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Q: What was it like starting out 10-0 and finishing with the best record in the regular season in 2008?
VANDEN BOSCH: One of the great things about Coach Fisher is if we were 5-0 or 0-5, we did things the same. We came in, fixed our mistakes and prepared the same week-to-week. You wouldn't know if we were undefeated or if we hadn't won a game. We tried not to let the highs hit us too high because we knew the most important work was going to be ahead of us. That's a little bit of the frustrating part of last season. Despite the fact that we had the best record in the regular season and set ourselves up with home-field advantage in the playoffs, we lost our first playoff game. It left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, but hopefully it's something that we can erase this coming season.
Q: How are you doing health-wise?
VANDEN BOSCH: Physically, I'm 100 percent. With the groin injury it was something that wasn't going to get completely better until I had an opportunity to rest and just give it time to heal properly. It's been over three months now and it feels great. We started our offseason work four weeks ago and we've been doing some pretty hard and aggressive agility drills and running. It really feels good and I'm excited about putting that behind me as well.
Q: How do you feel about the foundation that is in place for next season?
VANDEN BOSCH: I feel like we have a good foundation in place and there's no reason we shouldn't be able to build upon the success we had last year and hopefully take it a step further in the playoffs. We have a good core group of players, a good group of leaders and a good crop of young players on our team. We feel like we're built for success next season. We would be disappointed with anything less.
Q: What type of player will the Titans get with the 30th pick?
VANDEN BOSCH: We're in a good spot. We don't necessarily have to draft for need at any position. What we can do is just load up and add depth, guys that can help us rotation-wise. I don't have a personal preference. We have enough talent right now to be a good team next year and I'm just excited about bringing in guys that can help us, especially later in the season and into the playoffs.
Q: How do you feel about the defense heading into next season?
VANDEN BOSCH: I like where we're at defensively. We have a lot of talented guys returning on defense. Really, if we add guys in the draft, it will be for depth and that will only help us late in the season and into the playoffs.
Q: What is the next step for this team?
VANDEN BOSCH: Every year since I've been here we've taken steps and become a better team. The good thing about this team is we do return a lot of talent. We've got the key players in place. It becomes a matter of building off of what we did last year and maintaining the momentum. This game is so much about momentum, getting off to a fast start and just positioning yourself late in the season to have success in the playoffs.
Q: How close is this team to becoming a contender?
VANDEN BOSCH: We're close. It's a fine line. It a lot of peoples' opinions, we were probably as good as any team in the league last year. You just have to maximize what you do in the playoffs. We need to repeat what we did in the regular season last year, if not play better. We need to make sure we peak and put our best performance together once we get to the playoffs.
Q: What will your role be this coming season?
VANDEN BOSCH: Just the same. I always try to be a leader and keep the guys in the same direction. Last year we took a step as an organization. We had the best record in the regular season. Obviously, the next step is to do well in the playoffs. I think we have the talent, personnel and coaching staff to do that.
Q: Do you think the Titans will draft a defensive tackle to replace Albert Haynesworth?
VANDEN BOSCH: The thing we did last year was establish some depth. Some of the younger guys got on the field and played. Albert didn't play the last two regular season games and that gave some of the younger guys an opportunity to get on the field, get some good playing time and show that they can make plays. It gives us a comfort level at this point in the offseason that we can win games and have success with the guys we have. At the same time, if we can get a guy and develop some depth in the draft, you can never have too many good defensive linemen. You can never have too much depth on the defensive line, especially the way we play. Our defensive line just attacks. We play physical football. We need as many healthy bodies as we can get, especially if we want to have success late in the playoffs.
