These are my AFC Rankings after a month of the season.  Some surprises.  Some teams at the bottom where they always are.  Have at them and let me know what you think!

 

 

1.                   Tennessee Titans

 

Along with the Buffalo Bills, the Titans have been the surprise of the AFC in the early going.  They are outscoring their opponents by 14 on average this season and have a top 5 defense.  Rookie Chris Johnson leads the AFC in rushing yards.  Cortland Finnegan leads the NFL with 4 interceptions and Michael Griffin is second with 3. 

 

2.                   Buffalo Bills             

 

It was a tough choice picking the Titans as number 1.  The Bills are probably 1A.  They have comparable stats in both offense and defense.  Trent Edwards has done a solid job at QB and Marshawn Lynch is taking a bigger role this year.  I like their defense but give the Titans a slight edge there.   They could move up to the number 1 spot next week.

 

3.                   Denver Broncos

 

The Broncos have the best passing offense in the AFC.  They are in the middle of the pack in rushing offense.  Their defense is ranked at the bottom of the NFL ahead of only the Rams and Lions.  They will have to improve greatly to keep their ranking in the AFC.  They have had luck on their side early in the season but that tends to even out as the year goes on. 

 

4.                   Pittsburgh Steelers

 

I expect the Steelers to fall in the rankings due to the injuries to all their running backs.  They have a strong and physical defense but if they are going to have to rely on Big Ben’s arm every week I think they are going to suffer some losses.

 

5.                   Baltimore Ravens

 

The jury is out on how good the Ravens are.  They should have won the game on Monday night.  A rookie quarterback and a suspect running game may cause them to drop in the standings.

 

6.                   San Diego Chargers

 

The Chargers should be the best team in the AFC.  Two words.  Norv Turner.

 

7.                   Jacksonville Jaguars

 

The Jags could easily be 0-4 but have found a way to get a last second victory in Indy and escaped with an OT win at home against the Texans.

 

8.                   New England Patriots

 

They still have Randy Moss and an overall solid team.  Will they be able to overcome the QB problem?

 

9.                   Indianapolis Colts

 

I feel like the Colts are getting old before my eyes.  A banged up and injured offensive line will due that too you.  However, they do have Peyton Manning so I expect them to rise up in the rankings.

10.                New York Jets

 

Did the real potential of the Jets offense under Favre show against Arizona or was it an anomaly?

 

11.                Miami Dolphins

 

I expected them to be at the bottom of the rankings but a strong win over the Pats and some confidence can go along way.

 

12.                Houston Texans

 

I expect the Texans to play much better.  They have been affected by the hurricane in Houston and almost pulled out a great victory in Jacksonville last week.

 

13.                Cleveland Browns

 

A quarterback change is needed.  Will they do it?  They have a bye and then the Giants, Skins, Jags, Baltimore, Denver, and Buffalo.  They could be 1-9.

 

14.                Kansas City Chiefs

 

The chiefs are coming of a surprising victory over Denver.  Larry Johnson wants the ball.  Give it to him!

 

15.                Oakland Raiders

 

Commitment to empty seats.  Another puppet coach in a long line of puppet coaches.  How do you get your players to respect you with Howard Hughes..I mean Al Davis looming over you every minute of the day?  I wanted to put them last but I couldn’t.  That goes to:

 

16.                Cincinnati Bengals

 

A battered Carson Palmer.  The last two signees for the Bengals were Chris Henry part five and now Cedric Benson.  Is 0-16 out of the question?  The Bengals moves make Matt Millen look like the executive of the year.

 

Lane Kiffin was fired this morning according to news sources.  The leading candidate to replace him appears to be the team’s offensive line coach, Tom Cable.  Owner Al Davis interviewed Offensive Coordinator, Greg Knapp and Special Consultant Paul Hackett in addition to Cable.

Check back later for a detailed report from Lee Tremblay!!

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.