Explanation:

Each individual rush is considered on it's own, and measured by it's "success." A run is considered successful if it gets 40% of the yardage needed to move the chains on first down, 60% of the yardage needed on second down, and 100% of the yardage needed on third or fourth down. This is a much more accurate overall picture of how well a running back does in a game than just the total yardage or ypc averages because it ignores big run outliers that can skew those kinds of stats

Stats after the jump.

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More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

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No one has been harder on Vince Young over the past year and a half than I have.  I have hammered him time and time again, but it is now time for me to give him his due.  He played a very good game yesterday.  The Titans will take 15-18 for 125 with 1 touchdown and no interceptions from VY every week because it means a couple of things:

1. The running game is working well
2. Vince didn't put them in any tough spots with turnovers

He looked yesterday like a guy who had taken his time off to study the offense and learn everything he could.  By my count, he only made two bad throws and only one of those was a bad decision.  Again, the Titans will take that every week. 

All of those things are good, but the biggest difference VY makes was seen on two plays in particular yesterday.  The first came in the second quarter with the Titans facing a 3rd and 3 from the Jacksonville 10 yard line.  Vince dropped back to pass, saw nothing was open and scrambled for 4 yards to keep the drive alive.  Two plays later the threw a perfect fade to Nate Washington for a touchdown.

The other play came in the 3rd quarter with the Titans facing a 3rd and 6.  Vince was able to move around in the pocket to keep the play alive and find Kenny Britt for a 7 yard gain and the first down.  Chris Johnson went 52 yards for a touchdown on the next play.  Both of those drives are probably dead with Kerry Collins under center. 

Now the key for Vince is stringing performances like this one together over the final 10 games of the season.  Here's to hoping he can.

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

5 days ago: Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young (10) leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009. Young passed for 125 yards and one touchdown as the Titans won 30-13 for their first win of the season. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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It feels good, doesn't it?

Chris Johnson had a franchise record 228 yards as he guided the Titans to a 30-13 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars for their first win since last December. The Titans held the ball for more than 39 minutes, had no turnovers, and outgained the Jaguars by 100 yards.

The highly anticipated start of Vince Young went wonderfully, going 15 of 18 for 125 yards and one touchdown as well as 32 yards rushing. He finished with a 114.1 passer rating, higher than Kerry Collins has gotten in any game this season.

The Titans defense played one of their best games of the season, sacking Jacksonville QB David Garrard four times. Compared to the 323 yards the Titans gave up to David Garrard in the last match-up, Garrard only threw for 139 yards and two interceptions to Cortland Finnegan and Rod Hood. Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns, the only two that the Titans gave up.

Newly signed punter Brett Kern made life a lot easier for the Titans defense by giving the Jaguars bad field position all day long. He put three of his four punts inside the 20, compared to only one in four games by former Titans punter Reggie Hodges. The Titans also blocked a punt on the Jaguars second touchdown. The returning duties were handled mainly by Michael Griffin and Kevin Kaesviham. Both did not fumble the ball once.

This is a real confidence booster for this team. "I'm going to tell you like this," WR Nate Washington said, I'm not making any predictions or guarantees, but this team went 10-0 last year. I feel like the weapons we have in this locker room are doing nothing but making us better, so we'll see what happens this season. (This win) is big."

Join Jimmy and August for MCM Radio tonight at 9 p.m. by clicking here. They can finally talk about a win!

This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL Red Zone channel, a new NFL Network channel. Want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations? Then you need Comcast's NFL RedZone.

The Titans offense is 8-11 (73%) with 6 touchdowns and 2 field goals. 

The Titans have been in the red zone a grand total of 1 time in the past 2 games.  This week's visit to the redzone resulted in that beautifully crafted reverse to Nate Washington for -22 yards.

The Titans defense has allowed the opposing team to go 23-26 (88%) in the redzone with 14 touchdowns and 9 field goals.

The Titans red zone defense actually got better in that 59-0 beatdown.  Of course a lot of the TDs came from well outside the red zone.  88% is a solid number.

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

The grounds crew shovels away Kerry's career. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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"We could go over all the records the Patriots have set in this game, but we would probably miss a couple of plays." -Jim Nantz

That about sums it up the Titans allowed the Patriots to pile up 626 totals yards of offense.  626 totals yards!  Let that sink in for a minute.  Did you ever think you would see a number like that from a Jeff Fisher team?  Chuck Cecil might want to stop and get some boxes when he gets off the plane.

Then there was the offense.  The Titans ended the game with -7 passing yards on 2 "completions."  One of those completions was the crazy throw forward fumble play from Kerry Collins to Nate Washington.  That play went for -22 yards.  Let that one sink in for a minute.  Has a team ever fired both of their coordinators in the same season?

Join August and I for MCM radio tonight at 9 p.m. by clicking here.  It promises to be more fun than what you just witnessed.

Explanation:

Each individual rush is considered on it's own, and measured by it's "success." A run is considered successful if it gets 40% of the yardage needed to move the chains on first down, 60% of the yardage needed on second down, and 100% of the yardage needed on third or fourth down. This is a much more accurate overall picture of how well a running back does in a game than just the total yardage or ypc averages because it ignores big run outliers that can skew those kinds of stats

Stats after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

More photos » by John Russell - AP

26 days ago: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) passes as he is pressured by Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jovan Haye (75) in the first quarter of an NFL football game in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. Blocking Haye is Colts guard Mike Pollak (78). (AP Photo/John Russell)

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The Colts managed to limit the Titans offense to 12 first downs, 245 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 0 trips to the red zone. The key to the game was stopping Peyton Manning, and he threw for 309 yards and 3 touchdowns tonight.  

This is a bad team, fellas. We are 1-8 in our last 9 games. Yeah, that's right. There wasn't anything to be proud of in this game. The Colts even handed us the ball off turnovers twice and they were only converted for 3 points each.

Vince Young entered with about 6 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, which got a standing ovation from myself and the few other fans that hadn't left LP Field yet.

Hurting an already thin secondary, CB Nick Harper exited the game in the third quarter with a broken forearm. TE Craig Stevens suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff and was taken to the hospital.

Next up is the Patriots. It's pretty much a guarantee that a  13-3 team last year will be 0-6 to start this season.

Express your thoughts in the comments.

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

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Be careful. The numbers on the other side of the jump are scary!

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