Ask Music City Miracles

The Titans always manage to lose at least one game every year in head-scratching fashion (see: getting blown out at home by the Bengals, 2007). If the team recovers from the loss to the Jets, then it might have been a fluke.

However, all is not entirely peachy in Titansland:

- The Titans are a run-first team that hasn’t been running very often, or very effectively, the last 3 games.

- We’ve lost 2 cornerbacks to IR, and another one is injured. The guy who was the second starting CB against the Jets was the team’s primary returner, and those duties have been given to a rookie WR, presumably for as long as he continues to start.

Even before the Jets game, Fisher was talking about the short week for the Lions game, and if I had to guess, I would say that that inattention was crucial.

Also, they really missed CB Nick Harper. Because against those quick-drop passing teams, they usually like to play press coverage and really just limit that stuff as much as possible. I mean, the media is all about how good Favre was, and he was very good, but this is a team that sees Peyton Manning twice per year, and in those games, the Colts run a very similar Offense. However, between the Jets running game and their inability to make plays vs. the pass down the field, they couldn’t get off the field. Having Harper would have helped.

That said, it was 10-3 at halftime and 13-3 before Chris Johnson’s crucial 3rd QTR fumble. Had they been able to put together at least one long drive in any of the first three QTRs, they might well have won the game. Instead, they had 6 drops in their first 10 passes and only rushed the ball 11 times despite averaging 4.5 yards/rush. I wouldn’t look for that kind of thing to happen again if I was the Jets.