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 approached his teammates on offense and voiced his frustration after one of their drives resulted in a punt. He said he wanted to challenge the offense to play more complementary 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 on one 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 then sacked quarterback Davis Mills, causing a turnover on downs.
Simmons returned to action after missing two games because of a hamstring injury. Outside linebacker Arden Key had 1½ sacks, and Simmons added another 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."
When asked if the mounting losses and holding each other accountable could be 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, and you better get it right. Now, you talk to them 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 them 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-2 from the Texans' 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."