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Clearly, he had them ready to go last Sunday. The Titans may have lost to the Chargers, but motivation was the least of Tennessee's issues.
This week, I'm wondering about motivation again. I don't know about you, but last Sunday still isn't out of my head. And I didn't play a down.
Maybe it was losing the fourth-quarter lead at home.
Maybe it was the playoff implications that went from so positive to negative in the space of a half-hour.
Maybe it was the call on Chris Chambers' non-catch, a call that would have changed the final outcome.
Maybe it was losing to a Chargers team that you badly wanted to beat after they hammered you 15 months earlier.
I don't know what makes this one so painful, but for me, it has left a bad taste like no other regular season loss that I've experienced.
That's why I'm writing about it and that's why my column is late: I've really thought about nothing else football-related for the past four days.
While I'm not over it, it looks like the players might be. Practices on Wednesday and Thursday looked solid. Playing at Kansas City in December is a challenge any time and the Titans seem to be taking that seriously, in spite of the Chiefs' 4-9 record.
As people have tried to cheer me up, they have reminded me that the playoffs are not out of the picture. Very true. If the Titans get to 8-6, they can be right back in the middle of the race. While the upcoming schedules don't seem to forecast it, history says that 10-6 will get you in. The reality, too, is that if the Titans do get to 10-6, they have made another step in the right direction.
That was also evident last Sunday. Last September, San Diego outgained Tennessee, 250-15 in the first half on their way to a 40-7 victory. The Titans were never in that game. Last Sunday, however, the Chargers very much knew they were in a game, as their best players had to make big plays down stretch to pull out a courageous win.
As my friends accurately point out, the Titans are in a much better place today than in September, 2006. The Chargers would likely vouch for that, also. Tennessee is on the right track. The climb back from Salary Cap Jail is not complete, but they are making gains on becoming the team that they were earlier in the decade.
It is going to happen.
I believe all of that to be true, but it still doesn't help me with last week's result. Now, I know how my daughter feels when I'm singing as she gets out of the car at school.
By Sunday, when the cold wind of Arrowhead Stadium hits me in the face, I'll be ready. I'm betting the Titans will, too.
But to get rid of the bad taste of last Sunday, having something good happen early in the game sure would be a big help.
