TITANS HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT
Opening Statement:
"Well, we made more than our fair share of mistakes, but I liked the way we fought back, battled back. Unfortunately, they did a good job of going down and scoring. It was a good game from the standpoint we were able to evaluate all the players and correct the mistakes. It was good to see Marcus Mariota bounce back the way he did and finish that long drive. It was just great to have a game under our belts, and to be able to go back and evaluate some of our players get mistakes corrected and move forward."
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On what he saw with the two turnovers by Marcus Mariota:**
"Screen, really that is there where the interception comes on a screen pass. I think what happened, they hung the linebacker outside and Bishop [Sankey] saw him, and tried to turn him in. With those screens you try to hit the guy moving, in that case right to left and Marcus threw it to a spot and there was a miscommunication. The second one the guy hit his hand. You could see him going through his read and, the guy was open and it was just unfortunate.
On what he said to Marcus Mariota about the turnovers:
"I could tell he was pissed because of the situation, not really because it was anything he could control, and you like that in a competitor. I can tell you what, to go 90 yards in that next drive after a penalty and have a big third down. You can tell it didn't rattle him too much. I think going forward he was five for five and made a great throw to Antonio [Andrews] over the top, so I'm not concerned about Marcus, he doesn't get flustered. He threw an interception, so I guess we can move on from it. I guess we can find a quarterback."
On the play of the Defense in first drive:
"Well, I mean, Julio Jones is a pretty darn good receiver, and Matt Ryan is a pretty good quarterback. They had a good thing going. They didn't run the ball very much they threw it down the field on us. Some of that on those boots, that is the type of offense they run, we didn't game plan for that. Those are tough things to match up sometimes, and I think some of our young guys struggled with that, but we will just try to continue to work on those types of things. When you don't see them it's hard to identify, and they did a good job of executing."
On whether the mistakes with Mariota had to do with being nervous:
"Didn't seem like it. It just happens in this game. You don't know what they are running, in that situation with the interception it was second and long. They played an outside zone, and we just hadn't gotten a lot of reps of that particular play, so those are the kind of things that if you know you game plan going in the different looks you just try to learn from it."
On the offensive Line attributed to mistakes by Mariota:
"I think we did some good things running the ball early with that group with protection. The one that they got the hand on it, I think if you look at it on the tape he was past him, and the guy stuck a hand out. You see that a lot in the NFL. You don't want to throw the interception on the screen, I would hesitate to make any judgment until I have seen the tape of it."
On whether Marriota should have gotten the ball out on the sack:
"We missed inside. We had the guy open down the field and couldn't get it off, it was a play action pass."
On not having a game plan, and the decision to bring him back in after the turnovers:
"At that point we hadn't done anything, so to not let him come back from the turnover wasn't an issue."
On the missed extra point by Ryan Succop:
"I'm quite sure that is what the League had in mind. We tried to buy into it. We had in our mind the scenarios to use to get the two points, and get back on line."
On whether he expects his kicker to make it from the 33-yard line:
"Yes, especially in a dome you do."
TITANS QB MARCUS MARIOTA
On what was going through his mind about the slow start but a strong finish:
"You know it's always about thinking about one play at a time, not worrying about what happened in the past and just focusing on what was going on in that moment. I just shrugged it off and figured we needed a new drive."
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On being happy about leaving with a touchdown drive despite the fact that there is still a lot of work to do:**
"I think facing adversity makes us a better team. For us in the offense to be able go through that only makes us better. We look forward to next week and us doing a better job of taking care of the football."
On playing in his first NFL game:
"It was an incredible experience, to say the least, to be able to step on the field. The Titans organization is that special. I enjoy every moment of it. There are some things that we can work on, but I'm going to enjoy the moment. I look forward to next week."
On whether this game help will his development:
"Oh it's going to be pivotal I think for all of us. I mean, I think that we can learn from our mistakes and get better from them."
On third-down completions:
"It's about building your rhythm, for us to just continue to get first downs because it will give us more confidence. I think that drive kind of helped us feel comfortable about ourselves and we will come harder next week."
On no picks in camp and the irony of the first drive:
"It happens in football. That to me doesn't matter as long as we win the game but unfortunately those turnovers cost us the game today and its upsetting but you can learn from it and just move on."
