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Life in the NFL
Travis LaBoy
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Titans show true colors against Colts
MAN, what a tough loss we had against the Indianapolis Colts. We led the entire game until the very end. Unfortunately, as we all know, whoever is leading when the final whistle blows is the winner. All of you know that I have been preaching how talented our team really is, and even though we remain winless, I think that we showed our true colors Sunday.
As a team, we did a lot of really good things. We were able to hold probably the top offense in the NFL to two touchdowns. Before this weekend, the Colts were averaging more than 30 points per game. Our ability to hold them to only two touchdowns speaks volumes for our improving defense.
As I mentioned last week, Indianapolis has the firepower to put up some serious numbers in the statistical categories. Coming into last Sunday's game, the Colts offense averaged 366.5 yards per game -- 265.8 of those in the air. We were able to hold them to 320 total net yards -- 166 of those by the pass.
Not many teams can say that they held Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and the Colts' receivers to 166 yards passing. It certainly was no easy task, but we managed to keep them from burning us in the air.
On the other side of the ball our offense played great, racking up more than 214 rushing yards and moving the ball on long drives. You can't ask for much more against such a good defense as Indianapolis. Our offensive line played extremely well, not giving up any sacks against one of the most talented pass-rushing defensive lines in football.
And when we ran the ball, the O-line cleared running lanes for our backs to run through. Travis Henry was able to put up 123 yards rushing, followed by rookie LenDale White. And quarterback Vince Young showed what helped win the Texas Longhorns the NCAA national championship last year with his 19-yard TD scramble.
Overall, I thought our entire team played very well. But our good play is what makes this such a hard loss. We were so close to stealing a victory from a team nobody gave us a chance against.
While the loss is a loss and extremely hard to stomach, it just shows how much we are improving and how close we are to pulling out of this slump we are in. This week will bring us another challenge.
The Washington Redskins are a good, well-balanced football team with dangerous playmakers on both sides of the ball. It would be huge for our team to be able to pull out a victory going into the bye week, when we can recharge our batteries, heal our bodies and start on the second half of the season refreshed and ready.
But first, we need a win and one this week would be key for everybody.
Former UH lineman Travis LaBoy is chronicling his season with the Tennessee Titans for the Star-Bulletin