Lets be clear about this, despite the contractual wiggle room Florio has heard about in CJ's contract, Chris Johnson is not getting cut this year or next year. The concept of cutting a 26 year old running back who has been to every Pro Bowl that's been held since he was drafted, and who hasn't had a major injury, is pure idiocy. So lets squash this right here and right now: CJ will be a Titan for an absolute minimum of 3 years.
Paul K looks at Sunday's performance as a microcosm of this Titans team: one good half and one bad half is usually the recipe for a .500 team.
I look at the breakdowns on the last play as a microcosm of this season...
Robert Weintraub of FO makes a great observation on what the Bengals D did in the second half that stymied our offense:
After Matt Hasselbeck picked the blitz happy Bengals apart in the first thirty, Mike Zimmer got in their grills in the locker room, or so I imagine. Cincy went back to basics, sticking to four-man rushes, and dominated the Titans offense in the second half.
Jared Cook and Matt Hasselbeck were pretty upfront about their displeasure with the no-call that opened the door for Cook's fumble. There's certainly a case to be made that his forward progression had been stopped for long enough to end the play, but to the ref's credit Cook was still fighting forward and wasn't completely wrapped up. That will always delay the whistle.
Munchak thought about going for it on 4th and 1 in the final quarter yesterday, and I wish to hell he had.
After Sunday's performance, CJ's rushing pace has skyrocketed to a projected 732 by the end of the season.
Jamie Harper saw snaps at FB on Sunday after Ahmad Hall's back pain resurfaced. Harper had been practicing at the position all week while Hall sat out. I honestly didn't notice Harper outside of the one busted screen play that got Hasselbeck visibly riled up, but you have to wonder how much the stagnant run game in the second-half coincided with Harper's time at FB.
Well that's an unfortunate pic... pretty sure that's Dave Stewart.
Email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com and be sure to follow me @AugustWest_MCM