Titans vs Steelers: position by position recap

I know what you, the fan, wants after an awesome win. A quantifiable analysis of how good the Titans did! Well, the best I can do is a nice solid "report card". No more delay, here are my grades for each group.

Quarterbacks: C+

Jake Locker was just above average in Pittsburgh. Completing 11-20 passing attempts, for 125 yards definitely seems like a negative but look deeper. 55% of Locker's passes ended up as first downs. He may not have hit any home run passes, but he certainly didn't get much help from his receivers. In a game where the Titans just needed Locker to manage and not turn the ball over, he did exactly as asked, no more no less.

Running backs: B

The Titans managed to rack up 109 yards and a TD on the ground with the combination of Chris Johnson, Jackie Battle and Shonn Greene. Considering that the Steelers only allowed an average of 90 YPG and .56 TDs (nine in 16 games), that is pretty darn good. Also, each back had good notes. CJ had the day's longest run (11 yards) and the most yardage of the backs (70). Battle, had the game's only meaningful TD. Finally, on a surprising note Greene had the most YPC (4.5) between the three backs.

Wide Receivers: D

The receivers are the worst group this week. Kenny Britt and Kendall Wright were the most disappointing players on the field in my opinion. Britt had a nice catch early and then disappeared until he had a holding penalty late. Wright was neither shifty nor reliable, and he had a couple of dumb drops. If not for a good catch by Damian Williams and a good day by Nate Washington, the group would have gotten an F.

Tight Ends/Fullbacks: C

The Titans were one sided here. As run blockers they had a very good day, but the four players only combined for three catches for 40 yards. So with a "B" day blocking and a "D" day catching, they end up at a "C" rating.

Offensive Line: B+

Each player had their highlights. Roos did a wonderful job for most of the day sealing the edge. Levitre continues to be an excellent puller who get the job done consistently. Rob Turner was excellent making the calls at the line of scrimage, and he got the ball off without a single delay of game. Chance Warmack had his ups and downs, but one play where he essentially threw a blocker out of the way then decimated Troy Polamalu and used him to drive Jackie Battle ahead for a first down will stick in my head for a while. David Stewart helped a number of right side runs by crashing his man inside. As a whole the line did well, but the Titans were a big, clean run away from an "A" grade.

Defensive Line: A

12 tackles, four QB hits, three sacks, and a pass deflection will earn an "A" every week. The Titans lived in Pittsburgh's backfield, and they absolutely shut down the running game. Morgan and Casey looked like cornerstones that you could build a defense around.

Linebackers: B

Zach Brown and Moise Fokou both had impressive performances, but Akeem Ayers didn't register a tackle according to ESPN and I honestly can't remember him making a positive play. I need to go back and check the tape to see how many snaps he played, but they may have limited him more than I initially thought. Anyway, back to the guys that played. Brown was all over the field and registered two sacks and led the team in both solo and combined tackles. Fokou was a downhill run stuffer that was effective when called upon to blitz.

Defensive backs: B

The Titans were really loose in coverage in the first half and it almost cost them until the Steelers coughed up the ball in the redzone. From the penultimate defensive stand in the first half, until the end of the game the Titans looked much better and more active on the back end. That was the defensive performance that the fans were promised after the addition of Gregg Williams, and it was a great way to show the coaching staff's ability to correct mistakes and adapt.

Best performers: Defensive Line

Worst performers: Wide Recievers