Just injury update. Dan (Moore Jr.) is getting further evaluation on his knee. (Shy) Tuttle is getting evaluated for a concussion. Lloyd (Cushenberry III) is getting further evaluation on his foot. So those are the three injuries. I'll just say that once again, Chim (Dike) just takes this team to another level with a big play like that, what he did to energize the sideline, the stadium, it's great to see him do what he does on a weekly basis. That's the plays you need to turn. That's what it did in that game. It energized everybody, and you saw what we did after that. It's an individual performance and the blocking, too, with that group. It's unbelievable. It's great to see it. There's just too many things during the game that we didn't do enough, plays, the second series of the game with the penalties, things like that, a couple stops on defense where we've each got to be more consistent because these guys fought their tails off once again up until the very end. But got to be more consistent throughout a game.
Seemed like just looking at it at face value that Cam Ward was pretty poised back there for the duress he was under in the drop-back game down 20 most of the time.
I love the way Cam (Ward) played today. You see the competitor, the ability to make plays. You guys have asked since day one about him making plays with his feet and the way he moved in the pocket at certain times during the game and just competed his tail off. Some of the plays he made, the wow plays, the scrambles—I'm sitting there saying one thing and next thing you know here's a big play that he makes. But it's taking that next step, and that's what he's done. We've been saying it from day one, the way he competes, the way he works every day. When we first came in in the off-season program, the early mornings, staying late, things like that, it's starting to pay off. We've said it all along, as a young quarterback in this league, it takes some time, and it's great to see the improvements that he's making week in and week out. There's the ups and downs, definitely. We're going to turn the film on tomorrow and look at some things. We'll clean it up and say, 'Hey, you've got to do these things better.' But just the command of the offense and some checks that he made during the game, I really liked the way he played today.
Titans lost a lot of games this year by fairly significant point spreads. Last three games, all one score. Do you take any encouragement at all from...
I just love the way the guys compete. They just keep going. They fight their tails off. It's been that way the entire time, the way they work, the week of preparation, the little details, the fine focus they had in practice this week. We've got to find a way to make more plays consistently and not hurt ourselves at certain times of the game like the second series. The first drive of the game, that's a phenomenal way to start against a really good defense, the plays that we're making, the efficiency, going down there and getting points to start the game, that's awesome, but then you come around to the next series and you have a number of penalties. Those are the things against a good football team you have to avoid.
It seemed like you guys converted a couple of really key third and fourth downs today, a lot of that going to the tight ends and coming out of the slot. Was that something that you guys saw on tape or something you were working on in practice and decided to implement today?
As we talked about coming out of the bye week, that was one of the things we said was a big focus was third down, and it's players making plays. I don't know the numbers. I haven't looked at a stat sheet so I don't know what exactly we were, but I think there was a number of big plays with guys just going out there and making plays, and that's what the game is all about. I think a lot of that has to do with Cam, with his feet, making plays, and then guys creating separation against a good defense. Happy with those guys making the plays and the conversions.
You had seven fourth downs and you converted five of those...
What do you think? That's pretty good, right?
It's been a hot topic...
You think so? It's been hot, with who? With who? I could name a couple of those plays calls, too. We named them special.
All jokes aside, were you guys making that decision to go for it a lot earlier in the process as opposed to...
We've answered this question a number of times. You get in the flow of a game, you do certain things, there's a certain aggression you take at times, and you go for it. You do certain—the flow of the game and there's certain times. And when I don't do it sometimes or it doesn't work or it turns the other way, I kick myself in the ass at times. You lose sleep over it. But we went in there with the approach we were going to take, the aggressive approach that we wanted to have, and the players executed it for the most part. Not the entire time. There was the one that we did not get in there that was critical. But give them all the credit in the world for executing it.
That early fourth-and-1 that got stuffed, did that give you any doubt or hesitation?
I knew it was coming. I knew I was going to come in here and you guys were going to ask a bunch of questions on it. We've got to execute better. We were aggressive on the third-and-1. We had a good match-up with Gunnar (Helm) that we thought could be a big play in that situation, they made a good play on it, and then we went back. But those are the things that I'm telling you earlier that we've got to convert those things. That's how you win games. In critical times—you don't know when it's going to be. You don't know first quarter, second quarter, third quarter, sometimes the fourth quarter, you've got to make those plays. You've got to somehow dig down deeper and just convert, or we've got to just find a way to get done.
Did it feel liberating to finally go on some of those and get some results?
Oh, I've done it plenty of times in my career. But it was great. I knew it was going to put a smile on your face; I knew that for a fact. I knew it. You were the first person I thought of when we converted. I was like, 'Oh, I can't wait to see him. I don't have to listen to him on Monday anymore. It's not that question all week long.' But it's great. Hey, I love it. These guys played their tails off. They really did. I love this football team.
Talk about how Restrepo did in his first opportunity.
There's some plays—I asked Cam last night what the over/under was—I shouldn't say that that way. But I said how many balls is he going to catch. He made his comment, and I'm like, 'Okay.' Wish every receiver caught that many. But I'll watch the tape and really look at it and see. I know there was a couple ad libs in there. But I'd say this, all those guys, (Xavier) Strep (Restrepo), Pro (James Proche II) and Mason (Kinsey), to where they were at the beginning of the season and you see how hard they worked every single day to help our defense, and then when they would fill in offensively because they never knew, obviously Mason and Pro had been up before and this and that, but that's what this game is all about, making the most of your opportunities, especially a young player like him, that he got an opportunity to finally dress today and goes out there and makes some plays. You feel—that's what it's—I'm so happy for those guys because you get rewarded for all the hard work, and that doesn't always happen in this business. Depending on what team you're on and the injuries and all those things come into play. And then you see some of the linemen come in today. We had two guys go down and next thing you know here comes two other guys that step up, and that's the way it's been the last couple weeks. We just keep going up and down the field at certain times. That's the reward and that's what I keep telling you guys. I love this football team. I love the way they work. They're unselfish. They love playing together. But it's about winning, and we've got to find a way to make more plays to one win of these games.
The ad lib stuff, there's clearly something with Cam (Ward) and (Xavier) Restrepo there. Can that be a benefit to you guys moving forward?
They probably have something in their helmets communicating with each other, talking back and forth. I think it's just Cam has probably thrown more balls to him than anybody else. So, I think that there's the—if you looked at the sideline a couple times, I looked back there one time and it was like, Strep was there like right in his ear sitting on the corner of the bench and just talking to him, and I'm like, okay, this is interesting. But that's the relationship they have. They've had a lot of success playing together. I think it's just great to see them playing at this level together, just pleased with the two of them and the way they work. Really what you love about them, too, is the love for the game. Strep really loves the game of football. You guys deal with him all the time, but just the way he approaches it. He's unselfish, and he was told what he needed to do to continue his development with the kicking game and things like that. Once we told him that, he was in there, living in there to try to figure out a way because he has a burning desire to get out there like he did today.
The challenge defensively of trying to defend a guy like Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He had a season high today.
He's going to make plays. He's one of the best in the business. Look at the numbers week in and week out. I'm good friends with Klint Kubiak. We worked together in Denver, and his dad coached me way back in '95 in Denver. So, I've known the family for a long time, so Klint and I were talking, what a special player he is. Some of the things you watch, you watch the third down conversion they've had this year, some of the throws that Sam (Darnold) makes to him, he's a special player. You don't see many guys like that make some of those conversions in tight great coverage. It's like, where else do you want the defender to be? And here he is making those plays. But a very explosive player, and you've got to try to minimize—they're going to make their plays, but you've just got to try to minimize the number.
If you looked at the two explosives they had, getting matched up with a safety, is that something you guys expected or is that something new or different?
Well, that's the game of football. You're always going to try to get a match-up. You're always going to say 'Where can you go? Who can you attack? How are you going to do it? 'But that's every week. I think that's always going to be match-ups, and I think Klint does a great job of that, having obviously watched all the defensive cut-ups and things like that, that's what they do. They're going to try to get the match-ups formationally, shifts, motions, and try to create those opportunities for you.
Cam obviously supplemented the run game, but what's going on with the running backs?
We've got to be more efficient. I've got to watch the tape, to be honest with you, because I don't have—in my role now, I don't always communicate as much every single play with the offense. I'm talking to the defense, I'm talking with Bones (John Fassel), things like that. I'll have a better answer for you tomorrow after I watch the film and really evaluate to see it. I'm not looking at the iPads as much anymore, things like that.
We talked about Chim Dike's return. How did that play out from your vantage point?
Well, I love it. It's explosive play. We talked about it all week long, the way he just went and ran all the way across the field, down the sideline, and just the awareness of players to keep the blocks legal knowing the opportunity that we had. And then there was one guy left, and it was just a young player energizing the franchise and the fans. So happy for him. But just great execution. Bones (John Fassel) and Stew (Rayna Stewart) do an outstanding job putting the plans together, and the players did an outstanding job of executing. I think the one thing, too, give the players or the other 10 guys all the credit in the world. But when you have a special returner like that, it makes you want to do your job that much better because you don't want to come in an Monday morning and look at the tape and say, I was the one that missed that one little—it doesn't take a lot because he makes the first guy miss often and then he does what he does.
Two young defensive backs that have stepped into big roles so far for you in Marcus (Harris) and Kevin (Winston Jr.) made some pretty key plays today. Seemed like they stepped into those roles and kind of solidified them for you. Can you speak to them and how they played today?
They've done an outstanding job. There's going to be, with all young players, rookies, there's going to be a developmental part, a growth part, some growing pains, things like that, that you're going to go through. I've heard the coaches a number of times say don't make the same mistake twice. You're going to make some mistakes. You're going to get beat. Like the question about 11 (Jaxon Smith-Njigba), a special player, he's going to make some plays. It's just, you learn from it. I think the great thing with Kevin (Winston Jr.) is (Amani) Hook(er) is back there with him to help him and to lead. So that's the big thing is the more they play together on the back end, the communication part of it is a lot better. I think both the players, they're starting to recognize things a lot quicker. It's not, you learn not just playing part of it but the week of preparation, how are you watching film, looking for keys, all those little things. That's just being a young player. But they've got very, very bright futures. You love the way they work. You see the way they work in practice. Give the coaches credit for the success those two have had. They've done a phenomenal job of helping these guys get to where they are. And there's a lot of football left, so I just look for them to get better as time goes on.
