NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tight end Delanie Walker has been a part of a breakthrough in the past, and it's why he's keeping the faith.
The Titans have lost back-to-back games after losing fourth quarter leads, the most recent a 14-13 loss to the Bills on Sunday. Since Walker joined the Titans in 2013, the team has struggled to find success.
But Walker believes the Titans are close to turning things around.
Walker said he remembers a similar stretch with the 49ers, where he played from 2006-2012. He went to the playoffs in his last two years with the 49ers, and played in a Super Bowl.
"My first few in San Francisco we went through a period where we couldn't finish games. We'd be up, and controlled games and didn't win,'' Walker said. "When everybody bought into the philosophy, that's when everything changed. We just have to buy into the philosophy and believe we are the better team when we're out there. We're getting there, we're close.
"It's going to happen, it has to. Guys are getting tired of losing."
The 49ers went 7-9 in Walker's first year with the team, in 2006. The team went 5-11 the following year, and 7-9, 8-8, and 6-10 in the next three seasons while changing coaches. Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary and interim coach Jim Tomsula all coached that stretch before Jim Harbaugh arrived in 2011.
The 49ers went 13-3 in 2011, and 11-4-1 in 2012 during a season that ended with a trip to the Super Bowl.
Walker believes in coach Ken Whisenhunt's plan. And he doesn't think it's going to take as long as long as there's stability. Walker played under Mike Munchak in his first season with the Titans, in 2013.
"We believe in each other,'' Walker said. "We are all upset. We're a unit, we're a team, we're a family. We're 1-3 altogether, including the coaches. But we're going to stick together, and we're going to have each other's backs. There's positive stuff out there.
"It's only four games, and there's time to turn it around. We just have to put this behind us and focus on Miami. The fight is there, no one is giving up."
