Photo: Getty Images
It was hard to figure out which side of the ball to recap first because they both played so well. I decided to go with the offense because of the way they were able to control the ball.
That was one of the best performances I have seen by a Titans offensive line in a few years. The running backs played great, but it was the line that made that possible. Chris Brown was running through huge holes all day long. We are really going to like this running back combination. Chris Brown is a guy who needs a hole. He doesn't create much at the line of scrimmage but if he gets to the 2nd level he breaks huge runs.
LenDale White is a guy who can break a tackle at the line and punish guys when he gets going down hill. I said before the season started that the Titans will have more yards rushing this year than they did last year. I think they proved that is possible with yesterday's performance. The running game is obviously the thing that makes this Titans offense go. If the line can play up to their potential, as they did yesterday, this is going to be a fun season for us as Titans fans.
Now we come to the part that I have been dreading since yesterday, the criticism of Vince Young. If you have been reading this blog for any length of time you know that I love Vince Young. If you don't believe me click here, here, here, or here. However, Vince Young has got to improve on his performance from yesterday for the Titans to improve going forward. While his completion percentage wasn't that terrible, 11-18 (61.1%), most of the passes that he completed were less than 5 yards down the field. He only completed 5 passes to receivers and 3 of those were the ones where he just stood up and threw the snap down the line. The other 2 completions went for 6 and 4 yards respectively. That obviously isn't going to cut it in the long run.
He didn't seem to struggle with decision making yesterday. It was his accuracy that was the problem. That is something that can be corrected, and I think it will. He has shown us that he is willing to do whatever it takes to make himself a better QB. He is still a work in progress, and there is no doubt in my mind that he will play better for the rest of the season.
Vince is going to be fine. It excites me that he is the biggest problem the Titans have coming out of this game. We know that Vince is going to win 4-6 games by himself. My biggest question coming in was how many games could the rest of the team win. So far that number is 1. That is something for all of us to be very excited about.