PITTSBURGH -- The Tennessee Titans began the season with an embarrassing step back. It merely set the stage for a significant leap forward. Chris Johnson eschewed his usual flash for 70 clock-chewing yards, new defensive assistant Gregg Williams wasted little time working some of his old magic, and the Titans smothered the Pittsburgh Steelers 16-9 on Sunday. Jackie Battle ran for a 3-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Rob Bironas kicked three field goals. Tennessees revamped defence did the rest. "Yes, we were a little sloppy at spots, yes we wish we scored more points," Tennessee coach Mike Munchak said. "And well fix some of those things. But we did what we had to do to win the football game." Pittsburgh managed just 195 total yards and lost Pro Bowl centre Maurkice Pouncey, likely out of the year with torn ligaments in his right knee. Linebacker Larry Foote is also done after rupturing his right biceps. "Weve got a lot of work to do," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "Nobody cares about our problems. Theyre glad weve got them. We need to understand that. We need to stick together and persevere." Pouncey is the linchpin of a retooled offensive line; Foote is the wise sage for one of the NFLs best linebacking groups. "Anytime you lose guys that are key contributors to your game, its frustrating, but thats the business were in," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said. "Someones got to step up." Better hurry. The Steelers hadnt lost a home opener in a decade and figured to have little trouble against the Titans, who gave up more points than any team in the NFL last season and brought in Williams as an assistant. A year removed from his role in the bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints that to a league suspension, the former defensive co-ordinators impact was immediate. While Munchak stressed co-ordinator Jerry Gray is in charge of the play calling, theres little doubt Williams presence has keyed an attitude shift in a unit that took the brunt of the blame for a 6-10 season. Aggressive from the opening snap, Tennessee forced two turnovers, limited the Steelers to 32 yards rushing and didnt allow a touchdown until garbage time. "Were working much more together now," defensive tackle Jurrell Casey said. "Nobodys pointing fingers at anybody else and nobodys being selfish. We have to work as a unit, and thats what we did today." The Steelers came in with 10 straight victories in home openers, the longest streak in the league. They went winless in the preseason, but stressed they were fine. Doesnt look like it. Following a bumpy off-season in which Mike Wallace, James Harrison and Casey Hampton departed, Pittsburgh insisted it was not rebuilding. Maybe, but the refurbishing project is going to take some time. Running back Isaac Redman fumbled twice, including once deep in Tennessee territory. The defence limited big plays, but failed to generate a turnover or a momentum-swinging sack. The Titans didnt dominate. They didnt have to. Content to work between the tackles with Johnson and Battle, Tennessee controlled the clock. The Titans held the ball for over 34 minutes and asked quarterback Jake Locker to do little more than avoid mistakes. Locker completed 11 of 20 passes for 125 yards, but led Tennessee on a lengthy scoring drive early in the fourth quarter that gave the Titans a 13-2 lead and sent most of the crowd streaming toward the exit. The Titans needed 42 carries to run for 112 yards, but what their runs lacked in pop they made up for in persistence. "I think coming in we were going to run it, we felt we had to," Munchak said. "We had to get a lot of touches. Its like a boxing match. Its a lot of (little) runs, but we felt we were wearing them out by doing that." The subdued ending hardly seemed possible after one of the more memorable opening weekend flubs by Tennessee kick returner Darius Reynaud. Shaun Suishams squib kick was fielded at the Tennessee 1. Reynaud shuffled into the end zone and dropped to a knee. Officials originally called the play a touchback, but referee Jerome Boger signalled a safety after ruling the ball never actually crossed the goal line. "I know I was in the end zone," Reynaud said. "I did not know where the ball was. Thats something I need to work on." Pittsburghs euphoria lasted all of eight plays. The Steelers were driving following the free kick when guard David DeCastro fell on Pounceys right knee. Pouncey laid on the ground for several minutes before being taken off on a golf cart. Kelvin Beachum stepped in for Pouncey, but the drive ended when Redman -- the de facto starter with rookie LeVeon Bell sidelined by a sprained right foot -- fumbled into the end zone. The unusual 2-0 lead held up for until safety Alterraun Verner intercepted Ben Roethlisberger at the Pittsburgh 49 and the Titans reeled off a 12-play drive. Battle finished it by plowing 3 yards with 46 seconds left in the half. NOTES: Roethlisberger became the 35th quarterback over 30,000 career yards passing. Hes now at 30,035 yards in 10 seasons . Tennessee RB Shonn Greene left with a knee injury in the second quarter . Pittsburghs last loss in its home opener came in 2002 against Oakland. Mark Clayton Jersey . They were right in that they responded to coach Randy Carlyles goaltending switch to erase a two-goal deficit. Nat Moore Jersey . The league announced Thursday that Tom Higgins is leaving that post effective immediately. http://www.authenticdolphinspro.com/Bob-...olphins-jersey/. - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half. Mark Duper Jersey .500 ball against teams with winning records, so they needed a huge lift from somebody Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders. Larry Csonka Jersey . Tony Parker had 33 points and nine assists and San Antonio never trailed in a resounding 116-92 victory over Portland, bullying the younger Trail Blazers in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.JEREZ, Spain - Like father, like son.At least, that is the long-term plan for Formula One newcomer Carlos Sainz Jr., who hopes to emulate his father by becoming world champion one day.The 20-year-old Spaniard, the son of two-time rally world champion Carlos Sainz, will make his debut for the Toro Rosso team at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 15.He almost seems old compared to his teammate, the 17-year-old Max Verstappen.His father, Jos Verstappen, was a moderately successful F1 driver, competing in over 100 races and securing two podium finishes. That makes him the most successful Dutch racer ever, but his son has far loftier ambitions.Im only 17. But Ive always wanted to be a Formula One driver, and have a chance. I cant wait, the unflappable Verstappen said on Saturday at the Jerez circuit, speaking in the measured tones of a seasoned professional. Im not here to drive for 14th or 15th position. You want to be a race winner, you want to finish in the top 10 all the time and, hopefully, with some situations you can have an even better result.His father has been a big help.He knows the bad side and the good side of it, Verstappen said. Hes given me a lot of advice.So has Sainzs father, the world rally champion in 1990 and 1992 who won 26 races and secured almost 100 podiums.Because their series differ, it is not so much technical advice. Rather, Sainz says, his father has encouraged him to think big in terms of attitude, and how to become a world champion someday,Both drivers profess not to be nervous, yet, with the first race only six weeks away.Its too early to have nerves. In Melbourne there will be more, Sainz said. Now, there is more will and concentration.Toro Rosso has the youngest driver lineup in F1 history, and former champion Kimi Raikkoneen — the oldest driver on the circuit at 35 — is nearly as old as Sainz and Verstappen together.ddddddddddddBut team principal Franz Tost considers their age irrelevant.To be honest I dont care what (people are) saying, he said.Verstappen has only one seasons experience racing in the European Formula Three championship — finishing third overall last year, when he won 10 of 33 races. His hiring by Toro Rosso prompted motorsport governing body FIA to ban under-18 drivers from F1 next year, and make drivers go through more development series.Sainz is considerably more experienced, having competed in the Formula Renault 3.5 series — of which he became the youngest champion last year — the European F3 circuit, and British F3 in the past three seasons.Max started racing at six years old. This is a new driver generation, Tost said. They were most of the time out on a car track, not in a school yard. Im convinced we will not have any problems.Tost cites the example of Russian driver Daniil Kvyat to further prove his point.Kvyat, who is also 20 and came through Toro Rossos racing pool, has earned a lucrative move to Red Bull as a replacement for seven-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel, — despite only one season of F1 experience.I do not agree with the many argumentations that our drivers are too young, Tost said. This argumentation I heard already two years ago with Kvyat, it was the same nonsense.Toro Rosso, seventh overall last year, unveiled its new STR10 car on Saturday, and Tost has set the bar high.The target is fifth place in the constructors championship which means that the drivers must be permanently in the points, an adamant-sounding Tost said. Im convinced we had a real strong package. We started quite early with this car and put in a lot of effort. 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