SB Nation - Nick Harper

Dolphins vs Titans: Three Key Matchups

Matty I — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:15:08 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

Most important part of Sunday's game: containing this man.

It's time to turn our attention to Sunday's game in Tennessee between the Dolphins and Titans. For the third consecutive week, the Dolphins will play in what is essentially another "playoff game" - meaning a loss and their season could be over. A win and they live to play another meaningful December football game the following week. After the rough start that Miami went through, this is all we could ask for.

The Titans also had their own rough start but have battled back themselves, recovering from an 0-6 start to win six of seven and get back into the playoff picture. Their lone loss in their last seven came at the hands of the undefeated Colts. Needless to say, this one promises to be a battle.

Onto my weekly critical matchups:

Chris Johnson vs Dolphins rush defense
This is obviously a no-brainer. If the Dolphins are to win this game, then they must find a way to slow down the most dangerous runner in the NFL. Chris Johnson leads the NFL in rushing yards, over 300 yards in front of the second ranked rusher. He's run for over 100 yards in eight consecutive games and has his sights set on a 2,000 yard season. And his 6 yards per carry average is tops among all backs with at least 100 carries. He's simply a dynamic play-maker who has 20 runs of 20+ yards this season and 7 of 40+ yards and is a threat to score every time he gets his hands on the football.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, have done a much better job over the past few weeks in stopping the run. They held the Patriots to just 96 yards rushing and 3.8 yards per carry. Then last week, Miami limited Maurice Jones-Drew to just 59 yards and 3.3 yards per carry. Impressive, for sure - especially for limiting MJD like they did. But this unit has not faced a back as fast and elusive as Chris Johnson. And outside of MJD, the most talented runner the Dolphins have faced this season, DeAngelo Williams, ran for 122 yards on just 13 carries against this defense.

Needless to say, the Dolphins most focus this week on limiting Johnson's impact on this football game.

Dolphin receivers vs Titans Secondary
While the Titans will look to run the ball on Sunday, I have a feeling that the Dolphins' game plan will be to throw. The Titans are seventh in the league defending the run but 31st defending the pass. Now part of that is because Tennessee has had to play some games without starting corners Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper. But still, with both of those guys in the lineup, Matt Leinart was able to complete 68% of his passes for 220 yards.

On the season, the Titans are allowing over 258 yards per game through the air and have surrendered 27 touchdown passes - the second highest total in the league, just two fewer than the Lions. But one of my favorite pass defense statistics is even more telling. The Titans are letting over 67% of the passes thrown against them get completed. And don't let a Titans fan tell you this is because of the injuries they've sustained in 2009. Finnegan is allowing 64% of the passes thrown his way get completed while Harper's completion percentage against is a staggering 73.3%. In fact, opposing quarterbacks have a rating of 115 when throwing in Nick Harper's direction.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, have really been looking to throw the football more often these past two weeks. Chad Henne is completing 62% of his pass attempts over these last two weeks and is averaging 278 yards in that span. Miami's receivers have been the key. Henne has had places to throw the football and his receivers have been consistent catching the football. In these last two games, the Dolphins have had two different 100 yard receivers - Davone Bess against the Pats and Greg Camarillo last week in Jacksonville.

For all of their faults, one thing you can say about this group of receivers is that they have a number of reliable targets. And I think the Dolphins will be able to exploit Tennessee's nickel corner. Whether it's Vincent Fuller or Jason McCourty, the Dolphins should get a favorable matchup against either - or both - of these two. Fuller has allowed 83% of the passes thrown his way to get completed while McCourty has let 89% get completed for an average of ober 14 yards per reception.

This is one matchup the Dolphins have got to exploit.

Ted Ginn vs Titans kick coverage
Here's a little "did you know." Did you know that Ted Ginn Jr. leads the AFC in yards per kick return, averaging 28 yards per attempt? Did you know that no player has more kickoff returns for a touchdown this season than Ginn - and only one player has as many? Did you know that Ginn is fourth in the AFC in kickoff returns of over 20 yards and second in the AFC in returns of 40+ yards? In fact, 72% of Teddy's returns result in at least 20 yards - the same percentage as "return star" Josh Cribbs. And only one player has more 40+ yard kick returns in the AFC than Ginn.

Meanwhile, the Titans are one of the worst teams in the league in kickoff coverage, surrendering 25 yards per kickoff return - the third most in the entire league. And with only 9% of Tennessee's kickoffs resulting in touchbacks, Ginn figures to have some opportunities to make plays on Sunday.

So how about it? Can we see something special out of one of the most polarizing players on this Miami roster?

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: The Media Coverage Feels Like A Practice Week Too Edition

August West — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:51:28 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

For the love of all things holy take it easy this week, Vince. We need you as close to 100% next week for the 'phins.

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Chris Johnson fell off of his pace to beat Eric Dickerson's single season record, but he's claiming a litany of important records every weekend now:

Johnson now has eight consecutive 100-yard rushing game, eclipsing the seven in a row he shared with Hall of Famer Earl Campbell.

Johnson also surpassed Campbell’s franchise record for most yards from scrimmage (1,981) as he now has 2,017 yards between rushing and receiving this season and is within range of Marshall Faulk’s NFL record of 2,429 yards with three games to play. He became only the fifth back in NFL history to reach 2,000 yards from scrimmage in 13 games.

Peter King gets it wrong even when he gets it right:

c. Loved Keith Bulluck's back-to-the-future game against the unfortunate Keith Null: 10 tackles, two interceptions, a pass broken up. The Titans' D played with a ferocity a defense can play with when it knows the quarterback can't beat it downfield.

Note to the front office: there was no 'back-to-the-future' game there, that was just what you get with Keith Bulluck.

The Titans walked away with five interceptions yesterday. Even more surprising: they did so while Nick Harper was on the field.

The Associated Press compared that game to a practice week. I'd venture a guess that the crowd at LP Field was quieter than they are for the average pre-season game.

Welcome to the NFL, Keith Null.

This would have ended in disaster in weeks 1-6: On Chris Johnson's long reception, he was supposed to stay in and block, but the pass rusher came on a delayed blitz and it was too late before CJ realized it.

What is it with the Texans and former Volunteer state-based running backs? They could close the season with Chris Brown, Arian Foster and Chris Henry on the active roster.

Have love, need links: mcmaugustwest@gmail.com

Colts 27 Titans 17 Recap: It's Officially Over Now

Jimmy — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:44:12 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Peyton waived goodbye to our playoff hopes. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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That will pretty much do it for the 2009 Titans. I know we were all hoping for the miracle playoff run, but the seventh loss of the season pretty much ends that. The thing that is even more frustrating about today is that Chris Johnson was held under the pace he needed to catch Eric Dickerson and even to get 2,000 yards. It seems that is the only thing we are going to have to cheer for the rest of 2009.

You got an idea of what kind of day it was going to be on the Colts first play from scrimmage when Peyton Manning's pass to Austin Collie deflected off of his hands right to Pierre Garcon for a 27 yard play. Three plays later Nick Harper fell down trying to cover Garcon, he went for 36 yards, and set up the Colts first touchdown- an 8 yard run from Joseph Addai.

I think it is time that we stop getting mad at Harper. I wouldn't get mad at my 15 month old son if he let an NFL receiver run right by him, so why should I get mad at Harper. The person we should be mad at is Jeff Fisher for being so dang stubborn about letting veterans play. Fisher job isn't to be loyal. It is to put the best players on the field to help his team win. He clearly isn't doing that, and save the fanposts when the same thing happens to Britt when it is healthy. That is the reality of having Fisher as the coach. It always has been, and it always will be.

One of the few smart decisions Fisher has made this year is finally letting Britt return kicks. I guess someone finally told him that it is legal for rookies to do that kind of thing.

The second thing that happened during the game that made me really mad at Fisher was in the red zone on the Titans first possession. LenDale White, your short yardage back, gets 6 yards on first down to the three yard line. Instead of giving him the ball again Fisher decides to put Chris Johnson back in the game. No gain on second down with CJ, an incomplete throw on third down and the Titans have to settle for a pointless field goal.

A couple things here- LenDale is the perfect back to run against the Colts undersized defense. We talked a lot about that after the first game between these two teams. Why do you even have him on the roster if you aren't going to use him in this situation? I understand you don't want to take carries away from CJ, but inside the 5 the home run is 5 yards long. LenDale is the perfect guy to pick up those yards.

Secondly, if you are inside the five yard line against the Colts it should be four down territory every time unless a field goal will win the game as time expires. I understand why the field goal is kicked there, but it just seems all the more reason to let LenDale hit it up in there a couple more times and see where that gets you instead of being satisfied with the field goal in your back pocket.

The Titans defense stopped the Colts on their next possession and should have taken the lead following that but Nate Washington can't catch the football. We were all mad at the Steelers fans for saying what they said about Washington in week 1, but it turns out they were right. The Titans signed Washington for one reason, to make big catches down the field. He has proven time and time again this season that he cannot do that.

The next Colts possession saw another receiver running by Nick Harper, a horse collar penalty on Vincent Fuller, and big chunks of yards all over the field before another Addai touchdown run. You started to get the feeling at this point that the game was getting away from the Titans, and you got that feeling all the more when Ahmard Hall coughed up the football on the ensuing drive.

I know that we all love the Sarge for a lot of things that he does, but he has proven in his career that giving him the ball is dangerous. He has 102 touches in his career and has lost 4 fumbles, and it always seems to come after he has picked up a bunch of yards.

The next Titans possession ended in an interception. It actually could have ended earlier had Kelvin Hayden been able to pick off an out intended for Lavelle Hawkins. Rich Gannon analyzed that play perfectly when he said it was a bad decision by Young and a bad play by Hawkins when he didn't come back to the ball.

The thing that really frustrated me after the interception was the knee injury that crept up on VY after he had bounced back in bounds to hit Jacob Lacey and sat on the bench for about 30 seconds. I know the VY people are going to kill me for saying that, but that is how it looked to me. If anyone else has another explanation I would love to hear it.

The Colts did what they do with a short field and scored a touchdown to go up 21-3.

The Titans would answer with a nice drive of their own that ended with Britt catching yet another touchdown pass. The big play on that drive was a 24 yard reception by The Hawk. This will probably seem weird since I was criticizing him a few paragraphs ago, but another thing that makes me mad at Fisher is that the only thing Lavelle has done since getting to see the field is make plays. You have to wonder why he didn't get a shot sooner.

That touchdown was encouraging because it cut the score to 21-10 with the Titans getting the ball after halftime, but of course 20 seconds is way too much time when you can't cover kickoffs, can't cover receivers and Tony Brown can't keep his head. The Colts got a field goal to take away the momentum the Titans were able to build.

The second half was even more frustrating than the first. The Titans offense was able to move the ball down the field but were unable to capitalize in the red zone until it really didn't matter. The first red zone miscue came late in the third quarter. The Titans faced first and goal from the one. First down was a fumbled snap. Second down was a hold on Eugene Amano that backed the Titans up 10 yards then a 2 yard pass to Bo Scaife. Third down was a VY scramble to the two yard line. Fourth down was a horrific play call on a fade to Britt in the back of the end zone.

The defense held again only to see a Titans drive stall in the red zone again. That drive started with a snap to VY that he wasn't ready for, no idea who was at fault, and ended with a bad throw to Hawkins.

That pretty much did it. The Colts got a field goal to push the lead to 27-10 after a 15 play drive that took 7:23 off of the fourth quarter clock. The Titans came back after that to get a touchdown that didn't matter. Then they actually recovered the onside kick, but all comeback hopes were laid to rest after four incomplete passes.

This team looked a whole lot more like the team that started the season 0-6 than the one that was 5-0 out of the bye. A lot of people were talking this week about how the Colts aren't that impressive because they have barely won a lot games, but we saw today why they are so good. They don't make mistakes that kill them, they are really good on third down and their defense bends but doesn't break. That is the type of ball that wins championships. The Titans just simply aren't there this season.

If you loved how negative this recap was, you will love MCM Radio tonight at 9 for sure. Click here to join us.

Colts 27 Titans 17 Quick Recap

Jimmy — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:30:58 -0000

More photos » by Darron Cummings - AP

10 days ago: Tennessee Titans runnging back Ahmard Hall (45) fumbles the ball as he Is tackled by Indianapolis Colts linebacker Clint Session during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis, Sunday, Dec. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

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And just like that we come crashing back down to earth. It's a funny final score because at first I don't feel like it was that close, but when I stop and think about all of the chances the Titans had I guess it was. There was just something about this game that made me never really feel the Titans had a chance to win it. Maybe it was because we had Nick Harper playing corner. I don't really know.

Anyway, discuss your postgame thoughts in the comments below. I will have a full recap a little later.

August and I will be doing MCM Radio tonight at 9 central. Click here to join in the fun.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: That One Needs A Nickname, People Edition

August West — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:50:42 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Catch tha game winner (Like a boss)!

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The increased accuracy, improved timing and sounder decision making of Vince Young were all on display yesterday, and we wouldn't have won had we seen anything less. I honestly can't think of a quarterback who has made bigger strides in a year and a half on the bench than Vince Young. That's a tribute to his hard-work, intelligence and maturity. The Vince Young we saw in 2006 and 2007 was hard to coach and overly-enotional. The Vince Young of the past five games must be soaking-up Mike Heimerdinger's lessons like a sponge. It's going to be fun watching him do what no one else in the NFL has done so far this year: smoke the Colts.

I agree with Jim Wyatt: though Vince Young's early list of comeback wins as a Titans is impressive, yesterday's 99-yard march takes the cake. Given that every single game is must win for us now, that was the stuff legends are made of.

Don Banks breaks-out a near perfect comparison for Vince's performance:

Elway-esque

The only one that would have been better was Montana-esque.

Jim Wyatt tells us that he's hearing LenDale was inactive for this game after being late to a walk-through on Saturday. It was the first game LenDale has missed since he was drafted. I'm guessing this was also a message to the veterans on this team whose playing time are in jeopardy: there's no room to be slacking.

Follow us through the jump as we give love, love and more love...

How great was it to see Kenny Britt, Lavelle Hawkins and Jared Cook play critical parts late in the game? We'd all expected Britt and Cook to step-up in their rookie campaigns, but Hawkins had been pretty much left for dead after being completely silent for a year and a half. He showed some nice skills and ability to get open we needed yesterday.

OK, this needs to be said: Nick Harper was not a complete disaster yesterday. He got beat twice, but they weren't for huge plays. He kept plays in front of him and provided excellent run support (led the team in tackles). I know that won't be popular, and I've been killing that man more than pretty much anyone on the internet, but I'll give him his due for his first good game of the year.

Mike Florio takes a look at the undeniable awesomeness that is Chris Johnson's 2009 season.

For all the improvements Chris Johnson has made this year, an anonymous NFL personnel man correctly pointed out the two most important areas he's improved:

"No. 1, he is doing a much better job of running inside," said the personnel man, speaking on condition of anonymity. "… And his pass protection is much better. He's become a complete back out there. He's always had the speed to outrun everyone."

The personnel man also noted that Johnson has much better lateral agility than he's given credit for. "(Johnson) can cut on a dime," he said.

In short, Johnson will be very difficult for Tennessee to take off the field as long as he stays healthy.

Dan Graziano of the AOL Fanhouse asks the question you'll hear a lot this week, and even more if we dump the Colts: Can these guys seriously pull of the miracle finish and make the playoffs?

Ron Hood was inactive because he was sick, according to Terry McCormick.

My boy spencer096 at MajorLeagueJerk.com says it all when it comes to the new VY:

And I feel bad for not getting into VY’s 4th quarter drive that was just about as good as it gets, but just go read a recap of his NC win and put Titans in for Longhorns and there you go. That TD to Kenny Britt was a helluva throw. Uncle Rico my ass.

Check-out the pics of T-Rac's Posse's group outing to LP Field, and the lesson learned was RESPECT THE NOSE BLEEDS.

Late addition to the links, but TBL has a bunch on VY's resurgence.

You gotta love the 7 Word Re-cap from the broadcast yesterday (hat tip to Randolph WInston for the pic):

Every time you read a great Titans-related story on the web and don't share it with the MCM community through the fanposts, fanshots or by emailing me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com Peytoon Manning makes YET ANOTHER commercial. Is that what you want?!!!!?!?!

Titans 20 Cardinals 17 Recap: Vince Young to Kenny Britt

Jimmy — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:06:11 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

There's your winner. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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I don't even know what to say about this game. It was that unbelievable. I have said it a lot of times over the last month, but the transformation this team has made in 5 weeks is nothing short of amazing. Instead of feeling like the Titans are 2-3 years away from contention, I feel like they are in contention this season and are 2-3 players away from being a really, really good team next year.

Let's start with the obvious- Vince Young is a winner, and today he was a winner with unfathomable numbers. He was 27 of 43 for 387 yards and 1 touchdown. 387 yards! He answered a couple of the questions I have had about him today: 1. How will he react when faced with adversity? It was a pretty bad play at the end of the half to let the time run out, but he didn't hang his head. He came back even better in the second half. 2. How will he do when a team knows he has to throw to win the game? How does 9-16 for 93 yards sound? And oh yeah, he did that in the final 2:37 of the game. VY is a legit NFL QB, and he is proving people wrong, myself included, with each passing week.

And then there is Chris Johnson. The pace he is on is just crazy. He had another big TD run in this game, 85 yards, and finished the game with 18 carries for 154 yards and a touchdown. He only needs to average 120.8 yards per game for the rest of the season to get 2,000 and 141.8 per game to tie Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record of 2,105.

What about Kenny Britt? This kid has stepped up in the absence of Justin Gage and proven that he is a legitimate NFL receiver. It has been a long, long time since the Titans drafted one of those. He came up big time and time again in this game including a great catch of the first fourth down of the final drive and the game winning touchdown catch. And you have to love the comments he makes about it after the game:

Kenny Britt, gripping the ball he caught for winning TD, just told me he’s put it down only for a shower. "I’ll never let it go,’’ he said.

(h/t) smash

The Titans defense came out strong in the game forcing the Cardinals to go three and out on their first offensive possession. The Titans did catch a break not having to face Kurt Warner, but Matt Leinart looked better than I expected him too. He looks to lack arm strength, but he is very accurate and gets the ball out on time. On an unrelated note, how much do you think Leinart hates VY? There is little doubt in my mind that he was having flashbacks to the Rose Bowl in the final 2:37 of this game.

Vince got off to a fast start in the game hitting Nate Washington for a 29 yard gain on the Titans first offensive play. That play set up a 52 yard field goal from Rob Bironas that gave the Titans an early 3-0 lead. Bironas struggled in camp and the early in the season, but he has returned to his form as one of the best kickers in the game.

The defense held again and the Cardinals downed the punt at the Titans 5 yard line. Vince took the offense 90 yards to the Arizona 5 before the drive stalled forcing another Bironas field goal. That drive included a big pass to Bo Scaife and another to Britt.

Arizona would get on the board with 2 minutes remaining in the first half when Neil Rackers hit a 41 yard field goal. Vince would hit two big plays on the ensuing drive to get the Titans in field goal range. Unfortunately the Titans would not get a field goal because of the one bad play Vince made on the day. He took a snap with eight seconds left in the half and scrambled around before he was sacked at the half ended. SuperHorn made a good point in the quick recap that about 50% of the time Young makes a TD happen on the play. While that is a good point, Vince has to have better awareness of the time there and get down in time to give Bironas a shot. I have no doubt that VY will learn from that play.

The third quarter was pretty boring until CJ took a hand off and went 85 yards for a TD while running away from two Cardinal defensive backs that had an angle. Kick coverage, which has haunted the Titans all season long, haunted them again on the ensuing kickoff when LaRod Stephens-Howling went 99 yards for a TD. Momentum stolen.

The Cardinals would take their first lead of the game on a six yard TD run by Tim Hightower. That was set up by a 21 yard completion from Leinart to Beanie Wells on Nick Harper as shocking as that may be.

I found it interesting that Rod Hood and LenDale White were inactive for this game. Fisher was very short about the decision on White in the postgame which leads me to believe that it could have been disciplinary. However that is pure speculation on my part. The more interesting one was Hood. What did Fisher expect to happen if Harper or Cortland Finnegan were injured? Did he not watch Hood play in the three games he filled in for Harper? I am really at a loss on that one.

The defense would hold twice after the TD drive to give the offense a chance at the end. It looked like the Titans were going to take the lead after the first stop when VY hit Britt for 51 yards, but Britt was stripped from behind by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and the Cardinals recovered.

And here is the final drive play by play:

Play 1- Vince does a nice job of avoiding the rush in his own end zone and finding Britt for a 6 yard gain. I wondered while watching live why they weren't quicker to get on the ball, but I figured that they were planning to run once because the two minute warning was coming up. I was wrong.

Play 2- Incomplete pass to Scaife on the sideline. Looked like a play he should have made.

Play 3- Incomplete on a slant to Britt. The throw was a little low but in a good place because it was either going to be caught by Britt or no one.

Play 4- Maybe the best throw of the drive. Vince throws what looked to me like a stop fade to Britt. The DB never saw the ball coming. Britt made a heck of a play on it.

Play 5- This was the crazy tip ball that ended up in the arms of Scaife for a 19 yard gain. The Titans got a huge break here because balls that are tipped up like that rarely land in the arms of the offense.

Play 6- Lavelle Hawkins catches a 2 yard out. Not a big play but positive yardage and clock stoppage.

Play 7- Jared Cook makes an appearance with a nice catch and run of 12 yards.

Play 8- Incomplete intended for Nate Washington.

Play 9- Vince scrambles for 6 yards and gets out of bounds.

Play 10- Vince does a great job of getting away from the blitz and throwing the ball away.

Play 11- The second 4th down conversion on the drive in the form of VY to the Hawk for 13 yards and out of bounds.

Play 12- Complete to Scaife for 5 and out of bounds.

Play 13- Incomplete on a shot down the field to Washington.

Play 14- Cook makes his second play of the drive 17 yards and out of bounds.

Play 15- Incomplete on a miscommunication between VY and Scaife.

Play 16- Vince sacked, but not a terrible play because it was only a loss of 1 and the Titans still had 2 timeouts.

Play 17- Incomplete on a ball that Washington should have been able to come down with.

Play 18- Vince steps up like he is going to run while keeping his eyes down field and finds Britt in the back of the end zone for the game winner.

And there you have it. 5 in row in a season that continues to boggle the mind with the playoffs still being a possibility. It is really unbelievable to watch.

Site note: I understand people having a problem with the countdown to the draft remaining up on the front page, but the Titans haven't lost since I put it there. I refuse to have a loss on my head so it stays.

Arizona Cardinals Chat With The Enemy: Music City Miracles

Andrew602 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:10:53 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Vince Young has undoubtedly been the difference maker on offense and has led the Titans to a four-game win streak.

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We were recently able to talk with Jimmy, the lead blogger at Music City Miracles about the Tennessee Titans. We also answered 5 questions for their site, which you can view here Music City Miracles.

1 - The Titans are obviously on a roll after a really rough start to the season that included tough losses to some of the best teams in the AFC. Some have listed the quality of your opponents as one of the big reasons for the turnaround while others note the lack of turnovers from the offense. What is the biggest difference in your mind between the first six games and the past four?

It is hard to say what the biggest difference is. A lot of it has to do with the secondary getting healthy. The biggest concern for most Titans fans in the offseason was the lack of depth at corner, and in the first 5 games they lost both starting corners and their nickelback. All of those guys are back now.

Of course switching to Vince Young has provided a spark to the offense. He has played well and having him on the field opens some things up for Chris Johnson, but I would say that the defense was the bigger problem in the first 6 games.

2 - Chris Johnson is starting to challenge Adrian Peterson for the "best back in the league" title and it seems as that he can do just about anything with a football. After seeing him first hand for the past year and half, does he have a noticeable weakness that you'd attack if you were a defensive coordinator? Or is it simply about praying that he doesn't hurt you too much?

The only real knock on his is that he takes a lot of negative plays. Obviously his biggest asset is his speed, and sometimes he thinks he can pick up some yards running to the sideline if a defensive line gets some penetration. I am not sure that I would really call that a weakness, but it is the one thing that people point too when they are making the case for Peterson.

That really is about it. I would say defending him is all about keeping him from the 1 or 2 big runs he has been getting every week through this four game stretch especially.

3 - Vince Young seems to do just enough at QB to keep defenses honest and it seems as if they're tailoring the offense around him finally (options and option reads out of shotgun), but he still looks pretty raw as a passer. How do Titan's fans feel about his future with the team and how do you see him ultimately making his mark in this league?

We are starting to feel really good about his future with the team. A month ago pretty much every Titan fan thought VY would be on another team when 2010 kicked off, but he has played really well over these four games. He spent time in the film room really learning the offense and has been making great decisions.

As for his mark in the league, I would say it will be in an offense like he is running right now. He is never going to be the Manning/Brady type that shreds a defense from the pocket. He is at his best when he is throwing some from the pocket and making some plays with his legs.

4 - The Titans defense seems to have turned a corner during the recent win streak as well. To what do you attribute their improved play over the past four games?

The health of the secondary. Vincent Fuller, the Titans nickel back, went down in week 3. Pro Bowl corner Cortland Finnegan went down in week 4. That left the only remaining starter Nick Harper, and he is terrible. Both guys returned after the bye week, and the team has played a lot better.

5 - The general consensus at ROTB after watching last nights game is that the Cardinals must shut down Chris Johnson and the Titans run game in order to win. Regardless of how that's done (jumping out to an early lead or stacking the box), is Vince capable of winning a game right now if he has to truly shoulder the load?

That is the question we as Titans fans are all waiting to see the answer too. It is really impossible to tell because he hasn't had too at this point, but judging by the way he has handled the offense in his 4 starts I really think that he is. Hopefully we don't have to find that out.

Titans 20 Texans 17 Recap: Vince Young Reclaims Houston

Jimmy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:48:35 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Money! (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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That was a really fun game. The transformation this team has made since the Boston Massacre is really astounding. They are playing with a fire that they really didn't in weeks 4-6. I am not sure how much of that can be attributed to Vince Young, but it is safe to say that his enthusiastic style of play is rubbing off on the guys around him. It is fun to watch.

The Titans came out of the gate hot last night forcing Houston to go three and out on the first series. The third down play was especially sweet as the front four collapsed the pocket around Matt Schaub before Tony Brown brought him down for a sack. Chatt Town Tony Brown has made himself a lot of money this year playing so well outside the shadow of #92. It is amazing that the Titans brought him in basically off the street- another in a long line of success stories under Jim Washburn.

The Titans went three and out as well on their first possession after a Lavelle Hawkins! sighting would have given them a first down but was negated because of an illegal shift. Anyone else curious why we never see Hawk returning anything. I am pretty sure he returned at least kicks in college, and if he is going to be active the might as well find a way to use him. The third down call- screen to Bo Scaife- was horrendous.

The Texans would get the first score of the game after a terrible 34 yard punt from Brett Kern gave them great field position. The play that set up the score was a Schaub 15 yard completion to Andre Johnson with our secondary chasing him Reynaldo Hill style. The touchdown came on a little underhanded toss to Slaton.

After both teams traded punts the Titans would put together a 9 play 80 yard drive that was capped off by a 13 yard pass from VY to Kenny Britt. The play was a really good read by Vince because he had Chris Johnson short but waited for Britt to come open in the end zone. Britt also had a 16 yard catch on that drive. Britt is easily the best rookie receiver the Titans have ever had, and should stay on the field even when Justin Gage comes back from his injury, but of course we know that it is impossible for a player to lose their starting job to injury, unless they are named Vince Young.

The next score came from the Texans when AJ ran right past Nick Harper (SHOCKING!) for a 12-yard TD catch. That prompted a whole host of jokes involving Harper, a vacuum, and Andre's last name in the game thread. Let me take this opportunity to thank everyone that participated in the open game thread. I don't get to be in those nearly as much as I would like, and I had an absolute blast being there last night.

The Titans would answer once again with another long drive- 75 yards this time. That drive included another catch by Britt, a 36 yard run from CJ and the first of two plays on the night that made me run around my living room in celebration when VY faked the pitched to CJ and took the ball to the one. He had been setting that up for a couple of week now and executed it to perfection. The nearly forgotten LenDale White punched it in on the next play to tie the game.

The Titans had a nice drive going coming out of the half that was halted when, in the words of gramsey, Vince went Kerry Collins and fumbled running by himself. The Texans made a couple of big plays off the fumble but were unable to capitalize when Kris Brown missed a 49 yard field goal wide right. That was a huge play in the game because the Texans get a lot of momentum if he is able to hit that kick.

The Titans came back and got a field from Rob Bironas that was set up by a 12 yard run by Vince Young. I can't remember if that was the option read or not, but the option read they ran was a thing of beauty. The Texans defensive end crashed on the fake to CJ, Vince kept the ball and got a big gain. Again, it is amazing how well he is running this offense. He is obviously putting in the time to really understand what Dinger is wanting to do, and it is paying off.

The Texans got a field goal of their own after both safeties decided to watch Johnson run by himself. Maybe Johnson has really good running form and the guys in our secondary are just trying to learn from it. That play went for 49 yards to the Titans' 8 yard line, and to the defenses credit, they were able to hold forcing the field goal.

Bironas missed a 49 yard field goal on the Titans ensuing drive, and things didn't look good for the Titans. The Texans had been hitting big plays and had good field position, but the defense stepped up. Tony Brown got another sack that forced a third and long and AJ dropped a pass going across the middle. He was being defended by Keith Bulluck on that play, and as much as we all love Bulluck, that is a HUGE mismatch. That prompted Hal to ask me why we kept having linebackers covering Johnson. Excellent question.

After trading punts again the Titans had the ball at the Texans 6 with 2:52 to play. The first play was CJ for 3 yards, but the Titans got the phantom horse collar call. Yes, it was a bad call, but they owed us one from the non-call when Vince was tripped. We all know how it played out. My only problem with the last drive was we had 1st and 10 at the Texans 40 with 1:09 left- I understand they wanted to get closer, but they should have run the ball at least once. Best case scenario CJ breaks another one to get us even closer, and worst case scenario it gets stuffed and they are forced to use one of their timeouts. I love that there was never any doubt about the Bironas field goal from the moment it left his foot.

The same cannot be said for Kris Brown's field goal that never had a shot. I was scared when we gave the ball back to the Texans after the horrible pooch kick. They had good field position, :44 seconds and two timeouts. The announcers were quick to tell us that K. Brown had been hitting them from 80 in warm-ups. I have never understood how that is relevant. The Texans hit plays of 16 and 11 before attempting the kick. I probably would have taken one more shot had I been them to try and get it closer. They didn't, K. Brown kicked it a mile to the left and I once again ran around my living room.

Winning is so much more fun. That one was especially fun with all of the crap leading up to the game. Now on to Arizona.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Vince Young Is Our Quarterback Edition

August West — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:39:31 -0000

More photos » by Dave Einsel - AP

Andre Johnson spent all night finding Nick Harper because he needed some toast to go with his eggs and bacon.

Browse more photos »

This was my favorite quote in years (Full video at the end of this post):

Tafoya: For those people who still questioned, Vince, whether you could still play at this level in the NFL and be consistent, what's your answer to them?

VY: I love y'all too!

Paul K has these great tidbits as well:

When he was installed ahead of Kerry Collins following the Titans' 0-6 start, Young inherited a team with little more to lose. While the Texans seemed to feel the pressure as the moments that would decide the game arrived, the easy-going demeanor Young prides himself was still evident.

He put his arm around coach Jeff Fisher’s shoulder when he arrived at the sideline after failing to realize the 2:00 warning was upon the team in the first half. He patted an official on the backside after he was marked down, correctly, short of the goal line on one scamper. And he said he talked after the game amiably with Cushing, who was flagged for a late hit on Young out of bounds, telling his one-time USC rival that he should be defensive rookie of the year.

Newest VY fanboy: Paul Kuharsky... though, truth be told, if you're still hatin' on the man today then hating is something you were just born to do.

Last night might have been the most encouraging performance we've seen so far from Chris Johnson (and Mike Heimerdinger, in all honesty). Against one of the league's better run defenses, CJ was contained from breaking his signature huge plays yet managed to slash and grind his way to 151 yards while still averaging an elite 5.2 yards per carry. Getting it done in multiple was while never being stopped: just another reason CJ is the best back in the NFL right for 2010.

How far has Vince Young's passing progressed? Even Mike Florio, who got a good chunk of his NBC money for publicly hatin' on Vince, is giving the man some credit.

Follow us through the jump as the celebration continues....

This year, Nick Harper is the worst CB I've ever seen line-up in a Titans uniform, and I watched the entire Reynaldo Hill era. I watched Denard Walker too. This guy has lost it and that game would've been much less heart-attack inducing had Rod Hood started. I guess Fisher needs Bud to make that call for him as well?

Antonio Smith should have been ejected for elbowing Kevin Mawae in the kidney well away from the play last night. How friggin' stupid do you have to be to blatantly cheap-shot the president of the NFLPA? Also, how hilarious is it that the president of the player's union is getting called the dirtiest player in the league by some? How does that make one lick of sense? Are we to believe that Mawae is such a political and legal genius that players would vote for him despite being injured and hurt by him? Or are we to believe that the douchecanoe casting stones is just a petty, vindictive player who was a proven cheater on multiple occasions?

KSK knows why we won: Rob Bironas' Gunfingaz!

There still isn't a clear timetable of Justin Gage's return to the line-up. Kenny Britt has been great in Gage's absence, but getting Gage back would still be a big boost to the offense.

Looking at the AFC standing we have a long hill to climb to make a wildcard spot over the next 5 weeks, but there's one thing working greatly in our favor: the teams that are in front of are the Steelers (could be sans Big Ben for a while, already missing Troy), Broncos (slumping hard), Ravens (Flacco is regressing, D isn't what it was), Texans (can't close), the Jets (somehow Sanchez threw 2 INTs in last night's game) and the Dolphins (missing Ronnie Brown, but they're the one team in this cluster who are improving).

Send me links or don't send me links. I don't care today because WE'RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans Monday Night Football Preview

Jimmy — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:50:16 -0000

No doubt the Texans have put together some impressive numbers. The most impressive being the passing numbers. We have seen first hand how dangerous their passing attack can be. In my heart I believe that the Titans have fixed a lot of the problems they had early in the season, but no one really knows if that is true or not until they take the field tonight.

Obviously a lot of the talk this week has been about Nick Harper and if he is going to start or not. Harper has been bad, and I have to believe he will continue to be, but the bigger issue in the first meeting with the Texans was the play of the safeties. Hopefully Chuck Cecil has drilled into their heads that the run is not their responsibility. They may want to go ahead and key on that guy who is one of the top 5 receivers in the NFL.

Hal said to me earlier today that the Titans need to strip Steve Slaton early and get him off the field. I couldn't agree more, especially considering that the only NFL games of Slaton's that I have watched have been the three against the Titans. He was really good in 2 our of the 3. I would feel much better with Ryan Moats/Ankle Brown/Fumble Foster carrying the ball.

Offensively it is all about putting points on the board. Even with the Titans being better on defense than they were early in the season, I still think the Texans are going to get their points. That starts with Vince Young. He has played efficiently in his three starts, but he faces his biggest test tonight- not because the Texans defense is that much better than what he has faced but because of the tough spot any turnovers could put the team in. The good news is that VY has always played his best on the national stage. Add that to the fact that he is playing in front of the hometown crowd, and I think we will see big things from Vince tonight.

While Vince's play is huge, we all know where the bread of this offense is buttered- Chris Johnson. The Texans have actually been very good against the run the past month, and they weren't that bad against CJ the first time minus the two big TD runs, but those still count and that is the beauty of CJ. He can make a good game by a defense look bad on one or two runs. Here's to hoping tonight is another night like that.

One advantage I believe the Titans have that can't be quantified is that all the pressure in this game is on the Texans. This may not be the biggest game in franchise history, but it has to be close. They currently sit at 4 losses, only have 1 win against a team that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today, and still have games against the Colts and Patriots on their schedule. They really, really need this game.

The Titans on the other hand are pretty much out of it. They are just playing to be spoilers at this point, and if they look up in a month and are in the mix it is a bonus. No better team to start the spoiling with than the Texans!

GO TITANS!!