There will be no 0-6 start this year, folks.
Led by impressive play on both sides of the football, the Tennessee Titans started their 2010 NFL season on a winning note as they whipped the still-mediocre Oakland Raiders 38-13.
On defense, Chuck Cecil’s troops accounted for four sacks while causing two Raider turnovers. Offensively, Vince Young was an efficient 13 of 17 for 154 yards and two touchdown passes, while CJ continued his dominance from last year with 142 rushing yards, including a 76-yard scoring scamper.
Additional thoughts on today’s dominating Titans’ win…after the jump.
Albert who?
Prior to today’s game, the possibility of the Titans reacquiring Albert Haynesworth dominated the headlines. If today’s Titan defensive performance is any indication, the team’s desire to bring back “Fat Albert” is more of a luxury than a need.
Continuing their solid play from the preseason, the Titans’ defensive line did a solid job of providing constant pressure on a seemingly helpless Jason Campbell. Riding the wave of momentum due to Jeff Fisher’s decision to play defense on the game’s opening possession, the Titans’ D-line was a force from the beginningto the competitive-end of the contest.
Sure, Haynesworth would make the DT position a better unit if he’s brought back to Nashville. However, there’s a part of me that would hate to see his re-arrival play a negative role on the current chemistry of a very prideful and talented Titans’ defensive tackle rotation.
The Vin-assaince continues
During the offseason, some questioned whether or not Vince could continue the strides he made during last year’s 8-2 finish into the 2010 campaign. After today’s performance, so far, so good is the perfect way to describe VY’s ability to answer the naysayers.
Besides a first-half fumble, Vince played nearly-flawless football, managing the game effectively while also connecting on a big-play touchdown pass to Nate Washington.
There’s still a long ways to go with a slate of opponents approaching who should be a lot tougher than Al Davis’s Raiduhs. However, today was definitely a step in the right direction in Vince’s journey to prove that he can continue his development into becoming a pretty good NFL quarterback.
Other random thoughts
-Speaking of getting this year off on the right note, some applause needs to be extended in the direction of Nate Washington, who provided some playmaking ability in the form of 3 catches for 88 yards, including the aforementioned 56-yard TD reception.
Hopefully, he’ll continue to overcome his career-long case of “the dropsies” as the season progresses.
-One thing that I’ve noticed about TE Craig Stevens: he’s quite a load when running after-the-catch. The guy just has a knack for continuing to move forward, even when he’s hit by opposing defenders.
-Continuing the TE theme, lo and behold, VY made sure his favorite target, fellow Texas alum Bo Scaife, was the recipient of one of the team’s two touchdown passes.
-I saw a lot of good things from last year’s embattled safety Michael Griffin. He led the team in tackles (10, 2 assists) while also doing a good job of playing the run and most importantly, defending the passwell instead of being on the wrong end of them.
-Javon Ringer showed that he’s more than capable of serving as the team’s lone RB outside of CJ, as he scored his first NFL touchdown while rushing for 33 yards on 5 carries.
I still would have loved to see LeGarrette Blount stick around, but Ringer once again provided us with an indication that he’s more than adequate depth behind Chris Johnson.
-He may not play the run well, but one has to be happy with Jacob Ford’s pass-rushing abilities, which were on full display on a sack of Jason Campbell that caused a fumble.
-Jason McCourty won the battle of the starting opposite of Cortland Finnegan sweepstakes and didn’t disappoint, despite the fact that he wasn’t tested facing a Oakland Raider passing attack that, due to their lack of protection up front, failed to get their vertical passing attack going.
Nonetheless, a nice performance by J-Mac.
Any thoughts on today’s Titan win? As always, feel free to contribute your thoughts below.
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