WE LOVE ROB BIRONAS!!
I figured that was the best place to start. There was obviously a lot riding on the 8th field goal. Not only was it the game winner, but it made Rob Bironas the only player in NFL history to hit 8 field goals in one game. Bironas has been a great find for the Titans.
Now let's talk about the negative to the Rob Bironas record. It is not a good sign for your offense if your kicker attempts 8 field goals. The Titans have got to be more effective in the red zone. Their red zone touchdown percentage is currently 34.6. That is not going to get it done over the span of a whole season. That is where not having Vince Young hurt the Titans yesterday. Kerry Collins played very well yesterday (25 of 42 for 280 yards). He did exactly what you want your 2nd string QB to do, come in and win a game when the starter is down. I have been unfairly hard on Kerry, and for that I owe him an apology. Kerry, I am sorry.
Vince Young provides that dual threat in the red zone that is so hard to defend against. The defense has to respect the fact that he can take off and find the end zone at any point. They obviously aren't worried about that with Collins in there. If the Titans keep having drives stall out in the red zone, it is going to hurt them eventually.
I am becoming a huge Roydell Williams fan. He had 5 catches for 124 yards yesterday including the 46 yarder that set up the game winning field goal. I was convinced that it was going to be Brandon Jones that was the playmaker of that group. It appears now that it is Roydell Williams. He is finally healthy and proving that he is a viable option for whomever the Titans have at quarterback.
The running game was much more productive this week than it had been the prior 2 games. LenDale White carried the ball 27 times for 109 yards (3.9 ypc) and 1 TD. Chris Henry carried the ball 11 times for 57 yards (5.2 ypc) and 1 TD. There has been a lot of talk on this site about seeing more Chris Henry. I am all for that. He proved yesterday he has improved greatly from the preseason. He provides the perfect compliment for LenDale White.
The offense looked pretty solid yesterday until the 4th quarter. The Titans started doing the run, run, pass, punt. You prove how good of an offense you are when you can pick up first downs running when the entire stadium knows you are running. The Titans just couldn't milk the clock like they needed too yesterday in the 4th quarter.
You can't really have to many complaints when the offense puts up 38 points. Their are obvious things that the offense learned yesterday that they need to continue to work on. I think they will make the necessary adjustments and come back strong against the Oakland Raiders.