we kind of came together and said no matter what happens in the game, we have to continue to play the way we want to play. Coach (Jerry) Gray talked to us about playing with a certain attitude. And I feel like over the last couple of week's stretch, we've played with an attitude, and really tried to shut teams down.**
TITANS WR MICHAEL PRESTON
(on the Titans' victory)
I think overall, it was a great team effort. Offense, defense and special teams. We showed a lot of character out there being able to fight through the little adversity and stick with the game plan and come out and win the game.**
(on getting some offensive action and making some key catches)
It is always exciting to get some reps and to catch a few balls. That was icing on the cake. I just wanted to go out there and give a great effort and be consistent in what I was doing. We wanted to take our shots offensively, and we also wanted to get C.J. (Chris Johnson) going and he got going, as well with that big run. The offensive line did a great job and we stuck to the game plan today and we came out with a victory, and that's all I could ask for.
JETS HEAD COACH REX RYAN
(opening statement)
First off, obviously it's a devastating loss, out of the playoffs and it hurts beyond belief. I think the thing that really hurts the most is we got no one to blame but ourselves. We give up two big runs. Obviously, a young man makes a nice run, Chris Johnson, you know is a speed back. We certainly aided him in that and then the other touchdown run. We have to play much better obviously but you have to give Tennessee credit. They made the plays. (Jake) Locker did a good job running with the football and so did Johnson. And then the obvious, the five turnovers. As big as this game is, I mean it was a huge game for us, and to turn it over five times, to get the ball on the 25-yard line with a chance to win it at the end and then to turn it over again. Obviously, it was extremely disappointing to say the least.
(on the offense not scoring a touchdown in the first half of the last four games)
We keep turning the ball over and we are aiding it. We can get a drive going and we turn the ball over seems like. It's been killing us. It's tough. I think our guys do a nice job of making adjustments but then again we go in and we think we got an excellent plan and for whatever reason we seem to be struggling.
(on staying with Mark Sanchez at quarterback)
I'm not ready to say who will be our quarterback next game. I am not ready to do that.
(on regretting not activating Greg McElroy tonight )
I just regret not winning this game. I think that's the big thing. Our situation, we went with six receivers which is something we had never done but that was due to the fact we had a couple of guys getting back, we had a couple of guys getting off injury and that's why we today decided to go with six. That's why I did, I went with the sixth receiver when obviously that something I don't normally do.
(on putting Tim Tebow in the game)
Well again, we did do that. That was planned and then as the game went on, we decided, 'You know what? Let's…' We were going to use him more as the game went on. I don't think he had too many plays in the second half but it was our plan.
(on why Tebow wasn't used more in the game tonight)
I think the game, you know, dictates it. You try to do what you think gives your team the best shot and obviously it didn't work out that way today.
(on changing the offense and putting Tebow in for the third series)
Yeah, I had mentioned it to Tony that was when I wanted to put him in, to put him in the third series and that's exactly what we did.
(on if it was disruptive to put Tebow in since the first pick of the game came after the change)
I guess, you know, that's for you guys to formulate your own opinions. Mine? I don't think it matters. You know, I think when you go in, whenever you're number's called, you go in and do your job.
(on changing his approach as head coach to the final two weeks of the season without playoff implications)
I know how I'm going to approach it. You know, like every game I've ever coached in my life or played in my life, you know, I'm going to win the game. That's how I'm going to approach it.
(on Tennessee's defense rising to the occasion tonight)
Well, we turned it over five times. When you look at the numbers, we converted 42 percent on third down, ran the ball for 4.9 a carry. It's obviously the five turnovers is what absolutely killed us.
(on the punt with 48 seconds remaining, believing the game could still be won and losing)
I think you could pretty much imagine because, you know, it's all riding on it all right there. You know, you're still alive, think you have a chance to win the football game and then for that last play to happen it was about as bad as it gets.
(on his assessment on the return of Braylon Edwards)
Braylon, I knew he'd compete hard. Obviously that's what he does. I know he's not 100 percent, but I thought Braylon played hard and that's who he is.
(on two years of not advancing to the playoffs after two years of being in the AFC title game and how it feels)
I could but it's probably not appropriate. From a competitive standpoint, a competitor, which is what I am, you know, I want to be in the big games. I want to coach in the big games and obviously this isn't where I thought this football team would be. There's no doubt about that. I thought we'd be in the playoffs but that's not where we are. We have two games left and I believe our team's going to… my team's going to give everything we have and we'll try like crazy to win these games. From a competitor, that's all you have left and that's what we're gonna do.
JETS QB MARK SANCHEZ
(on how painful this loss is)
It's just disappointing, very disappointing.
(on his final interception in the fourth quarter)
I just threw it a little late to Jeff (Cumberland). I should've put it on him earlier. I should have aborted the fake. We had a fake on the play, a fake hand-off. It was a quick play-action. I should have aborted it based on the look.
(on the fumbled snap on the Jets final play from scrimmage)
I have to catch the ball.
(on this being the lowest point of his career)
I don't know. It doesn't feel good hurting your team like that. That's not a winning formula, so that never feels good. Where it ranks on the scale, I don't know.
(on if he knew Tim Tebow would be coming in on the third possession of the game)
Yeah, Rex (Ryan) said the third series before the game. He was going to get the third series.
(on if he felt like he made the right decisions on the interceptions)
A couple of times, yeah. A couple of them were late. The one down the sideline to Braylon (Edwards) kind of hung up in the air too long. The one down the middle to Jeff (Cumberland) was a great read, I just missed the throw. And then the one on the sidelines to (Jeremy) Kerley, it was a comeback route on a naked. He is running a comeback and he is trying to cut the guy off and that is what I'm expecting him to do, anticipating the throw. That is pretty much bad luck.
(on being out of the playoff hunt and playing the final two games)
We're just playing for a little bit of pride here. We're trying to get back to .500, and that's it.
(on securing his job as the starting quarterback for next week)
I just have to go in and play and prepare like the starter and see what happens.*
(on the turnovers over the last two weeks)*
I'm just not playing well enough for us to win. I made a couple of bad throws.
(on if he rushed trying to pick up the final fumble in the fourth quarter)
I tried to pick it up and the back standing in protection kicked it. It's not the back's fault. I have to catch the ball.
(on if a quarterback can ever get used to splitting reps with another quarterback)
I have never been in this situation, so I don't know.
(on if he worries that he is losing the confidence of the locker room)
I just have to play better. That is all I am worried about – elevating my play, taking care of the football, making some better throws and not hurting the team.
(on if splitting reps has been a hindrance to him)
I don't know about that. It's something we'll look at it the end of the year. I don't have time to worry about it right now. It is just the situation that we are in.
JETS QB TIM TEBOW
(on if he felt like he had a chance to get into a flow in his series early in the game)
The series started off well. We made some first downs—obviously hoping to capitalize on that and score some points. We got backed up a little bit, so we just tried to make the best of some situations and not make some bad plays worse. I scrambled up the middle and threw one away.
(on what the plan was for him going into tonight's game)
I guess that was sort of a tentative plan going in, but you never know how it's going to go.
(on how his ribs are feeling)
Yeah, they're doing fine. Thank you.
(on if he knew going into tonight's game that he was going to get a full series)
It was kind of tentative—kind of saying, 'this is what we hope to do' type deal.
(on if it helped having an entire series tonight)
It definitely makes it easier. You still try and get into the rhythm and the flow, so it's not always easy just in a series, but I kind of felt like I was into it. I felt like we made some good plays, but unfortunately we just got backed up and they made some good plays as well.
(on how difficult it is to watch knowing he's the next guy up and Mark Sanchez is struggling)
You just want to do whatever you can do to help. However we can find a way to win the game is what it's about.
(on how comfortable he is with a conventional offense)
Pretty comfortable with it—I guess it's a little tough, you don't really take reps, so you just try and get as much experience as you can on the side. I felt comfortable out there, it wasn't a matter of not feeling comfortable out there.
(on being eliminated from the playoffs)
Obviously disappointing—it's what you play for. I know there is a lot of pride in this room, and we'll continue to work hard and train hard and do the best we can next week for San Diego.
JETS C NICK MANGOLD
(on the fumbled snap in the last minute of the game)
Obviously, that's not what we're looking for. My number one job is to get the ball to Mark (Sanchez), and I didn't get that done.
(on what the issue was on the fumbled snap)
I don't know. I didn't realize it until I saw the replay. It sucks to be right there with the opportunity to win, and to fail on something so simple as the quarterback-center exchange.
(on what the energy was like to get the ball back with a chance to win the game and with good field position)
Yeah, it was good. The defense did a good job of keeping them tucked in there. Special teams did a great job of getting the guy (Brett Kern) to shank the punt there, so we had an opportunity and unfortunately we let it slip away.
JETS S LARON LANDRY
(on how it feels to know they are eliminated from playoff contention)
Anything can happen, week in and week out, we've been given ample opportunities to capitalize and be victorious and finish this game. I don't know what it is, like I said, we didn't execute, but it also comes with the will power to want to win. To want to strive to be the best—it goes along with heart. You have to ask yourself what is important to you at that given time, and what's your character, who you are as a person, as an individual and you're going to see who wants it the most.
(on if he allowed himself to get his hopes up when the offense got the ball back with a chance to win the game)
When the offense took the field? Like I said man, I play defense. I was just hoping they had the mindset that they wanted to capitalize. What was my mindset on the sideline? I hope they want to capitalize, I hope they want to win. Like I said, it's all about your character and what's in your heart to want to be the best, to want to win—each play, not just the game, but each play.
(on if it's hard for him to have the defense play well and still lose the game)
I mean you get me talking a little bit—I'm about to get excited. You know my makeup, I can't speak for everybody. That's not my job (to speak about the offense), I'm a defender. That's why they've got guys upstairs and coaches, they make that decision. As a defense, you see what we bring to the table, no matter where we're at. We might give up a couple, but at the end we all want to win, we all want to be the best and you can see that.
JETS DT SIONE PO'UHA
(on Chris Johnson's touchdown run)
I definitely favored a side in there and definitely thought that he was going to hit that A gap and then he hit that sharp cut to the left. I definitely favored that side.
(on the play of the defense the last few weeks)
As a defense our job is to make plays out there and get the ball to our offense and give ourselves a chance to win and stop them from making point and progressions on the field.
(on the next two games showing the character of this team)
I think the character of this team has been shown in many different ways throughout the season with the different challenges that we have had to overcome. The character has always been in this room and always relevant in any situation.
JETS S YEREMIAH BELL
* (on what the Titans did on their second touchdown)*
They were doing the same things. Early in the game they were running a lot of deep routes and then on that drive they started converting them to short routes and kind of getting five here and five there keeping us on our heels. They got us on our heels and then ran the quarterback sweep and we just didn't get off blocks and make a play.
(on what it feels like to see Chris Johnson break free for a 94-yard run)
You try to catch him and that's what it is. It don't feel like nothing. You have to try to catch him and make the tackle. I know he is fast, but anytime you see anyone break open it's our job to try to run them down and catch them.
(on being eliminated from the playoff race)
It's frustrating. You work so hard and then you come up short and it's not a good feeling. You feel like you played football, then it all goes back to self-inflected wounds, and that's something that we can't do. That is something that we continue to do in the games that we lost this year that's what we have done.
JETS G BRANDON MOORE
(on if he is disappointed in Mark Sanchez with so much on the line)
I don't set standards for Mark. Mark is doing the best he can. You can't take away his commitment and his approach to the game, it just didn't work out today.
(on when Tim Tebow came in for a series)
Yeah, he had some nice runs in there.
(on having games left to play and not be in the playoff race)
I haven't really had time to reflect on all that, I am just focused on getting my body together and getting on the plane and going back home.
JETS LB CALVIN PACE
(on being eliminated from the playoff race)
We had our chance and fell flat on my face. We will keep fighting these last two weeks. Obviously, we are not going to the playoffs but if you are a man that truly understands this game and truly loves this game, you will keep fighting and try to finish what we started. Obviously, we are not going to have a lot to show for it but the time and the work that we put in and we owe it to ourselves and we owe it to the people that stuck behind us to go ahead and finish this season out right.
(on containing the Titans offense in the first half other than the one Chris Johnson run)
It's extremely frustrating because I think everyone in the world knew the importance of this game and it just didn't happen for us. When you are trying to get to the playoffs you can't come out here and play like that on the big stage against a team that obviously has something to play for. They are not going to the playoffs but they found a way to get it done and we didn't. That's the extremely disappointing thing is we keep shooting ourselves in the foot. The 94-yard run, you can't do that and you obviously can't give up five turnovers. It was a miracle that we still even had a chance at the end and we still blew that. I don't know.
