By Terry McCormick, sports@timesfreepress.com
NASHVILLE — Halfway through their 2008 season, the Tennessee Titans are still perfect. Yet they’re still acknowledging only in passing, it seems, that they’re 8-0 and the NFL’s last unbeaten team.
“We don’t think about going 16-0. We’re just worried about the Chicago Bears right now,” linebacker David Thornton said. “Of course, the media, you all will talk about it, but it’s not what we’re talking about in the locker room. We talk about the things we can do to continue improving the team.”
Tight end Bo Scaife agreed that as the numbers continue to pile up in the win column, the Titans are trying their best to remain focused on a singular task at hand and not what could be accomplished from it.
“We don’t really talk about going undefeated,” Scaife said. “We only know one way to play and that’s to play hard and play real long. We want to be the last man standing at the end, so if that means undefeated, that’s what it is.
“I think our motto is we just go out there and play. It doesn’t matter who is in front of us and what our record is. We just go out there and play.”
Thornton has experience in this regard, having been with the Indianapolis Colts in 2005 when they reeled off 13 straight victories to begin that season. Actually, he said the winning streak — the Titans have won 11 straight regular-season games dating to last year — is not a distraction in and of itself.
“It’s not a distraction as long as you listen to the voice of your leader,” Thornton said. “Coach (Jeff) Fisher does a tremendous job of echoing the message that we must continue with what we’ve been doing, stay focused, keep fighting, keep your confidence high and not getting too big-headed or anything like that. I don’t think we have to worry about that with any of the guys on our team.”
Fisher continues to downplay talk of being unbeaten, even as the Titans dispensed with the Green Bay Packers in overtime Sunday to tie the franchise record for consecutive regular-season wins.
“We’re not worried about becoming overconfident and all those things associated with that,” Fisher said. “We need to continue to improve to get better so we can win the next game. We have a tremendous challenge this week with the Bears and the things that they’re doing.”
Thornton said the Titans are strong in single-minded focus and accountability.
“I think every man on our roster realizes we’ve got a good thing going here, and you don’t want to be the one who could possibly be a distraction or cause something bad to happen to a great team,” he said.
Gage still working
Fisher said he is not concerned with the struggles of receiver Justin Gage, who has caught just one pass and been plagued by drops the past two games. Before those two games, Gage missed three games with a knee injury.
“We haven’t done an awful lot in the passing game on the outside,” Fisher said. “Overcoming that injury is difficult, especially in the receiver position, but I’m confident he’ll make plays for us and become productive.”
Colts gets Johnson
The Titans lost defensive tackle Antonio Johnson off the their practice squad Tuesday, as he was signed by AFC South rival Indianapolis to the Colts’ 53-man roster.
Johnson, a 2007 draft choice of the Titans, injured his knee during training camp in his rookie season and missed the entire year. He was released at the end of final cuts this year but was re-signed to the practice squad.
The Titans worked out four players for the vacancy Tuesday, including former Houston Texans first-round pick Jason Babin, who was drafted with a pick in a trade between the Titans and Texans. Others who worked out Tuesday were defensive tackles Anthony Maddox, Michael Myers and William Joseph.
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