It wasn't long ago that our next opponent was jettisoning high priced veteran free agents like Steve McNair, Eddie George, and Samari Rolle in an effort to get out of salary cap hell and get young again. I remember watching a Titans game some years ago with Billy Volek at the helm and thinking that it might be a long time until they would be good again.

The Titans went from 12-4 and losing in the Divisional Round of the playoffs (to who else but the Patriots), to seasonal records of 5-11, 4-12, and 8-8, until last year where they went 10-6. This year they are off to a franchise best 5-0 start despite not playing with the 3rd overall pick in the '06 Draft. It seems they are a team that can overcome average QB play and a lack of star power at the skill positions by playing great defense and winning the battle in the trenches.

It doesn't hurt that they have the longest tenured Coach in the NFL who learned his trade from the Master himself, Bill Walsh. Jeff Fisher has stood the test of time and has outlasted many coordinators, quarterbacks, and a couple of GMs. He is highly respected in the NFL and by his players, and this fact no doubt helped them as they transitioned through some tough seasons. His philosophy of team first is a simple one. They are playing without their "Franchise Quarterback" without even skipping a beat. I think that there is much we can learn from the Titans.

For a team like Kansas City, who is trying their own tough transition back to respectability, the blueprint put forth by the Titan organization is a good one. I am sure that the losing seasons endured by the fan base seem much worse to them than they do to us. But they turned it back around in a relatively short time. This was no quick Rams-like turn around that we all would hope for, but this team is poised to be good for a long time because of Fisher's desire to play good young players(sound familiar?). They seem to be making good decisions for the most part (take away Pacman Jones and probably Vince Young) and they are a team that I admire for the hard road that they have traveled. They are built to win on the road, a must for a playoff team, and play the smash mouth brand of football that all Chiefs fans can respect.

Please note that they had to endure the trading, and/or dumping of big time Veterans in the rebuilding process. This did not go over well with the fans, but being popular should not be our goal. Our goal is to get better for the future. Even though "The Player" that we are currently looking at trading is a certain Hall of Famer, the heart of this team, and a fan favorite, I still think that this goes with what we are trying to do.

As for our rebuilding project, I truly think that what we have seen this year is our "bottoming out" period, and our ceiling is huge. We arguably had a better draft this year than the Titans did in any of those years, and they were no better than us at the quarterback position. I am sure that we can see many more changes this offseason. Look for us to be much more aggressive in Free Agency and next year's Draft class could be better than this one. I for one think that we have a bright future. Who's with me?