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By Brad Willis January 20, 2003
A disappointed Jeff Fisher addressed the media on Monday, but said that the 2002 Titans team was one he was very proud of.
''I’m extremely impressed with their effort, and their fight,'' Fisher said. ''They fought the whole game. It kind of illustrated how we were throughout the season, our ability to come back from the 1-4 start, to fight, to win games we weren’t supposed to win, and I just don’t feel like we have anything to be ashamed of at this point.''
The Titans fell Sunday 41-24 to an Oakland team that had defeated them 52-25 just four months earlier. After that game Fisher said he would like for the two teams to play again, and decided to approach the rematch with a three phase plan, but let things slip away as the game progressed.
''Obviously the first phase was out of the start, and that was to remained composed and focused, and not get caught up with the crowd, and not let what happened to the Jets happen to us as far as going in there with respect against your opponent and just playing,'' Fisher said. ''The perfect situation would be going in with a lead, if not, go in trailing manageably, trailing by three or seven.''
''The third and final phase was to take the game over in the third quarter, make plays, and find a way to have the ball at the end in our quarterback’s hand to win the game.''
Fisher said he was impressed with the way the offense marched down the field and answered Oakland's first score, something they knew they would have to do.
''(Oakland) had the potential to put together a four or five or six play drive for a touchdown,'' Fisher said. ''They were quick to do that. We didn’t want to allow that to happen, but we felt in the event that it did happen, that as long as we answered, it would be ok, and that’s exactly how we started the game.''
The first phase, according to Fisher: mission accomplished; but costly turnovers in the second quarter and a special teams mishap in the third quarter allowed the Raiders to pull away.
However, Fisher said the team had plenty to be proud of.
''We have every right to be disappointed, frustrated that we came so close to reaching the ultimate goal, which was to be playing in San Diego this week, but the players did a great job, and speaking on behalf of the staff and the organization, we really appreciate their efforts,'' Fisher said. ''They are disappointed. They’re anxious. They’re like they were after the Super Bowl (in 1999).''
''They have very high expectations. They can’t wait to get started. They want to know when mini-camp is and when they need to come back, so we finished up on a positive note, despite the fact that we didn’t win that game.''
Fisher said that while the team would have preferred playing for a Super Bowl championship this week, they can rest easy knowing that they fought back from the 1-4 start to have a tremendous season.
''I don’t think anybody at any point during the season thought that we’d be playing in that game, except for us,'' Fisher said. ''So you have nothing to do right now but to get better and do whatever you can to get back to where we were (Sunday).''
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