Posted on
November 09, 2011 by
Ralph Garica
Image via Wikipedia
By Rafael Garcia
Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
November 9, 2011
Cincinnati 24 Tennessee 17
It is that time of year where teams start to make that playoff push. Now is when you solidify your position or make a move to do the same. So, on Sunday the Titans were looking to keep pace with the Houston Texans for the division lead, or at least stay in contention for a wild-card spot. Neither goal was accomplished as Tennessee decided to leave its first half offense in the locker room after the intermission.
They started off with a field goal to make it 3-0 and the Bengals responded with a score of their own to make it 7-3. The Titans answered right back by driving 78 and 81 yards on their last two possessions to take a 17-7 halftime lead. It was a first half that saw Chris Johnson break off a 20-yard run that was his best looking run of the year. He even grabbed a pass and got good yardage out of that one. He looked like he was running very good, hitting holes and looking for open field. By the half he had 55 yards on the ground. Matt Hasselbeck was hitting his receivers, though at times he over or under threw them too. He would finish with 166 yards in the half and touchdown passes to Damian Williams and Lavelle Hawkins. After such an impressive first half it looked like Tennessee would finish this game at 5-3 with a lot of hope.
The second half was about as bad as you can get. All of sudden, Hasselbeck could not connect with a receiver. Johnson was just stopped in his tracks and was only able to get nine more yards in the second half. Hawkins got hurt (finger), as did Nate Washington when he pulled up lame with a bruised hip. Later, TE Jared Cook hurt his leg too. On top of that he squandered a possible game winning drive by fumbling the ball after a catch. How many times have you heard that you fall down and get the yards instead of trying to do more than you should? Well Cook did not get the memo or forgot and his turnover allowed the Bengals to kick a field goal to make it 24-17. The two minute offense was horrible as the team threw short passes to the middle of the field and never threatened to score.
The defense made rookie QB Andy Dalton look like a 10-year vet. He was cool and calm and improvised whenever he had to. He threw passes right in between defenders and moved his team down the field three times to take the lead. RB Cedric Benson ran for 78 hard yards and I mean hard. It was the kind of hard running that the Titans cannot seem to do. They allowed the Bengals to get good yardage on first down over and over. They made another rookie, A.J. Green, look like a vet as well as he was targeted seven times and caught the ball every time. On one play he got a pass interference call on Jason McCourty that was questionable. The replay shows that he jumped into McCourty while the two went for the ball.
In the end, it was another embarrassing loss that has the fans frustrated. They have no idea what team is going to show up and even when it starts good it may not end that way. They ran the ball well in the first half but went away from that in the second. If you want to get C.J. running better you have to give him the ball more. There were several calls that could be seen as questionable that affected the game. The defense looked lost the last two quarters and could not stop Dalton from moving the football. They killed themselves with penalties when they needed them the least and ended up with nine for 87 yards. Three fumbles added to the woes of this team and now they look like the 8-8 team they are used to being.
The anger and frustration is now setting in on the fans here. They do not understand how one team can come out and play a good half and disappear in the second. There are many more questions coming out of Nashville and one of them is what will they do at receiver? The group is paper thin now and they may have to look outside to get help. The name of Terrell Owens has come up, but that signing looks doubtful. There is still time to right the ship but there has to be more consistency before this team will make the playoffs. Will the receivers they have be enough? Will C.J. continue on this horrid pace, or will he pick it up? Will Hasslebeck finish the season, or will the call for rookie Jake Locker get too loud to resist? Somehow, someway, they need to figure things out cause this town is really tired of having a .500 team here.
Atlanta 31 Indianapolis 10
In a season gone bad, the Colts find ways to keep the losing going. This time they got a taste of youth as rookie WR Julio Jones torched them for two two touchdowns of 50 and 80 yards. He only caught one other pass and ended up with 131 yards and a show of force from the young man. QB Matt Ryan was sharp going 14-24 for 275 yards with three touchdowns and a passer rating of 120.7 to boot. The only mistake he made was throwing a pick six to CB Jerraud Powers for the Colts only score. Michael Turner and Tony Gonzalez had the other scores for Atlanta in the rout.
The stats tell the story of how inept the Indy offense is. They had just 10 first downs and held the ball for a little over 22 minutes. They had two turnovers and 186 total yards. Eventually, Curtis Painter would get yanked in favor of Dan Orlovsky. No knock on the guy, but it’s getting bad when you go to that level. Painter finished 13-27 for only 98 yards and his rating of 41.9 was woeful. The offense never made it into the red zone and right now do not look to be a threat anyone.
In our wildest dreams we could not have dreamed a dream like this one for Indy. They are now 0-9 and one has to wonder when they will win a game. One thing is for sure, the Colts are now in the drivers seat in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. The only thing that could go wrong if they need him is that he decides for some reason not to come out. Whew, that would really be a bummer on top of this lost year.
Houston 30 Cleveland 12
In the NFL you need a good running game to really compete. It allows your team to set up all kinds of plays based on how strong your running game is. The Texans don’t have that kind of problem. For the second time in three weeks their two headed monster has run for over 100 yards each. Arian Foster is the horse and showed his power with 19 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown. Ben Tate complimented that with 12 carries for 115 yards of his own. He also had a rushing touchdown. QB Matt Schaub did not have one of usual days going just 14-23 for 119 yards. Who needs to throw the ball when you have that kind of backfield? They also set a franchise record with 261 yards rushing as a team. All of this has been done without the services of All-Pro WR Andre Johnson, sidelined for the last five games.
The defense came up big as they held the Browns to 44 yards on the ground and hounded Colt McCoy all day. The only time the Browns QB could get something done was at the end of the game. He was able to hit Josh Cribbs from 2 yards out with just under five minutes left. They limited the Browns to field goals from 21 and 28 yards from their kicker, Neil Rackers, and avoided two touchdowns.
The Texans are going to continue to feel the heat in the South. Even though the Titans are a game and half back they have found ways to fold before. They must keep winning and when Johnson gets back they have to expand this offense even more. They are scoring these days but they must put the pedal to the medal all the way to the finish line. The backfield duo has been outstanding and Schaub is always a threat to have a great game. Put it all together, as they say, and there is no telling how dangerous this team can really be.
41ST Year of TV’s Longest-Running, Most-Honored Annual Sports Special
