Titans line coaches deserve high praise for impact
December 23
Tennessean columnist Joe Biddle
"At the end of the NFL season it's popular to pick a most valuable player.
The Titans have several legitimate candidates on this 13-2 team, but that's a discussion for another day. I'm going to give you two people who are most valuable.
Neither plays a down, but without them I shudder to think where this team would be.
They rarely get any credit. They have to dig to find their names in the newspaper or hear talk about them on radio or television.
I'm talking about Jim Washburn and Mike Munchak, who coach the defensive and offensive lines, respectively. They could not possess more opposite personalities.
Washburn is a demonstrative, vocal, outgoing man's man who wears his emotions on his sleeves.
Munchak is overly polite, speaks only when he has something to say. Even then it will be in an even, measured tone.
Wash wears out a lot of vocal chords at practice, yelling at his linemen to "run to the football.'' Sometimes he sprinkles in some adjectives to add spice.
Rookies such as Jason Jones and William Hayes have heard it since their first day with Washburn. It was no accident they forced four of the five Pittsburgh fumbles on Sunday and fell on loose balls.
It was no accident that the Titans sacked Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger five times - Wash's "run to the football'' had to be ringing in the linemen's ears. He has them conditioned like Pavlov's pups.
It's why the Titans were able to fill the significant void left by the injuries to Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch and still get premium production.
Munchak went over to veteran Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae after Mawae injured an elbow and left early for the training room. Munchak nodded to second-year man Leroy Harris, who was already loosening up.
Munchak teaches offensive line play like few can. He is a Hall of Famer who hands down what he learned in the game. He likes guys who play a variety of positions and is always looking for that lineman who can play from tackle to tackle."
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