Tennessee Titans: The Silver Lining Week 14
By Josh Gunnels
Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
This is the hardest Silver Lining to post to write yet. The Tennessee Titans came out strong in the first half and went up on the Colts 20-7 with impressive offensive play coupled with a defensive pick 6. A couple people tweeted that they had a bad feeling about it at half time, but I reserved hope and faith that the Titans could finish the job. I was wrong.
After unraveling in the second half and letting the Colts exercise their will over the Titans, it’s hard to find something good to write about. Yet, in an attempt to appease the eternal optimist, I am here to serve.
Defensive Front
The Tennessee Titans defense played another good game yesterday, but the defensive line played great. They came away from the game with 4 sacks, 9 hits on Luck, and caused an interception returned for a touchdown. This group is really coming along well and helping mask serious issues in the secondary. Every week that goes by like this, the Titans front office moves further away from an edge pass rusher with the first overall pick in 2013.
Kenny Britt
The Titans have been patient with Kenny Britt, and rightfully so. He has shown flashes of brilliance during his short career marred by off the field issues and injuries. During the Colts game Britt came away with 143 yards on 8 receptions. More important than the stat line however was that the 8 receptions came of 9 targets. Some of the catches Britt made during the game were catches only the elite wide outs in the league make. Britt being a big play maker and a go to guy will g a long way in helping young Jake Locker develop It was great to see Britt bounce back with focus and determination after last week. Now let’s see it again this Monday night.
Jake Locker vs. Andrew Luck
Okay. I know Jake Locker made two completely boneheaded throws that cost the Titans 10 points, but before you start screaming for a new quarterback, let’s compare Locker and Luck’s stats from the game.
Luck had 1 touchdown, 196 yards off 34 attempts, had a completion percentage of only 47%, and 2 interceptions.
Locker had 1 touchdown, 262 yards off 35 attempts, a completion percentage of 63%, and 2 interceptions.
There was no “junk time” or garbage stats to inflate these numbers. Andrew Luck made some great plays, but also missed wide open receivers, and made some poor decisions. Just like a rookie should. Jake Locker did the same. Luck did not come back to win this game for the Colts and engineer some amazing drive. If anything it was the Titans penalties, inability to stop the run, and poor offensive play that gave the Colts a win.
I know that stats aren’t everything and I’ll be the first to preach that as a backer of Locker. They also don’t show the will power and determination that Locker had pin balling off 7 Colts trying to get in the end zone at the end of a drive. Locker made mistakes, but he has also shown that he doesn’t make them twice, and can still be the quarterback of the Titans for years to come.
Hopefully next week the Titans can give us a win to write about!
Did you see any good in the Titans this weekend?
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