NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Titans think they can get past crowd noise against the Seahawks and believe doing so will help Tennessee make noise across the NFL.
Tennessee (3-2) will visit Seattle (4-1) at 3:05 p.m. (CT) Sunday. It will be the Titans' first road game since Sept. 15 at Houston, which was the same day that Seahawks fans at CenturyLink Field set a Guinness World Record for stadium noise that was measured at 136.6 decibels with the 7:34 left in the third quarter of Seattle's 29-3 win over San Francisco.
The Seahawks are 61-29 at home (second best mark in the conference) since moving to the NFC West in 2002 and have won 10 straight regular season games in the Pacific Northwest. They are also plus-54 in two games at home and only plus-2 in three road games this season.
The Titans are embracing the challenge, which includes facing the fifth defense that's ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in six weeks.
"Huge opportunity. It gives us an opportunity to go out and make some noise in this league, not just in our conference but in this league if we can play well and get a win like this," receiver Nate Washington said. "We just have to make sure we're doing everything assignment-sound. We have to go in this week and do everything we're supposed to."
The Titans snapped Pittsburgh's 10-season streak of winning home openers last month and took a lead late in the fourth quarter at Houston that they didn't maintain. Players have pointed out that those are also loud, hostile environments.
"We understand it's going to be loud, but don't make it a bigger deal than it is, mentally prepare for it and go deal with it," center Rob Turner said. "It's one of those things that if you allow it to be an issue, it will be on Sunday."
Turner said the offense will implement silent snap counts and hand gestures to communicate, as is customary on the road.
It's likely that Tennessee's defenders will encounter significantly less noise when they are on the field because the crowd will not want to interfere with communication of Seattle's offense.
Safety Michael Griffin said it will be helpful if the Titans can get off to a fast start and play a complete game.
"We've just got to get it all going. We're going into Week 6 and we still haven't gotten it all going together," Griffin said. "We have to go out there and play our game. We know it's going to be a hostile environment. We can't continue to start off slow. We've got to match their intensity."
EDWARDS HANDLES LOAD: Rookie Lavar Edwards went from inactive to quite active in the course of a week. Edwards, who had been inactive the first four weeks of the season, made his regular season debut against Kansas City.
"It was fun. I was out there having fun and finally had a chance to get out there and contribute," Edwards said. "So I wanted to help the defense and the team any way I could."
Edwards, effectively moved up the depth chart after the Titans waived veteran Keyunta Dawson to make room on the 53-man roster for Rusty Smith a day before the game. He was called into action after Derrick Morgan suffered a strained shoulder that's kept Morgan out of practice the past two days. Edwards played 29 of 70 (41 percent) of the defensive snaps against Kansas City and recorded three tackles and batted down a pass.
"He played well for his first time out," Munchak said. "He's an athletic, good-sized kid. He did a good job in the run game and rushed pretty well. I think the coaches were very happy with him for the first time having his uniform on since preseason."
Edwards said he had been preparing every week as if he were active and found it beneficial to see the speed of regular season pro games after hitting the field for the first time since the preseason.
Munchak said that Morgan has a "good opportunity" to return this Sunday at Seattle.
"(Morgan) didn't do anything that created any damage that he has to have any work done like that," Munchak said. "It's just soreness, and it's a tough spot to be sore because of what pass rushers have to do with their arms and things."
HILL ADVANCING: Munchak said it was encouraging that Sammie Hill was able to increase his activity during individual drills Thursday as the defensive tackle recovers from a high ankle sprain he suffered on a cut block at Houston.
"He's doing football things, which is encouraging, but he had the high ankle so they always take longer than most, but he's progressing well," Munchak said. "He's getting a lot closer. We'll see how he is (Friday) because he did a lot of the individual, which is 20 minutes of doing football drills. We didn't want to push it past that, but it was a good sign that he got through all of that."
Antonio Johnson has started in place of Hill the past three games and played well, recording two sacks and two quarterback pressures in that span, but extra size is helpful two upcoming contests with physical running backs approaching (Seattle's Marshawn Lynch and San Francisco's Frank Gore).
"If (Hill is) back, it helps because you've got another big-bodied guy in there that can take some snaps off (Johnson) and (Jurrell) Casey, but if he's not, our guys have been great troopers," Gray said. "They've gone out and played and done a good job. They know if we do a good job on third down, we keep the snaps down."
INJURY UPDATE: Coty Sensabaugh (concussion) was limited Thursday but "did well" in the last couple of team periods, making it likely he'll be available Sunday. Shonn Greene (knee), David Stewart (ankle), Patrick Bailey, Zaviar Gooden, Blidi Wreh-Wilson (hamstrings), Morgan and Jake Locker (hip/knee) did not practice Thursday. Munchak said Gooden will be out Sunday in addition to Locker.
