Many people thought the departure of Steve McNair and Eddie George meant the end of things in Tennessee for the next 15 years. Although Steve McNair and Eddie George left, Jeff Fisher stayed in Tennessee. I think he, along with upper management, are the reason that the Titans have returned as a big time contender for the AFC spot in the Super Bowl this year. Don't go ahead and write them in yet for a 15-1 record though. They've got 2 tough games left; a home game versus Pittsburgh and a road game to end the season against the Colts.
Jeff Fisher is in his 14th year as head coach of the Titans/Oilers organization and this might be his best on both sides of the ball. The defensive minded head coach has always emphasized defensive play but now he's actually getting what he's been asking for. Along with Jim Schwartz as the defensive coordinator, the Titans are one of the best defenses in the NFL this year. Fisher has kept the team focused this year and not let the pressure of the media get to them.
Speaking of that defense, stingy might be the best word to describe it. They've only allowed 14 points a game on average and have only allowed more than 20 points twice all year. The defense is not really one of the big name defenses like the Giants, Steelers, or Patriots but maybe that's the key. With the exception of Keith Bullock, Albert Haynesworth, and the resurgent Javon Kearse, not many people could name a starter for the Titans 2nd place defense. I think the real key to success for the Titans is the ability of the team to play well as a unit and play unselfishly. Cortland Finnegan and Michael Griffin have really emerged as leaders of the secondary and have both racked up 5 interceptions. Finnegan has become a solid corner and with Nick Harper on the other side of the field, the Titans are hard to pass on. Michael Griffin and Chris Hope provide good speed and ability to read a play to back up Finnegan or Harper if necessary. The front four for the Titans average about 290 lbs and are very physical off the ball and get in the backfield quickly to disrupt the passing game. The linebacker corps is strong with Thornton, Tulloch, and Bullock stopping the run and defending the pass very well. The D-line and linebackers are a big reason why only 1 team has rushed for over 100 yards on them this season. This a solid defense allowing under 300 yards a game, <200 through the air and <100 on the ground (except for Steve Slaton). The test against the Steelers and then Colts in consecutive weeks will indicate how good they truly are.
Just as good as the Titans defense is their offense...that's probably why their 12-1 after all huh? The success of this offense is based off of the offensive line. Kerry Collins has only been taken down for a sack 7 times this year and Vince Young was sacked one time to make it a total of 8 for the season. That's tied for first in the league in sacks allowed with Denver. The offensive line is a large group that averages 300 pounds and is lead by 15 year veteran Kevin Mawae. They open large holes for one of the NFL's best running back tandems to run through. Chris Johnson has clearly emerged as the AFC Rookie of the Year, rushing for over 1000 yards and 8 touchdowns and averages close to 5 yards a carry. While Johnson is the homerun hitter, LenDale White is the wrecking ball and short yardage back. White leads the league (with Michael Turner) in touchdowns scored at the running back position with 14, on a little more than half the carries that Turner has. The balance between Johnson's speed and White's power makes the Tennessee running game a serious threat. Because of the serious threat of a run, the Titans have been able to utilize play-action passes nearly at will. Kerry Collins has shown his experience and good decision making by throwing only 6 interceptions on the year compared to his 11 touchdowns. The Titans don't really possess a deep threat at receiver but they do have several competent receivers that are good at holding on to the ball and picking up first downs. Justin Gage presents a big target for Kerry Collins and Chris Johnson has caught 39 passes out of the backfield to add some diversity. With the addition of Alge Crumpler in the off-season and Bo Scaife catching 50 passes so far, the Titans can use two tightends for blocking and also as very effective receivers. All in all, this is a good offense and they put up the points necessary to win by air and ground.
I've listed a bunch of stats but perhaps the most impressive is that the Titans are +11 in the turnover category. That keeps their defense resting on the sideline and their offense grinding down the opponent. The Titans, despite what some still say about them, are a very good football team and could make a deep run in the playoffs this year.
-Casey
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2 comments:
Great post casey, just a typo over with Chris Johnson's yards (you wrote over 100, I'm sure you meant over 1000 =P).
Yeah, a lot of their previous opponents are mediocre at best, but even their win over green bay is pretty good considering that green bay averages about 27 points per game (4th NFC). The Titan's held them to 16, not bad.
The only problem I see with them, from just skin deep observation, is that the few NFC games they've played, they don't win by too much. Minnesota being the only exception, they won by a TD at Chicago, and by 3 points at home against Green Bay. Of Collin's 7 sacks, 3 came from the 3 NFC team's they've played. The Packers are second to last in sacks in the NFC, but got to Collins twice while at Ten. Any game at chicago is hard, but the way their offense has been playing it's not *that* hard (24th rank in NFL)
I can easily see the Titans winning the AFC, especially with the slow downward spiral the Jets seem to be in. At this rate Ten will have home field advantage, and that's big. However, with a suspect deep ball game, I can see an NFC team with a solid defense taking advantage of that by cheating on the run and short passes. It also remains to be seen if the Titans can win a big game.
Just my 2 cents, which probably isn't worth that much =P
Good post bro. I'm interested to see how the Titans turn out. Like I said last night, they seem to be the best all around team in a while
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