Titans year in review

By Marc Hudgens  |   Wednesday, January 09, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Tennessee Titans
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Strong defense branded Tennessee in 2007-08, without question. The Titans finished fifth in the NFL in total defense, allowing 291 yards per game, and finishing fifth against the run and a solid 10th versus the pass ended. Not bad for a season's work.

Tackle Albert Haynesworth led the motley crew; he was arguably the biggest inside disruption in the league taking on double- and sometimes triple-teams. Haynesworth's presence freed up Travis LaBoy, Antwan Odom and Kyle Vanden Bosch to make short work of the remaining offensive linemen and be effective. Vanden Bosch ended the regular season with 12 sacks, and LaBoy finished four forced fumbles. Odom had eight sacks. Tennessee's defensive front was a multi-headed monster.

The linebackers and secondary did a bang-up job as well, with OLB Keith Bullock recording five picks; meanwhile, Tennessee's defense as a whole bagged 40 sacks, good for seventh in the NFL.

The problem for Tennessee is that Haynesworth will hit the open market once free agency begins, so the team would be wise to re-sign him or apply the franchise tag. After all, when Haynesworth was out with injury this past season, Tennessee gave up more points that at any other time.

As well as the defense fared, the offense was a totally different story. Yes, the Titans had the fifth-best rushing attack in the NFL with 132 yards a game. However, that ranking is misleading, considering the Titans led the league in rushing attempts with a whopping 34 carries a game. The Titans averaged a mediocre 3.9 yards per carry average, which was 20th in the league. While the 235-pound LenDale White is a good back, it's obvious he doesn't possess the speed to threaten top-end defenses.

The receiving corps needs help in a bad way, meanwhile, as Tennessee's pass catchers dropped far too many throws. Even Roydell Williams, who appeared to be the least problematic receiver, still dropped the ball in key situations. The team simply has no strong receivers.

Quarterback Vince Young still has yet to live up to expectations. While the dropped passes did not help, Young has still been very inconsistent throughout. His running ability remains strong, but if your quarterback can't pass, you won't contend for much. 2008 will be Young's third pro season, so the free passes he's received thus far because of his youth and inexperience most likely won't be there in the future.

A close second-place to Haynesworth's unofficial MVP award is kicker Rob Bironas, whose 68 yards per kickoff ranked him fourth in the league. He was also the league's fourth-best scorer, racking up 133 points and 35 converted field goals. Talk about consistency. Although Bironas was consistent, it was clear coach Jeff Fisher used Bironas' abilities as a crutch because his offense couldn't score touchdowns. While Bironas is great, no good team should expect its kicker to bail its offense out almost every single game. Bironas isn't a solution to the Titans' offensive woes, and Fisher would do well to realize that.

Ultimately, you can't really bicker about a team that finished 10-6 as part of a difficult division, made it to the playoffs and lost a hard-fought wild-card game to the superior San Diego Chargers.

A balanced offense is what's needed next season for Tennessee to take the next step. If the Titans can establish a decent attack and retain Haynesworth, they should be stronger in 2008.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He...
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