HEAD COACH DOM CAPERS (Opening Statement)
We didn't tackle well. This is a team, with Steve McNair, and the receiving corps that they have, they can move the ball down the field and they did that today. Offensively we moved the ball. At times we were not consistent enough in our execution. We didn't get the kind of field position out of our kicking game that we hoped. Again, you can't sugar coat what happened today. I give the Tennessee Titans credit. They came out and out played us. That is why they won by 21 points.
(On what the defense affected you the most)
If you can't rush the passer you are going to have to cover longer up the field. You saw today we had a hard time getting pressure on the quarterback. A lot of the deeper routes came open. Early in the game, when we felt we did get a little bit of pressure, we didn't cover. It all fits together. We have to take a good look at it and get that worked out.
(On how much of that was just (Steve) McNair having a hot day)
Well he's a good player and I certainly don't want to take anything away from him. We've gone against him many times. He's an outstanding player and hard to get to the ground. That doesn't solve the problems you see on our side of the ball. We have to go back to work and find out how to get more pressure on the quarterback. And we have to find ways to cover better and they tie together. In times today, when we had people in position, we didn't tackle very well. And those are fundamentals of the game. Unless you do those three things you are not going to play very good defense.
(on if he made some adjustments at the half that might have work as far as your coverage)
We challenged our players at halftime. Anytime you're down 21-3 to me you find out what you're all about when you go back out there. I thought our guys went out and battled back in the third quarter but had some lapse in the fourth quarter.
(On how much of those coverage breakdowns had to do with Aaron (Glenn) not being in there)
Well I'm never going to put in on that and I'm not going to use that as an excuse. Aaron Glenn is a Pro Bowl player. We would like to have him in there but Kenny Wright went in there a week ago and played outstanding football for us. They went into a lot of three wide receiver sets and we were in a lot of five and six defensive backfield sets and they did a good job of executing. We didn't get pressure on the quarterback and didn't get good coverage.
(On coming off the big win against Jacksonville , did this game blindside you)
I certainly didn't think we would come in here and lose a game by 21 points. If that answers your question. Can that happen? It can happen any week in this league if things aren't right. This is a team that was division champs and in the AFC championship game last year. It's a good football team. You got to be at the top of your game. They were at the top of their game today and we weren't.
QB DAVID CARR
(general comments on game)
It was a little rough. I think our team fought hard but there was not really anything too positive we can get out of the game. They got off to a smooth beginning and we were never able to catch up.
(on Steve McNair's performance)
He played a great game. Their whole offense did pretty well. Hopefully someday we'll get to that point where it's just consistent and you can go out every drive and get a nice little series. He played well.
(on late hit by Albert Haynesworth that resulted in a roughing the passer penalty)
I don't really remember it, to tell you the truth. I remember throwing the ball to Corey and, after that, I don't remember being hit. We got our 15 (yards) out of it so it worked out.
(on whether he was knocked out on the hit and was it a cheap shot)
I don't think so. I don't know. I don't remember the hit so you never know what happens after that. I just remember Steve telling me that they tried to apologize, and he (Haynesworth) apologized later in the game two or three times. I'm sure he wasn't doing anything intentionally. Like I said, we got our 15 out of it.
(on overall offensive performance)
I think we stopped ourselves, to tell you the truth. The Titans are a great defensive football team. They have a lot of speed and are a physical football team, but honestly I think we hurt ourselves. On one of the early drives, we were down to the 10-yard line and we end up punting. We had some good plays, we put some drives together, but we just hurt ourselves. I think we had a good game plan the whole game. I just don't think that we took advantage of our opportunities. We were moving the football. When we get into scoring position, we have to score more than two touchdowns. I didn't feel like we went out there and didn't do anything. Our team is getting better every week. We were in a situation today where things got out of hand pretty quick. It was just tough.
(on offensive differences between win vs. Jacksonville * last week and this week's loss)*
We ran the ball alright this week. I think we played similar games but the score was totally different. I think we have to take advantage of opportunities. That's the biggest deal.
(on his career day)
We went into the game thinking we would be in a lot of three wide receiver formations. We had some success out of it. But we were trailing so we had to throw the ball a little but more. One good thing we did do was when we were trailing, we could still mix in a little bit of the run and keep those guys honest up front. It was a big lead they had and we weren't able to come back. I would have much rather won the game than throw for all those yards.
LB KAILEE WONG
(on defensive problems)
That is one of those things that we are going to have to see. I have no idea right now. I was talking with my coaches trying to ask them because I don't really know what was going on out there. The film will be good to see.
(on McNair's performance this season versus last season)
You just have to understand in the NFL that week-to-week is different, year-to-year is different. You can't go on that. Go around the lockerroom and there are probably 25 new guys on every team. You just can't compare year-to-year. He had a lot of yards and that was a killer. Obviously, you can't let that happen.
(on where defense goes from here)
All you can do is go back to square one. You have to watch it and understand what went wrong. You have to work harder and get on the film study and hope you have a better performance.
(on Aaron Glenn's absence)
Aaron is a Pro Bowl player, and every time you have a Pro Bowl player on the sidelines, you are going to really miss him. Not to mention his leadership ability. He is one of our defensive leaders and our team leaders, so he was really missed out there.
DE GARY WALKER (on defensive problems)
I don't think we even gave ourselves a chance defensively. It was just one of those days where everything that could go wrong went wrong. When we made a mistake, they capitalized it on and made the plays. It was very shocking. I felt like coming in that we would play them a lot better than we did. Honestly, we just didn't go out there and get it done. We never did give our offense any field position. Our offense was moving the ball all day, and we just had trouble slowing them down.
(on McNair)
I've never seen McNair better. We knew what kind of guy he was. We watched the rookie (Calico) and Derrick Mason on film. We had two weeks to watch these guys. We knew what were getting into, but we just didn't get it done. Their receivers did a good job of sitting down and he was doing a good job finding them. I felt like we pressured him well, but McNair is their best offensive lineman. He does a good job of alluding the tackle and moving around. To rush this guy, you have to get four people getting up the field and caging him in. He did a good job and made plays for them.
(on defense letting the team down)
It hurts a lot to give up this kind of yardage. I feel personally that we have gotten better on the other side of the ball, and I know we can score points on anybody. We just have to start stopping people. This is a copycat league, so I am sure that when the Jets come to town next week, that they will run the same stuff. We better go to work this week and iron those wrinkles out.
(on McNair having an MVP season)
I thought he had one last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. The guy finished third in the voting last year and didn't make the Pro Bowl. It is no surprise to me. He has been doing this ever since he became the starter. He had a great day today and just picked us apart.
WR COREY BRADFORD (on losing after momentum of two weeks ago)
Today, we just beat ourselves. I think any team in the NFL that loses a game, the other team doesn't really do it. The team loses the game themselves. We basically just lost it ourselves today because we had opportunities.
(on touchdown reception)
We were reading their defense all day long. Depending on whether the safeties came down or went back, David would check. He checked and it was the right call. I just made a play on it. Once I went inside, I tried to have one eye on the linebacker and one eye on the ball. Once I bobbled it, I put both eyes on the ball and concentrated on it to make sure I caught it. Jabar Gaffney was navigating the way to go and I just made a play.
S MATT STEVENS (explaining Texans' overall defensive performance)
A little bit of everything went wrong. We weren't getting pressure on the quarterback. We gave up a bunch of big plays in the secondary. Monday, we'll look at it and get back to work.
(on adjusting to Titans offense throughout game)
It was kind of rough. Everything we tried, nothing really worked. They kept doing the same thing and the same thing kept happening.
(on Steve McNair's performance)
It seemed like he found the open guy all throughout the day. When that happens, when he's in that zone, it's kind of hard to stop him.
(on how surprised he was at outcome of game)
I'm real surprised. 21 points … I don't think any of us saw that coming.
(on big pass plays by Titans offense)
One was an open receiver and a couple of missed tackles. They did a good job of scheming us. It was a good job by them knowing what we did on defense and exposing our weaknesses.
CB MARCUS COLEMAN (on results of the game)
They executed. There isn't too much to it. That's what happened out there.
(on lack of defensive adjustments during the game)
You have to go out there and make adjustments. If you have a plan, you have a plan. Sometimes you have to deviate from the plan. If you go out on a trip and take the wrong damn road, you go back to the map and find the road so you can get on the right way. That's what you do. We just have to play what he calls. We made a few (adjustments) but obviously they didn't work. It didn't get us back into the game.
(on whether they had to change the game plan with Aaron Glenn out of the lineup)
We didn't have to change anything. K-Wright (Kenny Wright) is a starter in this league. So that doesn't have anything to do with it at all.
(on whether it was the most frustrating game of his pro career)
It's up there. I've played in a lot of games and it's up there.
