Titans on right path according to leading tackler

This time last year, Wesley Woodyard was preparing for a playoff game with the Broncos. His season would end with a trip to the Super Bowl.

His fortunes changed later in 2014, when his new team, the Titans, went 2-14.

But the veteran linebacker, who signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Titans last March, doesn't close his eyes when he looks in the mirror.

"I take the blame for a lot of things," said Woodyard, who was voted a team captain. "If one player doesn't do well in a game, I feel like it was my fault, like it was my responsibility to help get my teammates lined up or focused on something. As far as myself, I made some plays this year, but I didn't make enough to help my team win and that is something that's going to make me work harder this offseason. It's something that will continue to make me hungry."

In his seventh NFL season, Woodyard led the Titans with 134 tackles. He also had 2.5 sacks, eight tackles for a loss, two interceptions and eight quarterback pressures. The stats are impressive.

Woodyard also had 14 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus, which ranked for second most on the team behind safety Michael Griffin (17). Woodyard posted a negative grade in nine games, per PFF.

He was also flagged for what proved to be a pivotal unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the closing minutes of a loss to the Jets.

Woodyard said the season was a learning experience.

"It is a work in progress every week — that is how the NFL is. You have to prove yourself every day you come to work. But I love fighting and I look forward to fighting some more," he said. "The season, it was tough on us as a team. Any time you have to face the reality the season is over with no playoffs, it is a learning experience and a growing experience.

"But losing doesn't define you, it builds who you are and makes you stronger. ... I truly believe things will get better."

While his former team faces the Colts in the playoffs on Sunday, the Titans are embarking on an offseson of changes. Woodyard hopes they aren't drastic.

He recalled some tough times in Denver. In 2010, his third NFL season, the Broncos went 4-12. In 2011, they went 8-8 and made it to the playoffs. In 2012 and '13, they posted 13-3 seasons with playoff appearances, thanks in large part to the arrival of Peyton Manning.

Woodyard believes things will get better in Tennessee, a place the former Kentucky player said now feels like home.

"Hopefully there's not too many changes being made. ... I have been familiar with this, even in college. It takes some time to get beat up on and bruised and you come back strong. So I hope there's not a lot of changes," he said. "I hope our players and all our coaches come back. We are taking the right steps. We fight hard, we work hard, and we respect one another.

"It is one of those things where when you get a new coaching staff in you want to win immediately, but you have to stay on the right track. Stay the course and keep working hard. It's not going to be easy."

Reach Jim Wyatt at 615-259-8015 and on Twitter @jwyattsports.