A titanic giant defense and an iceberg of an offense
By Nick Bishop
The Titans have quietly become giants in the AFC South. They are not gods yet, but the front office has proven they know how to put a team together. The strength of the club appears to the defense. Fans at LP Field have seen the damage they can do to other team’s supposedly potent offenses.
Jevon Kearse has resurrected his career. His production and his presence near the quarterback has a lot to do with the rest of the defensive line. Tony Brown and Albert Haynesworth can stop the run and get the quarterback and Kyle Vanden Bosch plays the other end spot and strikes fear in the pocket. This line is as good as any in the NFL, including the Minnesota Vikings.
That presence on the front line makes everyone look good. The secondary looks great with Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper shutting down receivers. If anybody wants to try a deep pass over the middle then Chris Hope is there to punish them. Kevin Bulluck and David Thornton hold down the middle of the field as linebackers.
This really is one amazing defensive unit. They really came together in 2007 after three miserable seasons and have proven that their dominance is not a fluke. This is the first step to an appearance on the Super Bowl schedule. The Pro Bowl performances by the defense will guarantee a postseason game or two, but they really need to have a competent offense to make it any further.
The NFL season is long, so maybe the team can figure out what it is doing when they have the ball. They looked like a bunch of elementary school kids with Vince Young as quarterback. He simply ran it while his teammates watched. With Kerry Collins at the helm the players are more of a team.
Justin Gage and Justin McCareins get to prove their doubters wrong every week with the veteran in charge. Still Titans tickets will see a lot of running. With LenDale White and Chris Johnson, nobody can blame Coach Jeff Fisher playing a conservative game in a modern era. White is a power runner and Johnson compliments him with pure blazing speed. Together they can punish the front seven of any team out there.
The Tennessee Titans defense is going to lead them for the next few seasons and the offense simply needs to catch up and find a working system to make sure that all those sacks, fumbles, and picks are not wasted.