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Life in the NFL
Travis LaBoy
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Titans need win and a lot more
BEFORE I get into the Bills game, I want to thank coach June Jones and his Warriors for the early Christmas gift to all Warrior fans with Hawaii's huge victory over Arizona State in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. It is not only a huge win for the Warrior players and Warrior athletics, but the entire state of Hawaii.
Their performance against Arizona State was inspiring, as the Warriors whipped the Sun Devils up and down the field, on all sides of the ball. Offense, defense and special teams were all clicking. Colt Brennan had another stellar performance and set himself up nicely as one of the top candidates for next year's Heisman race.
If he stays in school, which he should, he would all but guarantee himself to be a first-round selection in the '08 NFL Draft. Samson and the boys up front were dominating all game. Nasty, Davone, Grice and Rivers, especially Rivers, had huge games. My boys Mel and Ikaika were all over the place. All those guys will be playing on Sundays soon enough.
As for the Titans ... we are still alive, as they like to say. After an embarrassing 0-5 start, we are now in the hunt for a wild-card playoff spot with one game to go.
This last victory over the Bills helped us keep our playoff hopes alive. It was another close game, as we pulled out a 30-29 victory over a very solid Buffalo team. This week, our offense was on fire. Running behind a very motivated offensive line, Travis Henry scorched his former team with 135 yards rushing. Vince had another spectacular performance, using his arm and his running ability to keep drives alive. He hooked up with WR Brandon Jones for 101 yards and the go-ahead score.
On defense, led by Keith Bulluck, we were able to contain a very potent offense. We were able to tally three sacks on a very athletic and mobile QB in J.P. Losman, as well as force two interceptions, including one by Reynaldo Hill, who picked one off in the final minute to seal our eighth victory overall and our sixth straight win.
Only the seemingly unstoppable Chargers have a better win streak than ours at nine straight wins. Now we are one game, and a whole lot of praying, away from the playoffs. Nevertheless, before we think about getting in we have an incredibly tough game against the New England Patriots.
New England is coached by one of the best in the NFL in Bill Belichick, who always comes prepared on Sundays.
On offense, another one of the best in Tom Brady leads a very talented running back and receiver corps. They have very solid offensive and defensive lines, and a very solid back seven on defense.
Overall, they are a very talented and dangerous team and will be a tough game for us on Sunday. Having already clinched the AFC East, the Patriots have locked themselves into a playoff berth. But they most certainly will not take it easy on us.
A lot needs to happen for us to get into the playoffs, but no one ever thought we would be anywhere near contention. It is still a little unclear how the system works, but, if we get a win, the Chiefs beat the Jaguars, the Broncos lose to the 49ers and the Bengals lose to or tie Pittsburgh, then we get into the playoffs.
Like I said, we need a lot of help from other teams, but to be in the situation we are in now is remarkable. But we must help ourselves by beating the New England Patriots on Sunday.
If we are able to do that, we are still going to need a bunch of good teams to lose. From the outside looking in, people may say that there is no chance for us to get into the playoffs. Those same people said we would not win more than four games. Now we are looking at a possible playoff bid. I guess that is why they play the games. Anything can happen on any given Sunday, and that is why the NFL is as popular as it is.
Before I go, I would also like to take this time to let the people of Hawaii know about the first annual Travis LaBoy Island Weekend and Football Camp. We are currently in the organizing phase, but it will be a weekend event highlighted by a one-day football camp coached by me, many of my teammates and others from around the league. I'm not going to tell you who all is going to be coming just yet, but we are planning to have a lot of the NFL's current young stars and former Hawaii greats in attendance.
In the meantime, feel free to e-mail me at sackautism@aol.com with any questions or if anyone is interested in participating. This is going to be a great chance for the kids of Hawaii to meet and learn from some of the NFL greats. I will be providing more details as the date nears, but be sure to keep the dates of June 15-17 open.
Former UH lineman Travis LaBoy is chronicling his season with the Tennessee Titans for the Star-Bulletin