Tennessee Titans coaches and players comment on their upcoming divisonal playoff game against the New England Patriots.
On playing the Patriots...
"It's just another football game. People make it bigger than what it is. David and Goliath and all that stuff. This is just another football game. Man amongst man. I'm excited for the challenge. Those guys are Super Bowl champs for a reason. Numerous consecutive winning seasons. So much success, but at the end of the day it's all about being great that day. We plan on being great that day. It's going to be a tough challenge, but we're ready for it."
- Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo
[wysifield-embeddedaudio|eid="634481"|type="embeddedaudio"|view_mode="full"]
"I think everybody's got to play their best game. That's how it is when you get to this level and where you're at and as you go up. There's minimal room for error, and I think everybody has to play at a high level and not make mistakes that can cost you."
- Titans Head Coach Mike Mularkey
"We get another chance to play against a great team, and in a good environment. I am just making sure I am doing all the right things this week so I'll be ready on Saturday."
- Titans RB Derrick Henry
"I've said it before, they're very disciplined. They're not going to beat themselves. They make minimal errors, they make the opponent do the damage to themselves. They're not going to let you. They're a bend-don't-break type of defense, very methodical offense of working the ball down the field. He's been in the same system for a long time. They can plug pieces in, and they have been for years and had success. They just don't make a lot of mistakes."
*- Titans Head Coach Mike Mularkey *
On Tom Brady...
"I just have a tremendous amount of respect for his ability as a quarterback. Like all athletes, it starts with God-given talent. And that is what he's got. He's got a tremendously strong and accurate arm, and he has the ability to transfer what he is looking at into what he has to react to. ... If it was easy, they'd all be Brady. But there are not many like that."
- Titans Defensive Coordinator Dick LeBeau
"He can make every throw there is. He'll throw it to everybody. So, everybody needs to be on their P's and Q's. Everybody has got to do their job and we have to bring it. We can't be mentally defeated walking out there. You've got to go out there and believe in yourself and do your job to help the team."
- Titans Cornerback Logan Ryan
On the challenge of facing the Patriots defense...
"Their red-zone defense is probably one of the tops in the NFL. They find a way to make you kick field goals. They do a lot of different things, whether it's their fronts, whether it's their schemes and their coverages. We've got our work cut out for us. We've got to be good in the red zone, we've got to convert third downs, that doesn't change for us. If we're able to do that, I think we can be successful."
- Titans Quarterback Marcus Mariota
On Rob Gronkowski...
"He is just another one that you have to be aware of where he's at. He's tough to cover. Everybody tries to stop these guys, and it's a chore to try and do that. He is a little more involved in the run game - this is a guy that can block the point like a point of attack tight end and then beat you down the middle just as easy. He is a dual threat, and a tough guy to cover."
*- Titans Head Coach Mike Mularkey *
On the Patriots offense...
"They're a good offense. Number one, Number two offense in the league. Obviously, the quarterback - it starts and ends with him. We know we have to do our job. We know what we're up against."
- Titans Cornerback Logan Ryan
