Titans 16 Colts 10 Recap

The game started off on a really high note last night with the Titans first drive.  The Titans went 79 yards on 11 plays.  Vince Young was very efficient going 4-4 on the drive that ended with a Chris Brown 8 yard touchdown run.  It is always important to score touchdowns early against the Colts, but it was especially important last night because you knew Peyton Manning wouldn't be around for long.  The Titans wanted to make sure they weren't in a big hole when he left the game.  The drive was also important because it took over 6 minutes off the clock, which meant fewer touches for Peyton.

The Titans defense did a really god job against the Colts first team offense last night.  They had a good bend but don't break game plan that made sure if the Colts did score it was going to take time off the clock.  Peyton was in there for 2 drives and got 3 points.  Good job by the defense.

The Titans then decided it would be fun to turn the ball over a couple of times.  This game should have been over a long time before it was considering the Titans lost 2 fumbles.  One came at the Indy 9 and the other came at the Tennessee 38 which set up Jim Sorgi's TD drive.  The Titans were very lucky that those 2 turnovers did not come back to haunt them.  They will not be able to do that next week in San Diego, or the game will be over really quickly.

The Titans have got to fix their return game.  Hopefully we will see Michael Griffin back returning kickoffs next week.  They have been hesitant to use him because they are thin at safety, but they cannot afford to keep Chris Henry back there with his 10 yard returns.  Field position is huge to a team that plays like the Titans, and they cannot expect to win a playoff game when their average starting position is inside their own 20.  They also have to find someone other than Chris Davis to return punts.  He constantly catches punts inside the 10, and he drops a lot of punts.  They also can't afford to have the penalties they had last night.  That makes a terrible return game even worse.

Kerry Collins came in and did a nice job last night.  He was 10-13 and took care of the ball.  Vince Young is still the guy for this team.  Collins can make some throws that Vince cannot, but he still can't seem to get the team in the end zone.  He also let the team get a stupid delay of game penalty last night.  That is inexcusable for a veteran QB.  Collins is a good back-up, but that is all he is.  If Vince is healthy enough to play he should start in San Diego.

It is still a little vague as to why Henry was running the ball in the second half last night.  Brown apparently has a back issue, and LenDale has a banged up knee, but I think the real reason neither of them were in there is because of the fumbles.  Jeff Fisher apparently had more confidence in Henry to hang onto the ball than either of the other two.  That makes me a little nervous, but they should be fine because neither guy has a history of fumble problems.

At the end of the day the Titans got a win and secured a playoff birth.  That is what it is all about, but just getting to the playoffs isn't enough.  The Titans proved earlier this season that they have the ability to play with the Chargers, so they shouldn't be happy with just being there.  I think they will be hungry to get a win and a shot at the Patriots.