Coaches Take on the Tape: HOW BOUT THEM TITANS!!!

MARIANI OUTSIDE MIDFIELD, AT THE 40 THE 30, 25, AND BUEHLER WILL GET HIM AT THE 20 YARD LINE BY THE FACEMASK!!! THE PENALTY TURNS OUT TO BE HUGE BY COLOMBO!!!  If you were like me as Mike Keith called the 73 yard kickoff return by rookie WR Marc Mariani you were jumping up and down screaming GO GO GO!!! and then clapping as the facemask penalty was called by referee Jeff Triplette.  That play defined Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys that showed the Titans a 4 way tie for first place in the AFC South (which is the first time since the league re-alignment).  The Titans opened the game to take a 10 point lead before Dallas finally punched a 51 yard field goal to show its first points of a game that would take on a back and fourth battle throughout the entirety of the second half.

After jumping to a 17-3 lead, late in the 2nd quarter Dallas would come back to score a last minute touchdown just before halftime and then drive down the field early in the 3rd quarter to tie the game.  A 52 yard pass from Young to Britt would set up a Rob Bironas field goal to put the game at 20-17, on the ensuing drive the Cowboys would tie the game up 20-20 with a long run from Runningback Felix Jones and two 15+ yard passes to Wideout Roy Williams and Miles Austin to set up a Buehler Field Goal.  After a Titans 3 and out the ball would be returned to Dallas only to be picked off by Rookie Cornerback Alterraun Verner and taken down to the 3 yard line where Titans Runningback Chris Johnson would punch it in to put the Titans up 27-20.  Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo would put together a long drive with help from a Stephen Tulloch unnecessary roughness penalty on Tight End Jason Witten, Witten who would later score a touchdown on a Dallas 4th and 2 would ultimately make the mistake of handing the ball to Cowboys Offensive Lineman Marc Colombo who after spiking the ball, fell to the ground and drew a 15 yard un-sportsman like conduct penalty that would setup the 73 yard kickoff return by Marc Mariani.  Chris Johnson would dive over the top for a 1yard touchdown to put the final points on the scoreboard and carry the Titans to a 34-27 win in a much needed road victory against a team that many “experts” claimed was too talented for our lowly Titans to beat.

Coaches Titansized Plays of Victory

There are almost too many big plays to list in this game, both on offense and defense plain and simple.  Vince’s 2 touchdown passes to Kenny Britt and Nate Washington, the 6 sacks by the defensive line, the 3 interceptions by Alterraun Verner, Michael Griffin and Stephen Tulloch, the 73 yard kickoff return, 2 rushing touchdowns by Chris Johnson along with his 29 yard and 42 yard runs, and last but not least the 52 yard pass to Kenny Britt that would set up 1 of the 2 field goals by Rob Bironas (the other setup by one of the long runs by CJ2k).

Coaches Titansized Players of the Game

Vince Young:  All I have to say is this and ya’ll can quote me on it *clears

throat* “WARREN SAPP CAN TAKE HIS FAT ASS FOR A LONG WALK OFF A SHORT CLIFF”  I speak for Vince on this quote and am merely stating what he cannot on camera.  The past 3 games against the Giants, Broncos and Cowboys Vince has thrown for 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions, I’m sorry let me state that again 4 TOUCHDOWNS AND 0 INTERCEPTIONS!!! Oh and to Donnie Moore over at EA Sports here’s what I have to say to you about your response to this conversation during a week 3 EA Sports Madden NFL 11 live chat (after the Titans had beaten the Giants):

Truetitans84: “Why isn’t Vince Young rated higher since his stats are up there/if not better then the top Quarterbacks in the League.  (insert a bunch of amazing stats that I had looked up including his ranking in the league etc etc)

Donnie Moore: “Did you see the Steelers game? He looked like the old Vince”

*Clears throat” If I do recall correctly the Vince of old was worthy of a 2008 Madden Cover and an overall of 87 that year.  So how does your response answer my question?  So once again Donnie “Douchebag” Moore, I ask you this, What’s your excuse for Vince Young not being rated higher in Madden, I’m sorry I meant, Why isn’t VY rated higher in Madden?  EA claims to produce the most AUTHENTIC NFL simulation game on the market yet your ratings (not just with the Titans) prove otherwise.  I also still want to know what qualifications you have to be in charge of such a large responsibility? I think whatever your qualifications are need to be checked and for lack of a better word are (insert cleverly used swear word for what one would leave in a toilet here)  ANYWHO!!! Back to the game : )

inVINCEable threw for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns along with 22 yards rushing during Sunday’s win.  So far this season Vince is tied for 4th with only 2 interceptions along with Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and ahead of Jay Cutler (3) Donovan McNabb (3) Kyle Orton (3) Philip Rivers (4) and Drew Brees (5) to name a few elite quarterbacks.  Vince’s 6 touchdowns only puts him at 16th among Quarterbacks, but his 95.1 QB Rating puts him at number 9 amongst QBs and ahead of players such as Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Schaub, and Joe Flacco to name a few.  This weeks match up against the Jaguars could be a close one with each opponent pushing to take a lead in the AFC South and are more then familiar with each others team.  Many are expecting the Titans to easily win this game but as I have learned long ago the Titans games that should be easy are usually close fought.  The Jaguars however are a team that rises and falls, you never know which team is going to show up.  I expect the Titans to test the passing waters early and once again use Vince’s arm to open up the ground game for Johnson.

Michael Griffin: *Sigh* Not that any of you could, but ask my father who I frequently talked about before the start of the 2007 season.  Yes, it was Michael Griffin, in fact my father even invested in a Griffin jersey (which I cant wear on game days unless I’m at the game or else we lose) for me because of my faith in the young product out of Texas.  Griffin recorded his 2nd interception of the season off a tipped pass by Stephen Tulloch on Sunday and also posted 3 tackles.  Griffin’s presence is definitely being felt on the field as opposing Quarterbacks threw to his opposite side risking throwing to pro bowl Cornerback Cortland Finnegan and pro bowl Safety Chris Hope.  Even though the Titans secondary allowed 400+ passing yards, the turnover battle and lack of points that they allow are what have allowed the Titans to break away in matches.  Griffin will have his hands full this week when he comes up to support the run and take down Jaguars Runningback Maurice Jones-Drew and covering the deep pass against speedy Wideout Mike Sims-Walker.  If Griffin can post a 3rd interception against the Jags and the Titans walk away with even a somewhat decent defensive effort, we could very well be hearing about how ruthless and hard charging the 2010 Titans defense is from all sorts of media.

Stephen Tulloch:  MY OH MY!!! has this man stepped up in a huge way or what.  Tully posted  13 combined tackles, 1 pass defensed

and 1 game stopping interception against Dallas.  He also posted his 3rd straight game with 10 or more tackles, I’m not sure if the pass defensed is the tipped pass he made to allow Safety Michael Griffin to get the Interception or not, but either way it was another big play indeed for the 5th year Linebacker out of North Carolina State, that many said couldn’t make a starting lineup based on his size (5’11  240lbs).  Tulloch takes over the Linebacking captain spot after the departure of 10 year Titans Linebacker Keith Bulluck (I know that most of you know this but to new readers who may not I am kinda required).  This week Tulloch truly has a chance to prove himself as a top Linebacker in the league as he and the Titans middle 3 have the task of shutting down Jaguars pro bowl Runningback Maurice Jones Drew, expect a lot of hard hitting and gang tackles by the Linebacking corps this Monday Night in Jacksonville.

Alterraun Verner: I don’t need to make a clever statement such as who? to those that even remotely follow the Luv Ya Blue nation.  Since day one Verner has come in and made his presence known by competing for the number 2 cornerback spot.  Verner recorded his 1st career interception off a tipped pass and so far this season has 30 combined tackles, 5 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has also been nominated for Pepsi’s Rookie of the Week award 2 weeks in a row.  Expect Verner to get plenty of playing time this week against the Jaguars as Jason McCourty will be out another game due to a broken forearm.

Well ya’ll, I could honestly go on for days about all the big things that happened against the Cowboys and what to expect during the Jaguars game, but so far this season when I make a prediction it ends up jinxing our team, so I am just going to keep my mouth tight about what ya’ll should see on Monday Night.  Tune in next week for another edition of Coaches Take on the Tape, same Titansized time, same Titansized channel.