During their off weekend, the Titans watched the St. Louis Rams and Houston Texans rally to defeat Washington and Miami, respectively, to earn their first victories of the season and the Cleveland Browns defeated the only other undefeated team which was the New York Giants. Redskins running back Clinton Portis even admitted after the loss to the Rams that Washington players "overlooked" the previously winless team.
Struggle or not for the rebuilding Chiefs, Titans coach Jeff Fisher said Monday his 5-0 club will not overlook Kansas City, despite what appears to be a mismatch on paper.
"I don't think this team will have any trouble getting focused for this ballgame," Fisher said. "They left (for the bye weekend) with (focus) being the intention coming back. I'm not concerned about that whatsoever. There are things, however, that do raise your concern levels a little bit after byes, and those are the normal things - the timing.
"After bye weeks, the penalties seem to creep up a little bit, the turnovers the timing is off a little bit ... but I'm not concerned about them taking anything lightly or taking anything for granted or a lack of focus. They're highly motivated right now. That's the one thing that's got us to this point. They carry a very high level of respect for their opponent and that's what has gotten us to this point. And we're not going to waver off that."
The Titans faced the Chiefs last year at Arrowhead and won 26-17. Fisher said the Chiefs are very different from that team, and despite having only one win thus far, can be a dangerous team with so many young players learning on the job.
"They've definitely had to make some difficult roster moves," Fisher said. "One in particular is Jared Allen (traded to Minnesota). They've had a lot of draft choices. They've drafted well. They're playing young players. They've got some key players at key positions. Tony Gonzalez, and (Dewayne) Bowe. The running back (Larry Johnson, who did not play in the '07 meeting) is a very, very good player. They've got some very, very good defensive players. They've had trouble winning ballgames, but all you have to do is put the Denver game on, and it'll get your attention."
Fisher said because both teams had bye weeks last week, that the young Chiefs are a bit of an unknown to the Titans as they game plan for them.
"We played them last year but their roster has turned over significantly since last year's matchup," Fisher said. "I think the level of unknown comes just from the week off. That would be the staff's concern because there's no way to predict what they've done over the bye week and what they're going to do from a game plan standpoint."
The Titans are at least familiar with quarterback Brodie Croyle, who has missed time this season with a separated shoulder, but should start Sunday's game. The Titans picked Croyle off twice in last year's victory, but despite the mistakes in that game, Fisher said the young quarterback had moments where he played well against Tennessee's defense.
"I thought last year he played well leading up to our game and he played well in our game," Fisher said. "He made some plays in some difficult weather conditions on an icy, frozen field ... I think he's certainly a capable quarterback. We had a very good grade on him coming out so I think he gives them a boost, certainly with a week and a half, or the extra days of preparation. I think he's got a chance to be productive."
NOTES, QUOTES
—The Titans needed the bye week to heal up one of the most important elements of the club in the unbeaten start - the defensive line. Both defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) and defensive tackle Tony Brown (ankle) failed to finish their Oct. 5 victory in Baltimore, and both would have been extremely iffy had the Titans had a game scheduled this past Sunday.
In regards to their availability this week, Jeff Fisher said Monday, he was "very encouraged right now" with where they are. The Titans finished the win over the Ravens with only five defensive linemen, and at one point in the game, were down to four when Albert Haynesworth was out for a time.
Vanden Bosch has been an ironman for the Titans since signing with Tennessee in 2005. He has made 53 consecutive regular-season starts, plus one in the playoffs.
—Who could have guessed that DE Jevon Kearse would emerge as the healthiest member of the Titans front four through the first six weeks of the NFL season? When the Titans re-signed Kearse in March, there were questions galore about his exit from Philadelphia where he had suffered a knee injury in 2006 and was eventually benched in 2007. But with the other three starters on the d-line banged up, Kearse has managed to stay healthy and relatively productive thus far.
"I've been playing around 40 to 45 snaps a game, which is pretty decent," Kearse said. "They'd probably want me to play a little less but I don't think I can do that. I want to jump out there as much as I can, just to get better."
He has 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks, but Fisher said his value to the defense goes beyond the numbers.
"There's gap fit responsibilities. There's contain responsibilities," Fisher said. "He'll flatten out on bootlegs and force the quarterback to throw the ball out of bounds. And guess what? We don't see a bootleg the rest of the day. You don't see that, but we see that. So there's a lot of those hidden things that he's doing for us right now, well above and beyond the sack numbers and the hurries and the hits that are contributing to the success of our defense."
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
PLAYER NOTES
—CB Cortland Finnegan is still tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with four, despite not having a pick in his past two games. Finnegan is currently tied with teammate Michael Griffin and Green Bay's Charles Woodson.
—TE Bo Scaife was supposed to be the Titans second option at tight end behind veteran acquisition Alge Crumpler. But Scaife is becoming more of a go-to guy than ever, as he leads the club with 20 receptions thus far this season.
—WR Justin Gage, who missed the Ravens game with a knee injury, was held out of practice during the bye week and stayed behind on the weekend to rehab the injury. Titans coach Jeff Fisher said Gage would have a chance to return this week this week against Kansas City.
—K Rob Bironas, who can be an unrestricted free agent at year's end, is doing what he can to enhance his value. Bironas, who made 35 of 39 field goals last year, is a perfect 8 of 8 in 2008 with three of those from at least 44 yards.
—DT Albert Haynesworth already has five sacks after posting a career-high six last year. Haynesworth, however, has indicated he doesn't believe he is playing as well overall as he did a year ago. Nevertheless, he is well on his way to earning his way out of being franchised for a second straight season. He needs only to play in 60 percent of the defensive snaps, or 53 percent if the Titans finish in the top five defensively or win 10 games. He also would not be franchised again in 2009 if he makes the Pro Bowl.
REPORT CARD AFTER 5 GAMES
PASSING OFFENSE: C-plus — Last year, the passing offense was a disaster as Vince Young threw just nine touchdown passes to 17 interceptions. Thus far, veteran Kerry Collins has steadied the ship, and his numbers are not spectacular (64 of 115 for 740 yards, 3 TDs, 3 INTs), he has been reliable and has contributed key completions and drives at crucial moments.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B — The Titans have found the yards more difficult to come by the past two weeks (76 yards vs. Minnesota, 47 vs. Baltimore) after going over 100 yards in each of the first three games. Rookie Chris Johnson needs to be the bellwether for the run game, and is beginning to wrest more carries away from LenDale White.
PASS DEFENSE: A-plus — The front four, led by Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch, has been the spark for the defense all season with 14 of the team's 15 sacks coming from the defensive line. That pressure has also helped the Titans record 10 interceptions, including three that have had a direct bearing on preserving games.
RUSH DEFENSE: A-minus — There have been times the Titans have been gashed for big plays and games where they have given up plenty of rushing yards, but for the most part, this group has been solid, ranking ninth in the NFL in rushing average and 13 in rushing yards per game entering Monday night.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B — Special teams, especially the kickoff coverage unit and punt return unit, looked to be a liability early in the season, but over the past few weeks, the Titans have improved in both areas, and have been getting improved results from return man Chris Carr. In kicker Rob Bironas (8 for
and punter Craig Hentrich (35.7 net avg.) are as solid as ever.
COACHING: A — For all of his conservativeness regarding the offense, Jeff Fisher's style of letting the defense set the tone and asking the offense not to make costly mistakes, has worked thus far for Tennessee. The permanent switch to Kerry Collins at quarterback was a needed move, but made easier by Vince Young's issues in the aftermath of his knee injury.
