Titans 4-0 for the 1st Time in their History Beat Vikings 30-17

The Titan’s surprising start to the 2008 season continues.  They were picked for no better than 3rd in the AFC South before the season and along with the equally surprising Bills are the only undefeated AFC teams left, assuming the Ravens lose tonight to the Steelers.  The teams offense still needs some work but the receiving corps look much better with Kerry Collins at the helm.

I had predicted the Titans would win by 10 if they were able to force at least 3 turnovers.  They did me one better with 1 interception and 3 fumble recoveries which led to 21 points.  I  figured correctly that the Titans would have a marked coaching advantage and I was correct.  I’m still amazed at how Brad Childress has absolutely no clue how to use Adrian Peterson.  He had 18 carries for 80 yards yesterday and only his 28 yard touchdown run was a remote factor in the game.  The Vikings failed to go to him in either the rushing or passing game in any key spot.  I bet the Vikings would be 4-0 if they had the Titans coaching staff.  Both teams have very good lines and it showed yesterday.  The difference in the game was the turnovers.  I was impressed with the Vikings ability to protect Frerotte.  He had time to throw and was rarely harrassed.  The Titans protected Collins equally as well.  The Chris Johnson / Len Dale White vs Adrain Peterson contest was basically a draw with Peterson accumulating more yards while the Titans duo scored 3 touchdowns.

The Titans did what they needed to do to win.  The Special Teams unit has its best came of the year.  Chris Carr average 34.7 yards on kickoff returns and recently demoted linebacker, Ryan Fowler was a force on the coverage teams.

The Titan defense gave up some yards in the passing game mostly due to lots of single coverage by the corners as the Titans worked to neutralize Peterson.

Rob Bironas continues his All Pro kicking with long kickoffs and a 3 out of 3 day in the field goal department.

Albert Haynesworth clogged the middle up all day and had two more sacks.  The Titans were pretty much in control of this game from start to finish and controlled field position for most of the game.  The only controversy came on a roughing the passer call on Kyle Vanden Bosch that Gus Frerotte called a dirty play after the game.  I attended the game and didn’t have a clear view of the hit.  KVB denies it was a dirty play and that he hit Frerotte above the knees which is the rule. 

The Vikings did get a bad break on a questionable stop on a fourth down play by the Titans near the goal line.  It looked to me that Justin Gage never got close to where they marked the ball.  Brad Childress threw the challenge flag but the officials did not reverse the call or change the spot. 

Next up for the Titans are the Baltimore Ravens in Maryland.  The Titans are much more talented than the Ravens and should win this game especially since Baltimore is starting a rookie at QB.  However, this is the classic trap game and the Ravens have had the Titans number over the years.  Could the Titans go 5-0 out of the gate with the Chiefs up in two weeks? 

This defense may be the best one the Titans have had since they have been in Nashville.  That should keep them in most of the games all year.   They do need to improve on offense, especially in the second half.  This was another game where the offense moved the ball well in the first half and did nothing in the second half.  That is going to come back and bite them at some point this year.  They need a complete game effort on that side of the ball.  That being said, how can you complain about where they are now, 4-0 and outscoring their opponents 102 to 46. 

MusicCityMadness

LP Field is a great place to see a game and used to be a decided advantage as a home field.  That has been overrated in the last few years as the stadium takes its time filling up and the club level seats are rarely full until the second quarter.  It has improved this year as the team continues to win so we’ll see if it becomes the advantage it used to be back in the “old” days when the Titans won their first 13 games at the new stadium in 1999-2000.

Does anyone read the online newspapers?  If you want a laugh read the comments sections on some of the articles.  These people will snatch misery out of the jaws of happiness everytime.  ENJOY your team.  They are 4-0 and one of the best teams in the league.  Ripping your coach for kicking field goals and your offense when they are averaging 25 points a game doesn’t make sense.  The NFL isn’t college. You don’t win every game 50-0.  It is remarkable what some people complain about. 

Have a great week and see ya on Wednesday.

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Last post (s) by Victor Minicozzi

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