Head coach Gary Kubiak and players spoke to the players Wednesday afternoon during open locker room and after practice.
(on practice) "We practiced good. We had a lot of energy, and that's what we have to have, but we practiced well."
(on any updates to WR Jerome Mathis' injury status) "I guess I really don't. I just know he's behind those other guys. We haven't turned him loose. He's been doing a little bit like catching some kickoffs and punts, but he's not close to full speed yet. And it's a two week decision we're looking at right now, so next week we'll be getting close to crunch time, so we'll have to wait and see."
(on the injury status of TE Jeb Putzier) "Jeb didn't do anything (in practice) today."
(on the status of WR Eric Moulds) "Eric Moulds, actually you know what, I held him out for precaution. He's fine. He was just sore, so I told (Head Athletic Trainer) Kevin (Bastin) to hold him out. Those young guys need the reps anyways."
(on T Zach Wiegert's status) "He's fine. I kind of like the way last week he basically didn't work on Wednesday and really in all honesty the other kid needs the practice. Zach knows what he's doing. We'll give Zach's body a little chance today and he comes right back tomorrow. It's a combination of his health and wanting to work (T Eric) Winston. So we'll get a little bit of both."
f(on whether CB Demarcus Faggins will play more at Tennessee) "You know he probably played more last week than we wanted him to in all honesty, but I think he's ready to go. He looks fine, and we're working on turf today and he looked fine. We'll probably make that decision whether we go at it like we did last week or whether he plays in base also. He sure looks like he's fine."
(on facing less mobile quarterbacks and now Titans QB Vince Young) "It's a totally different ballgame for those guys this week because they're running the option that they ran at Texas, and the boot game. They're running the ball so well, and he's going to move around. It's a whole new world for our guys from what they have seen the last few weeks, and we're going to have to respond to it. We're definitely going to have to contain him."
(on whether the defense will have to show more discipline) "Well, you just have to make sure you're in your contain mode. If that's your job, you can't lose contain. One of the reasons they scare the heck out of you is because they're running the ball so well the last two weeks, and I think that's a credit to (QB) Vince (Young) because everybody is containing for him and its helping them run the football. They're a big-time challenge right now. They played really well on offense the last few weeks."
*(on whether the second running back behind RB Wali Lundy has been decided) *"Yeah, we worked them all today, but (RB) Wali (Lundy) has earned that right to go play. He'll be the guy this week and hopefully for a long, long time. As far as (RB) Ronnie (Dayne) or (RB) Samkon (Gado) they'll probably always be a week to week decision."
(on what he has seen from QB Vince Young) "I've been very impressed. First off, I'm very impressed with the job they are doing with him because when you throw a kid in that quick… You know, they are doing what he does best, and that was a big change for (Offensive Coordinator) Norm (Chow) and (Head Coach) Jeff (Fisher) and what they were doing offensively. To make that big of a change and to do it as quickly and as well as they have done it. And to me that last few weeks they have played as well as anyone in football. So that's a credit to them as coaches and the kid's a big time player."
(on whether Young has opened up the Titans offense) "Oh, definitely. Just having him under center makes people worry about a lot of things and it helps you run the football. It's very obviously when you look as the Indianapolis game and the Washington game."
(on whether he has anyone that can simulate Vince Young in practice) "I don't know if we have anyone that can run around like that. But no, we're trying to give them the best look we can. It is a different challenge for our players this week because it is a totally different concept than they have been seeing."
(on QB David Carr's progression this season) "You know, he's gotten better and better. The one thing that I've been very impressed with him is that he's had some blips on the screen; he's had some times where he hasn't played real well, like in Dallas in the second half. The thing I like about him right now is they don't linger. He comes back and plays well the next week. He's had a tough quarter and then comes back and plays better the next quarter. And that's what being a good quarterback is all about because you're going to get stopped at times, and how do you respond. And David has been responding, so that's very positive."
(on how the other players respond to David's play) "The better he plays, the more they're going to respond to him. They see a battler, you know a guy that's doing everything he can to be a better player. And I think that's what our players respect and see. He's working extremely hard in the classroom as well as on the field. When players see that, they respond to him. He's still got a long ways to go, you know. I'm going to continue to say that, and he knows that. But I like the way he's working."
(on what safeties will be used) "You could see us suiting all four safeties. (FS) Jason (Simmons) was out defensive player of the game; that's how well he played. (SS) Guss Scott played very well in nickel. You know, I think that's why we played better because we had a lot of different players on our football team contribute to our cause. And I think that's so important as we move forward. We have to have more players like that step up."
(on whether LB Kailee Wong will play more) "I would expect so. He played, I think I just said, 18 or 20 snaps, and I would think he would be closer to 30, 35 this week. (LB) Shantee (Orr) played real well too. He was fresh an played well in the game."
**QB David Carr
(on the difference the running game made vs. Jacksonville) ** "That's the way our offense is going to, not takeoff, but it's going to be more effective when you can do that because we have seen this offense run in Denver and they rely heavily on the running attack to get any big plays down the field when you get the play action going. There are only so many plays you can make in the pocket, just dropping back. Against good defenses you're going to have to be able to run the ball and then get out of the pocket, or at least have play action work for you."
(on how much better he feels physically having been sacked fewer times) "I feel so much better. Just in the last two games I can count on one hand the number of times that I have been hit. It's definitely a different feeling from that last two years."
(on the Titans) "They're a good defense. The defense, obviously, we have played the last couple years, and they always play us tough. Just like a division game, you're going to have to battle to the end to get a win. But they're going to have some good packages. They've always had some. They had one or two blitz schemes that you haven't seen for a couple weeks or even a couple years that they are going to throw at you. I'm sire with two weeks to prepare for us they are going to have something like that. I like to think that we've seen most of what they have done after the past four of five years so we should have a pretty good beat on them."
**DE Mario Williams
(on whether he is looking forward to facing Tennessee)** "I look forward to every week. Obviously because it is a division game it counts more, but I look forward to every week."
(on what he thinks when he sees Titans QB Vince Young on tape) "Obviously, he's a tough quarterback but he has a lot of potential. We really don't know what to expect come Sunday. He can move which is a very dangerous thing especially when you think you have him wrapped up, he just takes off and runs 60 yards for a touchdown. So we just have to be really disciplined in what we do and play smart football."
(on whether he feels every sack against Vince Young would quiet another critic) "Yeah, I guess it would, but basically the only thing I'm focusing on is getting this team going the right direction, especially since this week would be a division win, and we had the win last week. So it's important to get another win this week."
(on whether facing Vince Young makes this game special) "Well, not taking away from him or anybody else who plays, but it is a football game. We're not going to sit here and focus on one thing and get carried away and get distracted by it because we're playing Vince Young. He is a great quarterback, but at the same time we have to go out and we have to execute our football and play smart."
**LB Kailee Wong
(on Titans QB Vince Young)** "He's a phenomenal athlete, a good quarterback, and they use him well. So there's a lot of things. They throw a lot of little wrinkles at you that are very different for an NFL team to have to prepare for, and I think that's what they do the best job of."
(on whether defenses look forward to facing rookie quarterbacks) "You know it can be, but at the same time I know he has played in big games before, and he's done pretty well in them. He's going to be excited, he's going to be jacked, there's no doubt about it. It's just something we're going to have to be ready for."
(on whether defenses want to prove Vince Young correct when he said he wouldn't
be able to run like in college) "Yes, we do want to prove that to him, but, you know, he has made a couple teams
look silly already, so I don't know if that is an accurate statement. Hopefully
we can contain him and keep him to a minimum because I don't; think necessarily
you're going to stop him."
