TITANS HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
(opening statements)
You know this team battled, but I don't think this team played smart. You don't win a game in overtime with three penalties. Jason (Babin), there is no excuse for Jason's penalty. We probably have a second and 15 or a third and 15 there, (if) that pass is ruled incomplete.
We let this one go. We lost this one. Congratulations to Mike (Washington head coach Shanahan) and his team (they) overcame a lot of injuries, a short week, and a difficult time and found a way to win. You know, we didn't and that is not good.
We have a lot of work to do. We are going to look at the roster. We need guys to go out there and make plays. There may be changes. I am very disappointed.
As far as the quarterback situation is concerned, Vince (Young) tore a flexor tendon in his thumb and I was not satisfied with his ability to control the ball so I stayed with Rusty (Smith). He (Young) never came to me and said he was O.K. and wanted to go back in, and I was told that he was obviously a little upset after. I was also told that he threw half his uniform in the stands. I think clearly that is no way to respond and so we have some things that we have to sort out with him. He may need surgery and if that's the case, he's done for the year.
As far as the quarterback situation is concerned, if that's the case, Rusty is going to be our guy. We will probably have to go out and get someone and wait 'til Kerry (Collins) heals up.
(on if Vince Young spoke to him following game)
Yes he did. That is between me and him and the team.
(on being disappointed in Vince Young's actions)
I am very disappointed. I think his teammates are disappointed. You know, there is going to be frustration in losses. There is going to be, you know, there are times when you have to dig deep and fight and turn to one another. I don't think you run and so I am disappointed.
(on if Vince Young lost his starting position regardless of whether he needs surgery or not)
Yeah, right now he has, yeah. There are some things that need to change, but again, you know what went on there is between us.
(on defensive play)
Third down was a problem again. We have to get better there or we are not going to win many games. You know, we had opportunities for turnovers, at least one we didn't get, but third down is the issue. We missed some tackles, third down efficiency tackling. We didn't get takeaways.
(on offense not being able to score against a defense that gave up 59 points last week)**
We didn't play very good.
*(on if Jason Babin said anything afterward about the personal foul penalty) *
No.
(on rating how Rusty Smith performed and taking too many chances)
No, not necessarily. He put that ball up to Nate (Washington). The route was there just he overthrew it. Thought he threw a nice ball to Randy (Moss). I'll have to look at that. It didn't look like to me that it was offensive pass interference. And of course, he made some plays for us. CJ (Chris Johnson) got it running and heck, we had a chance. We got the ball at midfield. We just couldn't get field position to kick an overtime kick.
(*on who's fault it is that Randy Moss is not being a factor) *
Randy was open. Randy was open early in the game. It's not Randy's fault. And then Randy was double covered. Just kind of one of those things.
(on that being the quarterbacks fault for not finding Randy)
There was a couple of situations where I think yes. But again like I said, none of us have played that position. It's hard. You got people rushing, things like that. But there are no issues with Randy as far as he's ability, things like that. He's doing a great job on the field, in the locker room, in the classroom working hard. He just wants to help this team win.
(on Randy's frustration level not getting the ball)
That's what I said, you know he wants the ball. He's trying to help this team win. But he understands.
(on Chris Johnson having a injury)
No, I think he is ok. It wasn't on my report.
(on being able to see Vince Young's tendon tear on the X-ray)
I could see it when he came off to the sideline.
RB CHRIS JOHNSON
(on team morale in the locker room)
We've been through this before; we started out 1-6 so right now this time I feel like we are in a better situation, we have a whole bunch of AFC South games to play. We're not that bad right now.
(on frustration right now)
It's very frustrating but we know what we still got to accomplish, we've still got goals to look forward to and I feel like we are not in a panic mode right now.
(on Vince Young becoming a distraction)
Of course not. Vince is a great player; just a guy that wants to be out there on the field and making plays, so, no distraction at all.
(on quarterback Rusty Smith's temperament in the huddle)
Rusty was fine. He was just ready to get out there and make some plays. He probably was nervous but he didn't show it. Just me being a football player, knowing myself and my first ever game…every single game that I play I still get a little nervous when the game first starts but after a play or two I'm pretty good.
(on lack of rhythm on offense)
I'd have to watch the film to answer that question better.
(on Rusty Smith's performance)
Yeah, I like what I seen out of Rusty; young guy, don't get that many first team reps or probably hardly no first team reps, so for him to step in there and call those plays and make some plays that he made, I'm proud of him for that. Whoever the quarterback is going to be or however it turns out, I'm pretty sure I'll believe in Rusty.
(on reaction to seeing Rusty in the overtime as opposed to Vince)
I'm not too sure of what was going on – that injury or anything like that, so I wasn't paying much attention. So basically I was just going with the flow.
(on not scoring offensive touchdown after Washington gave up 59 points last week)
We know after a team gets beat like that, you just go back to a couple games of us last year versus the Patriots, a couple of teams this year, when they come back that next week they are all going to be fired up because of just what happened to them last week. So we knew that they were going to come in here and give their all. We just didn't do our job.
(on Randy Moss' offensive contribution)
He's contributing a lot. He sees guys out there stacking the box the whole game and things like that I just think he needs to get more comfortable and the more he learns the offense and things like that. It was even a couple of plays out there where he could have made some plays, we could've gone somewhere else with the ball but those type of things happen. I feel like he's helping us out a whole lot.
S MICHAEL GRIFFIN
(on defensive struggles on 3rd down)
As a team, coaches, defense, we all need to come together to figure out some way, somehow, on how we can improve this 3rd down (defense) and get off the field.
(on team dealing with frustration)
We got to stick together. We got to re-group, come in tomorrow, watch the film. We've got to improve overall, offense, defense and special teams.
(on team needing to stick together)
It doesn't matter who is playing. We all need to stick around and work together as a team.
QB RUSTY SMITH
(on if it looked like Vince Young was trying to get back into the game)**
You know what, I don't know. I went in for the series when he came off the field and they just told me that I'm still going in. So that's all I know.
*(on hearing that Coach Fisher said Vince Young has lost his starting job, injury or not) *
I haven't heard that at all.
(on Coach Fisher making it adamant that Rusty was the starter)
Ok. Well if that news is true, then I'm going to have to prepare and do my absolute best to lead this team. You know as a rookie in this league, there are a lot of things I need to get ready and prepare for.
(*on being aware that Vince Young left abruptly) *
No I don't.
(on being the number two quarterback this past week and his preparation)
I prepared very much this week knowing for sure going in as a number two. A couple of weeks previous when Vince had his first injury, I thought I was going in as a number two so I prepared as a number two. But then it turned out that I was going to be a three. For a while, I had been preparing as if I were a two so I just kept doing that.
(on not being shy about going deep)
That's not my game. I just throw it to the guy that's open. I do my best to try and throw what the coverage dictates.
(on the long pass to Randy Moss that got called back for a penalty)
I was pumped about that one. But it was a PI (pass interference) so it happens.
(on it being shocking that the reporters are telling him he is the starter)
Yeah, it is.
DE DAVE BALL
(on the loss)
They were able to move the ball effectively. We almost won. If (Alterraun) Verner were to have caught that ball in OT, we would have won the ballgame and everybody would be happy. That's just the way the ball bounces. It's cliché to say, but we beat ourselves I guess. We really need to get back to where we were the beginning of the year. We were doing well on third down. Today they had a lot of answers for what we were able to do. We were getting pressure on them, and they were just able to find guys who were slightly open and get the ball to them. They are a good team.
WR MARC MARIANI
(on his punt return for a touchdown)
It's good to go out and make a play early to get momentum shifted in the right direction. It was a big play for our team. We know we are capable. The Redskins have a great special teams unit. To get a big one on them like that was pretty good for us. We know if we execute, we can make big plays like that.
(on the Titans season)
You know we are 5-5 right now, and there are a lot of reasons for that. We just have to re-group. There is a lot more football to be played, and that's the good part. We still have our future in our hands. We have five division games coming up and so we have to learn how to make the plays to get these close games. I think this locker room has a great group of guys, and we'll go to work and find out how to make those plays.
WR NATE WASHINGTON
(on the future of the Titans season)
We're never going say we are in trouble. I think right now, it's just a situation where we need to win. Dropping three straight, including coming out today and not getting the win, is disappointing but at the same time, we have the rest of the season ahead of us. So we have to come out now and just find a way to win.
(on the play of Titans QB Rusty Smith)
He showed great confidence. Rusty is the type of guy that's going come out there and make every play, try to make every play possible that he can and when he doesn't, he kind of jumps on himself. So he made sure that he kept coming to us and relaying his thoughts. We just had to keep telling him to calm down, relax, it's OK, you're doing a good job right now, you just have to be on the same page with us. Right now, that's expected. He was the second or third-string quarterback today. I think he came in and did a really good job.
(on his new Titans' teammate, WR Randy Moss)
I think Randy has done a great job for our offense coming in here. He's doing a great job of getting guys open. Being available when he needs to be available. Being in spots that we expect him. He's doing a great job. He's a great leader in our (locker) room. It's just unfortunate right now, that things aren't panning out the way that we wanted it. We expect some great things out of this offense, and it's not Randy's fault. It's all the offense right now. We're not playing well.
LB GERALD McRATH
(on Washington's offensive scheme)
They used a controlled passing game. You look up front and want the D-line to get a rush, but the ball is coming out of his hand so quick that you really can't get the rush. We worked this week trying not to give up the big play. So they were able to catch the little dump passes, as that's all we gave them. I don't think we gave them anything outrageous. They just controlled the ball, controlled the clock. We (Titans defense) just need to find a way to get off the field. Like I always say, if you want to be a good team, you have to find a way to convert on third downs. They did.
(on the Titans defensive effort)
To be honest, if you watch the game, they had no deep shots and nothing really tipped us. I don't feel like the defense gave up a big play that turned the game around. We kept ourselves in the game. I feel like this locker room played their hearts out. This is a game that we just let slip by with little things. We just have to stay positive and keep working. We just can't get down on ourselves right now.
(on the Titans future)
When other teams turn on the film from today, they know that they are about to play a team that's never going to give up, and I think that's what this locker room is about. No matter what happens, we are going to keep fighting. We are going to keep working. We are going to keep believing in ourselves, even if no one else does. We know we have the talent and all the tools we need to be successful. We are going to keep pushing and this thing is going to click for us.
LB WILL WITHERSPOON
(on his 'roughing the passer' penalty in OT)
I was trying to pull up, because I see he's thrown the ball and the referee has to make a call. The league is kind of been in an uproar about certain types of hits and you got to make sure that you look at it from that standpoint. They are going to make the call regardless.
(on Washington QB Donovan McNabb)
I think Donovan is a great quarterback. A lot of people are saying he's up and down doing this. I think he's doing a really good job as you got to see today. The other side of this is, I think people under-estimated where he is in his career. I think he's a guy who is a well-seasoned veteran who knows how to command the offense.
REDSKINS HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN
(opening statement)
You guys will have to bring up the players on injuries because I can't remember all of them.
(on being down nine starters, how do you win this game)
As I told the team after the game, I've been in a lot of football games through the years, not just in the pro level, and I have never had that many guys go down and the team stay together and keep on fighting and find a way to win. It says a lot about our football team. How they handle themselves, how hard they work as you are well aware. We had a bunch of guys go down in the game, which doesn't happen very often, and you find a way to win in the National Football League.
(on this being unprecedented)
I knew they would come back and play well. I just had a feeling with our guys that with our guys we would go out there and give it every thing we had. But like you mentioned, any time you have as many guys go down in a game as we had you are just hoping that you put enough guys out there.
(on talking to the offensive line on plans)
We talked a little bit to (Logan) Paulsen. We said "Hey you're the next guy to go in." We lose somebody. Very smart guy., a little bit bigger than, I shouldn't say some of the defensive linemen, but than some of the other tight ends. I thought he would be the guy to go in there if somebody went down.
(on the job the offensive line did)
They did a job. You guys are well aware of the guys that went down during the game and guys that came in. We knew we had to run the football because they do a great job rushing the quarterback, and putting pressure on the quarterback. If you get in the passing game completely, they are going to make some plays, get some turnovers and get some sacks. We were able to survive. I think we were one for three in the red zone. We would like more points but like I said we had some opportunities that I was very proud of.
(on Donovan McNabb being effective in the two-minute drive)
Yeah, so I guess we don't have to talk about that any more.
(on how many units were down to the last guy)
Well, (Kedric) Golston before the game, we weren't sure if he was going to go last night. He's such a tough guy that he came in and said, 'I am not sure if I am going to go.' So he tested himself out before the game and he was able to go. I thought we were going to have to go in a different direction. Jeremy Jarmon did a hamstring on Friday and so we were going to do with Anthony Bryant in that situation. But thankfully Kedric was able to go, they put a good brace on him, he was able to make it through.
(on being impressed with McNabb)
I think he did a great job at the half at least for the field goal opportunity. Even though we missed it, I think he did a great job putting us in the position. He made a couple of sidelines when we didn't have any timeouts. He got a few yards here and there to give us a chance for a 50-yard field goal. He did a great job in both situations.
(on third-down conversions)
Sooner or later we had to have a good game. You can't have bad games all year. So we were due to have some good third downs. It really said a lot about our guys. We knew we had to improve in that area, there was a lot of focus like there normally is but you still have got to go out and do it. I'm very proud of the way they responded.
(on Chris Cooley and Joey Galloway on third downs)
You really never know what is going to happen in a game. A guy could get shut out for a half or three quarters and he has got to stay in the game, and Chris (Cooley) is that type of guy. He is a tough-minded guy, he doesn't get down and he knows his time will come. When it does come, you have got to make some plays, which he did.
(on the resolve of this team)
No, I really didn't because I know what type of guys we do have. It's a tough week, but I knew they would come out and play extremely hard. You're always hoping with injuries you're still able to find a way to win. **
(on being proud of this team)
Everybody has injuries and we normally don't talk about injuries because that's the nature of the National Football League. Guys go down and guys step up. The only reason why I'm talking about it right now is I never had that many guys go down in a game and guys respond. It's really a credit to them and their character and how they fought back, as I said after the game.
(on the job DeAngelo Hall did on Randy Moss)
DeAngelo Hall, obviously very competitive. He has got some great skills, and I was really pleased with his effort. We had a guy slicing to him every once in a while to keep Tennessee honest, but he is a very talented guy.
RB CLINTON PORTIS
(on his injury)
I don't know. I hope it was scar tissue from the initial shot. I thought it was something major, but I feel better now. I am going to get the MRI tomorrow and go through everything we need to go through. I just hope it was scar tissue and I'll be back on the field Sunday.
(on playing next week)
This was kind of the same thing that happened last week going against the Eagles. It happened on Monday, by Friday, Saturday, it had calmed down. It was like, 'we don't really want to push it for Monday night.' It is kind of the same thing. Hopefully it was the final setback and I can get back on the field soon.
(on the play of Keiland Williams)
I think Keiland played great. That is two weeks in a row for him to go out and play the whole game. For Chad (Simpson) to go down before the game and myself to go down during the game and Keiland having that pressure because you can't come out. There is no breather. You can't get tired. You can't tap the helmet and get spelled. I think that is two great weeks for him. It should build a lot of confidence. The way he goes out and plays, it just lets you know. I think this team is talented, I think this team is deep and everyone is playing for one another.
(on all the injuries)
You see all these guys that went down and LaRon (Landry) and Carlos Rogers didn't even make the trip. We had lost two of our best players before we even got here. And then Artis Hicks wasn't playing before the game started so we were already short and Ryan Torain was left behind. Not having those guys and for everybody to come out and still step up and play the way they did to be able to spell. We used Darrel Young as a tailback and he plays fullback. For guys to be able to go two ways and help and contribute any way they could was great.
DT ALBERT HAYNESWORTH
(on coming back to Tennessee)
It is always good to be back in Tennessee. I am originally from South Carolina, but I call Tennessee home.
(on being on a different sideline)
To be honest, it felt really, really strange sitting on the visitors sideline and looking at the guys warm up and the guys standing over there. It was different, definitely. I didn't think it would be that different, but it was.
(on if he talked to Coach Fisher)
I didn't get a chance to talk to him. I wish I had, but I didn't. I am sure there is some kind of rule about tampering or whatever. I still talk to my defensive line coach, Coach Washburn, and then some of my buddies on the team.
(on the impact of the win)
We needed to get back on track. Like I said last week, it feels good to come back home and get a W and boost our confidence. If you look at it, Tennessee is a great team. They play hard and they can be a contender in there. To come in here and get a victory is big.
(on if he regrets leaving Tennessee)
No. Life brings you down different streaks and different roads. You get that life experience.
(on all the injuries)
I've never seen anything like that. I was on the sideline and maybe in the second or third quarter when Derrick Dockery went down and the coach was like, 'are you ready to play offensive line?' I said, 'If you think we had a problem with the 3-4, we'd have a real big problem with the o-line stuff.'
WR SANTANA MOSS
(on his touchdown catch)
We watched these guys for the past week and sensed things that we could probably take advantage of. We knew if we could make them react to something quick, you can get a little edge on them. It worked. I'm thankful for it. Nice to have one today.
(on whether this win was a relief after last week's performance)
Last week is like a blur. When we were playing that game, it was a blur. After the game, it was a blur. Once that day left, I tried to leave it back there. That wasn't us. I feel like I was still on a bye week. We had a great week preparing for those guys, but they were the better team. They jumped out so fast, we had no answer. To come here today and fight and know that this team (Titans) has run through the East and did some big things against the guys in our division, it's great to get a win over them.
CB DEANGELO HALL
(on his coverage of Randy Moss and holding him to zero catches)
All week, we were talking about different things they were going to do. We felt like they were going to take a lot more shots. It wasn't like they threw the ball to him 15 times and he had zero catches. They might have thrown it (to him) three or four times.
(on whether the small number of Randy Moss targets by Titans offense surprised him)
Definitely. When you have a running back like Chris Johnson and you have a receiver like Randy Moss, you feel like you can't double Randy Moss all the time because Chris Johnson will get off. You can't put eight in the box because Randy's going to get off. For those guys to really not utilize them like we anticipated, it was a little bit of a wrinkle that we didn't expect, but at the same time, I guess they ran what they felt they were comfortable with.
(on the multitude of Redskins injuries in game)
We just kept dropping. Guy after guy, play after play. Sometimes in back-to-back plays. I've never been a part of anything like that. It just shows the resilience of the guys in this locker room. You just keep fighting. Just to see all that stuff happen, it's unbelievable.
(on the importance of the win)
I feel like every game's kind of like that (important). I think this one might be more so if you look at it because the record is what it is. You go with either a losing record or a .500 football team. For us right now, .500 kind of still has you in the thick of things. It's a little bit of a turning point to see guys keep fighting and keep fighting. The win is obviously what we wanted, but just to see guys keep fighting like that and the outcome, to get a win on top of that, is kind of icing on the cake.
K GRAHAM GANO
(on his end of regulation miss and game-winning FG in OT)
That first one, I felt a gust of wind come, right before the end of the game. I knew I had to hit it well, I just didn't hit it pure off my foot. The second time I had the opportunity in overtime, I knew just to drive through it a little more and stay down on it.
(on when he knew his game-winning FG was good)
Before I even looked up, I knew it was going in. It feels like kicking a pillow, really. You don't even feel it. I knew it was good.
QB DONOVAN MCNABB
(on importance of the win)
It means a lot. And it's not just the stats, for this offense to be able to sustain drives and convert on third downs, to keep the clock moving and come out with points. Obviously we left some points out there on the field. But for the team really to rally behind each other, knowing what happened on Monday night and the way we played, for us to come out into a game like this where we knew it was going to be a battle and for us to pull it out together. It wasn't just one unit here or this guy here, I thought together we were able to pull it out.
(on performance of two-minute offense)
I thought we all were comfortable in that situation and we looked forward to it. I know I did. I think as a quarterback, you kind of drive off of that. Your team is relying on you. I thought we did a great job of sustaining the drives and getting ourselves in position to win the game. And to have to next opportunity in overtime, to get things going and moving the chains downfield to get us into position to kick a field goal again. I thought that was something that had been missing for a while, the offense being able to close the game out at the end and win it for the team. We're all excited about that.
(on RB Keiland Williams' performance)
When you have running backs that go down, you ask Keiland to take the load and continue to run with it. Neither did he get tired or kind of ask questions. He knew what he was supposed to do. He did a great job for us running the ball as well as catching the ball out of the backfield.
(on numerous injuries in game)
It's a tough game and one that I haven't been a part of, with so many guys getting hurt. I remember talking on the sideline. I believe we'd knocked out 13 or 14 players over the last so many odd weeks, and now we're dropping like flies. The good thing about it is we have some experienced veterans stepping in and helping us to fill the void when guys go down.
