2nd Quarter

-Kerry Collins had all day to throw on the first play of the quarter.  He ended up wisely throwing away

-Great play call by Dinger on 3rd and 2 to send everyone left except for Collins and Bo Scaife.  Scaife made a great play to get into the end zone

-The Titans defense got toasted on the tight end screen that started the next drive.  No one was home on the back side of the defense

-Albert Haynesworth jumps offsides a lot

-Nick Harper made a fantastic play to knock the ball away from Andre Johnson in the end zone

-Matt Schaub made a great throw to Owen Daniels to get the ball in a tiny window between Harper and David Thornton

-William Hayes lost the backside contain and allowed Schaub to pick up a big gain on the bootleg

-Jevon Kearse did a great job of keeping that contain on the next play

-The Titans defense just opened up and let Steve Slaton run in for the 6-yard TD run.  That was the point where we were starting to get a little worried about the D, but they made the proper adjustments

-Another great throw on time by Collins to Justin McCareins to start the next drive

-I love watching The Round Mound run over people

-The throw to McCareins wasn't even close to being a catch.  Great job by Collins to get the Titans to the line and run a play before Kubiak got a chance to see it again.  Fisher said on his show last night they have a play called for just that situation.

-The Titans got another break on the TD run.  He might have extended the ball over the goal line, but it was really close

-The Titans did the worst job of tackling so far this season in this game.  They better get that fixed before AP comes to town

-Great hit by Michael Griffin to knock Johnson out of bounds on 3rd down on the next drive

-I would have liked to see the Titans take a shot down the field on the drive that started at 2:08, but that isn't Fisher's style.  Plus it looks like he is just waiting for Crazy Legs to break one in those situations 

-Mario Williams made his one play of the day on this drive when he knocked the ball out of Collins's hands

Halftime Titans 21 Texans 12

Continue reading this post »

-Great first series by the defense

-Obviously a bad first throw by Collins, but he did make a nice tackle

-The Titans caught a big break when Andre Johnson let that pass go through his hands in the end zone on 2nd down

-Albert Haynesworth own Matt Schaub

-Huge for the defense to hold to a field goal there

-Brandon Jones made a great move to pick up the first down on third and 2.  I was very critical of Jones before the season started, but he has played well so far

-What about Collins running for 12 yards on the bootleg?

-Collins made a great throw in a small window to B. Jones

-Nice to see Chris Davis making a big catch.  I know that play gave the Texans flashbacks of the throw to Roydell Williams from Collins in Houston last season.  Collins throw that route really well

-I wish they would have shown a replay of the throw to Alge Crumpler in the end zone.  It wouldn't have counted anyway because of the penalty, but I just wanted to see if he did catch it

-Great call by Jeff Fisher to go for it on 4th and 1.  It helps when you have a back like The Round Mound to pound people

-Michael Griffin is a stud

-Bo Scaife almost made an incredible catch on the play where "Super Mario" Williams was offsides.  A good throw there would have been a big gain.  Also, Mario isn't so "Super" when facing Michael Roos

-Justin McCareins has to hang on to the ball there.  I am not impressed with McCareins to this point

-A few things about the 50 yard run for Slaton

1. Tony Brown had a good shot to bring him down in the backfield but got tackled himself
2. Keith Bulluck was held like a champ on the play
3. I am not sure a horse collar should have been called there because Hope did have his hand around the front side

-The defense stood up deep in their own territory again

-Collins missed McCareins on what would have been a touchdown on the first play following the field goal

-I can't believe the Texans didn't respect the ability of Collins to beat them with his legs

End of the first quarter Titans 7 Texans 6

I want to start by saying thank you to August West for picking up a lot of writing while I have been out.  We are finally back home, so the writing on the site should be back to normal.  Here are my thoughts on the game:

1^st Quarter

-It was good to see Chris Hope make a good play early in the game after what happened to him in Cincinnati last season

-Why can't we find anyone to return punts or kicks?

-Note Kerry Collins career TDs 174 to INTs 172

-Mawae should have blocked Rivers on that first play instead of the inside backer

-Big whiff by Amano on the 2^nd play

-Jail break on the 3^rd play. Bad first series for the offensive line- you don't see that very often

-The defense scared me a little early, but they ended up playing very well

-The defense forced 2 fumbles on the second drive but weren't able to recover either

-I love the look with KVB standing up and playing linebacker

-Hope was all over the field early in the game

-Collins makes very quick decisions

-The D line was a little excited in this game

-Chris Perry made a really nice catch on the swing pass from Palmer, of course the Titans were all over it

-Why in the world did the Bengals run into Carr when he called the fair catch?

-The Round Mound is still running it hard

-Gage had a big drop right at the end of the first quarter

End of 1^st Quarter

2^nd Quarter

-Brandon Jones learned how to catch. Great throw by Collins on time

-The throw to Bo Scaife was dangerous, but I think it would have worked if he didn't get tripped

-Great push by the O line plus Ahmard Hall on The Round Mound's TD plunge

-I love it when the other team runs on first and second down and ends up with 3^rd and 13

-The Titans got really lucky to get the ball back on the Collins fumble. It takes Collins a long time to wind up and throw when he is trying to go deep

-Alan Lowry better be putting in some extra time this week after his unit got a punt partially blocked for the 2^nd straight week

-Chad Johnson's catch with 7:45 left in the 2^nd quarter was the first catch by either he or Housh

-Ryan Fowler had some big plays in this game. He is an unsung hero against the run

-Johnson turned around our boy Finnegan

-The Titans defense looked pretty bad on the Bengals TD drive that covered 63 yards in 11 plays. Glad to see they made the necessary adjustments afterwards

-It is great that the Titans have a guy like Chris Johnson who can break a play even when Fisher is being conservative It would have been nice to see him get out of bounds there, stopping the clock, and not get thrown to the ground

-Nice throw by Collins and move by 12 Gage to get the TD

-Finnegan looked bad on the 2 screen plays right before the half. Did you notice who made the tackle 36 yards down the field on the second one? That's right, KVB

Halftime

Second half after the jump

Continue reading this post »

-Nice open field tackling on the first play of the 4th quarter on the pass to Mauric Jones-Drew

-Albert Haynesworth pretty much ate David Garrard on 3rd down.  He said on the radio Tuesday that is the play he got the concussion on

-Chris Carr called a fair catch for no reason.  I don't think he is the answer to the Titans special teams woes

-An appearance by Alge Crumpler.  Not sure why the Titans didn't look to go to him more

-Finally a 3rd down conversion with just under 12 minutes left in the game

-Justin McCareins did a good job of creating separation with the push off.

-The drive ends with yet another miscommunication between the receivers and Vince Young

-Nice to see Jevon Kearse down the field making a tackle on the pass to Fred Taylor

-Cortland Finnegan's 2nd pick was another great example of him just cutting off the route of the receiver

-Now we have the meltdown:

1. Great play by Derrick Harvey
2. The announcer said VY should have put air under the ball.  If he does it is a pick 6
3. It was enormous for the Titans D to get a sack on the first play after the turnover
4. I absolutely hate to see VY over there with his head in his hands....Get it together and get up and cheer on your defense

-HUGE 3 and out by the defense following the pick.  Too bad VY didn't see any of it

-The Titans got a huge break by the ball barely creeping into the end zone for a touchback on the punt

-Glad that CJ was just laying on the field because of cramps

-Bo Scaife made plays all day long

-White has to catch the ball on the play VY got hurt

-Dinger's call to throw the TE screen on 3rd and 15 was nothing short of genius

-It was great to see a receiver catch the ball on 3rd and 6 on a nice throw by Kerry Collins

-The Round Mound punches it in to more or less seal the game

-Terrible kick coverage once again

-The roughing the passer call on KVB gives them 1st and goal from the 9.  They get nothing!!

-A bit of a break on the high throw on 3rd down

-Terrible onsides kick attempt

-The Titans need to be able to ice the game when they have a 3rd and 1

-Nice coverage to force the sack on the final play of the game with a 3 man rush 

-Solid run by Chris Johnson to start the half.  Huge hole created by the offensive line

-Justin McCareins created some separatino and the ball was poorly thrown.  Also on the play, McCareins still has to catch it, and it was pass intereference.

-On the first third down of the half Vince Young had a chance to run and make a play but dumped it to Bo Scaife instead

-Heck of a play by Cortland Finnegan on his first pick to simply take the ball away from Troy Williamson.  He had great position in single coverage on a well thrown ball

-LenDale White doesn't look as good running the ball as CJ, but he ran the ball effectively

-VY had CJ open for what could have been a big play on 3rd and 3 and just missed him.  Pretty amazing the Titans won a game where they didn't convert a 3rd down in the first 3 quarters

-The Titans got lucky that the Hentrich punt was only partially blocked.  Special teams coach Alan Lowry has some work to do this week

-Matt Jones actually looked like an NFL receiver in this game

-The Titans did a great defensive job on Michael Griffin's sack.  The announcers said the play didn't work because Lewis fell down, but the Titans were just all over it

-The missed field goal really could have gone either way.  I think they made the right call, but it doesn't get any closer than that

-Vince took off for the first time with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.  He cannot be effective playing like that

-Not sure why we can the ball on 3rd and 5

-Nice tackle by Craig Hentrich.  Bad coverage again

-Nice to see the defensive tackles get a sack without Albert Haynesworth being on the field

End of the 3rd Quarter Titans 10 Jags 7

-I didn't realize the Jaguars were down to their last offensive lineman at the beginning of the 2nd quarter.

-LenDale White might look slow compared to Chris Johnson, but he runs the ball hard.

-I would like to see the Titans throw the ball on 2nd and 18 instead of running it and setting up 3rd and long.

-Terrible throw by Vince Young.  I have no idea how he didn't see the safety standing there. 

-Why was the ball moved to the 5 after the pick?  The runner was clearly down on the 8.

-Still not sure how they didn't give Maurice Jones-Drew the touchdown on the 2nd down play.

-Chris Carr hasn't really showed me anything.

-Justin McCareins looked to lose his footing on the long ball that was thrown his way.  It was still thrown a little far, but McCareins might have had a chance to get it if the didn't stumble.

-So much for CJ being a straight-line runner that can't make people miss.

-Nice play by VY on 3rd and 8 to keep the play alive.  Justin Gage has got to come up with that ball.

-Terrible coverage on the following punt.  It is amazing that the defense only gave up 10 points with the Jags starting field position.

-Great play by Michael Griffin and Vincent Fuller to stop the screen to Matt Jones.  This was the play that Griff hurt his shoulder on, but he was able to return wearing a brace.

-Nice job of pursuit by Tony Brown and Jevon Kearse to keep Garrard from getting to the corner.

-CJ was so close to going 75 yards to the house.  Nice shoe string tackle by Reggie Nelson.

-VY made a pretty good throw to Bo Scaife.  It would have been nice if he woud have thrown it a bit shorter so Scaife could turn up field.

-The Titans have a back that can make plays on the screen.  That is awesome.

-Great catch and balance by CJ on the TD. 

-Good play call by the Jags on the big play to Matt Jones to get him against Bullcuk in the middle of the field.

-Finnegan was all over Jones all day long.

-What can you say about Kyle Vanden Bosch?  Not only does he get the sack and force the fumble, but he goes ahead and recovers it himself.

-VY had Gage on the ensuing drive and just missed him.  That one was VY's fault not Gage's.

Halftime Titans 10 Jaguars 7

In case you forgot, the Titans did play a game on Sunday, and they even won.  Here are some observations from the 1st quarter:

-The coverage on the opening kickoff was terrible.  In fact, kick coverage was terrible all day long.  Paul Williams, who has outside contain, just ran right past Witherspoon.

-Tony Brown set the tone on the first play of the game when he gobbled up Fred Taylor in the backfield.

-Someone said in the game thread yesterday that David Garrard reminded them of McNair.  He showed that on the 2nd play by shaking off Brown, but luckily Albert Haynesworth was waiting for him on the other side.

-Interesting that as Vince Young came out on the field to start the game the announcers were tlaking about his improved maturity.

-Chris Johnson is good x2.

-Good read and good throw on the first passing play of the day that ended up being a pass interference call.  McCareins would have been right where the ball was had he not been tackled.

-VY has to protect he ball better when he is stepping up in the pocket.

-I don't know about you, but I get this rush of excitement every time CJ touches the ball.

-I hate 3rd down completions that don't get the first down.

-It was good to see Rob Bironas nail the 47-yard field goal after not kicking in the preseason.

-Ian Eagle called the Titans a swarming defense.  I think that is a great description/

-Garrard spent a lot of the day on his butt.

-David Tornton looks poised to have another good season.  He made a great play to bring Maurice Jones-Drew down on the draw.

-The Titans are pretty lucky that Haynesworth didn't get called for a penalty on the last play of the Jags 2nd drive.  Garrard did some acting, but usually the ref will throw the flag there.

-It is amazing how slow LenDale White looks when he takes the handoff after watching CJ.

-Again, a 3rd down route short of the sticks.  Brandon Jones has got to get deeper on that route.

-I loved the cut away from CBS to talk about how the Jags were ready to make a Super Bowl run.

-Another nice play by Thornton to stop Fred Taylor for a loss.

-Cortland Finnegan had a rare miss on the pass out to Mercedes Lewis.  I think we can forgive him for that however.

-No surprise that the Jags went for it on 4th and inches and got it.  Tough to stop a guy as big as Garrard in that situation.

-MJD showed what he can do when he gets the ball to the 2nd level.  The Titans did a great job of not letting him do that for the most part on Sunday.

-It was really too bad to see the Garrard McNair like play get called back because of the illegal formation.  It was impressive none the less.

-The Jags really killed themselves at the end of the 1st quarter with back to back penalties on big plays.

End of the 1st Quarter Titans 3 Jaguars 0

-Ahmard Hall let the ball goes right through his hands on the first play of the quarter.  He probably wouldn't have gotten much even if he caught it.

-There was absolutely nothing there on the 3rd down play.  That is what happens when you don't have a receiver that can make a play.

-Again, one of the best defenses in the league against a team full of subs just ins't fair.

-The offensive line struggled picking up the blitz again on the first play of the next drive.  They need to figure that out before the Jaguars come to town.

-McCareins has to run his route deeper on third down.  There is never a reason to cut your route off like that on third down.

-Finnegan plays with a lot of fire in case you didn't already know that.

-It was good to see The Freak get another sack and force a fumble.

-The Packers came with a corner blitz and Blackman was able to knock the ball away.  If VY would have pumped that he could have had a big throw to CJ.

-I was surprised to see Fisher show a fake punt in the preseason, but it was really well excuted.  Fuller mad the punt returner look silly.

-The kickoff return team better start wrapping up before MJD comes to town.

-It was good see Jacob Ford make a play.  The Titans are going to need him to contribute.

-If VY can lead Alge he might have a chance to score on the play he gets hurt.

-The offense stalled out again in the red zone.  It looked again like there was absolutely no one open.  VY might have had a running lane to the left.

-Gage made a good play to hold on to that slant.

-A bit of a cheap shot by Williams there when VY was obviously heading out of bounds.

-Catch the ball Bo Scaife.

-I just hope that someone can get open in the red zone when they start game planning.

1st Quarter

- The first play was obviously terrible.  Harper and Griffin both went for the pick instead of the receiver.  Hopefully that will be the last time that happens this season.

-LenDale has run the ball hard all preseason.  The combination of running backs is going to be fun to watch this season.

-The throw Vince Young made to McCareins was perfect.  He was rolling out, but he stopped and stepped into the throw instead of throwing on the run.

-VY had B. Jones on the next play but missed him.

-VY did a great job on the scramble to get the first down.  He pulled it down when he needed too, and then made good cuts, got the first down and got out of bounds.

-I hate when they get inside the 10 and call running plays on first and second down.  It is really hard to pass on obvious passing downs inside the 10.  Take that shot at a pass when they aren't expecting it.  VY didn't really have anywhere to go on the 3rd down play.

- The Titans defense just ate up the Packers 2s on the second drive.

-The throw to Gage on first down wasn't a bad throw.  He put the ball up there in 1 on 1 coverage and gave the receiver a chance to make the throw.  He didn't.

-The next throw was a slant thrown behind McCareins.  That was a bad read.  If he would have thrown the ball in front of McCareins it probably would have gotten picked.

-Stephen Tulloch just keeps making plays.

-B. Jones did a nice job returning punts.  He caught the ball and got upfield.

-The Packers were all over that play action/roll out/ throw to the tight end that flashes in front of the QB.

-Another great job by VY of recognizing his lane to run and getting up the field.

-The almost play to Alge on the sideline was actually pretty impressive though it didn't end up couting for anything.  VY made a nice throw with a guy on him, and Alge made a nice snag.

-The Titans did a nice job picking up the blitz on the 4th down that ended up with pass interference getting called against the Packers.  Another nice throw by VY to give the receiver a chance to make the play. 

-CJ tried to dance around on the opening kickoff.  You can't do that in the NFL.

-The overthrow on the first play was a result of the pressure

-The offensive line got blown of the ball on the second play.

-The 3^rd down play was a glimpse into what we are going to see from CJ.  He took a pass short pass and turned it into a pretty good gain.

-CJ showed some toughness on the second run.  There was no hole.

-Nice designed roll out on the next play that was a completion to Bo Scaife.  VY throws the ball a lot better in that situation.

-Justin Gage made a nice catch and run on the first for 327 out routes.  The ball wasn't thrown perfectly, but it was good enough.

-Next play was a run that got blown up on a corner blitz.

-Justin McCareins slipped on the next play.  That ball is a completion if he doesn't slip. VY would have been 4-5 w/o slip.

-VY just missed Gage on the next play.  There could have been a miscommunication, but it looked like just a poor throw. 

-I was shocked that Matt Ryan picked on Reynaldo Hill first play of the game.  The extra curricular activity started here when Falcons tackle Todd Weiner hit Reynaldo after the play was over.

-Ryan's second completion against....you guessed it....Reynaldo

-Fisher went nuts on the 3^rd down play where the Falcons got called for a penalty.  He was pretty fired up about the cheap shots.

-Vincent Fuller made a great play to knock the ball away from Jerious Norwood.

-I really wonder what happened to Michael Griffin to make him go nuts like that.

-CJ looked really impressive on the next drive.

-VY did a nice job to check down and find Alge Crumpler for the first down.

-I liked VY's 4 yard scramble.  He did a good job of picking up yards and getting out of bounds.

-Chris Henry should be cut.  He has no vision. 

-Another bad throw on the ball to Scaife.  Luckily for the Titans they picked up the first down anyway because of the unnecessary roughness penalty against Chris Houston.  That was a questionable call.

-The sack on VY was a jail break.  Not a good play by anyone on the O line.

-CJ does a really good job of making people miss in space.

-Nice run on VY on the next play to pick up the first down and get out of bounds.

-The next play was not good when VY got just 2 yards and took a hit.

-The last play of the 1^st quarter was the pick.  It probably would have been a completion to Brandon Jones if thrown accurately.