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Road warriors Titans arrive in Jacksonville confident of winning on road
Posted: Friday January 21, 2000 08:28 PM
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Jeff Fisher and three of his Tennessee Titans strolled into Alltel Stadium Friday nearly an hour late for a news conference, and the coach had a joke ready. "We had our weekly half-hour meeting with Lady Luck, and it ran over a little bit," said Fisher, whose Titans had the Music City Miracle in the wild-card game and benefited from an instant replay reversal in Indianapolis last week. Yes, the Titans feel very comfortable whenever they walk into Alltel Stadium even if it is in preparation for their first AFC championship game in 20 years. Why not? They are 4-1 here against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fisher said the record, the city and the stadium aren't the reasons for their confidence in playing the Jaguars. "Over the last few years, we've had a good deal of success on the road. Typically, I think that's because of what the club's been through. We've played a number of games on the road the last three-four years. It's just the approach we take to playing on the road," he said. "This is a very difficult place to play, as a lot of teams have found out here the last couple of years." The Titans, formerly the Oilers, are about the only ones to beat Jacksonville here. The Jaguars are 30-4 at home since 1996, and three of those losses were to Tennessee, the franchise that handed them a loss in their inaugural game in 1995. The only time Tennessee has lost in Jacksonville was in 1997. Tennessee has done well on the road ever since owner Bud Adams announced plans to move his team from Houston to Nashville. Until this season, seats usually outnumbered fans for 'home' games in Houston, Memphis and Nashville, so the Titans quickly learned to enjoy playing in front of people even if the crowds were hostile. The Titans now are trying to become the first team in NFL history to beat an opponent three times in a season with two of the victories coming on the road. That may be why they are taking the approach that their two victories in the regular season don't exist. "We have to approach this game like it's the first time we've played them," running back Eddie George said. "We know each other." The one piece of news Friday was Steve McNair walking in with a boot on his left foot to protect an aching big toe. He sat out practice in Nashville, and Fisher called it a precautionary move. McNair wore the boot for two days following a victory over Indianapolis on artificial turf, and the Titans practiced Thursday inside on turf. McNair said he wants to be as close to 100 percent as possible Sunday. "This is a situation where a little pain won't hurt anybody," McNair said. George said McNair will be ready to roll at kickoff. "Steve is 100 percent in my eyes and his eyes as well."
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