Tennessee Titans are Winning Approval

Raise your hand if you expected the Tennessee Titans to be 7-0 halfway through the 2008 NFL season.Any takers? No? I didn’t think so.

After a nationally televised handling of the almighty Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football, the Titans deservedly sit atop the power rankings on every prominent sports website.
Make no mistake; I knew this team would be a contender and most likely end the season with a Wild Card playoff berth. But that was with a much-improved Vince Young at the helm, scampering around making plays with his feet and being smart with his arm. If you told me journeyman Kerry Collins was going to take over this team in the second week of the season and resurrect it from the depths of mediocrity, I might have checked you into an insane asylum.

But this guy has proven to be a veteran signal caller who limits mistakes. And the way the Titans roll with the football and play defense that is all you need. Collins completes on average just over 16 passes an outing and has yet to throw for more than 200 yards in a game this season.

But again, if you’ve bought into Jeff Fisher’s ideology that is all the guy taking snaps has to do to be successful. Remember Steve McNair? Take care of the football and play smash-mouth defense. The Titans are holding opponents to a league-best 12.4 points per game and are +8 in turnover margin which also ranks tops in the NFL.

Speaking of Jeff Fisher, I am going to go ahead and slap the “mastermind” label on his forehead, right above those sunglasses he never seems to pull off. I would put him up against that grandma-headband wearing, hooded guru that stalks the sidelines of Foxboro.

Beginning his career when the Titans were the Houston Oilers back in 1994, Fisher is the longest tenured coach in the NFL with 14 consecutive seasons under his belt. He and his squad made a Super Bowl appearance in 1999 after the infamous Music City Miracle. And then who can forget receiver Kevin Dyson reaching out for the goal line just to be tackled inches short of the game-tying score against the Rams?

But this pigskin genius is only 50 years old. If you are speaking in Joe Paterno years Fisher could be coaching for 30 more seasons! And there is not an inkling of doubt in my mind that he will capture an elusive Super Bowl ring. How many is anyone’s guess.

Earlier this week Collins was quoted saying, “Players love to play for this guy.” And if they don’t or fail to buy into his philosophy then he kindly shows them the door…ahem…Adam Jones! (Side Note: How good would that defense be with Pacman locking down opposing receivers?)

But I compare Fisher to a baseball manager I have the utmost respect for - Tony LaRussa. These two leaders are able to create winners out of nobodies. They find a way to make their team successful without the bazillion dollar contracts and superstars on the field.

Think about it, the biggest name on the Titans team is Vince Young and he’s watching from the sidelines. Let me think who else we have…LenDale White…the guy who was lost in Reggie Bush’s starlight at Southern Cal. And he isn’t even the starting back with rookie speedster Chris Johnson. You are probably saying Chris…who? Albert Haynesworth may be the biggest name they have and he’s a defensive lineman!

I would like to point out a pair of cover corners that deserve to be mentioned while we’re talking Tennessee personnel - Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper. These guys were just begging to be thrown at on Monday evening and when their number was challenged, they responded. Pass breakups, incompletions and dropped passes were the only numbers Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison saw on the stat sheet.

I’ve watched this team closely on defense and it seems like every single man knows his role and how to execute it. And defense wins championships. The offense is beginning to come around, but does it really need to? They’ve mustered 34 and 31 points in the last couple of games but don’t expect that scoring surge to continue. But it is apparent that if the Titans need to open up the passing game because teams are stacking against the run they can. Receiving space over the middle to a couple of great tight ends in Bo Scaife and Alge Crumpler is parting open like Moses through the Red Sea.

Now don’t go expecting a 16-0 regular season from this squad like we did with the Pats last year. They just don’t have the offensive firepower to do that. When they play teams that are like-minded, love to slow the game down and run the ball, Tennessee will find themselves in the losing column for the first time.

And the Titans haven't just been pleasing their fans this season either. A collection of followers scattered across the country have taken notice to not only their wins on Sunday but the team's winning margins.

Tennessee has not failed to cover a single spread this year, going 7-0 against the number. They are putting lots of cash in the pockets of those fortunate enough to bet on them week in and week out. But eventually the odds will stack high enough and the oddsmakers will adjust high enough to make the cash cow sour.

Regardless of who they are pleasing in Sin City, the Titans are in complete control of the AFC South with a four-game lead over the Colts, Jaguars and Texans who all sit at 3-4. Remember however, Fisher and the boys went 6-2 to jumpstart last season and then went on to lose four of their next five.

This was penned by Scott Cooley, a freelance writer.