HEAD COACH TONY SPARANO
(on why they decided to replace Chad Henne with Chad Pennington at quarterback and what impact does he anticipate it having on the team)
Just felt like after all the information was gathered at the end of our eight weeks here, some of the things that we probably need to do a little bit better as a football team Chad Pennington might give us a little bit better chance to do it at this time. Chad Henne has done an outstanding job right now, but we feel like we're still in the middle of this thing right now and we feel like this is what we've got to do to go forward.
(on if the quarterback change will be for the remainder of the season)
Yeah, right now. We'll see how it goes.
(on how Randy Moss makes the Titans a different team)
Anytime you get a player like Randy Moss out there on the field, I think he's a guy where you obviously have to know where he is; you have to pay special attention to him—no different than people do with us with Brandon Marshall right now. I think when you look at the Titans and the way they can run the ball with (Chris) Johnson, that presents a little bit of a problem because if you're going to try and double-cover this guy or if you're going to try to roll somebody over the top of him you could be a little bit light in the box. Then they can get you running the football, so I think that gives them another dimension certainly. Whenever the combination of he and (Kenny) Britt get out there, I think that will be serious firepower.
(on how serious the Dolphins got in their talks about potentially putting in a waiver claim on Randy Moss)
We obviously didn't (claim him), so that's where we are.
(on how they were able to shut down Randy Moss when they played him earlier in the season when he was a member of the New England Patriots)
I wouldn't say that we shut him down; I just think that watching New England's game plan they probably recognized a little bit of what we were doing from a coverage standpoint and went to some other things. They have good weapons themselves with Wes Welker and a bunch of guys they have. It's hard to just say you shut a player down, he's a tremendous player. Unfortunately having him in our conference, he's beaten us a bunch of times, so that's hard to say.
(on if they expect Randy Moss to have more success against the Dolphins this time around)
Oh yeah, sure. He's a challenge anytime, he's a tremendous player. They guy's probably going to be in the Hall of Fame. He's a great challenge out there, and I would expect in their offense, they've had a week off, they were able to get him going and I'm sure he'll pose a tremendous problem. As long as he's in a uniform he does.
(on the acquisition of cornerback Al Harris and if his experience against Randy Moss played any role in their decision to sign him)
I think with Al, from our end, the intrigue in signing him had more to do with him being in the league a long time, so he's played against a lot of people, Randy included. The thought on signing him was more, we have two young corners here and really no veteran player at that position to show them how to do it sometimes. I think he brings great qualities that way to the group, and at the same time he is a guy who can play and go in the game and help us play. We feel really good about having him because of his experience and his knowledge.
(on why outside linebacker Cameron Wake has had so much success this season)
He's kind of a self-made guy who carries a chip around. He came up the hard way in this league, been cut, bounced around, Canadian Football League and all that, so he plays with a pretty good passion, a really high-motor type of a player. Honestly this (Jason) Babin player that they have down there, he plays hard like that. Those kind of guys are a handful, he's an explosive player that has pass-rush skills. I think that is really what has made him pretty effective in his start right now.
(on how they weighed the risks versus the rewards of acquiring wide receiver Brandon Marshall)
We tried to do as much due diligence as we could in the process prior to getting a chance to sign him. During that process we flipped over as many rocks as we could, I think a large part of it had to do with our current roster and taking a look at our team and see how a player like Brandon fits into our scheme. Once you got a chance to really visit with Brandon and get a chance to talk to him on the phone the way we did you come to the realization that this guy maybe just needed a change. He's been outstanding here with us and we're really happy to have him.
(on the differences of an indoor versus and outdoor home field advantage and how LP Field compares to other home field advantages around the NFL)
I think first of all the indoor stadiums, from my end I prefer playing outdoors than indoors, but I think the indoor stadiums are a little louder. That part of home field advantage certainly helps. From Tennessee's standpoint, when you look at their stadium, I always felt like going there that was one of the louder outdoor stadiums that there was. Being located where you guys are, you get enough of the change of seasons and all that stuff. You get into weather, I remember going there last year, and it was a chilly day and playing a ballgame outdoors like that in a loud environment it really makes it a hostile place.