Says Haynesworth, “You could let that define your career or take the next step and define your career yourself. I just decided that, in an incident like I had, that’s not going to be the final chapter, what happened two years ago. It’s the mark of a man [admitting a mistake]. That’s what I tell my kids. You make a mistake. You're human. But it’s how you bounce back. It’s not what happens, but how you bounce back from it.”

Separated from Haynesworth by a row of lockers, Titans center Kevin Mawae stands at his locker looking at yellow post-its affixed above it. Each one has a message — some faith-related, others not. He reads his favorite aloud.

“The desire it takes to strive in the big leagues is developed in the sandlots”.

He points to another which states that one must give to God in abundance and to self based on need.

“That reflects some of what goes on here,” Mawae says. “A lot of times in our world it’s all about me, me, me. In a team mentality, it’s never about you. It’s about what you can do for the whole. Guys have figured that out in this locker room. There’s been times where it’s been all about an individual or an individual has caused problems for the team and we don’t have those problems now. What we want now is, ‘Just give me enough to do what we need to do so I can help the whole team win.’

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It’s worth noting that, while teams with more talent are casting about trying to find themselves, the star-free Titans play with a respect for the game and their opponents that makes them more dangerous. The Cowboys are usually touted as Super Bowl favorite, a reputation that HBO's summer series "Hard Knocks" cemented.

“Just because you’re on HBO doesn’t mean you’ll win the Super Bowl," Bulluck says. "Now they’re scrambling looking for answers. We’re different. We feel we have the answers right in our locker room.”

Fisher reinforced that notion. "I don’t have anybody, nor would I have anybody, on this team that would say, ‘I want the ball more or I’m not playing enough," he says. "Winning is what’s important.”

With the winning, of course, comes the attention. Will Tennessee change if their surprising run continues into November? Will they get a little self-impressed with all the backslapping?

Mawae reads another post-it. “Be very cautious of anyone who wants what you have that’s not willing the price to get it,” and concludes, “A lot of people want to jump on the bandwagon but nobody wants to do the dirty work to get there. The guys in this locker room have done what it takes. We believe in ourselves.”

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