NASHVILLE, Tenn. —Taylor Lewan played through a shoulder injury in 2015, and he didn't miss a game until the season finale, when he was sidelined with a concussion.
As Lewan looked back on his second NFL season, he saw plenty of positives. But the Titans left tackle made it clear he was far from satisfied with his performance.
"There's times I didn't do my job, and I am not going to shy away from that,'' Lewan said.
A first-round pick (11th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft, Lewan started 15 of 16 games in his second season. It followed a year when he played in 11 games, with six starts.
The Titans had some issues up front on the way to a 3-13 finish. The team gave up 54 sacks, and starting quarterback Marcus Mariota was sacked 38 times. Mariota's 2015 season was cut short by four games because of knee injuries.
Lewan said the Titans must do a better job protecting Mariota in 2016.
"The biggest thing is we have to keep Marcus healthy next year. We need to do a better job of blocking. Me personally, I have to play more consistent,'' Lewan said. "I think I had a lot of good games, but there were one or two games where I probably didn't do as well I probably should have. I have to play more consistent next year."
Lewan wouldn't blame his struggles on injuries. At times, he was guilty of using poor technique.
Lewan had three different players playing alongside him at left guard – Byron Bell (7 games), Joe Looney (3 games) and Quinton Spain (6 games).
"It is a long season, it is a really long season, and it is hard to play consistent for 16 weeks,'' Lewan said. "I just have to do a better job of keeping my focus, and focusing on myself. There's 11 guys on the field and I can only focus on one of those 11, and that's me."
Lewan said, despite the record, the Titans made strides in 2015.
He pointed to the close losses – the Titans lost six games by six points or less.
"Next year it is about making the small losses into big wins,'' he said. "I just hope everybody does their job in the offseason and that's getting bigger and stronger and faster, and getting ready for a new season. It's hard. It's hard to finish the way we did."
