A Long Way From Lambeau
Crash Of The Titans
by Mark Lyne-Austen
15/10/2009
Tennessee is in trouble. The Titans were not expected to match their AFC best 13-3 record from last season but to be 0-5 is a remarkable decline. Next up on the schedule are the New England Patriots and the top ranked team in the conference last season could be looking at an 0-6 record heading into the bye week. It does not get much easier after the break and the turnaround from championship contenders could realistically be a dip from 13-3 to a 3-13 record this term.
The Titans have gone from being a powerful and effective franchise into also rans so quickly that it shows how small the margins are between success and utter failure. So far this season Tennessee has only once kept an opponent below 24 points and that was in Week 1 against a Pittsburgh Steelers side that has offensive troubles of their own.
The easiest fingers to point would be at the losses of the team's marquee player in Defensive Tackle Albert Haynesworth and defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. It is not a bad suggestion to look at the star player and the head of the key unit in the team's success last season as being the reasons for that success but it is never that simple. Current defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil might well be a step down in quality from Schwartz but having been on the staff since the 2001 season it would be incredibly poor management for Cecil not to have a solid grounding in Titans football.
Tennessee's strength in 2008 was the defensive line. Albert Haynesworth was rightly the star attraction but the unit as a whole was a threat to opposing offenses. Even with Haynesworth out in 2008's AFC No 1 seed decider against the Steelers the Titans defensive line was the dominant unit. The foundation of their play was based on the four guys up front being able to stuff the run and pressure the passer meaning that the remaining seven could protect a lot of space. It is very popular to blitz but it is much better to not need to bring extra men to stop the play at the point of attack.
This year that unit is not doing the same job it was in 2008 but it is still one of the most difficult teams to run on. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars so far have defeated the rush defense of the Titans this season. What has changed is the inability to stop the pass. Chuck Cecil is a defensive back by trade and carried that profession on into the Titans coaching ranks but the only quarterback so far not to throw for 300+ yards on his defense is Mark Sanchez.
Some teams dip because of injury but that is not the case here. Aside from cornerback Cortland Finnegan there were no injuries of great significance in the run to 5 losses. While Finnegan was a pro bowler last season his absence cannot be the reason for the slump as he has still played in 3 of the 5 games so far. However, the depth at defensive back is terrible. Behind starting corners Finnegan and the also hurt Nick Harper are a whole raft of rookies. A 3rd rounder and a 6th rounder this year are having to step up and compete against some of the best pass catchers in the NFL.
A team built around great D has a glaring weakness in it's depth on the perimeter and in the first 5 games of the season there have been some truly oustanding aerial offenses to face – Indianapolis and Peyton Manning is only the latest of a stretch that has included Kurt Warner's Arizona and Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson of Houston. Still, the Titans have not been all that far off in most of their matches but on current trend it is only going to get worse.
Nick Harper's broken arm exposes the paper thin depth at CB and this is not a squad that is built to compete in a shoot-out. The offense depends on a powerful defensive display but the rushing attack has not been quite as effective this term. Star man on the offensive side of the ball Chris Johnson has had a mixed bag of games but the 197 yards against the Houston Texans was a monster performance but was highlighted by huge plays rather than consistent production. With the defense vulnerable, opponents can afford to take slightly more risks to stop the run and force the Titans into a style that does not suit and has led to too many turnovers.
The call among many Titans fans is for the insertion of Vince Young. This is a knee-jerk reaction as the source of the problem lies elsewhere but in this case the knees are rightly fidgeting. Vince Young is not going to fix the defensive issues and is less likely than Kerry Collins to break plays in the passing game but what he can do is add another dimension with the ball on the ground. Young is big and fast but more importantly he is a dynamic runner who will offer a second credible threat to go far with each rush. The Wildcat may have turned heads around the NFL but the reason it works in Miami is that the two featured backs are both fast and with great vision. Chris Johnson is lightning fast but a poor pass blocker. Vince Young is big and quick but not the greatest passer. The Titans can no longer rely on their once awesome D and now it is time to re-energise their next best weapon and make other teams fear their running attack.
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