HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (General Comments) Wednesday, October 21, 2009* *
"We are in Wednesday preparation for St. Louis. We have a tough battle on our hands. That's for certain…We have had an opportunity to look at the film and watch this team (Rams) on film. They have a lot of fine football players. Week in and week out, every team we face has a real challenge for us. These guys present a great challenge. Steven Jackson is as big and fine a running back as you'll see. He's one of those rare guys that because of his size and power that you anticipate all he's going to do is run over a guy. He can overpower you but also make you miss. He runs the ball effectively. He catches the ball. He blocks well. You name it, he can do it. They have a fine quarterback in (Marc) Bulger. He's a very accurate guy who can certainly move the ball. You look at their team when Bulger is in there. They move the ball up and down the field. They just didn't get it in the end zone as many times as they would like. He's a very effective quarterback. (Donnie) Avery is a guy we have to be concerned with speed. So is (Keenan) Burton. They have a very skilled tight end in (Randy) McMichael. He's a guy that can catch it and run. He's done a lot of athletic things once he gets the ball in his hands. They have a very effective offensive line. The core of their offensive line is tough, hard-nosed and big, with some speed and agility inside. They are going to present some problems for us. When you look at the other side of the ball on defense, their defensive ends are fine players. Leonard Little has been around a while. He and Peyton (Manning) have been in the league for about the same time at 12 years. Little leads their team in sacks with four. When you watch him on film, he still has that power that can devastate you. He makes plays all over the field. You can tell his leadership in terms of the rest of the guys. He sets a great example for them. (Chris) Long on the other side is certainly a guy that has ability and power and (James) Hall (is) as well. He is the second-leading guy on their team in sacks with three. (LaJuan) Ramsey inside is tough. (James) Laurinaitis is playing very good football as the middle linebacker. They do some fairly complicated things. For a young guy, he is doing a great job of getting them set. They have a solid secondary as well. They give you a lot of problems and a lot of different looks. They can harass you. Couple that with the fact they have a real solid kicking game. Their placekicker and their punter can each change the field position on you. They also have a fiery return man in (Danny) Amendola. He is outstanding at what he does. He returns both punts and kickoff returns. We will have our work cut out for us. They are a handful in terms of what they make you prepare for."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On why the Rams are 0-6) Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"You look at penalties and turnovers. Typically that makes a difference in the ball game. I can tell you this, they (Rams) keep getting better every week. You look at their game against Minnesota. They turned the ball over three times inside the 10-yard line. They left either nine or 21 points on the table. I don't think you'll see them do that very often. I just see them trending (up) and getting better and better. We'd better be ready to play when we walk into that stadium."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On DB-Bob Sanders availability) Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"He's improving. He's practicing today. He practiced last week as well. He has been ramping up his activity over the last three weeks. We fully anticipate, as things continue to go forth this week, that he may be able to do something for us. We'll wait and see towards the end of the week. He won't participate in every single drill throughout the entire week. He'll do the great majority of it, but we'll watch. We'll listen to what he says about his body and also what the physicians say."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On getting the team ready after a bye week) Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"We go right back to our same routine. We get right back into the same rhythm. That's the big thing. Just trying not to loose your rhythm. We worked hard last week doing a lot of offense versus defense and sort of drill work to keep our sharpness. We did the same thing the first part of this week. Now, today is the first day we are focusing in on St. Louis. Preparation from here on out is not different from anything we've done previously. I believe what happens a lot of times in bye weeks is you're off a little bit and you tend to cruise your way back in activity. I told them I thought we had to jump in with both feet. It's one of the reasons why we had a little bit more spirited practice on Monday because I just wanted to get it going so we could get back into the swing of things. We want to get after it."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On DT-Fili Moala playing in his first regular-season game) Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"What we anticipate and expect him to do is to measure up. He understands the standards around here are high. He'll fight. He'll work hard. He has demonstrated that in practice. He has the ability. Now it's his time to have the opportunity to go out there and perform."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On being on a short list of coaches with a possible 6-0 career start) Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"It's a player's game. What I have to do and what we have to do is focus in on our next challenge. I'm not necessarily worried about records and things of that nature. I'm worried about winning. That's how we keep our jobs. If we don't win, there's a problem. We try to focus in on that and that alone. I think our players are playing well. I think our coaches are doing a great job of getting them ready. I think more than anything else our young guys are measuring up. Those guys are doing a lot of things right. I'm learning as I go."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On facing Rams RB-Steven Jackson) Wednesday,
"The big thing is you very rarely ever see him fall backwards. He is always leaning forward. He's one of those guys that breaks a lot of tackles. You really don't know how to deal with him. He's big enough to run over you. If you brace yourself in that regard as you begin to approach him to make the tackle, that's when he gives you that wiggle and finesse. He has great feet. It's an odd thing that a guy that big is that nimble. He has great vision…You might be able to keep him contained. He has so much versatility. He is going to get his yards. We just have to contain him. His combination of power, vision and speed and agility is rarely seen. Jackson leans a little bit more on you. He will overpower you at times."
HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL (On Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher wearing a Peyton Manning jersey) Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"He's one of the best coaches in the National Football League. He's highly- and well-respected not only among our colleagues in this league but across the nation. He's done a tremendous job with his team. I think he was just adding a little levity to a situation that people took the wrong way. The guy is as good as they come. When you look at his record over the years and who he is and what he does, it speaks for itself."
