The Titans Are On Top

Regardless of losing a week 1 game against the Jaguars that, in retrospect, the Titans should’ve won. Regardless of getting whipped by the Steelers this past Sunday, it happens, the Titans are tied for the #1 spot in the AFC South.

Did you think you would read that in July? The Titans are entering their bye week and are tied for first in the AFC South to a team that haven’t yet had the opportunity to beat. The Texans won’t know what hit them.

Let’s face it, the Titans have problems. They do.

WR

Star WR Kenny Britt will not be seen the rest of the season, which puts far too much pressure on Nate Washington. Washington can be a #1 wide receiver in this league but he can be even better when another receiver on the team can draw double coverage. Look for Washington to continue to get better the more that he plays with Hasselbeck, but Washington will not be as good as he would’ve been with Kenny Britt playing across the field. The possibility does exist that Donnie Avery makes a miracle comeback, which I would love to see. Avery really came along his rookie season and you hate to see a player have so much promise and then get injured like that.

Rent-A-Fullback

The Titans were apparently only worried about the short-term change at fullback. Why mess with what works, right? So, after the Quinn Johnson experiment ended, in comes Ahmard Hall–the proven veternan. The guy that doesn’t mind getting in CJ’s face to explain how to correctly run the play. You gotta like his moxy. Then the run game kept failing. Most everyone says that Hall needs more time to adjust back into the offense, but I want to remind you that Hall did play the pre-season. He knows what he’s doing and he is by no means doing bad.

The Offensive Line

Here’s where I take issue with performance. The interior hasn’t fared as well in the last two seasons. The miss Kevin Mawae, but in fairness to the team, Mawae was at the end, though he may have had one more season in him. I see all 3 interior spots as up for competition when the draft rolls around. Why not get the next great center, or guard? If you have seen the Jets play the last few weeks then no doubt you understand the importance of Center Nick Mangold to that offense. I’d place him ahead of every member of their offense. The difference was astounding to watch.

The Running Game

It’s pretty much covered in the last two topics, but it can’t go unmentioned that this aspect of the team absolutely has to improve. CJ will not be 2K this season, but he can at least be someone that defenses need to be aware of. They should improve throughout the season, but I would definitely calm expectations moving forward.

Safety

Here’s the problem. Babineaux looks good. So, who starts when Hope is healthy?

Most of the rest of the problems on the team will likely get better as the season wears on, such as: Akeem Ayers in coverage–he’s a rookie learning. The beautiful (not to sound too hippie) thing here is that despite these problems, the Titans are tied for the best record in the AFC South and very well could make the playoffs this season. Isn’t that worth getting excited about?

Besides, we all know Houston will collapse eventually.