After last week’s disappointing loss to the Jaguars, coupled with Baltimore’s dominating win over Pittsburgh, I wasn’t expecting much from the Titans as they hosted the Ratbirds.
The Titans played much better than expected and I saw plenty of encouraging things that bode well for the season.
The o-line didn’t run-block that well, not that you expected them to do much against Ngata, Cody and Suggs, but they were good in pass protection. Matt Hassselbeck didn’t face pressure the entire game. Craig Stevens should get some of the credit for that too, as he was used in pass protection at times.
The d-line was much better than last week, holding their own against the run this time. With the exception of the goal line stand last week, the Jags pushed them three yards backwards on just about every running play. I expected the Ratbirds, who have a much better line than the Jags, to push the Titans around as well. The return of Jason Jones and Derrick Morgan helped some. I’m not sure how much the loss of Ben Grubbs affected the Ratbirds.
The pass rush was also improved and I thought it was a big factor in the game. Joe Flacco was pressured and harassed for most of the afternoon and for the most part, wasn’t able to sit back in the pocket. It was good to see Morgan back and rookie Karl Klug making plays with two forced fumbles.
Some things I really liked:
The time of possession favored the Titans, 35:52 to 24:08, which was a complete 180 from last week and last year.
As you’d expect from that stat, the Titans ran a lot more plays from scrimmage, 71 to 49. Tennessee had 29 runs and 42 passes, compared to the Ratbirds’ 17 rushes and 32 passes.
I loved the 14-play, 6:32 drive at the end of the game. The Titans converted two third downs and a fourth down, all via the pass, to keep the drive alive.
Mike Munchak was aggressive a few times, opting to go for it twice on 4th and 1 plays. The first was on the Ratbird 10-yard line and resulted in the TD run by Javon Ringer. Not settling for a field goal, the Titans made a statement on that play. The second time was on the final drive, when Quinn Johnson moved the chains to keep the drive going and the clock running.
The Titans were 7 for 17 (41%) in third down efficiency and two for two on fourth down. The Ratbirds were held to 3 for 10 on third down.
After moving the ball and controlling the clock in the first half, but were only tied at halftime, I loved the way the Titans took control of the game in the second half and dictated to the Ratbirds.
As Tom mentioned in his recap, it’s a win to savor for 24 hours. That might be hard for me to do, as I’ll probably have a smile on my face for the rest of the week.
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