Here's What Titans Coach Mike Vrabel Said After Friday's Win Over Patriots
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans wrapped up their 2023 NFL preseason on Friday night, beating the New England Patriots 23-7 at Nissan Stadium. They did a lot of good things but, as always, there's still plenty to work on, too.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel met with the media afterward, and he had a lot to say on several topics. So we thought you'd like to see what he had to say, word for word.
Here's the full transcript of his interview.
— on Malik Willis' bounce-back after two interceptions:
"I loved the way that he competed. Loved it. You've got to eliminate the mistakes. The one there to (tight end) Josh (Whyle), I thought that the protection kind of dictated that throw, that miss. And then the other one, you just have to make a better decision. I loved what he was able to do after that. He competed and finished and kept his eyes downfield. You've just got to take care of the football.''
— on the defense overall
"I thought it was OK. It was good. It was good. That one drive there, I think that has to be better. The ball got into the red zone and we didn't force them to kick a field goal, so during the regular season, when they get into the red zone, we need to force them to make kicks.''
— on decision for Andre Dillard playing so much:
"Head coaching decision.''
— on rookie wide receiver Colton Dowell
"He didn't play last week (at Minnesota), but it was cool to see him to be able to run through a couple of catches and have a good day. Just the consistency and volume, a lot of these details for young receivers, it's the same thing that I keep seeing. I thought it was a good game for him, an important game for him. He had a good week of practice, so we'll take a look at the film and continue on that path and clean up some of the little details. It was good to see him show up down the field tonight.''
— on kicker Michael Badgley's night
"Well, you've got to make them. But he bounced back. We'll take a look at it and go through his performance and see what it looked like and go from there just like we will everybody else. I know he'd like to have that one back, but it's unfortunate.
— on the defense forcing turnovers
"If we're going to keep turning the ball over, we better create some turnovers too.''
— on hoping to get more than three plays out of quarterback Ryan Tannehill:
''Just three.''
— on Willis developing while throwing interceptions
"You're going to throw some interceptions in this league. I don't know if Malik is going to tell you this, but we had called a play and maybe he didn't hit him earlier. And you come over as a coach sometimes and you say, 'that was open.' You maybe chase it, and you have to know if it's not there, it's not there. We tried to do that in practice, and I hope we can learn from this. We tried to do it in practice with a ball to Nick Westbrook. We tried to do it in a game, and come back in the scrimmage. We had two guys drop underneath Nick when we tried to run the same play. He kind of threw it into coverage. It wasn't intercepted, but we told him, that's good we're trying to come back and correct it and make sure we can move on. If it's not there, it's not there. We'll face that and just make sure that just because it was open one time and we call it again doesn't guarantee that it's going to be open the next time. But I felt there was good competitiveness and guys were working hard for him, especially there in the second half. But we have to start faster. That's obvious.''
— on rookie Kearis Jackson as a receiver and punt returner
"I wouldn't say replacing Kyle (Phillips as a returner) or anything like that, but he had a good showing. I thought the play extension the ball coming in there in the end zone and being able to go up and catch it and high-point it and catch it in front of your eyes. I'm probably nit-picking, but he probably could have returned the one he caught on the 10. That's why I wanted to give him another opportunity later in the game and he got north and south and we started on the 40-yard line after a 16-yard return.''
— on tough decisions for defensive linemen
"Yes, that's the whole idea, to try to create as many decisions and competitions at each spot. Michael keeps showing up, Peco keeps finding a way to get into games, even when he's banged up. He shows up, and he's productive.''
— on rookie Caleb Murphy
"No. I think it's a full group, a bunch of guys competing for spots. We've got a couple of guys that we know are going to be here and so that group behind them, they're competitive, and Caleb continues to work as well.''
— on how Denico Autry played with some bottled-up energy:
"Bottled up? You like how he played, is that what you're trying to say? I wouldn't phrase it the way you said it. I like that He's an old soul, a no-nonsense type guy. He has a burn-everything mentality from the time that he probably got to college and was undrafted. He's fought for everything. We try to tell the young players that this is a great example, and he's someone you should emulate. He shows up and he fights and competes. I'm glad that he's here.''
— on what the final preseason game is like for guys who've worked so hard before cut-down day:
"Well, that's part of it Jimmy, as a player having been through it, and certainly as a coach being as respectful as you can knowing that you're not going to be able to keep everybody. You try to be as honest as you can about why it didn't work, or what may happen in the future or guys we might want to work with on the practice squad. It's part of our game, and everybody tries to do it as respectfully as possible.''
— on the first-team offensive line:
"We all have to start faster, start better.''
— on the offensive line depth getting better:
"Yeah, I mean I guess. We're trying to figure out guys who can play swing tackle and guys who can play inside and try to figure out the best eight on game day.''
