*Head Coach Bruce Arians                              *

(Opening statement)

"Again, not to beat a dead horse, but an inadvertent whistle. If we have those last three minutes and some change with a three-point lead and win the game, I think everybody is writing different stories [and] talking different things, so it was more than just a play. Everybody except one guy saw the ball out and blew a quick whistle. My biggest thing is referees aren't held accountable. Coaches get fired, general managers get fired, players get cut – referees aren't accountable, and it's a shame. It's been that way for 40 years – and now that we've got a new agreement, it'll be that way for 40 more years. On the game itself – again, [we had] turnovers early in the ball game, poor red zone offense and poor red zone defense. [We had] poor coaching in some of those situations also, especially offensively. The third down-and-five play – we screwed that play up in practice, we fixed it, we liked the play – I should've vetoed that play. The fourth-and-one play – again, that's on me, not on Byron [Leftwich] – that's on me. To have a better chance of being successful in those two situations, those are both on me. Defensively, our front seven – I don't know if they can play any better. They're playing outstanding. We got out of our gap one time and gave up a run. I think he [Derrick Henry] had [75] yards and two of them went for 50 yards. We did everything we can on the front end, on the front seven. Our back end was good at times and then we don't play the right technique a couple of times, and those were things that have been a problem, and we're going to get them corrected – I know we'll get them corrected. Again, when I look at the number of missed assignments in the game, after totally making that a point of emphasis in our off week and last week of practice, where they had disappeared, they showed back up in the game. We've got to look at our preparation. We've got to look at our coaching. Are we teaching it properly? Something's not happening from Saturday to Sunday, and to take our base run and run it against a front that we saw every day in practice, and not block it correctly, is baffling to me. Again, it starts with coaching – it starts with me. As far as anything else, everything that we're doing from right now is to beat Seattle."

(On if the expectation for the officials should be to let potential fumble plays go without a whistle)

"Exactly – that's the emphasis. Now, two out of three weeks for us, we get turnovers that we don't get. We get the ball – and we still should've taken the ball and scored a touchdown and won the game – but instead, we should've won the game already or had a chance to win it. In New Orleans, I was told to challenge it, because they knew we had the ball, but when you go back to replay, it wasn't a clear recovery. Again, it was an inadvertent whistle. So, yeah, why has it continued? Since the Rams-Saints game the second week, when the Saints got the touchdown that they didn't get, there's been an emphasis on letting the plays go. If you can answer why it's not happening – I don't know."

(On what prevented the offense from converting the fourth-and-one play with two minutes remaining)

"It wasn't blocked properly, and we didn't get to the Mike linebacker. Again, part of it was design, part of it was the play, part of it was our execution of it and I'll take it for that one."

(On if ILB Devin White is starting to develop the sideline-to-sideline speed that they expected)

"Yeah – the injury hurt him. It set him back pretty good, but he's starting to [adjust]. He had a couple blitzes he could've gone and he held up a little bit, but he's getting better and better."

(On if there was a defensive miscommunication on the Titans' first touchdown)

"Yeah, we totally lined up wrong. It started with our safety, who didn't cover the right guy, and that led to three guys talking back and forth, and the ball was snapped."

(On if ILB Lavonte David was in the wrong position)

"On the first touchdown, it was just poor communication."

(On if it was small details that led to turnovers)

"Yeah, it's those three or four plays."

(On if those are simple plays)

"It's very simple plays. That's the frustrating [thing] for me, is how am I not getting anything across? Why is this not getting across? Because I've seen it get across for a long time, and for whatever reason, it isn't happening, and we've got to find out why."

(On if you have to have smart players)

"That helps – but again, I've had guys that struggled, but they had so much pride that they would not be up there [on the missed assignments sheet]. They would not be on that sheet. They struggled to learn, but they wouldn't be on that sheet."

(On if he wants to keep the team as closed to winning as he can with the trade deadline approaching)

"Yes. If there's a trade that helps us win right now, or if the price is right, the deal is real – trade for help in the future – then yeah. But I'm just all about winning, and winning as many games as we can, because when you sell the farm, you don't know what you're buying next year anyway – and you're playing with a bunch of young guys that have to learn how to play again."

(On WR Mike Evans not having a target in the fourth quarter)

"You don't throw into double coverage, but just because it's Cover 2 doesn't mean Mike's covered. [Jameis Winston] hit Chris [Godwin] when Mike was open, so as a quarterback, you take what they give you. But there are times – we tried to move Mike around to get him open, and we didn't get the ball to him."

(On RB Ronald Jones not being involved on the third-down offense)

"He's gotten much better at blitz pick-up. We've talked about it – he's improved each week, which should get him more snaps. But as far as two-minute, Dare [Ogunbowale] is one of the best ones that we have as far as knowing who to block and how to block them. But I think Ronald's going to have a hell of a future."

(On if the coaches have to design plays to get WR Mike Evans open when he is being double-teamed)

"Yeah, you can't just leave him back there. You've got to move him over, get him in the middle, which, there were probably eight or nine snaps of that – somewhere in there. But maybe you don't catch Cover 2 then – all of a sudden, it's man-to-man, then he's doubled some other way. You can't force balls to guys, but you can still, as a coach, get him open."

(On how tough of a decision it was to punt on fourth-and-one from the Titans' 43-yard line in the fourth quarter)

"It's not tough at all. You've got a three-point lead. Now, if you've got a seven-point lead, [you might consider it], but a three-point lead – no. You're two first downs from a tie. [Bradley] Pinion did a great job. Our special teams – we [make them] start at the one [yard line], the eight, the 10. T.J. Logan is what I thought he'd be and he made the best of his opportunity, and he'll keep doing it as a cover guy and as a returner. So, yeah, our special teams I thought won the battle for us. We just didn't do a good job of backed up football, holding them down there. That one little play out, that one little play out, that third down and four, third down and six – that's where we've got to improve. And then we get the ball back at the 50, and with short fields, we've been really good offensively at turning them into touchdowns."

-BUCCANEERS-