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Life in the NFL
Travis LaBoy
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Thankful for another big victory
FIRST, I want to wish everyone back home a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday.
We are especially thankful after another huge victory for the Titans. This past weekend we traveled to Philly to play in a very harsh atmosphere, against a very good football team in the Eagles.
Fortunately for us, we ended up pulling out a huge upset. But if anyone watched the game, it might have looked more like the Eagles were the underdogs to us. The majority of critics had us as the clear underdogs against the Eagles, and most did not even give us a chance against them.
All week we read in the papers and heard on television and over the radio that the Eagles would beat us handily. Nobody gave us a chance. The only people who thought we would win were us. Our victory proves that the game is played for a reason and if a team believes in what it is doing, that team can be successful.
We came out strong on offense and they kept putting the pressure on the Eagles' defense all game. Travis Henry was rolling on Sunday. Travis was hot, gaining more than 140 yards on fewer than 20 carries. Our offensive line did an incredible job blocking all day long, against a very active and explosive defensive front. They did a great job controlling the line of scrimmage, holding their blocks to give Vince (Young) time to throw and opening up holes for Travis to gash the defense.
On defense, we played very well against the run, with a huge welcome-back game from Albert Haynesworth, who played very well coming off a long suspension. It is good to have Albert back on the field, as he is a beast in the middle of our defensive line. We were also able to limit their passing attack by applying pressure upfront and doing a great job in coverage.
We had a couple of big plays that helped us get the win. Pacman Jones did what he does best and made a huge play returning a punt for a touchdown. Pacman is always a threat to score anytime he touches the ball. His return definitely was the highlight of the game, and deserved to be on SportsCenter that night.
Another huge play was brought by DT Randy Starks, who picked up a fumble and then pitched to LB Keith Bullock, who ran it in for a touchdown late in the game. That was the final nail in the coffin and helped us seal the win.
The Eagles are a very good team and it is always good to pull off a big win against a very solid opponent. Unfortunately, they lost their leader and All-Pro QB Donovan McNabb early in the game. You don't like to see players get injured and we all wish Donovan a speedy recovery. This victory over the Eagles shows we are a very talented team and we can win against very talented teams. Maybe it's the alternate uniforms we have been wearing, who knows? Whatever works.
There is no telling what could happen on any given Sunday, and that is exciting. This week we face another very good team: the New York Giants, who just came off a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and will probably be pressing hard to pull off a victory.
Hopefully, we can keep them on their losing streak for at least one more week. The Giants are a very good team with a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. But so are we and we are looking for another huge win.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Former UH lineman Travis LaBoy is chronicling his season with the Tennessee Titans for the Star-Bulletin