Good evening. We are going to try to blog this puppy at least until it gets out of hand. Marvin is inactive tonight. He is joined by Anthony Gonzalez, Ryan Diem, Raheem Brock, and Robert Mathis. The Titans are favored by five points. Peyton Manning and Joseph Addai probably won’t play more than a series or two.
First Quarter
1.) Nice kickoff coverage. Titans start with a big run. Looked like Hagler was held. DZ reminds me that there is no holding in the NFL. It has gone the way of the traveling call in hoops. Big third down conversion to Bo Scaife. Young easily beat a weak blitz by Gary Brackett. First and goal for the Titans. Chris Brown takes it in for the score. Almost a mirror image of last week’s opening drive by Houston. Man-handled.
2.) Poor return by Rushing. He looked indecisive, probably because the blocking wasn’t there. This could quickly turn into a laugher. Manning and the Colts open with a swing to Addai for 8 yards. Wayne for 3 yards and the first down. Bryan Fletcher gets rocked mercilessly and drops a short gain. Big completion of 18 yards to Reggie Wayne on third and 4. He already has 4 catches. He must be trying to get Reggie his 100 balls. Manning gets to 4,000 yards and Reggie Wayne fumbles after getting destroyed. Go out of bounds, pal. His third lost fumble of the season. Not good.
3.) The Colts are getting pushed around up front. They miss Raheem Brock. Ed Johnson misses a sure tackle, allowing the first down to Brown. Freddy Keiaho stuffs the ball carrier on first down. Young scrambles but is reined in for a short gain. Scrambles again, but can’t pick up the conversion. Nice defensive effort.
4.) Big gain for Addai. 14 yards. Ugoh neutralized Vanden Bosch and went seeking another guy to block. I love it. Albert Haynesworth is out for the moment. Fletcher gets nailed again after a short gain. Big third down coming up. Addai picks it up with it 8 yards. 100 catches for Wayne. Another drive ends very lamely, with the ball knocked harmlessly forward as Manning is throwing it. Titans lead 7-3, after AV bangs one home.
Second Quarter
5.) Wayne may have just set some kind of record. He has 10 catches and we are only 18 minutes into the game.
6.) Titans are driving again. They face 3rd and 6 and pick it easily. Big gainer to Gage. Terrible PI penalty on Marlin Jackson given that ball looked uncatchable by anyone other than Kareem Abdul Jabar or maybe Godzilla. Doesn’t matter because the Titans fumble the ball away on the next play.
7.) Manning and Addai are done. Aromashadu is called for a block in the back negating a big gain for Kenton Keith. He didn’t need the help. Reggie Wayne now leads the lead in receiving yards and has a dozen catches. This is getting silly. He leaves with a career high in catches. Now we’ll see if Sorgi can move the ball with absolute nobodies at WR. 3rd and 9 and they run a moronic play to Craphonso Thorpe. A one yard bubble screen. That made no sense. Smith punts and hefty Darrell Reid tracks down the return-man. Very nice.
8.) Titans have a huge third and 9 coming up, backed up against their own end zone. A pick six would come in handy right about now. So close! Colts blitz and Young skies one that a diving Giordano can’t come up with it. Tennessee punts the ball a mile and the Colts help out by comitting several egregious penalties. A 70 yard change in field position. That’s tough to pull off.
9.) Sorgi looks inept and his receivers aren’t much better as the Colts quickly go three and out. Peyton Manning shakes his head in disbelief from the sidelines. Al Michaels thinks the Browns fans must be frustrated right now. I would imagine they are because my team has nothing on the line and I’m not all that happy. Still, it is a very close game and VY hasn’t shown us much from the quarterback position.
10.) Hilarious completion to Justin Gage. It would have been an incomplete pass to Bo Scaife, but Giordano’s helmet skied the ball about 15 yards right to Gage. Unlucky as it gets, but pretty funny. Young is moving the ball. BOB SANDERS pops him square in the knee. Young didn’t see him because Josh Thomas was also giving chase. Titans use their last timeout with 59 seconds to play. Sanders proceeds to break up a deep ball to force a Titan punt. It was fourth and 15, but I hate the decision to punt from the Colts 41 yard line. I guess Jeff Fisher doesn’t believe in Young’s ability to make a big play. Weird. Titans lead 7 -3 at the half.
Third Quarter
11.) I kind of wish they’d put Manning back in the game and say screw it we want to keep the Titans out of the playoff. Nice opening return by Rushing to the 39. Sorgi comes out with Keith and Lawton on either side. They blitz the crap out of him for a sack and loss of 8. Horrific. He comes back with a 12 yard gain to Crap. Punt. That was bad. Sorry Cleveland. It’s time to start praying for Vince Young to play like Vince Young, if you haven’t already.
12.) It looks like Reggie Wayne’s early fumble will be the story of the game for the Colts and Browns. The good news is the Colts have stopped the run much better in the last two quarters. The scrubs are in, but the Titans fumble again. Clint Sessions knocks the ball out and Rocky Boiman is on the spot with the recovery.
13.) Sorgi needs a big strike. He doesn’t get it, but he does get a HUGE penalty for a late hit. From the original television angle it looked like an unnecessary shot. This is followed immediately by an illegal use of hands to the face call. The Colts are moving the ball without trying. Cleveland must have found religion. 2nd and Goal from the three after Bullock whiffs on Dawson. CRAP! I mean YES! Touchdown Craphonso Thorpe. 30 yard scoring drive. Colts lead 10-7.
14.) The Titans need a big return here because they haven’t moved the ball nearly well enough. HOLY WHAT THE! Darrel Reid has me talking nonsense because he just delivered the hit of the year. That was so funny and violent. Madden dubs it one of the biggest hits he’s ever seen. I’d say. 3rd and two and Young scrambles for a cloooose first down. He’s gimpy. Kerry Collins comes in. Titans are driving again. The Titans can’t run the ball. Discounting VY’s scrambles they are 21 carries for 64 yards. It is hilarious. Collins picks up a big third down. No pressure. DZ comments that this injury is the best thing to happen to the Titans. False start and delay of game penalties back to back. Not strong. The drive stalls as Charleston forces a low throw with good pressure on Kerry Collins. Colts 10 – Titans 10.
15.) That was a 13 play drive with only a field goal to show for it. The Colts excel at allowing long drives with little payoff. Occasionally you’ll get a touchdown, but more often the D will make a huge play along the way. A 14 yard gain to Aromashadu is negated by an illegal man downfield penalty. Huge swing. That could be a hidden play that helps decide this one.
Fourth Quarter
16.) The Colts haven’t conceded anything easily tonight to Tennessee. HUGE third and seven coming up for Sorgi and company. LUUUUUUKE. The fan favorite snags one of his shoestrings and takes it for 10 yards. Sorgi nearly throws a pick. He needs to get that ball closer to the sideline. But the bigger question is why aren’t they running? Terrible play-calling. Another errant pass, followed by another. Interesting to note that Tony Ugoh is still playing and playing well.
17.) Titans are pinned deep and still trying to run. This is getting funny. Two runs are stuffed which brings up a big 3rd and 6. SO CLOSE. Rushing nearly makes the play of the night, instead it is a game of exactly 6. Titans have 25 carries for 70 yards. Not getting it done. All their success is coming through the air, finding the sizeable holes in the zone. The LBs are playing great for the most part, but DZ correctly
notes that the blitz is failing miserably. The D looks somewhat gassed as the Titans are mounting their second best drive of the night. This has been a fun game to watch. I’m really impressed with the effort on D. Ed Johnson makes a great stop to force a third down. He grabbed Henry by the ankle. Awesome player. OOH. Nearly picked off. Fourth and 5 and Bironas comes on for a 54 yarder. Titans lead 13-10.
18.) Screw you, Bironas. I’m still mad about last December. I think we’d all like to see Jim Sorgi come in and bury these clowns and finish the AFC South Revenge Tour the right way. 7:33 to play. Rushing can’t handle the kickoff and the Colts start with bad field position. I hope he doesn’t screw us in the playoffs with a big mistake. What the —- is he doing? Why is Sorgi still trying to throw? He’s ruining a terrific effort by the rest of the team. Miserable effort.
19.) The good news is the Indy Defense will finish the season #1 in points allowed. I’m still angry about the offensive play-calling. Ridiculous. 3rd and 6 and the Colts allow an easy conversion. If there has been a weak point tonight it has been the pass defense. They haven’t had the necessary pressure from the front 4. Collins is just picking these guys apart. The Titans have run far more plays tonight, but still can’t get anything on the ground. It’s awesome to watch. They are now down to 2.6 yards per carry. I’ve never seen anything like it from a team that has everything to play for against a team who is playing for nothing much. 3rd and five. AND THEY RUN AGAIN AND STUFFED AGAIN. AMAZING. Titans lead 16-10.
20.) Kerry Collins has saved the Titans. He led them to two field goal drives to win the game (probably). Sorgi will have one last chance to redeem himself and save the AFC South Revenge Tour. He IS REALLY BAD. Really awful. What is going on? 3 and out and the Colts will go for it. Aromashadu drops the conversion. He double clutches it. That’s a flat-out drop, but Sorgi lacks the zip to be an NFL quarterback. His throws look like birthday balloons.
21.) Can you tell me why the Colts only ran the ball 9 times in this game? Only two times in the second half? They were averaging over 5 yards per carry. Madden is ripping Sorgi, deservedly. I’ve never been more angry about a meaningless game. The Colts D played like geniuses and the Browns deserve to be going to the playoffs. Tennessee is not nearly good enough.
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