Winning Breeds Confidence

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This is the stage where I think the Titans have battled to get to some consistency, some togetherness, and good things are coming from that. I think guys are more focused, more in tune with what's going on with the new guys, the younger guys, and communication. That's proven on the field. It seems like these guys are picking each other up, bad things happen, no one's pointing the finger, and going out there and settling in. The key, obviously, is to keep this thing going. If something does go bad in the future, to not revert back to some of the things that were happening early on in the year.

You see the guys, especially the newer guys, they're learning the system, even though there are certain things that you just have to learn in training camp, but it takes some time when you get in those game situations and the adjustments. Communication is so vital on game day, because it could be the difference between a touchdown and an interception. I think Chris Hope is really coming into his zone, David Thornton is playing really well, then you have Kyle Vanden Bosch step up and have a pro-bowl caliber game against Houston that we are been used to seeing. I really like the way this team is coming together right now and learning how to win. Obviously, winning breeds confidence and losing breeds doubt and I think this team is on the positive side of that.

I like everything that Vince Young is about. He used his legs a little bit more against Houston as he scrambled for the first score. His recognition of defenses has really impressed me early on. I think he is very poised, there's no panic to him, and that was his forte at Texas, that he was very savvy, a posed guy, he's not going to panic, and he is going to make plays in key situations. Now were the stats pretty? No. They didn't have a lot of snaps on the field, but really made the ones count when they needed it and both scoring plays were when Houston blitzed. Usually, when they have an "inkling" that 'hey, I can get to a quarterback and rattle him,' well teams are going to have to learn that Vince Young burns the blitz and they're going to back off him a bit. He can expect that.

The talent has always been there, I've been through it, I understand, and I believe in my heart that you win playing together. The talent is there, it's just coming together and giving something of yourself, a personal goal, where you help the team out. Whether it's taking a guy away from the play, digging a safety out on a block, and those are the types of things that this team has finally realizing with the clutter that they ran into early in the season. Like I said, winning breeds a lot of good things and that they can just keep going. In these games, if you play well and don't turn the ball over, you're going to be in a lot of these games. The more experience they get, the more games they are going to win during crunch time.