TITANS INTERIM HEAD COACH MIKE MULARKEY PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT - November 11, 2015
(on the mood of the team this week)
They had Monday off, so I'm sure the mood was pretty good on Monday. We gave them Monday off for the victory, but the good sign was that we had 50 plus players in, still to get a lift, still to get treatment, still to get some type of conditioning in. Without asking them to be here, they did that on their own. So that kind of shows you a kind of team that's into it right now.
(on if he sees a third quarterback as a luxury, given the roster move he made to release Charlie Whitehurst)*
Really, that was based on where we are with our roster and some of the injuries that have taken place. We had to find a move, we had a deadline today to get David Cobb up and we just felt like that was the best situation for us. It would take two to have Charlie (Whitehurst) have to play, and he would be inactive this weekend anyhow. So we really looked through the whole roster to see what the best situation today was, and that was with Charlie.
(on who will serve as the third quarterback if that becomes necessary)
We had a Harry Douglas or a Kendall Wright plan in case of an emergency, which we've had because we've only had two quarterbacks up anyhow. So if something happened, we've practiced it. We did it again this Saturday. We had a period just for Harry to be the quarterback.
(on if Harry Douglas has a good arm)
It's good enough.
(on if Kendall Wright will be back before Sunday)
I don't know for sure. He did a little bit today, but not much. I'll know more as the week goes on. I was hoping to get a little more out of him today, but did not.
(on the status of Jason McCourty's injury)
He's getting a second opinion today, so I'll know more for you tomorrow on that.
(on if he's taken a step back after the emotions following Sunday's win and if he feels better about what the guys can do)
Yeah, it does. But like I've told them, we went through the game this morning. I didn't want to bypass that with giving them a day off, usually you watch the game film. But there is no better tape to watch than game film. We can't teach better than off a game film. So we watched some tape this morning, and I told those guys, 'Now we've got to put that thing behind us, including myself, and we've got to get ready for the Carolina Panthers. That is a good football team coming in here.' So I think they did that. I expressed that there are things we obviously want to carry over from the win, and things we don't that we did poorly. But that one's gone by, and I think this whole team is moving on based on the way they practiced today.
(on the plan for David Cobb now that he has been activated)
I will know that…again, he got more reps today than he's had since he's been here in protections and in the run game. So I'm not going to make a judgement on whose role will be affected, if anybody, until I see more of him throughout the entire week.
(on what David Cobb needs to do to earn carries)
Not just the carries, but the protections. If he's going to be in there, he's got to be able to do both, and I have to see that we all trust him and he's up to par with where we need him to be. There's no room for any error when it comes to protections. He had a good start today. He got a lot of reps at it. We'll just keep going and see where he's at.
(on David Cobb's weight concern)
There was a number of them that had a weight concern last week on Friday, and they are all under as they were supposed to be.
(on Antonio Andrews from a protection standpoint)
He's solid. He's very smart. He's very physical, he'll take on anybody, and he'll have a load this week with these guys that are playing for them. But he's a good protector.
(on if Andrew Luck's injury increases the opportunity to take control of the AFC South and if that will motivate the team)
Well you know, (Matt) Hasselbeck has two of the wins. So they're thinking the same thing that they're OK because they've won games with Hasselbeck. He's won a lot of games in his career, but there's nothing we can do with how or what happens anywhere else. All we can kind of control is what goes on here, and that's what we're going to do.
(on the Panthers winning their division last year after starting 3-4-1 and if he's used that to motivate the players this week)
I haven't, but I think I may use that now, if you don't mind. I haven't brought that up. This is an 8-0 team coming here and I basically said, 'You may have heard this before, but this is a tough, physical team that doesn't beat itself. They're undefeated because of it. They're very sound, they don't turn the ball over, there are not a lot of mistakes, they're physical, and they're 8-0. There's a lot to be said about what they're doing and the success they've had.
(on Luke Kuechly as a player)
He's all over the place. He's very good really in everything he does. He's so smart, it's obvious he studies film. He has a good key on what's going to happen, a lot of times, before it happens. He can do it all. He can blitz, he's an effective blitzer. He's a pretty good cover guy. He's rarely blocked and stays blocked, and that's what we've got to do. Not just him, we've got to stay on all these guys, but he's rarely stays blocked.
(on what concerns him most about Cam Newton)
He's proven that he can do it all. I think he has a confidence about him right now. He's playing with a lot of confidence. (Offensive coordinator) Mike Shula does a good job there, they really do play to these guys' abilities, Cam (Newton) obviously being one of them. He's not afraid to run it. He's a big, physical back when he's got it, and they're not afraid to give it to him.
(on if he is concerned about shotgun snaps from Andy Gallik to Marcus Mariota and if that needs to get better)
It needs to get better. We had a couple, obviously one rolled back in a critical place. We've had a couple of those out here and we are working on it. But I'm not going to go overboard with it. He needs to clean up and we're working on it.
(on how much Cam Newton has grown as a leader)
All I can see is what's on tape, and guys are playing hard for him. They're where they are supposed to be. One thing you can see is an offensive line that's doing everything they can to protect him. They've got to find one last little shoulder to get by them. To me, that speaks volumes if you've got guys that are going to lay out for you. He's earned their respect. It would be hard not to the way he's playing.
(on how much of a numbers problem can the designed runs for Cam Newton present)
Well it balances the playing surface, you can never have one more when the quarterback runs the ball. There is no eight-man box, there can't be. You've just eliminated the extra defenders. They have the ability to block everybody we have with him. We cannot fit everybody up there without being in a zero all-out blitz to stop him. They have hats on hats now that he's running the football.
(on if Cam Newton running the football puts a lot of pressure on the defensive front)
It does. A lot of runs that they run are the same runs that they're handing to the backs, except there is a lot of window dressing, there is a lot of distraction, there is a lot of 'look over here while we do things over here,' which I think is good. It's very deceptive. I think they do a good job of it. But a lot of the things are designed runs, just like a back would. If we're in the gaps that we're supposed to be in, then we'll be OK.
(on Byron Bell settling in at right tackle)
I'm sure there were things, he was off the ball too much early in the game. There were things that I thought he could improve on in the game, but he really did a good job for the switch earlier in the week and going in there in a tough environment. You can't hear out there. I thought he did a good job. I think he is better because of that last game.
(on if the team is motivated by Carolina's undefeated record)
We just talk about the team that's coming in here, the players that are coming in here. I'm sure they have confidence, they deserve it. But this is another game we'll have a chance if we play like we're capable of, like we played last week, we'll have a chance. That's all you want every Sunday is a chance. I think our guys understand that if we play that way we have a chance to win on Sundays.
(on what it would mean to get a win Sunday given the winless streak on the home field)
Well, I'm kind of anxious to see what happens. If we can be better in the locker room than this last one. That was pretty special. We'd like to find out, certainly would like to find out about it.
