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Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard used to set a lot of individual goals, but as the All-Pro enters his sixth NFL season, he says his focus has shifted to winning football games and being the best leader that he can possibly be for his team.
"If that’s catching 10 interceptions, catching five, catching one, catching none. As long as we are winning ball games, that’s all that matters," Byard told Fox News in a recent interview. "I just want to win a Super Bowl, honestly. That’s my goal."
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Last season, Byard piled up a career-high 111 total tackles with one interception for a Titans team that finished with an 11-5 record and as champions of the AFC South. Despite their success, the Titans’ defense didn’t live up to its true potential. Tennessee was ranked 28th in the NFL in yards allowed (398.3) and 24th in points allowed (27.4) per game.
Byard says the reason for the defense’s struggles stemmed from its inability to get off the field on third down.
"It all starts on third downs. We weren’t good on third down last year," Byard said. "Any time you’re not good on third down as a defense, you’re giving the offense more opportunities, more snaps, get more yards, and score more touchdowns. We’re not giving our offense enough chances for those guys to score more points, even though we scored a ton… As a defense, if you’re great on third down, you have a pretty good chance at being a good defense."
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Byard says challenging wide receivers and staying tight in coverage were two points of emphasis for the team during the offseason. Luckily for the Titans' defense, it goes up against one of the best offenses in all of football on a daily basis.
Led by All-Pro running back Derrick Henry, who piled up a league-high 2,027 rushing yards last year, the Titans were tied with the Buffalo Bills for second in the NFL in total yards per game (396.4), and they were fourth in points scored (30.7). Tennessee’s offense only improved this offseason when the team signed future Hall of Famer Julio Jones, who will now line up alongside A.J. Brown to form one of the best wide receiver tandems in all of football.
For Byard and the Titans’ defense, facing two of the game’s greats has been a blessing.
Kevin Byard of the Tennessee Titans in the first half during their game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Nov. 3, 2019, in Charlotte, N.C. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images) (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
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"Any time you add a dynamic playmaker to your offense, that changes a lot of things for any defense. Having a guy next to A.J. Brown, who’s a dominant receiver himself, opens up things as far as what a defense can do," Byard explained. "Most teams are going to want to stop Derrick [Henry] first and foremost. So if teams decide to load the box and you have one-on-one coverage with A.J. Brown and Julio Jones, that’s what you want out there… It just changes the dynamic of how defenses are going to try to defend us as an offense."
In his second NFL season, Brown took the league by storm when he hauled in 70 receptions for 1,075 yards and 11 touchdowns. Byard said Brown has "looked as good as he’s ever been" so far during training camp, and it’s expected that he will take another giant leap in his third year.
"He looks like he is taking that next step," Byard said of Brown. "The dynamic of having all of those guys on offense, making us better as a defense, is definitely iron sharpening iron. We’re all just trying to make each other better."
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Byard says the key to Tennessee’s success will be consistency, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
"As a defense, we can all improve and get better," Byard said. "I think that’s the main thing. None of us played up to our standard. I always talk about myself. I’m always going to be a guy that looks at me first before I point the finger at anybody. I feel like I didn’t play up to my standard last year. I need to continue improving my play and get back to the level that I played in previous years."
Byard continued: "I’ve been working my butt off trying to be in the best shape I can possibly be. Trying to be the vocal leader that my team needs. Every single day coming in bringing positive energy, and just being the best person I can be, so every single day I can lead this defense, lead this franchise to a Super Bowl. The personal goals don’t mean as much as the big number one team goal. And I feel like if I keep my mind focused on that number one team goal, I will do anything and sacrifice a lot of things to get to that."
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In the offseason, Byard teamed up with Campbell’s Chunky Soup to renovate Davidson County Department of Children’s Services’ Safe Room in Nashville, Tenn.
In addition to Byard’s renovations, Campbell’s Chunky Soup donated $8,000 worth of home appliances and 200 cans of soup to the foster home’s kitchen.
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