Opening Statement:
"All right, just a couple things. As you saw, a couple of injuries. 99 (Ali Gaye) went down with the knee injury, 25 (Xavier Woods) with the ham(string), and then 39 (Darrell Baker Jr.) with a concussion. That's kind of the injuries that we had. As you saw, a couple of our guys got rolled up that went back in the game, so I'll give you any updates tomorrow. Okay, looking back at the game, you look at it, we had an opportunity at the end of the half. I think the offense did a great job of getting in position there to kick a field goal, and unfortunately, we missed it. Knowing, you go out, you talk about it – scoring at the end of the half and then getting the ball to start the second half – and unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. And then, after that first series, getting outscored 28-nothing there, that was a tough way to start, get going, get rolling there. So, we've got to do a better job overall as an entire football team, and the run defense has got to be able to stop the run. We understand we came in here against a really good team that runs the ball. We had missed opportunities – third down situations during the game early on, an opportunity for a big play we didn't hit. So, it's just – we've got to play better."
Why not go for the fourth-and-three there at the Colts' 42-yard line?
"Well, it was something we talked about. In hindsight, you look back. The last thing I thought they were going to do would have the big touchdown run after that. So, yeah, you look back and say, 'I should have gone for that.' But initially, when I said to punt it, you pin them deep, and the defense – I've done a nice job through the second quarter – and you pin them deep, get the ball back. But looking back at it, that's one you wish you had just went for it."
You're coaching in situations like that just as conservatively as Brian Callahan was. Why not come in and be different than Brian?
"Like I've said for you guys from day one, you look at situations, use certain things. What was the success of the play before that? Certain things, you go – how are you playing in third down? There are so many things that go into it, and I just talked to you about why."
But what about the question? Why not be different than Brian Callahan?
"I'm my own self. I'm Mike (McCoy)."
Did Cam Ward express any frustration about not going for it there with you?
"I did not talk to him about anything after that. I did not."
You didn't hear him yelling at you?
"To be perfectly honest with you, I don't hear a lot during the game with the crowd noise and all that stuff. I've always been that focused and concentrated on the next thing. So, no, I did not hear anything."
How much of an emotional swing was it after the Colts' long touchdown run?
"That's a tough pill to swallow. For an entire football team, when you see that, when that comes up like that, especially with what the score was and the approach going into it. A home run like that is tough."
You have a young team. Obviously, a lot of them are experiencing something like this for the first time. What do you say to some of the younger players to keep them in the season and make sure they don't check out?
"Well, there's only one way to do this, and there's a lot of football left. And you're always – every day you go out there, you're trying to get better, you're trying to do certain things, and we have some very talented young players that have done a really nice job. You see some guys that made the plays today. You just keep grinding, and that's the only thing you can do. Week in and week out, every day the players come in they bust their tails. We've got to play better and coach better all around."
Do you sense the difficulty of this grind weighing on those players?
"I mean, I think it's frustrating – you're not winning games – I think for anybody. But they've got, like I've told you guys every day – they bust their tails. They've had great weeks of practice. We've got to play better more consistently. Play complementary football. We've talked about – we're going to stick together. Everyone's got to stick together and just keep fighting and learn from this. Go home tonight, watch the film tomorrow and learn from it."
How detrimental would you say this losing is for Cam Ward's development? After all, that's the big picture here in this season.
"Well, Cam (Ward) has a burning desire to win. He's very fiery. He wants to win. He puts in the time. He's trying to do everything he can to get better week in and week out. So, he's a competitor, and that's what you love about him. You love that about all the guys on the team – the way they've worked and how bad they want to win. It stinks. It stinks losing. You go in there and it's the same thing, and we've got to find a way to win one of these things."
Is there an area where you guys are discernibly better that you're able to identify?
"Well, we'll go home and watch the tape and look at it and evaluate it and see what we did well this week, and what we need to improve on, like we do after every game."
Is it possible some of these results could change dramatically? Come out in a game and say we're going to be more aggressive. We're going to be unrecognizable as the Titans that are 1-7. We're going to do things in a vastly different way.
"Yeah, you always go – I mean, you go into any game and you're not trying to go out there and do certain things that don't work, things like that. You're always trying to execute. You make decisions for the team to do what you think is best at the time, and sometimes that doesn't work out. No one is trying to go out there and do something that's not going to work. You have a plan. You go into it. You say, 'If it's this down and distance, we're going to think about doing this or this,' whatever that is. And unfortunately, some of those things didn't work out."
One of the things it continues to be is like a run on first down, incompletion and now you're third-and-long – it's a sack. Are you guys looking at this and saying, 'Hey, you know what, we're a little bit predictable – we need to get away from that and try some different things?'
"Well, I think anytime you look at a situation, I mean, if you look at the whole year, we've had way too many third-and-longs. There's a number of different reasons. Whether, I mean, look at any way you possibly get in third-and-long, we've probably done it this year. That's something you always look at and say, 'Hey, how do you avoid that? How do you stay out of that third-and-long category?' So, we've got to do a better job with that, and it's just being more efficient on first and second down. And especially when you're playing a team like we just did that's very efficient. They move the ball and you have limited possessions and time, so you've got to do a great job on first and second down, and then you have to be able to convert on third down to make those plays."
Does the efficiency that you're talking about come from the plan you're referring to or the players needing to play better?
"Well, I think it's a combination of everything. Like I said, we're all in this together. It's not – I mean, there are going to be plays you go into a game plan, you think it's this coverage and play something else, it's not open. There are breakdowns, whether it's protection, whether it's decisions, whether it's – I mean, there are millions of things of why plays don't work. So, it's a combination of everything. When you say being efficient, there are a number of things you look at. Was it a certain type of run scheme? Is it a pass protection? Is it a certain pass route? Is someone not winning one-on-one? So, every play, there's something you coach and you critique of why it's successful and why it's not. So, it's never just, 'This is the only reason why at this down and distance you're not winning.'"
This is the fourth time in the season that the loss has been by at least 18 points. How hard is that to keep the message out there and to keep the players bought in when you're falling so short?
"Well, any loss is tough. It doesn't matter what the score is. And you go in the locker with the players, depending on how the game goes, you look at – they work so hard. They deserve to win. And it's tough to lose, regardless of what the score is. I know you mentioned the differential there, and it's hard. We've got to play better."
