NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- At the end of the 2000 season, the Titans finished a yard away from winning the Super Bowl. Last year, the Titans fell into a hole and, as much as they reached up, they couldn't pull themselves out and finished 7-9.

Halfback Eddie George was corralled by defenders because of a bad ankle and toe. Defensive end Kevin Carter couldn't condition his body before the season because of knee and groin problems along with a bacterial infection. The secondary was decimated by ACL tears, neck problems and numerous other ailments. Quarterback Steve McNair stopped counting his injuries.

	Eddie George finished with under 1,000 yards for the first time in his six-year career.

"Once we would get to the point where we were just barely touching the top to get out of the hole, something happened," McNair said. "I was looking at pictures from last year with the equipment guys the other day. I said, `Look at all the wraps I had on.' I had an elbow wrap, a back wrap, a shoulder wrap. My toe was wrapped. I said I looked like a mechanical robot."

Label this season, "The Mummy's Revenge." The Titans hope to discard the miles of bandages and wraps and return to their playoff status of two years ago. George has his old stride back and McNair has his health for the first time in three or four years.

"You couldn't have envisioned a worse situation," coach Jeff Fisher said. "But those players have come back. We've got a healthy offense right now. Steve is really, really doing well. He couldn't reach his left shoulder with his right hand and touch it (last year). He's got full range of motion, his release is great and he's throwing well. Eddie reminds me of the way he ran his second year."

The only scary part of the beginning of training camp is that most of the vets are healthy and revitalized but some of the new players are getting hurt. First-round choice Albert Haynesworth is out a month with a second-degree ankle sprain suffered making an incredible move around a young offensive line. Second-round pick Tank Williams, whom Fisher hoped to start at strong safety, is out a couple weeks with a hamstring injury. Other injuries include cornerback Samari Rolle, who will miss most of the preseason with an avulsion fracture in his right ankle and middle linebacker Randall Godfrey, who hasn't completely shaken his second left knee procedure.

"Still, there is nothing serious," Fisher said. "We should have everybody back before the opener."

Dwelling on the injuries, though, is the story with the Titans. The formula is simple. Eight of their 22 starters are of Pro Bowl caliber, mostly at the key positions: defensive end (Carter and Kearse), quarterback (McNair), halfback (George), left tackle (Brad Hopkins) and cornerback (Rolle). If they are healthy, they are a playoff team.

"I think the one thing that happened last year that was good was our passing game," McNair said.

Fisher let McNair become "Air McNair" again. With George held under 1,000 yards because of the toe injury, McNair threw more downfield and finished with the No. 2 quarterback rating (90.2). and career highs for yards (3,350) and touchdowns (21).

What he doesn't know is how he did it. The injury problems for McNair started right after the Super Bowl loss to St. Louis. McNair's right shoulder ached. He knew he had bone spur problems, but this was much worse. For a month he couldn't sleep. Soon he couldn't move the shoulder at all.

Fed up with the pain, McNair went to the doctor and found out he had a serious bacterial infection that could have killed him or at the very least eaten up a portion of the right shoulder joint. More than a month of antibiotics eventually solved that problem.

Carter's first season with the Titans was equally nightmarish. A few weeks after that Super Bowl game (in which Carter played for the Rams), Carter had a bursa sac removed from a knee. Infection set in and ran down the front of his shin. He had six weeks of bacterial IVs. He couldn't work out until around June and a month after he did he tore a groin muscle during the first day of camp.

"Kevin started the season with no offseason conditioning, then he has more troubles during the season," Fisher said. "There were about a dozen times he came close to sacks but just could get enough to get that final step."

Because McNair and George have been longtime Titan warriors, fans and critics excused any difficulties last year. Carter didn't get that break. He was supposed to be the one acquisition that would secure the Super Bowl ring. Carter ended up with only two sacks. Carter and Kearse predicted they would combine for about 25.

	“	I'm back. I was playing at about 70 percent last year. I attacked the problem the best way I know how. I did a lot of rehab. Because of the foot, I wasn't running correctly with my stride. Then I got the ankle injury. I never recovered after that. I would get hit in the thigh and it would set off my ankle and I would struggle the rest of the game. ”
		— Eddie George, Titans running back

"I learned a lot about myself as a player and a person," Carter said. "People are going to say all kinds of stuff. Some idiot at the Sporting News said that Kevin Carter doesn't even know he had a bad year last year. How can you say something like that. This is my dream. It's not only my occupation, but it's something I take great pride in. Of course, I know I didn't have a good season. Of course I know we tragically underachieved. So when we have the great season this year, give us credit."

Fisher, a master motivator, is giving his players credit for fighting through the injuries. In Carter's case, he looks at the numbers. Despite the lingering injury problems, Carter played every game and actually produced more pressure on the quarterback than he did in his 17-sack season in 1999. George, believe it or not, didn't miss a start despite the season-long toe injury and a bad ankle injury suffered in Week 4. Only now can McNair pat himself on the back for his good stats because the tight right shoulder has loosened up.

McNair can now touch his left shoulder with his right hand.

"I'm back," George said after his disappointing 939-yard season. "I was playing at about 70 percent last year. I attacked the problem the best way I know how. I did a lot of rehab. Because of the foot, I wasn't running correctly with my stride. Then I got the ankle injury. I never recovered after that. I would get hit in the thigh and it would set off my ankle and I would struggle the rest of the game."

Once again, there is a confidence around the Titans camp. They know there is no way that their pass defense will be a league worst at 255 yards allowed a game. Carter is a trim 285 pounds and should angle for 10 or more sacks. Kearse bulked up to 260 pounds and has $2.8 million of incentives dangling as a carrot if he can take his sack total into the high teens.

One of the most insightful coaches for trends in the NFL, Fisher knows that 10 of the Titans' games last season came down to two-minute drives on offense or defense. The Titans won five of those. Squeezing two more wins out of those opportunities puts him back in the playoffs, so Fisher is spending extra time working on two-minute plays.

There will be a temptation to pound George 25 to 30 times a game if he's healthy, but last season's experience will allow Fisher to be less predictable than in the past. The way the games went, Fisher said, George didn't get the chance to get as many fourth-quarter carries, the ones that usually propel him over 1,000 yards for a season.

McNair's success throwing downfield opened eyes. For personnel, the Titans have their deepest group at wide receiver. Fullback Greg Comella adds a new dimension because the Titans can go with two-backs and either run or pass the ball.

"The perception is that with Eddie healthy, we are going to go back and run the ball 60 times a game," Fisher said. "That's not going to be the case. We are going to continue to let Steve win games for us and take games over for us. We had balanced last year. The difference in Steve's case was that the people around him got better."

Now, the team is healthier. Watch out, world, the Mummy is tossing away the bandages.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.