NASHVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 23: Darius Reynaud #25 of the Tennessee Titans returns a kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the game at LP Field on September 23, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans won 44-41 in overtime. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
September 26, 2012

Tennessee 44 Detroit 41

Well, this was a game for the ages, as they say in sports. The Titans came into this game knowing it was a must win situation. They had been blown out in the first two weeks of the season and needed some kind of spark. What they did was blow the joint up in one of the craziest games LP Field has ever witnessed. Shades of big games past, an amazing catch and a finish the Kentucky Derby would be envious of.

After two games Jake Locker was under the gun. Was he the right choice? Should the team have gone with Matt Hasselbeck? These were some of the questions being thrown around this organization and fan base. The team and fans had hopes for this year, but a 0-3 start would basically doom the season.

Well, Locker came out and shut the critics up, at least for a week. He was simply marvelous and showed what this team may have in their young star. In his first NFL win he went 29-42 for 378 yards and two touchdowns. He had no turnovers and ran for 35 yards on four carries. One of those runs was a beauty of 31 yards that showed his speed and grit. He took off after scanning the field and did not even hesitate to take on a tackler before going down. Sure, he had a fumble early, but he showed that he can bounce right back after a mistake. When he hit TE Jared Cook for a 61-yard touchdown pass he ran full speed so he could celebrate in the end zone too. It was a big game for the second year pro that should fill him with the confidence he needs to become a star in this league.

There were a host of other big plays as well. The Titans became the first team in NFL history to score five touchdowns of at least 60 yards. It started in the first quarter with the Titans down 6-3. Detroit punted the ball to the right of them and the ball landed in the hands of Darius Reynaud. He immediately turned to his right, and left handed, he tossed the ball in the air into the open arms of Tommie Campbell. Campbell possesses great speed and showed it as he ran right down the sidelines for a 65-yard touchdown. The play was reminiscent to the famous Music City Miracle play in 1999. Reynaud would be involved in the next one when he took a kickoff five yards deep and ran it back 105 yards for a touchdown. On the play, converted TE Taylor Thompson had a crushing block to clear the way for Reynaud. Nate Washington wanted some to be part of the highlights and grabbed a pass behind the back of his defender. That should have been where he fell down, but not Washington. He would acrobatically catch the ball on the defenders back and never break stride on his way to a spectacular 71-yard score. Later, Detroit QB Matthew Stafford threw a pass to TE Brandon Pettigrew and he was stripped of the ball by Alterraun Verner and he ran 72 yards to make it 41-27 with 1:16 to go. Game and match for Tennessee and it was on to Houston with the crucial win. Well, maybe not just yet.

With 1:16 to go, the Lions took possession at their own 20. They proceeded to drive the length of the field in 58 seconds to make it 41-34 with only 18 seconds to go. All Tennessee had to go was execute normal onside kick coverage. That did not go well and the Lions had a shot. Stafford lugged a long deep pass that LB Akeem Ayers tipped back into the field of play. Titus Young caught it and it was a tie game.

The Titans would eventually drive down the field by some good Locker play. Rob Bironas would kick the game winner and the Titans are now 1-2 instead of 0-3.

The win did not mask the problems that still plague this team. Running back Chris Johnson is just not getting it done. After three games he has 45 yards and a growing list negative carries. He showed a glimpse and then faded away. The defense gave up 583 yards to the Lions. If they come close to this performance this Sunday, Houston will blow them out of the building. It may be a glimmer of hope, but if you are a fan, don’t get too excited yet.

Other scores:

Jacksonville 22 Indianapolis 17
Houston 31 Denver 25

Seattle 27 Tennessee 17

By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
August 12, 2012

Well, training camp has come and gone. The first round battle between quarterbacks went to Matt Hasselbeck. The running game was looking sharp with Chris Johnson looking like the C.J. of old. Kenny Britt was out and Kendal Wright signed late. Wright looked good in the time he put in and appeared to catch on fast. The offensive and defensive lines saw some changes by addition and subtraction. All in all, it was a good camp that had much needed energy and effort.

Last night Hasselbeck was back in Seattle where he made some good memories and played for a title. On this day, I am thinking he would have stayed in Tennessee if he knew he was going to stink up the place. He was an ineffective 5-9 for just 45 yards passing. His first pass was to Nate Washington. The problem was that the ball did not land in his hands. Instead, it deflected off his hands and into the hands of Brandon Browner, who then ran 23 yards for a touchdown. A bit later, Hasselbeck went long to Damian Williams, only to get picked off again.

In came Jake Locker for his turn at bat. He directed a nice drive that went for 80 yards on 11 plays. That drive stalled and ended in a field goal. He had some nice throws and showed his mobility and the advantages if it. He built a little chemistry connecting with Wright a few times too. In round two of the battle for the QB spot, I would say Locker just moved ahead.

The running game is supposed to get drastically better than last year. Chris Johnson has been looking sharp and focused all offseason. He has been decisive in hitting his holes and put in a lot of work in camp. His night was about the same as his starting quarterback. He dropped two passes and finished with 8 yards rushing. One of his carries was a nice nine-yarder. That was sandwiched around four more runs that netted him minus one yard. So it is safe to say that it was not a stellar opening act for C.J. The actual star of the backfield was little known Darius Reynaud. He turned the third quarter into his own show when he took a handoff and ran off from 21 yards out for a touchdown. About three minutes later he took a punt at the 15-yard line and took it back to the house. It was an electric run from a young kid trying to make the team. Guess his chances of that have just improved.

Wright did have a nice game to start things off. He caught those three passes, for 47 yards, from Locker and showed some moves. He was also lost at times as he continues to learn the system. Marc Mariani is trying to make sure he keeps a spot in the rotation and made the most of his chance. He had a nice 39-yard catch and finished with two catches for 52 yards. I like his grit and toughness. He hustles every play and plays like it’s the last game of his career.

The defense had its moments, like getting two picks, with one coming in the end zone. Still, they allowed the Seahawks to move the ball as their quarterbacks had great days. Matt Flynn got the start and went 11-13 for 71 yards and his backup Russell Wilson was better. Wilson would finish 12-16 for 80 yards and a touchdown, but he played like he been there for years. He was in control of the offense and chipped in three carries for 59 yards. In the fourth quarter, with the game still close, he took off from 32 yards out and ran all the way for a touchdown to seal the game.

It was just the first preseason game where you are evaluating talent. We don’t want to make too much of this guy or that guy. Some players only play for a minute and others trying to get a spot play more. It is still a work in progress but there were a few stars on this night. Linebacker Colin McCarthy had an interception, five tackles and manned his position well. Reynaud, of course, had a big game. Karl Klug and Zach Clayton each recorded a sack too.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
March 18, 2012

It has been some off season so far and it is just getting started. Free agency began with a bang when the Colts released future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. He is recovering from a couple of neck surgeries and is looking to see what team fits him the best. It has come down to three and he should be making his decision in the next day or two. One of those teams is the Titans and they were not a player until late in the game. Owner Bud Adams made it known that he wanted Manning at any cost.

After working out for the Titans, Manning went to look at his notes and make his choice based on many things one would guess. Let’s take a look at his career and how he would fit in Tennessee.

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Image by seoulpolaris via Flickr

By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
December 16, 2011

New Orleans 22 Tennessee 17

The Titans came into this game knowing they needed a win to take control of the last wild-card spot. They were facing a Saints team that was averaging 33 points a game. The Titans had not scored that many points in a game all year. The way to win this one would be to keep the Saints offense off the field. They did just that for three quarters and then played to the final second of the game.

Saints QB Drew Brees has been playing some his best football this year. He is on pace to break Dan Marino’s single-season record for yards passing. At his current pace he is expected to throw for more than 5200 yards. On Sunday, Brees got his way going 36-47 for 337 yards and two touchdowns. The scoring plays did not come until the fourth quarter when New Orleans was down 10-9. After being held out of the end zone over and over the Saints finally appeared to have put away the game.

The Titans said all week that they did not mind giving up the yards, so long as they kept that offense out of the end zone. They allowed the Saints to move the ball but held up strong in the first 45 minutes. One of the problems was allowing the Saints to convert third downs. New Orleans was 11-19 and the Titans were 1-10. Another issue on the offensive side of the ball.

On offense, they could not run the ball again. Chris Johnson looked more like the CJ we saw the first half of the year. He cold not hit the holes or get to the edge. His biggest gaffe was not getting a first down when his team needed it most. Granted, there were some that thought he should have gotten more carries. He needs to touch the ball about 20 times a game and had just 11 carries for 23 yards. Matt Hasselbeck did all he could do to get his team in a position to win. In the second quarter his pass was tipped and he went after the ball. A few steps later he came up limping as he hurt his left calf. In came rookie Jake Locker and he quickly took a hit so hard, Hasselbeck had to come in for one more play. Locker came back and proceeded to have the game of his short career. He was 13 for 29 for 282 yards and a touchdown passing and one rushing. His rushing score was one where he scrambled right and was hit at about the one. He was spun in the air and as he was going out of bounds, he reached to stretch the ball over the pylon. The play was reviewed and upheld as a touchdown to make the score 10-9 Titans. Locker had 36 yards rushing and really played well. He moved the ball and put life in to the offense. He had a chance to win the game, but was sacked trying find a receiver to end the game.

Nate Washington was expected turn up his game after Kenny Britt got hurt. All he has done is elevated it to heart of a champion status. He has been playing on a bum ankle and just keeps keeping on. He had another big game with six catches for 130 yards a a score. He ran routes and made big grabs. It makes one wonder how it could have been if Britt was healthy.

The loss, along with Houston’s win, gave the Texans the AFC South title. So they are playing for the last wild-card slot. A win would have put them in the drivers seat for that spot. Now they must win out in order to have a chance to get to the playoffs.

Houston 20 Cincinnati 19

This was a game that could have easily been a loss. Houston was down 16-3 and playing their third-string rookie quarterback too. Mike Nugent sandwiched four field goals in between an Andy Dalton touchdown pass to make it 19-10 going into the fourth quarter.

The Houston running game has been a monster all year. Arian Foster is the main cog, but Ben Tate has proven to be one of the best number two back in the league. On this day they wold not be as effective running for a combined 108 yards.

So in the end, it was up to T.J. Yates to bring back Houston. He would respond several times and led his team back to it’s biggest win in franchise history. On a third and 15 he scrambled 17 yards for the most crucial third down conversion of the season. He got the ball at his 20 with 2:33 left in the game and his team down 19-13. On a third-and-three he hit Owen Daniel for eight yards to the 46. On the next third down he had that 17-yard scramble. Then came the big mistake as Adam ” Pacman” Jones was called for pass interference. That put the ball at the Bengal six with 12 seconds left. An incomplete pass made it second and goal with eight seconds to go. The pass was intended for Kevin Walter so they decided to give the receiver one more chance to end the game. Yates took the snap and made his move right. He looked in desperation and saw Walter across the middle and hit him. The catch gave the Texans the win and their first playoff appearance in team history.

At the beginning of the season one my hot seats for coaches belonged to Gary Kubiak. That seat has since cooled and become very comfortable to sit in.

Jacksonville 41 Tampa Bay 14

The Jags forgot that they did not play offensive football and scored over and over again. All of it came after the Bucs took a 14-0 lead. Most of it came in a 28-point second quarter when they score via offense, defense and special teams. Two were fumble recoveries and the other two were by Maurice Jones-Drew. He scored four touchdowns and set the franchise record for touchdowns in a career. Two of his scores were rushing and the other two were receiving. He ran for 85 yards on 27 carries and had six receptions for 51 more.

The defense did it’s job holding the Bucs to 15 first downs and forcing them into 12 penalties. On top of that the Bucs turned the ball over seven times to make matters worse. It was the first win for interim coach Mel Tucker. In a season gone bad, the Bucs found a way to give their fans something to cheer about before the year ends.

Baltimore 24 Indianapolis 10

Another game and another loss in a season that gets worse and worse. The Colts chances in this one looked bleak form the start. They were facing the Ravens and the possibility of moving the ball were slim.

Dan Orlovsky had no chance as was sacked three times by Terrell Suggs alone. He was a woeful 17 of 37 for 136 yards with a passer rating of 53.4 The running game was no threat whatsoever getting just 50 yards on the ground. They were 2014 on third downs and had the ball for just under 224 minutes.

The defense was no better allowing 358 yards to the Ravens and 103 yards on 26 carries for Ray Rice. Rice now has 12 touchdowns on the season and that is two short of the team record. The defense has only picks this year but Dwight Freeney did go over 100 sacks for his career.

Image via Wikipedia

By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer
Southeast Region
December 7, 2011

Tennessee 23 Buffalo 17

One thing is for sure about this Titans team and that is you never know which team is going to show up. Sometimes they start slow, and that tends to bite them in the end. Other times, they get out quickly and get the win. This game was a must win for both teams. The Bills needed this one to avoid going 0-5 after a 5-2 start. The Titans had to have this one to keep pace with Houston in the division, as well as keep pace in the wild-card hunt. What we got was a good game that was not decided until the end.

Chris Johnson has been MIA most of the year. In recent weeks, he has shown some flashes. Last week he blew the gates open and ran for 190 yards against Tampa Bay. This day he would continue his resurgence with 153 yards on 23 carries with two scores. He found holes and got to the edge. He broke tackles and got plenty of yards after initial contact. On his 48-yard touchdown run it looked like he may not have that 4.24 speed he displayed at the combine. Now, after 12 games he has 852 yards with four games left. If he continues on the pace he has set the last four games, he could wind up with around 1500 yards rushing. That would be simply amazing for a guy that was having one of the worst years after signing a huge contract. He now trails rushing leader Maurice Jones-Drew by less than 300 yards. After the first eight games who would’ve thought that he would still have an outside shot at the rushing title. This all came during a week in which he was sick to the stomach and lost about 10 pounds.

The passing game was not as in sync as the running game. Matt Hasselbeck had only 140 yards passing with no touchdowns and no picks. The receiving corps did a good job when they had a chance. Nate Washington showed the heart of champion when he hurt his ankle and had to come out of the game. At one point he was said to be out for the game, but next thing you know there he was on the field. On that bum ankle he caught a big third down pass that would keep a drive alive. That drive would end up with a field goal. Damian Williams had a big catch for 18 yards to get a crucial first down. It was good performance all in all.

Defense was another story altogether. Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick showed why he got a big contract. He was 29-46 for 288 yards with a touchdown and a pick. He was able to get chunks of yardage, but the Titans were able to hold when they needed to. Rookie Chris Hawkins got more playing time when Jason McCourty suffered a concussion and looked good. Another rookie, LB Colin McCarthy continued to show why he was picked so high. He led the team with nine tackles and two fumble recoveries. He has played so well subbing for Barrett Ruud, some are asking if he should even go back to the bench.

Special teams were outstanding with P Brett Kern averaging almost 48 yards per punt and consistently putting the Bills inside their 20. Marc Mariani was his usual effective self in the return game.

With the victory the team moves to 7-5 and are right in the playoff hunt. This Sunday they play host to the Saints and it will take work to get a win in this one. Chris Johnson will have to have another day like he has had the last two weeks. He will have to chew up yards; help get first downs, and keep Drew Brees and the Saints offense off the field as much as they can. The defense will have to try to not give up the big play. Tennessee has to score and score often if they are to pull off this win. If they do their chances of making the post season rise dramatically.

Houston 17 Atlanta 10

T.J. Yates started his first NFL game and went 12-25 for 188 yards and a touchdown. Arian Foster did his thing with 111 yards on 31 carries. The defense held off Matt Ryan and the Falcons and the result was a big win that keeps this team two games up in the division.

The bad news is that WR Andre Johnson hurt his other hamstring in the game. The reports are saying that it is not as bad as the first injury. They had been playing well without him in the lineup but were relying on him down the stretch.

Now they will have to rely on Yates and their running game to get them to the finish line. Foster will have to stay healthy and Yates will need to manage the game. The fans in Houston have been used to being let down before, so they are not getting excited just yet.

New England 31 Indianapolis 24

The Colts have had a rough time of it this year and facing Tom Brady and the Pats would not make it any easier. Brady would torch them going 29-38 for 289 yards and two touchdown passes.

The Patriots receivers had a field day against the Indy defense. They were led by TE Rob Gronkowski’s three touchdowns. Two were by air, one was a lateral, and that continued his amazing year. Wes Welker was dominating once again with 11 grabs for 111 yards, Aaron Hernandez chipped in with seven catches for 43 yards and Dion Grant recovered the onside kick to end the game.

For the Colts, QB Dan Orlovsky replaced Curtis Painter and almost brought the Colts back from a 31-3 deficit. He was almost perfect going 30-37 for 353 yards and two late touchdowns to Pierre Garcon to make the game close.

No matter how they play the Colts are now locked in to the top pick in the draft next year. The questions will start with what happens with that pick. Will they take Luck with it, or will they trade it if Manning is ready to go? One thing is for sure, the Colts once again have a pick in the draft that just may turn out to be Manning part two.

San Diego 38 Jacksonville 14

Leave it up to the Jags to make Chargers QB Phillip Rivers look like he should have all year. He threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns to keep San Diego’s slim playoffs hopes alive. Ryan Matthews ran for 112 yards on just 13 carries.

The receivers all had a hand in beating the Indy secondary consistently. TE Antonio Gates is back to form and had six catches for 70 yards, Malcolm Floyd had four for 108 yards and Vincent Jackson had four of his own for 72 yards.

Jacksonville’s only weapon was none other than Maurice Jones-Drew. He had 20 carries for 97 yards and added six catches for 91 more. They scored just 14 points and that did not help their average one bit. The Jags have now scored 152 points in 12 games.

The season is not over just yet, but Jacksonville must be wishing it was by now. They will have so much to do in the off season. Who will the coach be and what players will stay or go? There are many questions with no answers to be found. I am starting to ask myself if there will even be a team in Jacksonville in the near future. We will see what happens as the drama down there continues to unfold.

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.

By Rafael Garcia-Sr. Contributing Writer-Southeast Region

Houston 41 Tennessee 7

In all the years this team has been in Nashville, no loss was ever this bad. The Titans last game was a trouncing by the Steelers, followed by the bye week. The bye was to be used to correct the mistakes of that blowout. It was supposed to be used to get ready for the biggest game this town has seen in years. It was for first place in the AFC South and what would have amounted to a two and a half game lead. What the fans and the team got was worse than expected.

Football is more than just skill and effort. It requires a passion and a deep commitment to your craft. You must come out every game on fire ready to hit the first opponent near you. After a bye week the Titans were expected to come out firing and fired nothing but dud after dud.

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