TITANS at BUCCANEERS
PRESEASON WEEK 2
Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021
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(On the passing of former GM Floyd Reese)
"I think Jon [Robinson], Amy [Adams Strunk] and everybody has touched on the condolences we would like to send to the Reese family – and his loved ones. When you're able to work after you're done coaching or in the front office – if you're able to stay and be beloved in the town that you work in, that's pretty unusual. Normally they run you out of town so he was clearly loved – my best to Jarrett [Payton] and the people who he worked with on the radio."
(On how he rotated quarterbacks and how it worked out)
"I think that those guys have to go in there [on] short notice – they also don't have the luxury of getting into the flow of the game – but also just keeping it consistent with who was in there at the game. There was a certain group of receivers and linemen that you could evaluate them based on who they (Tampa) had in the game that were similar."
(On the pass breakups made by the defensive secondary)
"It's really nice to be able to see the things that you emphasize and that you coach come through – and those guys are taking it to heart – they're excited about it. Tipped passes get intercepted – they helped us out sometime with a tip or drop, but our guys are challenging and it's really cool to see the stuff that we emphasize and work on carry into the game."
(On the play of rookie CB Elijah Molden)
"Yeah, I think that's something that Jon [Robinson] and I had envisioned with the defensive staff when he came out of Washington. He's been able to be in there pretty consistently for the last week and compete – [he] hasn't been perfect, but it was really cool to see him go out there and do some nice things – blitz and cover. One of his plays led to an interception, a big interception – executing the things we've been coaching him to do on that situation on third down."
(On the enthusiasm to play by his players)
"We asked our players who weren't playing in the game – they had two choices – put the uniform on and go out and support your teammates or stay in the locker room. And it really didn't matter to me whichever one they wanted to do, but you could see that they had energy and they were excited for those guys that were making plays. They're just competitive and that's a reflection of our team, our organization and the type of people we have – that late in the fourth quarter of a preseason game – guys are battling and competing – that's important to me."
(On CB Caleb Farley's progress as he returns from an injury)
"It's the next step with the return of play that we had talked about with adding reps to practice. He came through pretty well through the practices health-wise, which allowed him to be available for the game. I think we tried to get him close to 16 snaps. We'll take a look at it – and again – he hasn't played football in quite a bit of time and it's going to be a process. I think it was a good step just to get him out there and just show him what the game feels like and how the situations change. We'll just coach him up and just keep moving forward."
(On how the quarterbacks handled the rotations)
"I think that they handled it well – I think there's always going to be plays you'd like to have back, whether it's reads or checks or throws. I thought they both capitalized on the situations that the defense put them in. We had some drives stall there – too many negative-yardage runs early on that put us behind, but we did capitalize on some of the sudden change and the turnovers."
(On the progress of rookie WR Dez Fitzpatrick)
"Well, he continues to work and compete – I think we were probably a little disappointed and so was he, on one of the blocks and then he came back and feel like put his body on a safety and really tried to play physical. Then the touchdown where he did a nice job of selling it – there was a great pocket and Logan [Woodside] gave him a good ball."
(On how much one play can turn things around for a guy)
"I don't know – I think that we're just going to wait and see how he turns out on Monday and how it looks. Hopefully he continues to gain confidence getting out here and competing at this level."
(On the young guys they have at wide receiver and running back)
"Yeah really, these guys are competitive, they know what to do, they're ready for their opportunities, they have earned the right to be in there. Quarterbacks throw to the guys they trust – and again – Mason [Kinsey] has been really consistent for us and then Mekhi [Sargent] has done well on special teams – he's finding a role on the kickoff coverage and then he's ran hard – he has ran hard when given the opportunity."
(On not seeing DL Larrell Murchison and some other players tonight)
"Unavailable – whatever we said the other day, however I phrased that – same thing for 'Murch' and the rest of the guys that didn't play."
