HEAD COACH JEFF FISHER
(opening comments)
First, I feel compelled to thank our fans for hanging in there with us after a difficult start. We were very hopeful that we would get it turned around. In fact, at the beginning of the bye week we sat out to focus on a number of different things, but in particular was running the football and protecting the football and challenging people on defense and getting the ball back. And that was the message for the first few days of the bye week. We continued to discuss this all week and in essence that's what happens when you do those things in a ballgame.
When you run the football, I think C.J. (Chris Johnson) set the individual franchise record today for rushing yards. When you run the football, you get turnovers and do those kinds of things good things happen.
So, it is nice to get the first one under our belt and I would like to say this is the team that I'd hoped for all year. We're going to maintain this. I think we have a chance to maintain this. It is good to get Cort (Cortland Finnegan), Vinnie (Vincent Fuller) back. We got some plays out of Rod Hood early, which is a huge play for us and we took advantage of some opportunities
(on building on today's win)
It is just one week at a time now. We got the first the first win. Unfortunately it took us a little bit too long, but we got it. Now we are just going to move on. We are going to work hard this week and try to get better as a football team.
(on Vince Young's performance)
It was efficient. He managed the game well. The guys did a great job protecting for him. I thought Mike (Heimerdinger) had…the plan was good. You run the football then things happen. He made some great throws. He spinned out of the pressure in the pocket and made that throw on the boundary in front of their bench to keep the drive alive was just classic Vince. I said that all along that he has stayed focused, prepared himself. He had fun tonight and it was good to see.
(on if he plans to put in more offense in the coming weeks)
We are going to continue to put plans in that we think gives us our best chance to win against each and every opponent, with the priority being the run. We have to run the football. For us to run, knock time off the clock at the end, was a key for us.
(on Maurice Jones-Drew's long runs)
It was missed tackling. We had him wrapped up and nearly on the ground at the line of scrimmage on both of them. He is a really, really fine back. You cannot afford to let up, well not that we let up, he is just hard to get down. That's what happens sometimes. But the one thing about this team which is interesting today is that it didn't bother them. It's just one play, they put it behind them and went on expecting to make more plays.
(on if the defensive game plan was to be more aggressive)
We picked and chose what we felt like we need to run in specific situations to manufacture pressure. But when you have experienced players like Vinnie (Vincent Fuller) and you have guys like Cort (Cortland Finnegan) back there they understand and know how to challenge people
(on if Chris Johnson was winded after long TD run)
Yes, that was it.
(On Vince Young being better now than he was a year ago)
I think overall, professionally, he's better. He's seen so much during this off period of time where he was supporting Kerry (Collins). I just think he's there, in tune to adjustments and Mike did a great job communicating with him and the feedback that we got this week from the plan was excellent.
(On the new punter Brett Kern being the hidden hero of the game)
Oh yes he was. He did a tremendous job today. To step in, in the middle part of the week like we did and leave his wife and new baby at home in 27 inches of snow in Denver to come in and punt like that was pretty impressive.
(On there being no dropped balls this week)
Unfortunately, they happened at the wrong times in the past but that was yesterday. We made plays and caught balls in the secondary and it was a good run for this football team. They worked hard to stay focused. I'm very proud of them.
(On Chris Johnson having a banner day)
Well he had help, a lot of help. The guys up front, receivers, everybody knew that they had to get involved. The Jaguars weren't 100 percent. They had some injuries in the secondary, but we've been there. But this was a collective effort offensively.
(On Michael Griffin and Kevin Kaesviharn returning punts and kicks today instead of Alvin Pearman)
We signed him to the 53 but getting to the 45 this evening was difficult. It was probably one of the more difficult decisions, decision times as far as the roster is concerned, in particular because of the different positions and how they were related. You know Jevon Kearse and Jovan Haye, those were hard decisions, but young guys stepped up and played. We needed the depth in the secondary in particular because Cort coming back and Vinnie coming back and the uncertainty there. Kevin's not done it before in a ball game. He did it in practice. I said, 'I want the ball caught,' and he said, 'I'm gonna catch it for you coach.' So we needed the ball caught. And then of course, Griff. Griff's done it before and we were going to give him a chance.
(On Jovan Haye and Sen'Derrick Marks decisions)
No, it's just the same thing as the hard decision like a few weeks ago. When you've got 10 defensive linemen on the roster, you know, you want to keep playing them and that's what we're doing. I can't tell you what direction we'll go in next week but these two have rested up and they should be fine. It's good to get J.J. back. Some of the issues we had were that J.J. was not quite full speed and didn't know how long or whether he'd be able to do 40-50 snaps.
(On third down conversions and time of possession going hand in hand today)
Well it is. We made some plays on first down which is good. Time of possession at half time was 22-something to 7-something. The more time your offense stays on the field, the less time your defense is on the field. You see the results. You see the energy at the end of the game. They've got a lot less. When you can rush the passer, protect the lead then obviously you can do good things.
QB VINCE YOUNG
(on starting for the first time in a while)
I felt good. I definitely was nervous. When you are playing a game, there is nothing wrong with being nervous. I really felt like the offensive line did a great job of giving me time to throw the ball down the field. The offensive line did a great job for CJ (Chris Johnson) making key blocks. And our receivers and tight ends made some key blocks for him to spring him down field. It was a great feeling to be back playing with my teammates.
(on Chris Johnson's record setting day)
Our defense did a great job of definitely giving us the ball back. Seeing them guys flying around the ball. They were looking good. But CJ, he is one of those players, you can't coach those type of things. The speed that he has, he has a God-given talent. Just get the ball in his hands and we give him some time to spring them and that is what he does. I am very proud of him. He is definitely one of my brothers in my heart.
(on getting in the rhythm and the big third down play to Kenny Britt)
The preparation all week is what let me get in my rhythm. Let the game come to me. Don't try to force things. That is basically what Coach Heimerdinger did. He did a great job of giving me the different throws and things to make it happen. On that third down, I just had to make a play and that is what we needed to do to pick up our third down. Our offensive line gave me some time to move around a little bit and Kenny Britt did a great job of catching the ball and getting that first down for us.
(on what Coach Heimerdinger said when he walked off the field)
He knows everything I've been through. Me and him talk a lot behind the scenes. The things that he always tells me is that anything that happens, put it in the past and get ready for the next series. He pretty much saw me grow up a little bit tonight. He sees me making the right throws and the right reads, calling the plays in the huddle and getting the guys out of the huddle on time for the play clock and things like that. He basically has seen me grow up a little bit and he wanted to show his love to me.
(on what was being said in the huddle)
We were having a good time. The swag was there. Our guys were having fun. Before the game, I told our offensive line to take care of everything up front and the skill guys behind them to make plays when it is time to make plays and that is what we did. We depended on our offensive line and they did a great job up front and the guys around the offensive line, we made plays for them. I always want to show love to the offensive line because them guys took care of their business tonight.
(on the Titans fans cheering for him)
Anytime you have got your community or your fans behind you, you are going to play well. When the defense was out there on the football field, they were screaming and hollering and shouting and when we got in the game making different plays, you hear them screaming and hollering for us. We definitely appreciate our fans and we want them guys to go to work on Monday feeling good. That is what it is all about.
(on preparing for this moment)
The year off has helped me a whole lot. I put myself in different scenarios at night time. If I go out there and make a bad play and they start to boo me and anything that is going to happen, put it in the past and don't worry about that. If we go out there and score a couple touchdowns and things like that, don't worry about that and continue to make plays and show your humbleness and maturity.
(on getting in a rhythm)
I really feel like every series as an offensive whole, we got in different rhythms. When it was time to throw the ball, we made plays, when it was time to hand it off to LenDale (White) and CJ, they make plays. As a whole, I feel like our offense got in a great rhythm because we stayed on the field. When we get a chance to stay on the field like we did tonight, you definitely can get in a rhythm. As a whole offensive, I feel like we played good.
(on the receivers catching balls)
The preparation as a whole, defense, offense and special teams was great all week. To get that extra day on Tuesday to come in and get some work in. For the receivers, I texted each last one of them, I said we are going to need you all tonight. We are going to need you all catching the ball and blocking down field. The receivers did a great job. They caught the ball on third down. They caught the ball when the ball was in the air. That is one of the things that Coach Heimerdinger said, 'when the ball is in the air, that is your ball.' And guys made plays. Tight ends as well.
RB CHRIS JOHNSON
(on the feeling of setting a record and winning)
It felt good. Coming from the last time we played Jacksonville and what they did to us. Coming into the week, we knew we could run the ball because the last time we played them we were able to have some success running the ball. But they just got up too much on us and we had to go to the passing game. So I knew if the game was close or we were winning and handing off the ball that we would have a lot of success in the running game.
(on having the franchise record considering the organizations past players)
It feels real good to look at some of the guys who have played before me, then come in and break a record. But records are made to be broken. I'm just very proud of this victory and Vince Young coming in here and helping us get to this win.
(on being winded after the long run)
Yeah, I was tired and I fell on the ball. I got up and looked down the sideline. I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it over there, so I just lay down.
(on the television commentators saying that Johnson threw up after the long run)
No, I didn't throw up.
(on keeping the game ball)
Yeah, I kept the game ball and I'm going to put it in my office with the rest of my game balls.
(on having the week off to get away)
It was very important because we know that we are a good team. So basically, when Coach Fisher came into the meeting, he told everyone to get away from Nashville to get our minds off of this 0-6 start. To come back, we've got a 12 (10) game season. We're just trying to put a run together and hopefully still make it to the playoffs at the end of the day.
(on Vince Young getting everyone to help in this game)
Vince, he is a good quarterback. He has won plenty of games here. We just know that we can't worry about what the quarterback has to do. The reason for us starting this season is everyone making their own little mistakes. Over the bye week, we just really worked on the little things and everybody doing their own job.
(on Vince Young's mobility at quarterback)
Anytime having an athlete back there and if things break down, he can run the ball and get a couple of yards, even get a first down to help us stay on the field. It always works. He can throw the ball and he can run the ball.
LB KEITH BULLUCK
(on Titans' future this season)
We have a lot of football left. We have nine games left and we're taking them one at a time. I think teams that are in playoff contention and fighting for those different things, I don't think that we're a team that teams will want to see in the future if we continue to take strides forward
(on if today was a "day of reckoning" after the New England game)
I don't know. I guess it was. Anytime a team puts up 59 points on another team, the team that lost that bad needs to look in the mirror and have a realization, or whatever. We didn't need that to happen to lose 59-0. However it happened, we finally got our first win in the third month of the season, but it's football. There are nine games left, so we still have a chance at a wining season…This is kind of how we expected to come out for the whole year, but it didn't happen like that for us, but we're at this point now, 1-6 down the stretch.
WR NATE WASHINGTON
(on the importance of the win)
I'm going to tell you like this, I'm not making any predictions or guarantees, but this team went 10-0 last year. I feel like the weapons we have in this locker room are doing nothing but making us better, so we'll see what happens the rest of the season. It is big. It is something that we needed. It's something that we needed to get over the hump. We just need to keep improving from here. We can't be complacent with this one win, and we can't fall back into that hole. We have to keep pressing forward and knowing that every week we can show up like this and play ball.
(on Titans' offensive performance)
I just know that the offensive plan we had in tonight with Coach 'Dinger (Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger), he did a great job in believing in us to execute. And we came out and we executed and we fought hard. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. This is a good Jacksonville Jaguars team. But our coaches and our players, it was a fine time that we all took pride in what we do. Tonight, I think we showed that finally, we're going to take pride in what we do.
(on playing for the first time with QB Vince Young as a starter)
It's funny because at the beginning of the game I kind of told him I was honored to be playing with him. You watch a guy like that at Texas, and you watch a guy like that early in his career, coming from where I came from, you never play with guys like that. To be actually able to play with a guy like that, and be able to see the things he can do and create, oh, it was a great honor to be out there tonight. We just have to continue to get better for him. We can't be complacent from him. We have to know that the sky is the limit from him.
DE KYLE VANDEN BOSCH
(on the Titans' defensive effort in getting the win)
I just got a feeling I got a monkey off my back. You know, hopefully keep it going. We did some good things. There were a couple of long runs, but other than that, I think we played a pretty complete game on defense. One of the things we did last year, and why we were a good defense, is we made big plays, especially on third down. And we did that today. We had some big stops and big break ups, and a couple of interceptions. It felt more like the way we should be.
(on getting his first sack of the season)
First sack, and first win. It feels great. We hadn't won a game in a long time and I hadn't gotten a sack in a long time. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.
(on the winning feeling in the Titans locker room)
It has been a long time. We had talked about it and I had said, all we need is win and it would fix a lot of things. Fix our attitude, fix the way we feel about ourselves. I think we've got some confidence now, and hopefully we can get things rolling.
(on keeping the winning effort alive)
One of the underrated things about football is that it's so much about momentum. It's about emotion, it's about attitude and especially, momentum. And when you get things going, when you play well, when you make big plays on offense and you make big plays on defense, it just feeds off each other. That's the way our sideline was today. The offense made a big play and then the defense made a big play, and we just kept it rolling.
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS QUOTES
HEADCOACH JACK DEL RIO
(opening statement)
Very disappointing effort. Ultimately the responsibility to have this football team prepared to play well falls on me. I have to do a better job. I've got to do a better job with the coaches, I've got to do a better job with the players. I thought we had a pretty solid, in fact not solid, very good week of practice leading up to this game. Tonight's effort completely catches me off guard. They didn't do things that we didn't anticipate or prepare for. We just simply didn't execute, tackle, play very well tonight. I'm very disappointed to come in here in a game that we had to have, a divisional game and allow a team to basically cram it down our throats, which they did. You know what kind of pride I take on defense and we didn't do much to slow them down and give our offense a chance to have the ball. I take full responsibility. I'll make sure that we do what we can to be better going forward, because that certainly wasn't very good right there and wasn't a whole lot of fun. I don't have any injury news to bring you. I'm not sure we hit anyone enough to hurt.
(on Jacksonville's run defense )
Got to coach better.
(on the shift in the game following Jones-Drew second touchdown )
We all were there. Obviously, I was directly involved in the game you were watching. I think we all saw the same thing
(on coaching better)
Just continue to work to do the things that I can do. Ultimately, the head coach has to bear responsibility. It wasn't close to what we have to have. We will go back and continue to look for, develop and play those guys that are going to be able to do that for us. It just wasn't acceptable at all.
(on binge competitive in most games and not others)
I don't really know how to answer that question other than to tell you that what we're doing, and I continue to say this, the football team works hard. It's a good group to coach in terms of the efforts they give. Somehow between the time we leave the practice field on Friday afternoon when we feel pretty good about the preparation, to when we show up Sunday for the ball game, somehow we are not bringing the energy, the tempo, the intent that we're showing in practice that makes us all feel good about the preparation. We're not consistently showing up with that on Sundays. That is something we have to have to have a chance.
(on Reggie Nelson)
I didn't really evaluate him. I know we didn't play well enough defensively in my eyes.
(on throwing the ball too much early)
My view on the start of the game is that we didn't get off the field defensively and give the football back to our offense. I think they had one possession, one three-and-out in the first quarter. If you're not making plays to get off the field and allow the other team to posses the ball, nobody is touching the ball offensively for you.
(on Tra Thomas starting in place of Eugene Monroe)
Tra played exceptionally well last time against them. We feel like it was a match up in our favor. We know Eugene is a good football player that will play well for us in time. Tra played so well in the last ball game that we felt like that gave us an answer.
(on the element of surprise)
Actually, calling out the plays, there was no trickery to it. Simply didn't shed blocks, tackle and leverage any where near where you have to in this league to be any good. Without that it can get ugly.
(on the two running backs, MauriceJones-Drew and Chris Johnson)
Both are super players. Maurice had a couple of really sensational runs and gave us a chance to really…got us back in the game starting the third quarter. He did a great job. Their guy, he's got some juice. He's got some speed. We know that. You have got to keep him hemmed in, you have got to tackle him. You have got to get population to the ball. Both defenses had their issues with that tonight at different points. They had a little more possession of the ball than we did.
(on David Garrard's performance)
I don't know that I would say that anything happened to David today other than we didn't do much to give him a chance in this football game. I really feel like, defensively we didn't allow our offense a chance to do their thing in this game. I am sure when we look at it offensively, we left some things out there, but you have got to give them some credit. They had 40 minutes of time of possession. They double our time of possession. The possessed the ball and that's not good.
WR MIKE SIMS-WALKER
(on offensive performance)
We couldn't execute, that's the main thing. The offense has got to execute. It takes one man to mess up anything and the whole offense flopped. We just really didn't execute like we were supposed to.
(on whether the game plan was pass-heavy, citing Tennessee's recent defensive struggles)
We always come out balanced. If you're a balanced offense, the defense never knows what you're doing. I think we had a great week of practice. Everybody was on point. I don't know where this came from.
RB MAURICE JONES-DREW
(on the difference in the game)
They did a great job executing their scheme. As a team we didn't execute as well. We are a talented team, yet we still have to understand execution is what gives teams in this league the upper hand. They out executed us today. We prepared well all week. We just didn't execute.
(on the effort)
The effort is there, the heart is there, the want to is there, we just need to execute. We prepared well all week. We just have to continue to fight at it all week. We can be a great team, but we have to believe it. When you set a bar to be great, you have to achieve it week after week. It gets tougher, but if you want to be one of those great teams you have to work at it.
(on evaluating the game)
We have to watch tape. It won't be too pretty, but we are going to have to swallow it and figure out a way to fix things.
(on why they didn't run the ball more early in the game)
We figure we would try to attack certain people, but it didn't really work so we went back to what would work. They did some things different than they did the first time we played them, which we knew they were going to do. We just weren't able to make plays. We were just trying to get the ball in our playmaker's hands in space and they were doing a good job of taking that away.
(on the offense)
In order for an offense to be successful everybody needs to be on the same page. We had little miscues here and there. We have to work harder at it and pull out victories. I felt very confident coming in here just as everyone else did. We just didn't execute.
QB DAVID GARRARD
(on offensive performance during the game)
We didn't execute well in the pass game. I needed to be better. I have to help this offense move the ball more, possess the ball more, and keep the defense off the field. I unfortunately didn't do it today. I think it was a day in which we were trying to do our best, but our best wasn't on the field. I just have to be better, period.
Sometimes they were playing pretty good coverages where I didn't have anybody. But, I have to do something, whether that's just throwing it away or whatever. We have to definitely get back to grinding and the drawing board and make sure we right things. We have a lot of games left. We can still do a lot of things this season. Nobody's down and not wishing to move forward.
(on the running effort by Maurice Jones-Drew)
He did a great job. Whenever he got his touches, he was running hard. We should've capitalized more on different drives, keeping them going, moving the ball down the field and scoring points. We have to do a better job on third down.
(on Tennessee's defensive schemes)
They were playing quite a bit of man. They were doing a good job of taking away those quick slants by our receivers. They knew coming from the last game when we played them that we were able to hit quite a few of them and they did a good job of gameplanning for that. When you get that man coverage, even if it's two-man sometimes, we have to do a good job of distributing the ball and getting off of that coverage, not letting them slow us down.
(on why they didn't run the ball more)
I'm not sure. We called runs, but they were putting so many in the box that I had the option of throwing to the receivers outside on those quick slants. They gameplanned it well.
(on the interception that concluded the final offensive drive of first half)
Torry (Holt) got picked off by the referee. We ran that same play the first time we played those guys and the referee actually helped us on it. We got there this game and he actually picked Torry on it and the DB kept going. The ball was going to be right there for Torry but the DB used that pick and wound up with the ball in his hands, which is very unfortunate. I couldn't have done anything any different. It was one of those freak plays.
(on Coach Jack Del Rio taking the blame for the loss)
We're men, too. We're the ones on the field, we're the ones out there trying to execute the plays. We appreciate Jack saying that but we have to do better as players executing the game plan. Everybody has to get better, period.
