Commanding Respect

Monday night, the Titans unseated the Colts as the class of the AFC South division, winning 31-21 on Monday Night Football in Nashville. The win moves the Titans to 7-0, now with a 4 game lead on every divisional opponent with only 9 games left. Likely the Titans are good for a minimum of 11 wins at this point, so it would be difficult to lose the division to anyone who doesn't win out from this point on.

 

This was a big win for the Titans, but the media and MNF crew really blew everything out of proportion. Some points about the importance of this win, the media coverage, and the rest of year, in the very trusted and Vatican Smoke preferred communication method of bullets:

• Media coverage suggested that "the Titans must win this game to prove that they belong in the upper echelon of the NFL"  -  That's garbage. Win or lose this game, the Titans are at worst tied for the best record in football, and are an elite team no matter what. NFL teams lose games  -  its not college football, where good teams must go undefeated. The Titans are going to lose a game or two or three this year, and they are still going to finish the top seed in the AFC very likely.
• The MNF crew was throwing around Hyperbole after Hyperbole to describe the Tennessee Titans. Here are a few examples, not full quotes but near exactly what they (usually Tony Kornheiser) said:

"Nashville is a small town, so its nice to see that Nashville can support an NFL team."

 

Are you kidding me? Nashville is ranked anywhere from 28 to 38 depending on whether you measure the population as being the "Metropolitan area" or the actual city limits. Check it out here and here. Nashville is actually bigger than Atlanta if you just measure the actual city limits population, not the metropolitan area. Nashville is as big or a bigger market than Indianapolis. If the Titans had Peyton Manning on their team, the Colts would be the small market and the Titans the big market team in Tony's eyes.

 

"The Titans must have this win to have credibility in this league. They are going to be looked at as a fraud if they cannot win this game."

 

Seriously? A fraud for being 6-1 in the NFL. Yes, our schedule has been weak. But who else is better? The Giants at 6-1 got pummeled by the Browns, and the Bills/Patriots lost to Miami. The Cowboys are well profiled with their recent losses, and the Eagles are 4-3. Who is better than a 6-1 Titans team? Stupid analysis, creating drama out of nothing.

 

"The Titans winning this game is David finally slaying Goliath, after so many failed attempts".

 

Geeeeez. Are you serious Tony? I understand that the Colts have a record against the Titans of 8-5 since the Colts and the Titans were paired into the same division (AFC South) in 2002, but come on. Including Monday night, the Titans have won 2 in a row over the Colts, and have a 3-2 record since 2006. Yes, the Colts dominated the Titans in 2003-2005, but this is 2008 Tony.

 

As you can tell, I was a bit fired up about the portrayal the MNF crew was making. I realize they were trying to sell the game, to create drama out of a franchise that is fairly star-less and somewhat bland. The fact that we win as a team shouldn't be bland, but it is to ESPN I guess.

• The Titans should get the AFC's top seed  -  The Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers are the next two best records in the AFC, sitting at 5-2. Each of them have tough divisional foes (New England and Baltimore) and will likely lose at least 1 or 2 more. If the Titans can win 13 games  -  meaning they win 6 of their last 9, I think its going to be difficult for us not to have the #1 seed. That #1 seed is huge  -  as it means a bye in the playoffs, and homefield advantage for both potential playoffs games.
• The Looming issue over the Titans, as continually alluded to by ESPN throughout the entire day, is the future of Vince Young  -  VY has barely played this season, but somehow he was the focus of every ESPN report on Monday. Everyone has an opinion of whether he will play again, what happened to him during the week 1 game, and how is college background affected everything. I am not sure what happened, and I am not a psychologist, so I am not going to try to explain what we cannot fully know. I will offer up this, and you can take it to the bank  -  Vince Young will play meaningful snaps for the Titans this season. I am not sure when, but he is going to be called upon, I promise. I want to guarantee his success, largely because he will use this experience on the sideline to learn a lot that 25 year olds don't know. I cannot do that, but this kid is a winner and I'm sticking with him.

All in all, it was a big win and a big night for the Titans. Hopefully we will get some more media coverage and respect, and keep playing for National TV audiences this year and the next. Great job so far by Coach Fisher, kudos.