TitanInsider Board

As Chris Hope enters his ninth season, fifth with the Titans, the savvy veteran is optimistic about the 2010 season.

"We are a bunch of guys who are hungry, we feel disrespected, and we (the secondary) didn't play our best last year."

That is an understatement. The Titans defense gave up 25 points per game last year and ranked 28th overall defensively. Tennessee was a respectable 10th against the run, but was next to last in the NFL in defending the pass.

It was a primary reason the team slumped from 13-3 in 2008 to 8-8 last year, including the infamous 0-6 start.

For a guy like Hope who’s been on the big stage in Pittsburgh, where he won a Super Bowl, he understands what it takes to win. He also knows that this defensive unit has something to prove this year. That something is not being the weak link in 2010.

"We took a lot of the blame for what happened as a team," Hope said.