Titans defense leads the way

Posted by NBC Sports on October 19, 2010, 12:34 AM EDT

K. Britt4.jpgThe Jaguars may not have the horses to stick around in the AFC South, but Tennessee is here to stay because of its defense.

The Titans, not the Texans, are the biggest threat to Indianapolis in this division.  Tennessee beat Jacksonville 30-3 Monday night despite losing Vince Young early in the game to a knee injury.  Young’s sprain isn’t believed to be serious, although Kerry Collins showed he can steer the ship when asked.

The quarterback is almost secondary on this team.  Chris Johnson hasn’t been quite as explosive, but the 2010 Titans squad is better because their defense and special teams are much improved.  They have been great in the red zone on both sides of the ball.

Defensive line coach Jim Washburn has worked his magic again, turning journeymen Dave Ball and Jason Babin into sack machines.  Defensive tackle Jason Jones has played like an All Pro.  Rookie cornerback Alterraun Verner has been a revelation and the veteran safety duo of Chris Hope and Michael Griffin are making plays like they did in 2008.

This isn’t a perfect team, but they compete hard every week and have put together impressive results.  This was their second blowout victory, which is the true test of a quality team — not eking out close victories more based on luck. Tennessee beat the Giants on the road by 19 and won in Dallas.

The Texans defense is one of the very worst in the league.  They have no balance.  The Titans are better built to last and challenge the Colts to win the division all year.

No matter who is at quarterback.

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11 responses to “Titans defense leads the way”

  2. i think while the tennessee qbs dont get a lot of respect, they are not nearly as unimportant as you make them out to be. there is only one team in the league that can make that case and its pittsburgh.
    just looking at the game today, you can go to the first drive. vince converts a 3rd and long. kerry was able to convert several 3rd and shorts, as well as a 3rd and 12 on his first play in. so while theyre not going to be breaking any of dan marinos passing yards records, they are still asked to be smart with the football and convert some key 3rd downs to prolong drives. and theyve been able to do that with decent success this year.
    also, the comparison that they flashed of adrian peterson and chris johnson was pretty incredible. chris johnson had 1 more carry for identical yardage and 7 or 8 less fumbles, and a crapload more receptions.

  3. It was kinda rendered moot tonight when they held the Jags under 250 yards…but had a bit of a debate in the lunch room today at my widget factory…
    Titans D has been allowing a lot of yards, but not a lot of points.
    Does this mean they specialize in locking it down when it counts
    – or –
    Does this mean they are not as good as their scoring results would indicate, an anomaly that will ultimately course-correct??
    Unrelated…for you fantasy fiends out there…wasn’t the Titans D rated 20-something by the “experts” at a >3 letter network in the preseason?

  4. The Titans, when “on,” should be at least in the conversation as one of the best teams in the NFL. I get that this game was largely uncontested, but like you mentioned… we also blew out a good Giants team by 19 points, defeated a Dallas team that had it all on the line and in all likelihood probably should have beaten the Broncos.

  5. “This was their second blowout victory, which is the true test of a quality team — not eking out close victories more based on luck.”
    Are you serious Rosenthal? This sentence is crap. You are entitled to your opinion, but please label it as such when you jabber your thoughts down in these articles.
    Furthermore, if ‘blowout victories’ are your idea of a good football game and a good team then you are a horrible football fan. That kind of mentality is for bandwagon folks who don’t understand that ‘grinding it out’ isn’t about luck. It’s about skill, character, and composure; fighting until the last second even though you’re down by 2 scores and the announcers have already championed your opponent the victors.
    Your lack of objectivity is starting to piss me off.

  6. Titans did NOT blow out the Giants.
    The Giants outgained them 471 yards to 271. Giatns stupid penalties, turnovers, missed FGs, and dumb mistakes led to that loss.
    Don’t tell me the Titans made an accomplishment by beating Dallas. Dallas popped as many yards on them as the Giants did. As a matter of fact, over 500.
    It’s easy to say the Titans are a great team after watching that game last night but they went up against a team that did NOT show up. The Jaguars layed an egg. This is one heck of an inconsistent year in the NFL. Titans defense still has a long way to go and that offensive line is on the decline. 9-7 for Tennessee

  7. I’m a Jags fan and this certainly feels true. I think the offensive performance of last night was probably near the top of the Titan’s potential (Jags pass defense has to be the worst in the league) but their defense is legit. They’ll be able to run all over the Colts and can use a similar game plan the Jags did…expect the Titans are more talented and won’t need a 59 yarder to pull it off.

  8. Go Titans.
    I agree mostly with the article, but I wouldn’t go *quite* so far as “The quarterback is almost secondary on this team”.
    With VY and Kerry Collins, they are really strong at that position. VY starts out with a surgical 2 minute 6 play 80 yard drive with a TD pass to cap it off. Then after getting taken out with the knee twister, Kerry comes in and cleans up tacking on another 23 points. Zero turnovers. With those two guys, the Chris Johnson express in the backfield and an improving receiver corps this is a potent offense.

  9. It really doesn’t matter how many yards they give up between the 20’s as long as they lock it down in the red zone which they are one of the best in the NFL at doing this year.

  10. Titans did NOT blow out the Giants.
    The Giants outgained them 471 yards to 271. Giatns stupid penalties, turnovers, missed FGs, and dumb mistakes led to that loss.
    Don’t tell me the Titans made an accomplishment by beating Dallas. Dallas popped as many yards on them as the Giants did. As a matter of fact, over 500.
    It’s easy to say the Titans are a great team after watching that game last night but they went up against a team that did NOT show up. The Jaguars layed an egg. This is one heck of an inconsistent year in the NFL. Titans defense still has a long way to go and that offensive line is on the decline. 9-7 for Tennessee
    _________________________
    So let me get this straight. Because the giants and cowboys were able to outgain them in yards, it somehow diminishes the victory? I don’t understand your logic exactly. Blowouts are judged not by yardage, but by points. Tennessee beat the giants handily (by 19 points I believe). Any time you can beat a team essentially by a 3 touchdown margin, that’s a beatdown/blowout. As for the cowboys, they’re a talented team, as everyone knows. Also remember that both games were on the road. Quite frankly, I don’t care if the titans defense gave up 1000 yards to the giants. At the end of the day, they held the giants to 10 points. So while you can look at stats and say, gee, given this many yards, I would have expected the giants to win, that counts for nothing. Why don’t you go crown the chargers and broncos super bowl champs, I believe they are doing pretty well in the yardage category.

  11. Why on earth is CJ still running the ball with less than 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter when the Titans are up by 20?!?!?!
    (Yes, I do know they are trying to help him break Barry Sanders’ record. I’m just salty because that last minute 35 yard TD cost me a 6-0 record in fantasy.)

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