TITANS HEAD COACH KEN WHISENHUNT PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT October 9, 2015
(on Wesley Woodyard going from a starter to being in a situational role)
I think that question was asked during camp, and I said he's been great. He's been a real pro and he's done a nice job. He's an important part of our team and I have a lot of respect for how he goes about his business.
(on Jason McCourty's first week of practice back from his injury)*
He's been working out for a couple of weeks now, so the only thing he hasn't done is play. You can't substitute for game speed or being in the game, but he's as ready as he can be without having done that. He's confident; he's had a good week of practice, and we're certainly glad to have him back.
(on if the first game back from the bye week presents a challenge)
You could probably look at it from each side of it. Sometimes there is value to staying in the process of preparing every week and keeping that competitive edge going. But the other side is we're as healthy as we can be, or have been for a while. So it's good to get that time. We've got so many young guys, I don't know. I don't know how that's going to present itself Sunday. Hopefully we'll be much like we did the first game. Show up, start fast, and have a good one.
(on if he focuses on the division standings and watched last night's AFC South matchup)
I think you pay attention to it. I didn't pay attention as much to the game last night, but I know that after having played the Colts, I know where they are and I know that we're in it. I know it's only our fourth game. There are still a lot of games left to be played, but you still keep tabs.
(on how what the Colts accomplished without starting quarterback Andrew Luck speaks to the importance of depth at a position)
To me, I think it shows it's more about winning games at the end, making plays at the end. I think we've been close in two games and we haven't been able to do that. They have. But they're a team that's been in that situation a lot more. They've got veteran players that have been able to get them over that hump. We're trying to get there. I think we're close. But even if you think back to last year, we weren't in that many of those situations. So we've got to get better at that. That to me is what I see more than the depth thing. I see those types of critical situations at the end of the game. Those are two games that should have been, could have been in an overtime against us, they were in an overtime game last week, and it comes down to the last two minutes. That's the NFL. For us to be where we want to be, we've been in those games, we've got to win some of those. I think we believe that's coming, but every game is a new experience for a lot of our young guys and we're continuing to work and get there.
(on if that comes with experience)
I think you've got to experience those things and you've just got to make some plays in those situations. The two-point conversion, had we been able to make a play at the end of that game against Indy, then maybe that would have put us over the hump. We're still feeling the sting of that one because we know how hard we worked to get back in it, get a lead, and then lose that lead. So that's a part of this process, but you see there are a lot of good things, so you've just got to continue to work.
(on if he has ruled anyone out for Sunday's game)
Not really. Sammie (Hill) will be the only one that for sure won't play.
(on Justin Hunter's impact so far this season)
Sometimes in this game, you don't always have to catch the ball to really have an impact. I've been very impressed with Justin (Hunter) in his progression. He's not there, but he's really showing some signs of progress and that's good for us. Hopefully he'll get an opportunity to make some of those plays via catches and production that way, but I like the way he's going about his business and you can see that confidence building.
(on if Justin Hunter is "not there yet" from a consistency standpoint)
I mean he hasn't done it yet. I can't sit here and say, until he's done it, until he's shown that he's going to be that player that we hope he can be, you can't say that. That could be said for a lot of guys on our team, or our team in general. While we're really encouraged with a lot of things that are going on, we're pushing hard to get over that hump.
(on if it matters who plays running back for the Bills)
You're speaking to a team that's had three different running backs in three games.
(on if Boobie Dixon and Karlos Williams have similar skill sets)
Yeah, (Boobie Dixon)'s a powerful back. He's a good back. I think that you can say, 'Well they're going to run this type of play.' You don't know. All we can do is prepare based off of what they've shown and our guys work to be in the best position possible. He's a good back, teams have good backs.
(on how critical this game is as it has the potential to leave the team 1-3 or 2-2)
I think you just think about week to week. Every game is important. This game is a critical game, it's the game we're playing this week.
