Yet, the only topic of conversation regarding that defense is that 11th guy.

OK, that's easy to understand because that 11th guy is defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who walked out the door in the first five hours of free agency with a seven-year, $100 million deal with the Washington Redskins. The contract, the highest ever given to a defensive player, also includes $41 million in guaranteed money for the 27-year-old Haynesworth.

In terms of negotiations, the Titans were never close with Haynesworth, and after a meeting at the NFL Combine where some progress was made, never moved any closer to striking a deal. Haynesworth admitted as such on Sporting News Radio.

"I would have come back if they would have gotten up, but honestly they didn't really make a strong push for me, I mean not as strong as I thought it should have been," said Haynesworth, who played under the franchise tag in 2008. "So that's when I decided to look elsewhere."

So, what are the Titans to do to try and compensate for losing arguably the game's most dominating defender? They will do what they always do. First off, identify a young player who can step in and fill the void. The Titans have identified that player in second-year defensive tackle Jason Jones.

Jones, a second-round pick in 2008, had 5.5 sacks as a rookie, and the Titans believe his 6-5 frame can hold more than the 274 pounds he played at last season without losing any of his quickness off the ball.

Second, in order to hedge their bet, the Titans' strategy is to shop the bargain racks of free agency to find another player to complement Jones. They found that guy in former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Jovan Haye, who had six sacks two years ago, then had none last season while battling knee and groin problems.

Will it work? Neither man will command the constant double teams that Haynesworth did, but Coach Jeff Fisher is confident that what remains combined with adding Haye can be sufficient.

"We're good at the tackle position," Fisher said. "We're gonna rotate and we're not gonna drop off. You don't replace Albert, but we had interest in (Jovan) last year when we still had Albert, and if we had re-signed Albert, we still would have had interest in him."

Haye, signed for four years and $16 million, becomes the latest journeyman hoping to find success under defensive line coach Jim Washburn's tutelage. Under Washburn's directions, castoffs like Kyle Vanden Bosch, Tony Brown and Dave Ball have blossomed into solid NFL players, with Vanden Bosch becoming a two-time Pro Bowl pick.

Haye said he won't try to fill Haynesworth's shoes per se.

"Albert was a great player, and he did great things here in Tennessee," Haye said. "I'm not coming here to try and fill his shoes. I'm just going to be me. Whatever I have to offer, I'm going to give. I don't see it as replacing Albert. You can never replace Albert. He's a big massive guy and a great football player. I'm just looking to make my own name, and hopefully, one day somebody else can say the same (about me)."