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Titans QB
Steve McNair
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NASHVILLE — With confetti falling from the Georgia Dome roof and the St. Louis
Rams dancing around, most of the Tennessee Titans lingered on the field after Super Bowl
XXXIV ended.
Players such as RB Eddie George and TE Frank Wycheck said they wanted to burn the
images of the Rams’ party into their memories, to use as fuel in the offseason and
beyond as they tried to get back to the point where one more yard on the game’s final
play — a Steve McNair pass to Kevin Dyson — would have extended their season
into overtime in the Super Bowl.
Eleven months later, the Titans’ encore regular season is complete, and they have
done everything they can to provide themselves with the easiest path to Super Bowl XXXV in
Tampa Bay.
Tennessee captured the AFC Central crown, the conference’s No. 1 seed and a bye
week to rest up, as it awaits a divisional playoff game at Adelphia Coliseum on Jan. 7.
"I think right now the guys are real comfortable with where we’re at, and
we’re comfortable with the things we know we’ve got to do in the playoffs,"
QB Steve McNair said. "I think we still think about that yard that we didn’t get
last year.
"But this is a totally different season. It’s always been in the back of our
minds, but we just know we’ve got to prepare a little bit more than we did, emphasize
the little things a little bit more than we did last year."
With a 13-3 record, the Titans also finished alone atop the NFL at regular
season’s end for the first time in franchise history.
"I don’t know that a lot of people thought we were going to come back and
have the same record we had last year. I think that says a lot," head coach Jeff
Fisher said. "We were 13-3 (in ’99) and didn’t win the division. Our goal
was to win the division this year. We duplicated the record and did so."
Only three other teams in league history have put together consecutive seasons with
records of 13-3 or better — San Francisco, Chicago and Green Bay. Each of those teams
won a Super Bowl in that stretch.
Tennessee was not dominant this season, winning by an average of 10 points. But the
three Titans losses came by a combined seven points, and they featured late kicks that
could have pulled out a win or forced overtime in each one.
As they concentrated on positioning themselves for another Super Bowl run, consistency
was their hallmark as much as anything.
"Last year, we had a couple bad days," Fisher said. "… This year
we’ve been in every ball game and we’ve made a lot of plays we needed to make.
"We’ve had some bad series, some bad quarters, some bad halves, some
difficult things happen to us, but we’ve been able to overcome those things."
Wycheck said he thinks the Titans deserve a lot of credit for putting together the
regular season they did, considering how things changed when they went from a surprising
Cinderella to a conference favorite.
"I think it was hard getting back to this point," he said. "As a Super
Bowl team, you’re treated differently. It’s how you handle the success, (how
you) handle people praising you all the time, telling you how good you are."
The Titans’ steady defense overtook the Ravens’ defense for the NFL’s
No. 1 ranking at the end of the regular season, playing well enough all year to keep the
team in games even when the offense sputtered.
As has been the case since he joined the team in ’96, George was the bedrock of
the offense. He posted career highs in rushing yardage (1,509), catches (50) and
touchdowns (16).
Under new offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, the passing game suffered after the
early loss of Dyson to a serious knee injury.
McNair also worked without Yancey Thigpen and Carl Pickens for much of the season as
the two dealt with hamstring injuries.
Return man Derrick Mason took advantage of his resulting playing time as a receiver,
complementing Wycheck’s 70 receptions with 63 catches for 895 yards and five
touchdowns.
Now, the Titans are encouraged as they turn toward the postseason that the two veteran
receivers will be able to make contributions as part of the rotation, diversifying the
attack.
Remarkably, with only one trip to the postseason, McNair owns the most playoff
experience and success of any starting quarterback in the AFC playoffs.
"He proved he can handle it, handle the pressure," Fisher said. "…
I think that gives us an advantage early this year (in the playoffs)."
A team with very little playoff experience before last season now boasts plenty of it
across the board. Last season, it took three wins — two on the road — to win the
AFC championship. This time, two victories at Adelphia Coliseum — where Tennessee has
lost only once in two years — will do the trick.
At the start of the season, the Titans talked about how they weren’t a yard away
from anything. They were polite as they endured the questions about the "Music City
Miracle" against Buffalo and Dyson’s unsuccessful stretch for the goal line at
the end of the Super Bowl against the Rams.
In August, they were making it clear they believed the Lombardi Trophy was miles away,
not 36 inches.
"Let history be history, don’t dwell on it," LB Eddie Robinson said.
"It was a good year and it happened the way it happened. We got a break (on the
"Music City Miracle") and we didn’t get a break (in the Super Bowl).
That’s kind of how it goes in football."
Over 17 weeks, the Titans traveled the first part of the long trip better than anyone
else in the NFL.
The Titans are playing well, owners of a four-game winning streak they hope will carry
over into the playoffs. They know what it feels like to just miss, so anything but a Super
Bowl win will leave them with a lot more to ponder in the coming offseason then they had
after losing the last one.
In the coming days they’ll recall that yard they didn’t get, that St. Louis
celebration.
"Coach Fisher said, ‘Remember this, remember this in your own way, use that
as some type of motivation to get yourself better,’ " Wycheck said.
"… I think we’ve done that, we’ve handled it great. But
nothing’s a given. We can’t start thinking Super Bowl. We just have to prepare
for this next game. It’s going to be a tough road."
Paul Kuharsky covers the Titans for The Tennessean |
