school and once in practice in college at Alabama. “Hopefully, we keep it in there,” Henry said.FAKE PUNTKevin Byard is an All-Pro safety, but he remembers his last pass in high school going fo

TEMPE Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , Ariz. (AP)New Arizona Cardinals offensive coordinator Mike McCoy said he will adjust his system to the abilities of whoever winds up being the team’s quarterback. He also said he has reached out to Larry Fitzgerald and talked to the wide receiver – who ranks third all-time in NFL receptions – about the offense McCoy will bring. Fitzgerald hasn’t publicly said he is returning for a 15th pro season but McCoy sure sounded like the receiver is a big part of the plans for the inaugural year under new Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks. ”It was great to talk to him,” McCoy said at an introductory news conference Monday. ”He’s excited.” McCoy, who served four seasons as head coach at San Diego, inherits an offense that has no quarterback on its roster. General manager Steve Keim and Cardinals President Michael Bidwill said they will be aggressive in finding one – or more – through free agency, trades and the draft. ”It’s a great challenge,” McCoy said, ”I’m excited for it, come in here and figure out who that quarterback’s going to be and build the system around those players that we have here.” The Cardinals were left without a quarterback when Carson Palmer announced his retirement, one day after head coach Bruce Arians also retired. McCoy repeatedly said he would build the offense around the abilities of the players. ”The key thing I think as a coach and as the offensive coordinator is to find out what our players do best,” he said, ”and we’ll adjust accordingly.” McCoy said he wants a quarterback ”that’s going to win a lot of games.” ”That’s one thing you always look at when you evaluate the quarterback position is his win-loss record or does he make a team better Phil Haynes Jersey ,” he said. ”There are certain quarterbacks that are great quarterbacks, but aren’t on very good teams.” The quarterback needs to be a leader and be tough. ”It’s all about winning,” McCoy said. ”We want to get a guy that’s going to win a lot of games for us and be a leader, because they’re all different shapes and sizes. That doesn’t matter to me.” Wilks, who was defensive coordinator at Carolina last season after five years as the Panthers’ secondary coach, said he felt a connection during the offensive coordinator’s job interview. ”I think it’s important that you have a coach that understands the vast range of players that he may have to coach,” Wilks said, ”and most importantly understanding that we may teach a certain way but we have to communicate with these guys differently based off their talent level, the number of years they may have been in the league, whatever.” McCoy was offensive coordinator in Denver from 2009 through 2012. He interviewed for the vacant Cardinals head coaching position in 2013 before taking the Chargers job. McCoy was fired by the Chargers after the 2016 season and spent last year as offensive coordinator with the Broncos again. He will inherit one of the league’s best running backs in David Johnson, who broke his wrist in the opener and missed the rest of last season. Johnson led the NFL in yards from scrimmage and touchdowns in 2016. McCoy said Fitzgerald reminded him that Johnson is more than a ball carrier. ”It’s not just going to be running it with him Ugo Amadi Jersey ,” McCoy said. ”When I talked to Larry the other day I made a comment and he said, `Coach, hold on now, this guy can run some routes for us, too, so let’s make sure we take advantage of that.”’ Wilks’ entire coaching background is on defense but McCoy said the two of them will always be in close communication, especially during games. New defensive coordinator Al Holcomb and special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers are to meet with the media Tuesday. — AP NFL website: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — No Marcus Mariota. Both starting offensive tackles out, along with the top backup against Houston and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt.Mike Vrabel gave the NFL a glimpse at just how much of a difference he and his assistants can make for the Tennessee Titans as the rookie picked up his first victory as a head coach.Vrabel and his coaching staff dug into the playbook for a 66-yard touchdown pass off a fake punt , some wildcat on offense and a defense that kept Deshaun Watson in check with the game on the line Sunday to pull out a 20-17 victory over the Houston Texans.“We’ve got a lot more coming for sure,” Titans tight end Jonnu Smith said of victories for Vrabel.Blaine Gabbert started in Mariota’s place and threw for 117 yards and a touchdown . All-Pro safety Kevin Byard threw the TD pass on the fake punt Dwayne Haskins Jersey , and Ryan Succop kicked field goals of 42 and 31 yards in the fourth quarter for the victory. Gabbert described the coaching staff’s aggressiveness as gritty.“The message that Vrabel kind of relays throughout this organization, through the coaching staff to the players is to keep fighting,” Gabbert said. “Turn it into a fistfight week in, week out.”The Titans (1-1) also came up with four sacks and an interception. They allowed only one sack with Gabbert throwing quickly and coaches giving right tackle Tyler Marz help slowing down Watt.Houston had the ball and a chance to at least force overtime. By the time Watson found DeAndre Hopkins on a 31-yarder to the Tennessee 21, time had expired leaving the Texans 0-2 to start a season filled with high expectations, if only because so many are back healthy this year.“You’ve got to keep fighting,” Houston coach Bill O’Brien said. “It’s a long season. What are you going to do? You have two choices. One is not very good, so you’ve got to fight your way up.”Some things to know about the Titans’ third win in four games over their AFC South rival:MARIOTA UPDATEThe Titans quarterback was active and backed up Gabbert. Mariota warmed up wearing a glove over his right hand and even threw some passes. But he still is having numbness in his right hand after hurting his elbow in the season opener in Miami. So Gabbert started for his fourth different NFL team, and the Titans will see where Mariota is before they visit defending AFC South champ Jacksonville.“We’ll keep evaluating Marcus and when we have an update on him we’ll let you know,” Vrabel said.SIDELINE TAUNTINGThe Texans didn’t help themselves with 11 penalties for 88 yards, and one of the worst came in the fourth quarter after Houston had taken its first lead at 17-14. Luke Stocker caught a pass and was pushed out of bounds on the Houston sideline. Linebacker Jadeveon Clowney apparently said something D.K. Metcalf Jersey , and officials flagged Houston for taunting and unsportsmanlike conduct. That moved the Titans to midfield, and they tied it up seven plays later with the first of Succop’s two field goals.TENNESSEE WILDCATThe Titans didn’t use it much, but Derrick Henry handled the wildcat on five snaps on the Titans’ lone touchdown drive. The Titans put in the impromptu wildcat earlier this week, and Henry said he ran it a lot in high school and once in practice in college at Alabama. “Hopefully, we keep it in there,” Henry said.FAKE PUNTKevin Byard is an All-Pro safety, but he remembers his last pass in high school going for a touchdown. He joked Vrabel must have seen his high school tape and drew up the fake punt for him. Byard hit a wide-open Dane Cruikshank, and the rookie finished off a 66-yard TD in the first quarter. That set a NFL record for longest TD pass by a defensive player , topping the mark set in 1967 by Ed Meador.HOUSTON OFFENSEThe Texans outgained the Titans 437-283 on offense, but a line that lost right tackle Seantrel Henderson to a season-ending injury in the opener struggled to protect Watson at times. Watson threw for 310 yards and two TDs but was intercepted in the end zone.