HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER, OCT. 19, 2008
On the game:** "Well I have to say that I'm especially proud of the way they handled the last couple weeks, coming off an emotional win at the end of [our game with] Baltimore. To have the bye week sandwiched right in there in the middle was good for working some younger players into it. This was a game where we knew we had to go out and do the things that we did to win and we did just that. I challenged them to get 17 more points at halftime and they came out and got 17 more points. I didn't expect to get them the way we did, but nevertheless. I think overall, it was a good win for us. It says a lot about our ability to run the football and play defense. And credit (Chiefs head coach) Herm (Edwards), he's got a good young football team and they're going to improve. It was unfortunate that (Chiefs QB) Brodie (Croyle) got knocked out of the game because I wanted to see him play but I didn't want to see him play because I saw how well he played against New England."
Is this your most complete game of the year? "No. We made some mistakes. [The players are] not satisfied. Any time you run for the yards that we did, the franchise record and the two backs over 100, it's impressive. But we still made some mistakes. I think we can play better. We just keep working, stress improvement. We have an extra day this week to heal up. Then we're back in the division."
On the importance of being able to run the ball so well with starting WRs out: "Well, we challenged the receivers to block for us and to get open. We felt like we'd have a chance. Your run game is a development of the way your team plays. The defense is getting stops and we could do those kind of things. Overall, I was pleased with it. The backs got a lot of extra yards on their own, you know, after contact. (RB) Chris (Johnson) is just a step away from going the distance. No one thought (RB) LenDale (White) was a step away from going the distance. He must have had a salad for dinner last night."
Does Chris Johnson have a career in the music business, you think? "It was a very short-lived career, it will not happen again."
On his response to Johnson following the post-touchdown celebration: "I told him regardless of the score in the game, you just can't do that type of thing because then we end up kicking off from the 15-yard line and end up giving up points. He's excited and celebrating and all that kind of stuff. I think he used [poor] judgment and realized [it]; and if he didn't then he realizes now that he can't do that under any circumstance. I don't have a double set of criteria for being able to do that or not being able to do that."
With the receivers out, did you realize that you had to run and play this way to win? "I thought we had a real good game plan for our passing game. We had confidence, not only in (WR) Lavelle (Hawkins) but also in (WR) Paul (Williams) to be able to execute that. We just got into a situation where we were having success running it, so if you can do that then why change?"
On his team being able to "hang" the last couple weeks: "Winning is important to them. I said over and over, you carry a respect level into these games for your opponent. They worked hard and were focused this week. We got them off the field when it was time. On the field and in the meetings they were focused. It doesn't get easier, it gets harder now. We're back in the division against a team (Indianapolis) that we know and a team that's going to be a big challenge for us next week."
Has the Monday night game next week caused the team to look ahead any? "No. No. You don't play like this thinking ahead. You take it one game at a time and that's what they did."
On DE Kyle Vanden Bosch having any sort of setbacks: "No, he did not. He wasn't really ready to go, but he was close. The plan with Kyle after warming him up was still see if we can get him 25-30 plays. So it's important to us that he let us know how he felt and once you got him to full speed, he was just nervous about setting back. So it was best to just have him sit and continue to rehab this week."
On the disappointment of not getting the shutout: "Well, those things are real hard to do in the National Football League and they gave it their best shot. I don't think anybody is upset right now; they're all looking forward to our challenge next week."
QB KERRY COLLINS
On his mindset playing without his two top wide receivers: "I had confidence with the guys that we were going to go with today and it was one of those things where we would love to have both Justin's every week (Gage and McCareins), but with the game the way it went we didn't ask much out of the passing game today. When those guys had the opportunities to do things they did it."
On taking the crowd out of the game: "The crowd is always really good here and really loud. Obviously, the best way to get a crowd out of the game is to get up early and we were able to do that. It goes a long way in being able to operate later in the game and it's obviously something you would like to do anytime you play on the road and we were able to do it today."
On the weaknesses of the Titans: "I really wouldn't say that we have any big weaknesses. There are some things that we can get better at. Do we have the basis of a good team with a good offensive and defensive line? Yeah. I'm not saying that we are weak at any point, but there are things that we can get better at."
RB LENDALE WHITE
On the last time he had an 80-yard TD run: "I would say high school. It's been that long. An 80-yarder in the league is hard to come by, but I'll take it and I'm very proud of it. I stole a page out of WR Randy Moss' book and took a look at the JumboTron to make sure nobody was coming. Once they started gaining I made a cut and got into the end zone. It's was a lot of fun."
On having two 100-yard rushers in the same game: "RB Chris Johnson and I are competitors. When I see him go out there and make a long run, it makes me want to go out there and do the same thing. It's one of those things where you think, 'if he can do it, I can do it.' Everything worked out good today and the offensive line did everything today."
RB CHRIS JOHNSON
On playing the drums after his 66-yard TD run:"I thought about it before the game, but Coach Fisher told me I can't be doing those things. I was just out there trying to have some fun."
On having two 100-yard rushers in the same game: "It means a lot because I go out there and have a good game, and then he won't have a good game. Then he'll go out and have a good game and I won't have a good game. So it was nice to really come together today. We've got a chip on our shoulders and we really want to go out there and show everybody what we've got."
LB KEITH BULLUCK
On playing the Chiefs without RB Larry Johnson: "We were looking forward to playing against Larry Johnson. He is one of the premier big backs in the AFC. We were looking forward to playing him and he would have definitely brought a different dimension, but at the same time we practiced against the same plays and we didn't know Johnson wasn't playing until after practice on Thursday. We were preparing for him the whole time anyway. We feel as though he would have gotten the same treatment."
On the importance of getting a win today:"We wanted to come in and get a win off the bye. If we were looking to getting a win going into Monday night, we would be getting ahead of ourselves. We wanted that win off the bye because there are no more breaks the rest of the season. For us to come out and have a performance like we did in a tough place to play was big for our team and it shows the country what this team's mind state and attitude is all about."
