Head Coach Bobby Petrino
Opening Statement:
A: “It was good to get back today and we’ve had a little bit different of a mood than we’ve had in past weeks. We went back to work and I liked the way we practiced. Our focus was good and our energy was good. We’re playing a good football team in Tennessee. They are physical and they like to run the football. They have a very good defensive front. We have to do a good job with our preparation and be able to match their physical play and speed. We’re really looking forward to the game.”
Q: Is Titans quarterback Vince Young the guy you really have to focus on?
A: “I wish it was as easy as that. They are doing a really good job with their offensive front. They have two big running backs who are running the ball very well. Vince is really trying to become a pocket passer. He really hasn’t taken off to run as much as he did a year ago. It’s certainly a concern when he does do that. I think they have settled into running the ball and playing physical. They don’t really care if it’s a high-scoring game and I think they would really like to keep the score down. They’ve played very well in the fourth quarter and we have our work cut out for us.
Q: On the feeling of the locker room heading into Sunday:
A: “We did need a win and there was no question about it. We’ve put a lot of work into it. We were close a couple of times, but didn’t get it done. It made work a lot better on Monday and Tuesday. You can see smiles on some of the player’s faces and that’s good. We have to build from the positives that we did during the game and we’ll have a better chance of winning the game.
Q: On Tennessee’s defensive front:
A: “They are very good up front. They have Albert Haynesworth up front and he’s very active and he’s playing very well. We have to do a good job with him. Kyle Vanden Bosch has been rushing the passer well. We don’t want to get into a position where we have to throw the football. We have to be able to run the ball, use our quick passing game and use play action. They’ll tee off to rush the passer if they know it’s going to be a pass. Their linebackers are good and very experienced. They are a little bit young in the secondary and they are trying to take care of their secondary with the way they are playing in their defensive front.
Q: Does establishing the run take on greater significance on Sunday?
A: “No question. That’s our emphasis. We need to run the ball more and we need to run it better. I think they go hand and hand. We are working hard at it and we are getting close.”
Q: Will Rod Coleman play on Sunday?
A: “He practice out there today and looked pretty good. It’s kind of a wait-and-see situation. I’m a little bit nervous about it because it’s hard to think that someone can have two or three practices and be ready to play in a game. I know he really wants to. We’ll see what tomorrow brings in terms of swelling.”
Q: Is Coleman’s status determined more by his medical condition or fitting back into the defense?
A: “Pretty much everything. It’s his medical condition No. 1. We have to know that’s he’s physically ready to play. I don’t really worry about him knowing what we are doing because he knows what we are doing. I’m not sure how many plays he can play although he’s been working very hard. He might be in the best shape he’s ever been in, but it’s not football shape conditioning.”
On Dwayne Blakley practicing.
A: “Blakley was out there today and he took quite a few reps. We’ll see how that reacts to a hard day of work. We’ll see where he is at tomorrow.”
Q: Why did you make the change at the long snapper position?
A: “It’s something we were looking at. It was a roster move we felt like we needed to make.”
Q: What is the cause for Joey Harrington’s higher completion percentage?
A: “I think we are getting close to what we want to do with our timing with our protections. The one thing that has shown up is the number of different receivers who are catching the ball. There is an understanding of what we are doing. I think Joey is doing a nice job of distributing the football. Our receivers have been playing well and they are looking forward to man coverage now. We’ll just keep working at it. I like where we are at now.”
