NASHVILLE – Titans coach Robert Saleh conducted a zoom conference call with reporters on Monday, one day after the team's 24-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Titans will return to action this coming Sunday at the New York Giants.
Here's a look at some of the hot topics from today's call:
-Saleh said there were things that could have been better from a play-calling and player-execution standpoint vs the Eagles, which made the tape tougher to watch. "These are games we're going to learn to win," Saleh said. "We will learn to win these football games. But unfortunately, yesterday wasn't one of them."
-On the sack by Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter on first and goal in the final minutes, Saleh gave Carter credit for making a play: "He popped his gap, and pressed vertical. We're just playing boot on the backside. You'd love for JC (Latham) to seal him on the inside, but guys on the other side of the football get paid, too. Jalen is one of the best players in football, and he made a great play."
-Saleh acknowledged the Titans "did a very poor job with regard to execution and pass rush from a rush and coverage standpoint" on third down defense, as the Eagles converted 11-of-18 on third down in the game. Saleh said the team could have been more aggressively while saying execution wasn't as good as it needed to be either. "Things we feel like we can fix," Saleh said, "and eventually those numbers will balance out."
-Saleh said cornerback Cor'Dale Flott, who missed Sunday's game with a quad injury, was bothered with the injury on Thursday so he got the day off on Friday. At that point, Saleh was hopeful he could play vs the Eagles but the injury didn't get better. Saleh said he's hopeful to have him available for Sunday's game vs the Giants.
-Saleh said he thought the play of the offensive line was "good" on Sunday, while pointing out some penalties and mistakes at critical moments that made things tougher, and the first down sack that was allowed late. "There's a level of consistency that we're looking for," Saleh said, "but it was much improved and I think we're only going to get better."
-Saleh raved about receiver Elic Ayomanor, who had two catches for 69 yards on Sunday. "You'd be hard pressed to find a receiver in this league that works as hard as he does, trains as hard as he does," Saleh said of Ayomanor. "He's improving every single day. I love his mindset, I love his work ethic … and how hard he works at his craft."
-Rookie Nick Singleton had four carries for 10 yards on Sunday. Saleh said Singleton "had a couple of carries that he's definitely going to learn from. Probably left a little bit of yardage out there in his attempts, but just to get him out there to get him some play time is a good thing. I think he's going to be a really good back in this league. But for his first outing, did a couple good things, but he left a couple things out there."
-Saleh did not dispute the incompletion/non-grounding call on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on Philly's game winning drive at the end. "The ball got back to the line of scrimmage," Saleh said, "so he was good." On the missed sack by Titans defensive end Jacob Martin on the play, Saleh said: "Yeah, you'd love for him to tackle the ball. With Jalen (Hurts), you got to get his arms. But Jalen's a strong dude, man."
