NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Titans running back Bishop Sankey is keeping the faith.
And as the 2015 season comes to a close, Sankey said on Monday he wants coaches to believe in him, too. Sankey acknowledged his second NFL has been tough, but said he's tried to stay resilient during a year when he failed to get a carry in eight games, several times because he was inactive.
"I feel like at times I lost faith in the coaches here, and I have been trying to do everything I can to gain it back,'' Sankey said. "Since then I have been doing everything I can to try and gain it back and try and make a statement when I am out there on the field.
"It hasn't hurt my confidence. I know I am a good player, a good running back, and I just have to keep working and maintain the same approach each day and try and earn the trust back of the coaches."
Titans interim coach Mike Mularkey said on Monday the plan is for Sankey to be more involved in the season finale against the Colts on Sunday.
With 30 snaps, Sankey led all running backs in snaps in the team's 34-6 loss to the Texans. He got the majority of his work in the second half, after running back Antonio Andrews saw his playing time take a hit because of a pair of turnovers.
Mularkey said Sankey, who had two carries for 11 yards and also three catches for 43 yards against the Texans, impressed him with his play on Sunday.
"He did some good things for us, especially with the ball in his hands there at the end,'' Mularkey said. "He'll get more time, hopefully at least that many snaps."
Mularkey also made it clear the coaches still believe in Sankey, who was declared inactive two times and didn't appear in another game earlier this season. Sankey, a second round pick in 2014, had a team-high 569 yards and two touchdowns while playing in all 16 games last season, including nine starts.
Sankey lost his job as kick returner earlier in the season because of mishandled kicks, and he also had some issues in pass protection earlier in the year.
"I don't think he lost (the trust),'' Mularkey said of Sankey. "I think whenever you are not playing, when you are one of the inactives at times, like he has been, you can think that. But that's not the case. It's just we felt at the time who was … producing the most was going to play, and it wasn't because of trust or non-trust, it's just the situation we were in. … But we never lacked (trust)."
Sankey, who has just 177 yards on 43 carries this season, said he'd like to close the season on a high note. "I'm just going to try and prepare as best as I can this week, and try and go out with a bang, and make the most of my opportunities,'' Sankey said. "It remains to be seen (how much I'll play). I'm just going to control what I can control, control my effort in practice and prepare as best as I can and make the most of my opportunities come game day."
