Armchair Quarterback: Despite hype, Titans won’t be that bad
Will the Titans be as bad as forecasted by the experts, given their losses during the off-season?
Looking at their opening schedule, it wouldn’t be a leap at all to see the Titans start 0-4 as they have a brutal opening four, beginning with a trip to Pittsburgh on Sept. 11. They then come home to host the Ravens, who have a history of beating the Titans in Nashville. Just recall for a minute, if you will, the Eddie George playoff stripping by Ray Lewis near midfield as the Titans blew homefield advantage in a 24-10 loss a few years ago. Then the Monday Night rip-off where the Titans were denied a win, which may have cost them a shot at the playoffs, when a McNair touchdown was called back and the points take off the board on the final play for a 16-10 loss. That was a nasty sight.
But anyway, given the fact the Ravens will be looking to avenge their last meeting with the Titans, a 20-17 home loss of their own in the playoffs two years ago and the fact the Ravens will likely be much improved, the Titans may be looking at a home loss if they aren’t careful.
Then, in the third week, they travel to St. Louis — where the Rams are always tough. This will be a shoot-out with whoever scores last winning the game, kind of like arena league.
And then, in the fourth week, the Titans host Peyton and the Colts. You can write this one off. The Colts have the Titans’ number, kind of like the Pats have Peyton’s number. It was Derrick Mason’s giveaway in the end zone in last year’s Colt showdown in Nashville which sparked the collapse which ended in a 5-11 season. Of course, we will see Derrick again, just in a Ravens uniform.
With this painting of disaster and doom, I’m now going to do an about face and say the Titans won’t be near as bad as forecast this year. Yes, there is a chance of 0-4 to start the season, but after that, you have some real possibilities as beginning with Week 5 we have, in succession, the Texans (yes, they did sweep the Titans last year), Bengals, Cards, Raiders, Browns, Jags (way overrated) and Niners. Frankly, all the Titans face for the rest of year is a return match in Indy and maybe the Seahawks on Dec. 18.
Normally, I’m going on about what a tough schedule the Titans have. This year, they have what appears to be a creampuff schedule since the league thought they would be creampuffs. Granted, any of these lower tier teams could spring up so nothing is automatic.
However, we must remember, the Titan team last year was the product of injuries never before seen on one team. At games, I was seeing new names in starting positions every week.
While the injuries hampered the Titans last year, the problems of last season will only make them stronger this year as many young players got a lot of playing time. With the departure of veteran players, the experience will be invaluable this year. And, let’s not forget, most of the losses by the injury riddled team were only be a few points and came due to a total lack of defense. The upside is that the Titan defense cannot be any worse than it was last year.
If the Titans can avoid the injury bug this year, this team will be superior to last year’s squad plus it will have the benefit of an easier schedule. So, the big question is can the Titans steal one or two of those opening four games. If they can, who knows, they could be the surprise team in the mix this year, perhaps even vying for a wildcard berth.