–Running back Dion Lewis was one player who took last week’s 38-10 drubbing by the Indianapolis Colts personally.
The loss came on the heels of the Titans most impressive win the week before, a 34-10 pasting of the AFC champion New England Patriots.
“Every game is a must win. … We’ve got to have this game, no matter what it takes, and I think that’s the approach we should be taking,” Lewis said. “That has to be our mentality.
“We’ve just got to play better for each other, play harder for each other and don’t quit. Go out there and kick somebody’s butt. Go out there and get this nasty taste out of our mouths, because nobody likes losing.
“We just have to play with confidence. If we play with confidence, we can play with anybody. Everybody has got to take what they learn in the meeting room and the practice field and take it out there to Monday night.”
Lewis said the sense of urgency is real this week if the Titans are to have any chance of winning the AFC South.
“Two games behind and we’re going against the division leader. They’re two games ahead of us. Everybody knows that. We’ve got to win. I think it’s a must win,” he said. “We’ve just got to bring that energy out on the practice field and that sense of urgency in there in the meeting room, holding each other accountable and playing for your brothers and trying to get the job done. There really ain’t no playoffs, if you don’t win this. So you’ve got to be ready to work, hold each other accountable, take the criticism from coaching and just go out there and give it all for your brother.”
Asked if the Titans were confident after a beat down in Indianapolis, Lewis said, “Why shouldn’t it be? You’re not going to win every game in this league. It’s the NFL. Everybody gets paid to play. I feel like we should be confident. If you ain’t confident, you ain’t gonna win no games, no matter who you are. You’ve got to go out and bring that energy and that swagger out there. That’s what I’m going to try to do this week in practice, and everybody will buy in, I’m sure.”
Lewis personally is agitated about the way the Titans played and hopes that it is motivational for his teammates as well.
“(I’m) pissed off. I speak for myself, but I’m pissed off, because we went out there and laid an egg. That’s unacceptable,” he said. “We’ve just got to help each other, play harder for each other. I think we’ve all got to look at each other in the face and say, ‘Did you give it your all for your brother?’ If you can’t do that, then it’s on yourself and you let your teammates down. I think everybody just needs to go out there and work hard and after that game, no matter what happens, you can look into your teammates’ eyes and say I gave it my all.”
Asked if everyone should feel the same way, he said, “(Expletive), we should be pissed off. We just got whooped on. We can’t be mad about it. We’ve just got to go out there and work hard, prepare hard and get it fixed. You’re only as good as your last game.”
–Defensive coordinator Dean Pees was back at practice on Wednesday, just three days after spending Sunday night in an Indianapolis hospital.
Pees had what the Titans termed “a medical issue” early in Sunday’s game while calling the game from the coaches box, and had to be transported to a hospital, leaving head coach Mike Vrabel to run the defense from the sideline.
Pees was released on Monday and was back at work on Wednesday, though Vrabel said the Titans would monitor the 69-year-old defensive coordinator by making him work “banker’s hours” this week.
“It was good to have him back, I think he’s doing well. He’s back and we’re thankful to have him back here, and I would say, healthy,” Vrabel said.
BY THE NUMBERS: 23 – The number of Monday night wins the Titans franchise has in its history. The franchise won 12 of those games since moving to Tennessee and becoming the Titans in 1999. They defeated the Dallas Cowboys three weeks ago on Monday Night Football.
