NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The frustrations are starting to mount for the Tennessee Titans, whose record dropped to 1-9 after a 16-13 loss to the Houston Texans on Sunday.
Defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons is fed up with the losing.
Simmons was seen on the TV broadcast going over to the offense and voicing his frustration after one of their drives resulted in a punt. He said he wanted to challenge the offense to play more complimentary football.
"I'm tired of sugarcoating it," Simmons said after the game. "We need to be better, especially at home. Can't have that many f---ing false starts. There's no way we should have that many false starts at home. I don't care. I'm tired of saving feelings. I'm tired of losing."
The Titans had five false starts in Sunday's game, three of which were by right tackle JC Latham who said it was partly due to a cadence issue. Quarterback Cam Ward acknowledged the issue but said after the game that it was just on one particular play.
Simmons revealed the team had four false starts in Friday's practice. Tennessee was penalized nine times resulting in a loss of 62 yards.
One of the penalties was an unnecessary contact call on Simmons on the first drive after Houston kicker Matthew Wright missed a 31-yard field goal attempt. Cody Barton came up big for the defense when he sacked quarterback Davis Mills, causing a turnover on downs.
Simmons returned to action after missing two games due to a hamstring injury. He and outside linebacker Arden Key each had sacks against Houston.
"We fought all the way back from injuries just because the team and this game means so much to us," Simmons said. "Everybody has to take the same approach. We're grown men and have a job to do. We need to attack every day with a better attitude."
The Titans defense held Houston to 16 points and still lost the game. When asked about the mounting losses and holding each other accountable causing a divide in the locker room, Key hinted at how times have changed.
"In this new age it's different," Key said. "When I came in the older guys would talk to and you better get it right. Now you talk to 'em and there's huffing and puffing and all that going on. It's one of those things where you have to learn how to talk to 'em different ways."
Ward said he has no problem with the direct talk and felt the defense has a right to be frustrated. Titans interim coach Mike McCoy elected to kick a field goal rather than go for it on a fourth and two from the Texan's 28-yard line even though Tennessee was leading 3-0 and the defense had stifled Houston's offense up to that point. Ward wants the offense to be more aggressive, especially on fourth down.
"I want to go for it every fourth down but at the end of the day that's not my decision," Ward said. "We were able to get points out of that so it's good. My mindset, we're 1-9 and don't have nothing to lose."
