Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon were the TV announcers for the game. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard them do a game before and didn’t yesterday either. I do know they can’t be one of the top CBS teams. Did anyone hear them do the game? How bad were they?
Both quarterbacks were inaccurate to start the game. It didn’t take Kerry Collins long to get on track. I loved Jeff Fisher’s decision to go for it on fourth and one.
Matt Schaub never got on track, finishing the day with three interceptions and a lowly 27.8 passer rating. The Titans d-line harassed him all afternoon, with Haynesworth, KVB and Kearse getting a sack and three QB hits apiece.
A great pick by Griffin, his first of the day, and great field position for the Titans. It went for nought after a comedy of errors. A fumble by McCareins, missed tackle by Brown, penalties on Hope and Jones. Fortunately, the Titans dodged a bullet as Schaub remained inept and couldn’t get the ball in the end zone.
McCareins, by the way, had a good day otherwise. Justin Gage wasn’t missed that much and Brandon Jones also made a few plays.
Who said Collins can’t run?
White and Johnson were effective running the ball and the Texans began running it well too.
The secondary did a good job on Andre Johnson. To be completely objective, though, Johnson was open a few times and Schaub missed him.
The Texans’ most successful quarterback against the Titans has been Sage Rosenfels, who almost brought them from behind to win in relief a couple of times. I kept hoping the Titans wouldn’t knock Schaub out of the game.
Slaton is a good-looking back, well suited for the one cut and go style behind Alex Gibbs’ zone blocking system. He’s also a tough little guy to bring down. You have to wrap him up.
Tennessee’s offense bailed out the defense in the first half, a bit of a role reversal. The defense only gave up 12 points but way too many yards.
The defense played a lot better in the second half. They still gave up too many yards, but no scores. The red zone defense and fourth-down defense were great.
Eric King made some big plays in relief of Harper. It’s not hard to see why he’s the third corner on the depth chart. He’s versatile, too. He can play either side or in the slot.
For a while, I was thinking that the coverage units were playing better. Not so fast, Einstein. You just jinxed them. Right after thinking that, the Texans nearly broke a punt return, the Titans were penalized, and Houston was back in the red zone. They were still only 12 points behind and could win the game with a touchdown, successful onsides kick, and another score. I’m still of the opinion that the Titans will lose a game or two on special teams if Alan Lowry doesn’t get the problems corrected.
Drexel awarded game balls to Finnegan, White and Chris Johnson in his postgame recap. There were a lot of deserving players to choose from. I believe I’ll go with Albert Haynesworth and Collins, with honorable mention to Finnegan and KVB on defense. Big Al contributed five tackles, three of them for losses, one sack, three quarterback hits and a pass defensed. Collins did a good job managing the game after his interception and threw for 189 yards and a score, with a decent 74.0 passer rating. He also added a pair of first downs on 30 yards rushing.
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