NASHVILLE — The sun hovering around 95 degrees and the humidity not too much below that, someone asked Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher at the close of Wednesday’s practice if it was hot enough for him.

“No, I wish it was a little hotter,” said Fisher, who was actually wearing a long sleeved T-shirt. “I think we need the heat.”

This is one reason why the Titans sometimes run out of time on Sunday afternoons before they run out of heart and hustle. They’re tough and tenacious, very much like their coach.

“We get beat sometimes,” said defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, who has somehow dropped his body fat from 8 percent to 5 percent this summer, putting him somewhere between a racehorse and a hummingbird on the Flab-O-Meter. “But we don’t often get out-worked.”

That’s the good news as the Titans begin a much-anticipated season when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 p.m. on Sunday at LP Field.

With Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth anchoring the defensive line, with kicker Rob Bironas back healthy to drill them through from 60 yards in, with rookie running back Chris Johnson sure to provide the electricity, the Titans seem all but set to make a second straight playoff appearance.

At least as long as quarterback Vince Young returns to looking more like the agile athlete who was named AFC offensive rookie of the year in 2006 rather than the suspect sophomore who threw almost twice as many interceptions (17) as touchdowns (9) a year ago.

“Vince is ready,” said Fisher earlier this week. “It’s a good situation (with new offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger) and it is only going to get better.”

Heimerdinger has been through this before. He was the coordinator who turned Steve McNair into a MVP quarterback who almost won the Super Bowl. His return to the Titans over the winter after Fisher parted ways with current UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow has sparked much hope that he can work similar magic with Young.

“Oh, I think Vince is going to be just fine,” said Mike Keith, the Voice of the Titans who spent part of his childhood in Chattanooga. “I think Mike’s going to create some running opportunities for him — Vince rushed for over 50 yards against Green Bay last week — and I think the offense is eventually going to produce a lot more points than last year.”

What it has produced so far in the preseason is a lot of field goals. In 19 preseason possessions over four games, the first-team offense failed to produce a touchdown. Such continued scarcity of points as fueled the argument that the Titans should have taken Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart (now with the Phoenix Cardinals) or Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler (now with Denver) rather than Young in the 2006 draft.

Nevertheless, Young appears confident against the Jaguars, who many believe could challenge for a Super Bowl spot this season.

“We’ve definitely got things in our offense that can take advantage of their defense if we’re all on the same page,” said Young. “My goal is to not waste possessions this year. Every possession counts, every down counts.”

As Young spoke, the frequent smiles and chuckles that highlighted his first two seasons with the media were gone. Both Young and his teammates realize that their window to make a deep playoff run could close quickly.

“You can’t take anything for granted today,” said center Kevin Mawae, who’s entering his 15th season overall and his third with the Titans. “Three teams from our division made the playoffs last year. And all of us should be strong again this year. But we’re not playing for second. We’re playing to win, and we think we have the team to do it.”

A year ago they were the team to earn the final playoff spot before being bounced by the San Diego Chargers in the opening round.

Even Mawae knows that most experts believe Young is the key to any and all Titans postseason hopes this time around.

“Everybody knows the question,” said Mawae. “Can Vince be the quarterback he needs to be? I’ll tell you that every player on this team believes he will be.”

But if he’s not, even Fisher might grow a wee bit uncomfortable with the figurative heat the organization will take for betting its future on Young instead of Cutler or Leinart.

E-mail Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com

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