What can I say that wasn't already said by DonFrancisco in this diary? We do appreciate the guys at CBS showing from front page of Keepcoachfisher.com so that the MCM logo could be seen by all.
Now for my recap.
The defense did a great job against the Colts offense, especially in the first half. As long as the Titans kept the 2 deep safeties it appeared the Colts were content to run the ball. As I mentioned in the keys to the game, when you play the Colts they are going to get running yards but you have to limit them and keep them in the 3rd and long situations. The Colts came into the game converting 3rd downs at 62.3%. The Titans held them without a 3rd down conversion in the first half (0-6).
The second half was a different story. The Colts converted 5 of 6 3rd downs in the second half. Why is it that the Titans always seem to get "out adjusted?" You here announcers talk about halftime adjustments all the time. It seems as if the Titans fail to make these adjustments. We were up 10-0 at the half but then lost the 2nd half 14-3.
The opening drive made me think we were watching the Titans of the Eddie George era. The Titans gashed the Colts for 83 rushing yards on 7 plays capped off by a 19 yard run from VY. It was nice to see the opening drive go for a TD. It seemed like we got a TD on our first drive every game when Heimerdinger was here.
I was disapointed when the Titans kicked the 22 yard field goal. I do understand Fisher's thinking here. The Titans had all of the momentum at that point. If you go for it on 4th down and don't get it you put the momentum with the Colts. That would have been the right decision if the Titans were playing against an evenly matched opponent. Fact is the Titans and Colts are not evenly matched and field goals do not beat the Colts.
Like Don said, the spread offense should have been used more. The QB runs were successful when we used them. The only one that got stopped was the 3rd down from the 5 and the only reason it got stopped was VY missed the hole.
Bobby Wade obviously has to catch the pass he dropped. He knows it:
The decision to punt with 3:30 to go and no time outs was a bad one. Best case scenario for getting the ball back with around a minute left. That is not enough time with no time outs. Burning time outs ended up coming back to haunt the Titans late. That is something that will happen less and less as VY plays. Fisher called it a good building block and I agree. A loss is a loss but a 1 point loss should lessen the tensions in the locker room a little bit.