(Opening statement)- “We’re getting ready to play Tennessee and go down to Nashville. They’re a pretty good team, 11-1, one of the best in the NFL so we’ve got our work cut out for us. We play a little bit better on the road this year than we do at home so hopefully the adverse environment will not affect us too much. We’re trying to get ready to do that. We’ve added a quarterback, Bruce Gradkowski. He played down in Toledo, played at Tampa Bay, started some games at Tampa Bay and most recently was with the Rams in the preseason. One of the things that we felt like we needed was somebody that had actually played in an NFL game and Bruce has played in several of them and has won a couple of them. We felt like that would be important to us going forward so that’s why we added him to the team. Plus, in the Rams system, their terminology is similar to our terminology so that makes that transition just a little bit easier and those things kind of fit into the decision that we made. ”

(On injuries)- “On our injury situation, Darnell Dinkins is going to try to do a little bit today. He didn’t do anything last week but he’s going to try to do a little something today and we’ll see how that come along as the week progresses. Not practicing today is (Charles) Ali with his ribs, Beau Bell with his knee, Shaun Smith with his calf, (Syndric) Steptoe with an ankle, Corey Williams with his shoulder laceration and Kellen Winslow with his ankle. Everybody else should be out there and doing a little something today.”

(On the game against Tennessee)- “I think it’s a chance for us to win a football game and if we can go on the road and win a football game that says that this team still has something to it and they’re going to fight just like we fought last week. We’re going to go down and we’re going to fight again this week. The season is not over and so we’re going to play until it is over.”

(On if big wins this season could help save his job)- “I’ve said all along that if you win, you’ve got a better chance than if you lose. The only thing that we can try to do is to try to win as many of these games that we have left as we can. Then, you can have your argument but the wins and losses are what make the difference basically. I mean, it happens all the time in this NFL. Like I’ve mentioned to you before, there was a coach who won 14 (games) and got fired. Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason and the decision is going to be made sometime after the season. We’re going to coach the best we can for the rest of the season and see what happens.”

(On the defense this season)- “Points against is pretty decent and it was doing good for a while and then we hit that stretch where we missed those tackles and gave up some points. Basically, they’re going to try not to give up the big play, we’re doing a little bit better as far as the running game goes and trying to stop the run. We’ve been inconsistent and I think the defense kind of mirrors the team, it’s been inconsistent. When you look at the points scored against us, then you say yes (the defense has played better than last season) but probably overall, when you look at all the numbers, it might not be much better.”

(On Bruce Gradkowski as the number two quarterback)- “He is number two on the list so we’ll see as the week goes on where we’ll place him for the game. If you designate (Josh) Cribbs as the number three quarterback, then if he goes in at any other position, the other two guys can not go back into the game unless it’s in the fourth quarter. You kind of handicap yourself, potentially, a little bit.”

(On Ken Dorsey compared to Chad Pennington)- “(Dorsey) is a very smart young man, he’s studious and he knows this offensive system. He does not have the strongest arm in the NFL and I think that probably he can go in and he can manage this team and do the things that we need to give us a chance to win. Now, when you say that, you say that because he’s the quarterback and he’s starting and that’s what we need in this situation. Is he as good with his arm strength as (Derek Anderson)? No. Is his arm strength as good as Brady (Quinn)? No. That’s why he was number three, but he’s a smart young quarterback, he knows the system and I think that he’ll be able to recognize defenses and manage the game.”

(On using Josh Cribbs at quarterback)- “Everybody has an opinion and opinions vary from people to people. Like I said, last week we had an emergency package ready for him and this week we’ll have a package ready for him as well.”

(On Ken Dorsey potentially being a number two quarterback next season)- “I think to be the number two quarterback, you have to prove to your coaches that they think that when they put you in the game that you can run the team and you have a chance to win. That ahs nothing to do with whether you go .500 or not as a number two quarterback. That goes by what the coaches think about your ability and how you’re going to fit into the scheme.”

(On if the package for Josh Cribbs would take away from his special teams duties)- “I think that it doesn’t take away from his duties, it just depends on how much he gets used. A special teams role is a tough role and when he plays the special teams plays, sometimes he needs to catch his breath before he goes out to play other plays. He can go out and play them, but if you want them played at the level that you need them played, it would be advantageous to you to let him catch his breath. I think all of that plays into it.”

(On playing well on the road this season)- “I don’t know that 3-2 is well, it’s just slightly above average. It’s better than the home record this year and the only thing that I can tell you is that they know that it’s a hostile environment. They expect it to be hostile and so you prepare like that and go play and deal with it. I think you’re not expecting any hostility at home but you still have to go play the game and make plays. If you make plays, home is advantage and we haven’t made enough plays at home.”

(On Shaun Rogers and Albert Haynesworth)- “I think they’re very comparable. I think Haynesworth, his sack production this year is greater but they both command double teams. You have to assign two guys to them if you want to slow them down, one guy generally can’t block them one-on-one. Haynesworth, he has exceptional strength versus those guards that he plays against. They have a tough day when they go against him so we’re going to try to have to help those guys as much as we can just like they have to try to help their center as much as they can. Their center is a pretty heady, smart guy and he’s got a few tricks of the trade that he will use. We’ll see if we can counteract that. They’re both playing at a very high level.”

(On if Jamal Lewis is running as well as he was last year)- “From a production standpoint, you’d probably say no, because that’s what we look at, we look at the numbers. So not as well from a production standpoint but from an effort standpoint he runs very hard every time he has the football. Sometimes he has to run through tackles, sometimes the holes are there and sometimes they’re not there. The thing that you know that you’re going to get from him is you know you’re going to get the maximum effort from him. Maybe the total carries are not as great and he hasn’t had the breakout runs that he had last year. Last year he was able to get some breakout runs and he hasn’t had the breakout runs this year and I think that impacts the total.”

(On what impresses him about the Titans)- “Their defense. They have an excellent defense. They have like 34 sacks, 17 interceptions, their front is a physical front plus they’ve got good team speed. The linebackers can run, every starter in the secondary has multiple interceptions. They’re getting pressure on the passer, those guys back there are reading routes and making plays in the ball and they’re just a disruptive unit. They play good, aggressive football and offensively, they’re not making mistakes. They’ve got the veteran quarterback, he hands the ball off, they’re averaging 139 yards a game rushing. They throw play-action passes which holds the linebackers and he’s got not name receivers per se, but he spreads the ball around to everybody and everybody is productive. They’re a good run-after-catch team and so by not turning the ball over offensively and getting the turnovers on defense that makes them 11-1.”

(On if he has any disagreements with Phil Savage regarding the 53-man roster)- “We try to talk on a regular basis, on a daily basis, to talk about the players, how they’re performing and how they fit and then what the needs of the team are. I think that’s how it really gets decided, it’s what’s best for the team. If it’s best for the team for a guy to get cut then we cut him and we bring somebody else in who we think will give us a chance. That’s kind of the way it’s done and generally there are no major disagreements with one guy over another guy. The team needs this so how can we help the team? If a guy has to go to help the team, the guy has to go.”