By David Climer
September 8, 2013
PITTSBURGH — Help me here. What’s the cliché that attaches so conveniently to the NFL season?
Ah, yes: It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Indeed, the game against the Steelers represents just 6.25 percent of the Titans’ season. Historically speaking, opening games don’t seem to dictate much where this franchise is concerned. Last season, the Titans lost their opener and went 6-10. In 2010, they won the opener and went 6-10.
Somehow, though, this season has a different feel to it. There is a sense of urgency. The roster has undergone an extreme makeover via free agency and the draft. The coaching staff has been shuffled, with five new assistants and five others with new responsibilities.
With so much change and so much at stake, the team’s performance in Week 1 takes on extra significance. Safety Michael Griffin called it “a gladiator battle” and said it would give the Titans an idea of where they stand.
“It sets a tone, especially with the opponent we’re going against,” he said. “They have tradition, and we want to start a tradition here. We’ve got our work cut out for us.
“This game is going to say a lot about what this defense and this offense are about. We’ve added a lot of things during the offseason and we’ve worked very hard so this is going to be our first test to see what we have.”
So what exactly do the Titans have? With a fortified interior line and Jake Locker’s growth,the offense should be better — we think. With the input of Gregg Williams and the physical presence of Bernard Pollard, the defenseshould be better — we think.
But this is a guessing game. While there has been renewed optimism based on the way the Titans practiced and how the starters played in the preseason, nobody really knows what to expect when the season kicks off for real.
“You go into every season with some questions and you’re looking for answers,” said wide receiver Nate Washington, a one-time Steeler. “You find out a lot about your team in the first game.”
Said coach Mike Munchak: “We’re going to find out where we are.”
In many ways, the Steelers are in a similar situation. Coming off an 8-8 season and with a number of changes on the roster, Pittsburgh enters the season as a bit of an unknown.
“I’ve been around the league long enough to know you’re going to have some years where you’re disappointed in the way the season turned out, and that was one last year,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “The level of expectation in this building and this city is winning, so that’s what we’ve got to get back to.”
Titans owner Bud Adams upped the ante in an interview with our beat writer Jim Wyatt on Thursday. For months, Bud has left the impression that this is a make-or-break season for coach Mike Munchak, who is 15-17 in two seasons. Now Bud is making it clear that he wants a return on his investment.
“I didn’t spend that money for nothing,” he said.
Bud opened the vault to pay more than $100 million for free agents. Historically, NFL teams that spend so heavily in free agency do not see immediate results in the standings. But Bud doesn’t want to hear that. Ninety-year-old billionaires are used to getting their way.
“We have some great talent we brought in and we paid a lot of money to get them in here,” he said. “I am banking on us getting it done this year.”
And there’s no time like the present to get started.
David Climer’s columns appear on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at 615-259-8020 ordclimer@tennessean.com.
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