Titans safety Bernard Pollard says new defensive coordinator Ray Horton has changed the mentality of the defensive players in Tennessee, making them hungry to be more aggressive and more physical.
“We were German shepherds in the training phase, but for some reason we transformed to pit bulls, to Rottweilers,” Pollard said. “Preferably, I want to be a lion, but there’s no lions over here, but I’ve got the heart.”
Pollard described last year’s Titans defense as lacking a killer instinct, and he said Horton has changed that.
“We had some great plays, but you look at some games, and we didn’t step on the throat when we were supposed to,” Pollard said. “We didn’t finish it off when we were supposed to, we didn’t get off the field when we were supposed to, so if you look at Coach Horton and the mentality that they’re instilling in players like us, it’s going to be a fun year.”
The Titans’ defense struggled last year in a season in which Tennessee missed the playoffs for the fifth straight time. This year we’ll see if Pollard can back up his talk, or if his bark is worse than his bite.