National Football League

Whisenhunt confident Titans will rebound from 1-4 start

Published Oct. 7, 2014 6:30 p.m. ET

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ken Whisenhunt prefers to dwell on the few silver linings of a dark and expanding cloud that has descended upon the Titans.

The first-year head coach wasn't talking tongue in cheek Monday when he said, "I fully believe that we're going to be a good football team."

That's certainly not the case for a team riding a four-game losing streak -- after an encouraging season-opening win at the Chiefs.

Of that fourth loss ... well, it was historic.

After racing to a 28-3 first-half lead over the visiting Browns on Sunday, the Titans yielded the largest comeback to a road team in NFL history -- leading to a deflating and possibly debilitating 29-28 loss.

"There were some good things that we did (Sunday)," Whisenhunt said. "But those seem to pale to when you lose a game like that. It makes it very difficult. ... As tough as it is, we had chances to make plays to win the game, and we can only learn from it and get better."

Adding insult to injury comes the loss of safety Bernard Pollard, a team leader and defensive stopper who miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles (attempting to block an extra point vs. Cleveland). The nine-year veteran, who helped the Ravens win the Super Bowl two seasons ago, led the Titans in tackles last year (second in 2014).

"Bernard's been a good leader and a good player for us," says Whisenhunt. "That happens in this game. It's unfortunate, and we'll certainly hope that he stays involved with our team, which I think is an important piece of it. I know how disappointed he was (Sunday) night, as we all are."

There's also another injury to fourth-year quarterback Jake Locker, who sprained his right thumb on Sunday, the result of banging it against an opponent's helmet during a passing follow-through. Including the lopsided loss to the Colts in Week 4, Locker has missed 15 starts over two-plus seasons with multiple injuries.

Locker's status for Sunday's game against Jacksonville (0-5) is uncertain and won't be decided until later this week. But he was impressive against the Browns before leaving the game late in the first half.

Not only did Locker complete 8 of 11 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown, he was more aggressive running the ball, gaining 34 yards and one score.

"It was a conscious effort on my part," Locker said of getting back to tucking the ball and running when opportunities came. "I'd gotten away from the type of football that I'd always played, that allows me to enjoy playing the game and be successful playing the game. I knew we needed to get back to it."

By the time backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst closed the early onslaught against the Browns, the Titans led 28-3 before settling into a 28-10 halftime bulge.

But thanks to the offense not scoring on six second-half possessions, the defense continually getting gashed, multiple penalties negating huge plays and special teams snafus, Tennessee crumbled in the second half.

"Are we frustrated that we're not better, we're not playing better football or we haven't had more success?" Whisenhunt asked, rhetorically. "Sure. Everybody wants to win. That's what this business is all about. I feel like our guys believe that what we're doing, we're doing it the right way."

As such, Whisenhunt hasn't deviated much from the message of staying the course, although the ship appears to be listing.

"The thing that's important, and I've learned this from being in the NFL for a number of years and being around good coaches, is consistency," Whisenhunt said. "We have something that we believe works. We've shown glimpses of it against Kansas City and the first half against Cleveland. We've got to stay consistent.

"It's coming. We're getting better. I know the injuries are tough, but that's the NFL. We're going to continue to work, and we're going to get it."

Still, the frustration mounts for a team that was thought ready to challenge for the playoffs after going 7-9, prompting the termination of head coach Mike Munchak.

But the offensive line again has underachieved, the new 3-4 defense is apparently trying to fit square pegs into round holes, receivers other than Kendall Wright and tight end Delanie Walker have been inconsistent, and Whisenhunt can't settle on which running back to feature among bullish Shonn Greene, rookie Bishop Sankey or versatile Dexter McCluster.

Then there's the poor clock management and questionable play-calling (Whisenhunt) in Sunday's meltdown -- not to mention the offense disappearing in the second half.

"There's second-guessing," Whisenhunt said. "The whole night (Sunday) night was second-guessing. I think that's human nature. I did that as a player, I do that as a coach -- this play, that play, this situation, that situation."

Essentially, Whisenhunt wants -- paraphrasing the lead lines from the Sam Cooke rock classic -- to accentuate the positive (Sunday's first half) and eliminate the negative (Sunday's second half and the four-game skid) -- heading into three winnable games.

After the Jaguars, the Titans visit the Redskins (Week 7) and return home Oct. 26 to play the Texans before heading into their bye week.

"This may sound a little out of whack," Whisenhunt said. "But there is positive to what we did this week. We went in at home, and we played a lot better in the first half. A lot of that was because of how we worked during the week at practice. Whoever is going to be in there, that's all we have to do.

"We have to do is go out and practice that same way, prepare that same way. It's coming. We're getting better. We're going to be OK. We just have to continue on this same track and be consistent."

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