The winless Tennessee Titans held a players-only meeting Wednesday, encouraged each other and pledged to recommit themselves.
The Titans need all the cooperation they can muster to survive the next five games without tackle Albert Haynesworth, arguably their second-best defensive player.
It won't be easy.
The Titans (0-4) ranked last in the NFL in yards rushing with the physical 6-foot-6, 320-pound Haynesworth. Now they must face the league's highest-scoring offence in Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (4-0) on Sunday.
``We're at a point now where we're hopefully at rock bottom, and we have to find a way to climb our way out of it,'' Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said. ``It hurts. It hurts our defensive line. Everybody's kind of taken it upon themselves to pick up the slack and make up for, you know, what we're losing with Albert.''
Haynesworth had more starts and had played more games than any other defensive lineman for Tennessee and was the Titans' best run-stopper. But his unprecedented suspension for kicking Dallas centre Andre Gurode twice in the head, leading to 30 stitches, has left the Titans in a bind.
With Haynesworth, the Titans are giving up an average of 177 yards rushing _ worst in the NFL through the first four games. They haven't held an opponent under 100 yards since their season opening 23-16 loss to the New York Jets.
They have allowed more than 390 yards in three of four games, holding only Miami under 290 yards and still losing.
The Titans on Tuesday signed Tony Brown, a two-year player with four starts and 17 games to replace Haynesworth on the roster. Linebacker Keith Bulluck said replacing Haynesworth will be tough and requires a collective effort on defence.
``Anybody who's seen Albert Haynesworth play knows that he's a force to be reckoned with, one of the better defensive tackles in this league, definitely up-and-coming or on the verge of making his mark in this league,'' Bulluck said. ``You can't replace that man because he is so dominating when he's in there.''
Haynesworth's 27 tackles are first among the team's defensive linemen, with Vanden Bosch a close second at 26.
Veteran Robaire Smith has been slowed by a strained right hamstring, and this is the first week he hasn't been on the injury report since the opener. Randy Starks is in his third season, and rookie Jesse Mahelona is questionable with a sprained knee.
Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy said he's always looked at one player's misfortune as another's opportunity. He cited Kurt Warner replacing Trent Green in St. Louis and Tom Brady taking over for injured Drew Bledsoe in New England as prime examples.
``You can't assume that the guy that comes in isn't going to do a great job, because many times they do,'' he said.
Brown may have been co-defensive MVP in NFL Europe last spring. But nobody like two-time MVP Manning played in that league.
Manning said the Titans still have Vanden Bosch, Bulluck and former Colts defensive captain David Thornton, who signed with Tennessee in the off-season. But the Colts are averaging 30.2 points per game.
``We've been struggling on defence and giving up too many yards,'' Vanden Bosch said. ``Now we're going against one of the most high-powered offences in the league. It's time to show what we're about. It's time for guys to stop talking and start doing something.''
