After starting the season 10-0 last year and finishing 13-3, the Tennessee Titans are currently one of three winless teams, having started the 2009 season 0-6.
If you look at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the St Louis Rams and the Titans, it's easy to pick Tennessee as being the most disappointing. True, the Titans lost defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz this past off-season, as he took the Detroit Lions head-coaching job. And the Titans also lost potentially the best defensive tackle in football when Albert Haynesworth joined the Redskins in free agency. But there were easily enough pieces returning for the Titans to once again make themselves contenders in the AFC.
Somehow, after being one of the most dominant defences in the NFL a year ago, the Titans are but a shadow of their former selves thus far. Tennessee is currently worst in the NFL in pass defence, giving up an average of 311 yards a game. Opponents have averaged 33 points per contest against the Titans, also worst in the league.
What is very worrisome to me, is that it looked like the Titans quit against the Patriots on Sunday, and that is simply inexcusable. Watching the game, I saw a lack of effort and a lack of caring from many players, particularly on defence. The Titans would give up 35 points in the second quarter alone, as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady looked as if he was finally back to form, throwing for five touchdown passes in the 15 minute period.
The Titans appear to be a team that is emotionally drained. It looked as if they didn't even want to be there as they got embarrassed in the snow. It's easy to lose confidence as a team, especially after losing the first three games by a single possession each time. This is the NFL, though, and players are expected to understand that it is a long 16-game schedule. Quitting is just not an option in the National Football League.
The Titans have some serious decisions to make. The biggest: what to do at quarterback. Kerry Collins entered the season with high expectations after playing so well just a year ago. After starting winless, and going 2-for-12 with -7 yards passing versus the Pats, many wonder whether it's time to see former third overall pick Vince Young back under centre. At some point this season, the Titans need to answer the question as to whether or not Young is the Titans quarterback of the future. Young is due $7.5 million next year (with a cap hit of $14 million), and they won't be willing to pay him that if he is going to be watching games from the sidelines.
This may be the best time of the season for a quarterback switch because the Titans are entering a bye week, and that would allow Young an extra week of practice to get much needed work with the first team offence before squaring off with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
New Orleans is not Sinking
In what was the biggest statement game to date this season, the New Orleans Saints simply embarrassed the New York Giants Sunday afternoon, posting an impressive 48-27 victory. The Giants came into Sunday boasting the NFL's top rated defense, but it was Drew Brees and the New Orleans offence that would steal the show and prove that they are serious contenders for the NFC title.
The Saints scored 34 first half points, which equals the total amount of points that the Giants first five opponents had scored. The Saints showed tremendous balance on offense, and proved that they have many different weapons that can reach the end zone. Seven different players would score touchdowns on Sunday, setting a new franchise record. It's was just the tenth time since the NFL merger in 1970 that this has happened.
I thought Brees was simply outstanding in this football game. In a game that had been highly anticipated, Brees played his best, showing the uncanny accuracy and poise that has become his trademark in the past several years. Brees would go 23-of-30 for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns, but what was maybe even more impressive was that he completed 15 consecutive passes during a stretch of the game. Everybody has been talking about Tom Brady's five touchdown stretch in the second quarter against Tennessee, but I would argue that Brees's effort was just as impressive.
The Saints offence simply dominated the NFL's best defence! Many, including myself, believe that New York has the best pass rushing defensive line in the NFL. The Giants, though, were unable to get to Brees all afternoon and that meant trouble for the secondary. Without a dominant pass rush, the safeties and corners were left isolated with the Saints skill players and Brees made them pay. This wasn't a dink and dunk strategy by former New York Giants offensive coordinator and current Saints play caller Sean Payton. The Saints continually took shots downfield, and capitalized on their one-on-one opportunities.
I loved how the Saints made use of former Giant Jeremy Shockey, lining him up at wide receiver to play against smaller, less physical cornerbacks. Shockey would have his revenge against his old team, tallying four catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Give the Saints offensive line credit for keeping Brees clean, too, as that's been a difficult thing for any o-line unit to achieve versus the G-men.
In short, this was a total domination put forth by the Saint offence. What a statement! If you were unsure whether to take the Saints seriously or not, start believing.
The Redskins' Woes
Head coach Jim Zorn is no longer calling plays for the Washington Redskins. After leading an offence that was unable to score more than 17 points in any game through the first six contests, Zorn has been stripped of his play calling duties in favor of Sherman Lewis, who was hired as an offensive consultant just two weeks ago. (Lewis was calling bingo games at a senior center in Michigan, enjoying retirement before joining the Redskins).
I remember playing against the Seattle Seahawks back in 2002 when Jim Zorn was their quarterbacks coach. Before the game, Zorn was taking then starting quarterback Trent Dilfer through a series of throws on the field. It was just Dilfer and Zorn on the field, and Zorn would stand where the WR would catch the ball on every route. Dilfer would drop back play after play and make the throws; and it was a very up-tempo drill. I had gone out to take the field early to warm up, and Zorn caught me standing on the sidelines during the middle of the drill. Zorn introduced himself to me, and then began prophesizing the outcome of our game. As Zorn was running around the field, he would set up each and every throw with a comment to me, before running to the next area on the field to catch the next pass. He would tell me things like, "See, what we're gonna do is, we're gonna throw a slant on you to open the game up. Then once we've done that, we're gonna throw the curl. If you've taken the curl away, then we'll throw to the flat. We've got a slant-and-go ready also, once you've stopped our slant routes by the way." And on and on he would go! It was unbelievable.
I remember thinking to myself, "Wow! This would be a cool guy to play for!" Zorn is a former quarterback himself, having played professionally for the Seahawks, which is why he is labeled as a "players coach".
I think the decision to switch offensive play callers in Washington is a lose-lose scenario for Zorn. If Sherman Lewis's offence begins to click, then people will assume Zorn is a bad play caller. If the offence continues to sputter, people will still remember how ineffective it was under Zorn. After starting the season 2-4, I don't see how this ends well for Jim Zorn. Stay tuned Redskins fans.
Eagles Get Their Wings Clipped
In yet another crazy turn of events, the Philadelphia Eagles were upset by the lowly Oakland Raiders on Sunday, 13-9. Yes, the same Raiders that got embarrassed just the previous week by the New York Giants 44-7, the same Raiders that allowed 220 yards rushing in that game.
The Eagles must not have spent very much time watching the film of that game, because in an improbable twist of fate, the Eagles decided to run the football only 14 times on Sunday! It wasn't because the Raiders were loading the box and shutting down the run, just that the Eagles opened up an aerial attack. The Eagles were averaging 4.8 yards per carry on Sunday, but I guess the Philadelphia coaches just felt like there were many plays to be had vertically down the field in the passing game.
Unfortunately for the Eagles, that wasn't the case. Quarterback Donovan McNabb consistently attempted passes into 2-high safety looks, which can be very difficult to complete. Despite coughing up all those rushing yards the week before, the Raiders played mostly used only six player in the box against Philly, therefore allowing for more players to be lining up in the secondary. In spite of this, the Eagles would attempt 46 passes, and were simply not balanced at all on offence.
When the Raiders found out that the Eagles had completely abandoned the running game, the defensive line took over. They decided to stop playing their run assignments, and just pinned their ears back in effort to get to Donovan McNabb. And it worked. McNabb was sacked six times, and the Eagles had no answer for Richard Seymour, who ended up with two sacks and a forced fumble.
It is so important in the NFL to be balanced on offence. While running the football may not generate quick points the way throwing the ball can, it provides added benefits that are critical to a team's success. Running the ball allows a team to control possession of the football, and it eats up the clock. You can establish tempo in a game with a good running formula. Running the ball also wears an opposing defence down, so that in the fourth quarter (when many games are won and lost in the NFL) you can have an advantage. Finally, the running game sets up big opportunities in the passing game. Play action is a critical element in every offence, and running the ball allows for these types of plays to get called.
Every team needs balance on offence. Even the "Greatest Show on Turf" ran the football a lot with Marshall Faulk. The Eagles had no balance whatsoever on Sunday, and proved that without it, teams can lose to anybody, even the Oakland Raiders.