There are times in the life of a sports fan where going into a game, they know their team has no chance.
For me, today was one of those days.
My Tennessee Titans headed into a Wild Card matchup with the San Diego Chargers yesterday afternoon. On paper, this was a mere formality. The Titans could not keep up with the Chargers, especially without two former Pro Bowl lineman and two of our receiving targets. Not to mention Vince Young came in on one leg with a hurt quad.
I really wish they would have blown us out, because maybe it wouldn't hurt this much if they did.
Tennessee came out and did what it did best in the first half. They ran the ball and had Vince Young make some throws to keep drives alive. The Titans also harrassed Philip Rivers and kept LaDainian Tomlinson in check. The only problem was, the Titans offense was too conservative and too predictable. Add in the fact that Titans running back Chris Brown coughed up the ball deep in San Diego territory, you had a recipe for disaster.
In the second half, it was clear that San Diego had adjusted...and the Titans had not. Rivers found holes all throughout the Titans secondary and led them to a 10-6 lead.
Then the wheels fell off.
The Titans responded by driving right down the field including a beautiful throw to Ben Troupe down the sideline. But yet again, the Titans offense sputtered out and they called on Rob Bironas to pull them within three. Bironas missed by a hair.
He missed?
Are you sure?
That looks close.....
...Crap.
That play proved to be the deathnail in the Titans season. The Chargers took the ball and drove right down the field and got to 4th and Goal at the Titans one yard line. The Chargers decided to go for the throat and the win and sent their offense on the field. Rivers handed the ball to Tomlinson who lept high into the air and was hit by Stephen Tulloch. Tomlinson was knocked back. Tomlinson then had the awareness to reach the ball over the line. Touchdown Chargers.
This is where things got blurry for me.
That play was one of the most egregious officiating gaffes of the season. Tomlinson's motion was clearly stopped and he was knocked back. The refs all swallowed their whistles and let the play go. Let it also stand that Tulloch should have wrapped Tomlinson up. Jeff Fisher challenged the play but Ed Hochuli apparantly did not see what I saw and said the ruling stand. The Titans went on to lose the game 17-6.
This game summed up the entire season for the Titans. A good defensive effort spoiled by a poor offensive showing. There are three major reasons why the Titans offense is putrid.
1. Fisher/Chow: What happened to the offensive genius? Chow has done nothing to open the playbook whatsoever all season. Also, has the man ever heard of a counter play or a toss or even a sweep. The Titans run nothing but draws all game and then they call stupid pass plays for two or three yards. Maybe it has something to do with Fisher's conservative style clashing with Chow. Fisher gets lumped in for his gameplan, which totally stinks. He likes to get a small lead and cling to it until the very send. Where is the killer instinct that the Chargers showed yesterday? People may not like coaches like Bill Belichick, but the man knows how to put teams away and it gets results.
2. The Wide Receivers: These guys are the biggest bunch of jabroni's masquerading as pro wide receivers in the entire NFL. This is the depth chart at WR for the Tennessee Titans
- Eric Moulds
- Roydell Williams
- Paul Williams
- Justin Gage
- Joel Filani
- Brandon Jones
- Biren Ealy
- Chris Davis
3. Vince Young: Even if your wide outs stink, there's no excuse for 18 interceptions and seven touchdowns. Vince has slumped this season and is not the same Vince. Vince has tried to prove that he can throw and it's cost himself and this team dearly. You can sense his hesitation to run. That's not the Vince I remember. Where's the Vince who bolted from the pocket against Houston in OT to win it? I don't know but Vince needs to find him soon.
Adding to the offenses woes was the horrendous performance by the kick return team. The Titans always have to drive 75-plus yards to score and that lays at the feet of the returners that just totally stink. That is the one area the Titans missed Pacman Jones the most and his return will be greeted with open arms as far as I'm concerned.
They say there's always next year, but right now, I have a bitter taste in my mouth.
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