Young, with Fisher, said he hopes to play in his return to his native Houston but is treating Sunday's matchup like any other game.
Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher and quarterback Vince Young spoke to the Houston media via conference call on Wednesday about their upcoming matchup with the Texans.
Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher
(on QB Vince Young's status) "I don't have an update as of today. Yesterday, he would have been unable to practice. I don't expect him to practice today and it's day-to-day."
(on how QB Vince Young is different as a player this year compared to last year) "I think players will typically make significant improvements from year one to year two. Just a few weeks ago he finished his 16th game, so he's barely into the second season, if you will, and he's shown improvement in every area. He understands what we're doing. He's making adjustments on the line of scrimmage. I think he's throwing with more accuracy. He is trusting his teammates. He doesn't feel like he needs to go out there and win the game by himself. He's patient yet competitive and I've just been delighted with his improvement."
(on QB Vince Young being able to win without having great stats) "There are games where we'll run the football and he'll have 18 pass attempts and he's fine with that. All he cares about is winning. He's not a stat guy. The only stat that he cares about is the win. We don't feel like we have to go out and throw for 300 yards a week to have a chance to win."
(on if he marvels that he is the longest tenured coach in the NFL) "When it's brought up and I spend the time to give it some thought, yes I do, but it seems like I just started yesterday. Every year is a new challenge and I just enjoy what I'm doing. I'm very fortunate to have been in this organization for so long. I've had great support and I will not rest until I'm able to do what I set out to do, and that was to get Mr. Adams a trophy."
(on if it's still a challenge every day for him) "We all look forward to coming to work here. I think that's important as an organizational philosophy, you have to look forward to coming to work, and we do. The challenge for a coaching staff, especially, is coming to work after a difficult Sunday. You know we can all handle wins, it's how you keep losses in perspective and move on and that's been the challenge. Each and everyday is an exciting day and it's an opportunity to get better and a chance to work toward winning another game."
(on if he's ever tittered on the brink of burn out) "Not to my knowledge. No, I've never given any thought, never given any thought to the end. I enjoy what I'm doing and I'm just going to keep doing it."
(on if coming back to Houston is still special to him) "It's always a special game for us, only because the experiences there were great for us. The personal experience that I had there was exceptional. I enjoyed the city of Houston and professionally, it was strained a little bit just because of the circumstances. We always look forward to coming back."
(on at what point did it occur to you that this was your life's calling) "It would have been at the end of the 1985 Super Bowl season with the Bears. During the Super Bowl practice week, Buddy (Ryan) offered, gave me the opportunity, he said he was probably going to get the job with Philadelphia and wanted me to come along with him. I had a couple weeks to consider it. I turned him down actually. I hung up the phone, had a sick feeling in my stomach, called him back and took the job and never looked back. Anytime before that, I would probably say that training camp before the 1985 season. For some reason, I felt led or compelled to take my playbook over to Kinko's and copy before I had to turn it back in because I didn't know what the future had in store for me."
(on what made you tell Buddy Ryan no the first time) "I was still considering playing. I had been offered a contract. I was still under contract and been offered an extension by the Bears and I was still considering playing."
(on getting the Houston job because Buddy Ryan went to Arizona and they wanted continuity) "That is correct."
(on how much contact/interaction does he have with Bud Adams) "We talk constantly, once a week or so, sometimes more then that. Just to give him updates on the team, the club, how things are going."
(on how much it changes their offense if QB Vince Young can't play) "This is our offense. (QB) Kerry (Collins) can handle things. He's proven he can handle things. We don't have two plans. That's the fun part about watching Kerry go in and execute the other day even though we fell short. We stayed with the plan. We're going to have one plan and if (QB) Vince (Young) is healthy, he'll play. If he's not, Kerry will practice the plan, probably, all week and then he'll play if Vince can't."
(on how well he's gotten to know Gary Kubiak) "I've know Gary (Kubiak) for quite some time."
(on what's the tie between them) "During the offseason, I spend time with him. I'm close with Mike Shanahan and I got to know Gary (Kubiak) through Mike."
(on what's his message to Gary Kubiak) "If he was outside of the division, I may have some advice for him, but because he's a division foe, I wish him luck against the Colts. That's it."
(on which players on the Texans he's been focusing on) "I've watched all three phases. I'm very impressed with all three phases, but no one in particular. You start with the quarterback. I'm very impressed with what he's done. Then, of course, I always go to the defensive line. I think the nerve center of the team is defensive line and I've watched the defensive line very closely and they have a good thing going. They're a much improved team."
(on his impression of WR Kevin Walter) "You could kind of see it coming on last year. I saw it in games before our second time against them. I saw him make some plays. You could kind of see that he's an emotionally charged, competitive guy that can really catch the ball and knows how to get open. You can see there's continuity now and there's a comfort level with the quarterback and most of the receivers. They know that every time a pass play is called, they have a chance to get the ball. He's running good routes and I thought it was very impressive game he had against a good defensive team."
(on the challenges coaching a young team as opposed to a veteran team) "It's a different team. This team has a great personality. This club right now enjoys working and is confident in their ability and respects their opponents, but believes they can win and they really will respond to anything you ask them to do. From a coaching standpoint, that makes things easy. They work very, very hard. They're very close. It's a good locker room. There are no distractions. They don't let each other become distracted and the trust each other. I think when you have a young team that has that kind of feel for itself, I think as you mature, you have a chance to be really good."
(on coaches appreciating the energy and enthusiasm of young players) "Yes, of course. It's all about them coming to work and looking forward to coming to work and having fun."
(on if QB Vince Young reminds him, personality wise, of anyone he's played with or coached) "No, there are intangibles that he acquired somewhere along the way and then he's got all those leadership qualities. He's got the passion, the emotion, yet he has perspective. He's a unique individual and it's been fun to watch him develop."
(on if he could still see himself coaching in 10 years) "I hope I am. I don't see an end in sight. I'm really enjoying what I'm doing."
(on the pressures of coaching now compared to 25 years ago) "The only pressure I feel is when I'm winding down the conference call because I have a 10:00 a.m. team meeting."
Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young
(on his status as of today for Sunday's game) "Beautiful (laughs). No, day to day right now. It's day to day. It feels way better from Sunday, and Monday would probably be one of the worst days because coming off the game and then just soreness, and then yesterday was alright and then today a little better. So just taking it day by day, don't want to rush into it."
(on fans having a tough time believing he wouldn't get back on the field for this game back at home) "Well, I'm human. It's my first injury to a quad area, so just trying to listen to all the experts and pay attention to some of the guys that have hurt they quad and things like that. So I don't want to jump out there too fast and then I don't want to say that I can't play and then I can play. So right now just going day by day."
(on if he plans on practicing this week) "It depends. I plan on practicing a little bit, but not right now. It depends on how I feel and my trainers and what coach feel is best."
(on what it means to him to come back to Houston to play) "I mean, it's football. It's a conference game, but whatever's best for the team. If I'm not capable of going out there, Kerry Collins is a great, great quarterback to go out there and go to war with. So I'll be one of the guys on the sideline supporting my teammates to the fullest. A lot of people probably want to see my play, but that's in the past, I've gotta take care of myself and the injury, not because what somebody else want me to do and this and that. I've just gotta be very cautious of what I need to do."
(on if will cross his mind how he played and finished last year's game here) "No, that's in the past. We're going against a whole different football team. This is like a physical, one of the best d-linemens that we'll probably ever face. Them guys are doing a great job and I feel like coach over there does a great job of mixing them guys in and the linebackers are real physical play and the guys in the secondary is playing alright as well. So we're playing a whole different team. They've got (Matt) Schaub as quarterback doing a great job, so we're playing a whole different team. We've just got to get out there prepared and ready to play over here as a Tennessee Titan. That was a big loss from last week and we want guys to put that in the past and get ready for another game this week."
(on if this game is more special than any other game on the schedule) "Just another game. Got a lot of respect for the guys over there, a lot of respect. Mario (Williams), all the rest of the guys, all them guys, I have a lot of good friendships with. Some of the coaching staff. I have a lot of respect for the guys as well as the city. That's my hometown, I like to see (inaudible), but during this week, I hope they succeed but in the best it's 0-0, I hope that the Tennessee Titans win the ballgame. But I treat it like it's another game."
(on the Texans' defensive players having no doubt that he'll be playing on Sunday) "I mean, day to day. I can't make that decision right now. It's just day to day right now. If I can, I will, if I can't, I won't. I already feel like we have a good, Kerry Collins is a great quarterback that can go to war with as well. So I have to be real patient. We have a long season to go and just one game, if I have to miss it, I miss it."
(on visiting Bills TE Kevin Everett during the bye week) "This is a risky sport and the bum thing that happened to him, I just wanted to show my respect, as well as Keith Bulluck and Bo Scaife who went with me and went over there just to check on him. Bo Scaife have a good history with him because they went to Pro Day and things like that together, so and just wanted to show my love. I know Everett a little bit, so just wanted to show him, just check on him to see how he was doing. So that was pretty much it."
(on what it was like being in there with him) "Yes, it was emotional because just the sport we play, man, and knowing the type of competitor that he is, he'd rather be out there with his teammates instead of in the bed. But that's life, that's society; you've got to deal with it. Just the support of his agent and his sisters in there with him, rubbing his hands, we touched his feet a little bit just to show that we care about him, man, that he's not alone on this long thing that he has to go through to get his self better and better. So I have a lot of respect for him. I'm pretty sure a lot of people in the NFL have a lot of respect for him. Just want to see him get well."
(on CB Dunta Robinson) "Big D-Rob – physical, man. Great cover guy. And what I like about him, he tackles, man. That's what I like about him. He don't mind sticking his head in there; you see him on some blitzes and things like that, so I have a lot of respect for D-Rob, man. My mom loves him (laughs), they stay in the same neighborhood I think, and my mom talks about him a lot. So I have a lot of respect for him."
(on if he can talk about his memories of the game here last year) "No, not really. I don't really want to talk about that; that's in the past. It's like I said, it's a whole new game. And going against guys that's playing good together right now, last year is last year, just like Tennessee Titans, our team was last year. We've got a whole different team around here."
(on how he's different as a quarterback than he was a year ago) "I say very comfortable. More comfortable understanding the game more, guys adjusting routes in certain coverages, what defenses are trying to do to me, that I feel like I have a better edge as of knowing what they're trying to do to me. So I really feel like I'm more patient and more smart of the game because of the help around me of Kerry Collins, coach (offensive coordinator) Norm Chow and (quarterbacks coach) Craig Johnson. So those guys do a great job, as well as our defense – they come to me and telling me certain different things to look out for. I work with some of our DB coaches and sit down with (offensive line) coach (Mike) Munchak, all these different things I have in my preparation to the game because I go around and ask questions to some of the guys that have been here and played the game."
(on how much QB Kerry Collins has meant to him this year) "A lot, a lot, a lot. On the field, but I think off the field he helps me a lot off the field because all the different things he went through, he'd been in the same situation I have as well."
