HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (opening comments)
"Looking at our game, I got a chance to watch the tape this morning. Probably the disappointing thing, I thought we played with a lot of energy and emotion and played very hard, which it was that type of atmosphere that you were going to have to do that, but when the game got to the point where you had to win it, we didn't play well enough. We didn't really stop them in the second half defensively. We had some chances that we didn't convert offensively, and they outplayed us down the stretch where it was crunch time. That was disappointing. So, we'll have to go back and go to work on fundamentally playing well and making those things happen in the crucial situations. That's where we are. Obviously, a tough game coming up this week with New England. I've had a chance to watch them. They've played pretty well since they left the San Diego game (Oct. 12). It's going to be a game that we have to improve because they do that. They force you into mistakes. They try to get you to beat yourself. They capitalize on your mistakes and we can't afford to make as many as we made in this game."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if it is hard to quickly re-load for New England)
"It's a short week, and it is tough. You invest a lot into it and don't have the results that you need. You have to be able to bounce back. We don't have as long to bounce back. We're not going to practice in pads this week, working on our techniques. We have to get a lot of mental work, and we have to do it. Knowing this group, I think we will."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on the OL)
"I thought we did some good things in the game. We got (OT) Tony (Ugoh) back, and that was good to see. They didn't have, probably, their best rusher in the line up and that obviously helped us, but we protected well against a tough group and did some good things. I think we are making progress and our young guys are continuing to play better."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on why the team is struggling)
"I really don't know why. It's a lot of the same guys in the same situations and we just continue to have a lot of untimely penalties, a lot of situations where it's just doing things a little bit sharper is going to make the difference. We've had it offensively and defensively, and to be honest, I really don't know why. The only thing I know is we have to continue to practice and work and see if we can get those cleared up, see if we can execute when the game's on the line."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if he noticed a significant difference in Tennessee's team)
"Not a whole lot of difference. (RB) Chris Johnson has really helped them with some big plays in the running game and Kerry Collins has helped them with real steady quarterback play. He made a lot of 3rd-down throws. He didn't throw any bad balls. There was one ball that we had our hands on and could have intercepted, but other than that, he didn't make any mistakes. I think with that steady quarterback play and that big-play running, their defense is about the same as it's always been and their special teams are very good, but they're playing consistent on offense."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on New England QB-Matt Cassel)
"They're doing some different things. Obviously, with (QB-Tom) Brady it was real up-tempo and throwing the ball, throwing the ball up field a lot. He's getting rid of the ball pretty quick, using all of his receivers. They're running the ball a little bit more than they have in the past, but I think he's growing into things and certainly has played sharper the last two games that I've seen on tape."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if the pass rush needs to improve in the next two games)
"I think it's going to, for us, be the same thing. We have to take care of the run and stabilize that. The last few weeks we've been better, since Baltimore (Oct. 12). If we get that done, I think we'll get a chance to rush the passer. A lot of that depends on the score and being ahead. They force you to play a complete game, and I don't think they're going to let us just tee off and rush the passer."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if the defense might use four LBs again)
"We may. (Tennessee) was such a heavy running team coming into it, especially in certain down-and-distances. They changed up and threw a little bit more in certain situations, but I think the four linebackers helped us get some bigger bodies in there. Overall, we did a decent job against the run, so we may see it more."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on why he didn't challenge Tennessee RB-Chris Johnson's apparent 2nd-quarter fumble)
"We didn't get the ball. We had three guys fall on it, and then (Tennessee TE-Alge) Crumpler ended up with it. If we had the ball, I think we could have challenged it. That one was on the ground, we didn't get. Crumpler fumbled the ball out of bounds (another time), we had one ball tipped up that we didn't get and somehow, those are the plays you have to make to win those types of games."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on a snowball effect when things are not going well)
"That's usually what happens. A play or two in the right situation, that's what turns those kinds of games around. They got them. They made them, to their credit."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if the offense's timing is still off)
"I don't know if it's that. But, certainly, our numbers are down and we haven't been as sharp. We've had some situations where we normally get big completions that we haven't gotten. Again, that's something we have to get better at, but I don't know the reason, really."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if the team's big-time players need to step up)
"It can be anybody. They come from any number of places. Last night, for them, it was (S) Chris Hope and some receivers on third down when Chris Johnson wasn't going well early in the game and (RB) LenDale White wasn't going early, other people stepped in. That's what good teams do. If people want to take away certain guys, you have to go somewhere else, if you have to make big plays on special teams. They can come from anywhere and that's where we are. We have to get them."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on the focus being on the QB)
"It's always going to be that way. Historically, we've gotten big plays from our passing game. We're a little bit off right now. We're not getting as many, so they have to come from other places."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on WR-Pierre Garcon returning punts)
"It was a tough first day for him, a lot of wind, and he did a good job fielding the first ball. The second ball, I don't know that he realized that they were going with the wind and even if he just fair catches that ball at the 25, that's a big help for us. We ended up punting from their (40)-yard line. We lost about 19 yards on that roll. Those are the little things that end up making a difference in games. Pierre will do fine. For his first opportunity, he was OK."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on breaking the season into four quarters)
"We're in the second quarter and we're 1-2 right now, so we have to win this one to get to 2-2 and be the same way we were after the first quarter. That's important. There's still a long way to go. We're at the halfway point. There are a lot of teams in there in that 3-4 win area, right where we are, and we're going to start playing a lot of those guys as we come on. We have to get a home win. You can't get a winning streak until you get that first one."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on Tennessee using quick passes)
"People have different ways that they play. You try to make teams come out of their strength. I thought they did a good job adjusting, and that's what Kerry Collins has given them. He's given them those types of games when the running game hasn't been dominant. To their credit, he did a good job."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on the reason Tennessee was successful with those passes)
"It's still a lot of the same things. We're up 14-6 and we get them to 3rd-down and we get a stop and they're going to punt the ball back to us, and then we get a penalty. When you get those 3rd-and-8s, 3rd-and-9s or when you get that chance to stop them, you have to do it. That's what we didn't do (Monday) night. In the first half, they were 2 of 7 on third down and in the second half they were 5 of 6. They completed some balls that, somehow, we have to get stopped when it's 3rd-and-9, 3rd-and-11, and we didn't do a good job of that (Monday) night."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if the team will get any players back for New England)
"I think we have a chance to get (DB) Bob (Sanders), (DB) Kelvin (Hayden) and (RB) Joseph (Addai) back this week."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on how to work on changing the mood of the team)
"I think you change the mood by winning. In order to do that, you just have to avoid beating yourself and be able to play sharp. This will be a tough day for our team, but (Wednesday) at 9 o'clock when they come in, I think they'll be ready, they'll know the challenge we have with New England, another national TV game and a game that we really need to win. That mood will be good by Wednesday."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on New England DL-Richard Seymour)
"He's a really good player, a big, strong guy and has done a lot for their defense. I remember we had Richard at the Pro Bowl and he is a very, very impressive person and an impressive player.
"When you're around their defensive guys like we were at the Pro Bowl, you see the respect they have for him. He probably is very similar on defense to the way (QB) Tom (Brady) is on offense."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if the LB play has been better recently)
"It probably has. I think we've played better. Clint Session is getting more comfortable. Getting Tyjuan (Hagler) back last week to really get some activity was good. I think they have played pretty well the last few weeks."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on where he will use Hagler)
"We just have to see how things go. Freddy (Keiaho) and Clint have both played well. Right now, we have a little bit of a surplus, but it's good to have good players."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on how many snaps were played with four LBs at Tennessee)
"I didn't really tally it up, but there were probably 15 to 20 plays. It wasn't really that big of an adjustment for us, it just got a bigger body in there when they were in heavy run tendencies."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on the team running the ball well)
"We did some things well. We moved it, we got in their territory a lot and we said, 'When you get in there, you have to take advantage of it.' We had some situations where we just didn't finish off drives and they did finish off their drives, and that was the difference, especially in the second half."
HEAD COACH TONY DUNGY (on if DB-Melvin Bullitt will play when Sanders returns)
"We'll see how Bob is. I don't know that he'll be ready to play 60 plays right away, but Melvin's playing well and we'll find some spots for him, too."
