Following the Titans’ 25-16 victory over the Colts, head coach Mike Vrabel emphasized how he was excited about the way his team “finished”.
Yesterday’s game wasn’t perfect by any means. The Titans shot themselves in the foot a ton and were almost their own demise. Fortunately this resilient group knows how to keep fighting and were able to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
However, Sunday’s victory didn’t leave the fanbase without some questions, so let’s take a closer look at some of the storylines that Vrabel elaborated on during his Monday morning press conference.
Mike Vrabel offers clarity on Julio Jones being out the majority of the fourth quarter.
“Guys go through games and guys get tight (physically). I felt like it was in the best interest of our football team and everybody involved that he be available in emergency situations at that point in time.”
Vrabel also reiterates how pleased he’s been with Julio Jones and there was nothing more to him sitting out
“There hasn’t been, other than one admitted lapse of judgment in the first game which everyone would agree on, myself, the team, Julio — there hasn’t been one situation where I was disappointed (in Julio Jones). He’s played physical, he came back and played great last week. He played Physical yesterday, and that’s where we were.”
Acknowledging defensive improvement
Vrabel: “Defense was great on third downs, much better in the redzone and you can see that those are big factors in helping us win.”
Vrabel praises Chester Rogers on his efforts on punt return
“There was some cool opportunities that Chester, catching the football and guys blocking. Chester averaged 14 yards a punt return, so that was something that was huge in the game.”
Did taking Chester Rogers off kick return help him improve on punt return?
Vrabel: “It probably helped him not get killed, but maybe. He’s done a real nice job for us. You know the one they punted, their gunners went both to the other side and sometimes when you have these punters that kick these boomerangs, which we identify as the ones that go across the field, they (punt returners) try and read the gunners. So both gunners went in that direction so he thought the boomerang and I don’t know if the punter did something than they normally do, but Chet went and fair caught that one that would have probably rolled down there inside the 10. I thought that was a great play… overall we got some great yardage on punt return we just gotta start going with this kickoff return a little bit.”
Harold Landry’s stand out performance
Vrabel: I thought Harold played extremely hard. He’s impacting the game, he’s playing hard. He’s trying to get around the quarterback and I know the ball will start to come out. We gotta continue to start reaching to try and find the football once he gets around the quarterback and hope that it comes out and the numbers start to reflect maybe what his effort and performance (are).”
Vrabel jokingly suggest he doesn’t know how to get Ryan Tannehill to slide
*shrugs and smirks*
“I don’t know (how to get Tannehill to slide), great competitor, gritty, tough competitor. Just trying to be smart, you know when you’re coming back to the middle of the field I think that you have to use great judgement. There’s guys that are coming for you, there’s safeties that are back there. He’s just got to know when the journey is over and be able to get down. But I really appreciate his toughness each and every day.”
Vrabel on if anyone will be coming off injured reserve this week
“I haven’t made those decisions yet.”
Vrabel shows support for A.J. Brown after his early season issues with injuries and drops
“Well I have a great relationship with A.J., I feel like that’s grown over the time that he’s been here. We have some great conversations, we’ve put a lot of trust in each other. You know as far as those things that are discussed in those conversations. So we’ll obviously keep those between A.J. and I but, I’m confident that he’ll do his best to get back out there and be the player and person that we’ve come to expect. We all go through things throughout the course of a season, it’s a long season and we all deal with a lot. I’m confident that everyone including A.J., will be able to weather those storms.”
Evaluating Taylor Lewan’s return.
Vrabel: “He was ok. There was some good things and some plays he’d like to have back I’m sure.”
David Long has earned a starting role
Vrabel: “He’s (David Long) started the last two games I think, so I think that would qualify him as a starter. He’s playing fast, being productive, he flys around. He beats running backs in protection. I think if you watch back, I don’t think the running back really picked him up. I thought he beat the backs when given the opportunity.”
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