State of the union: AFC South - Part 4
This is the fourth and final part in a four part series of articles discussing the issues with the AFC South teams and what they need to do to stand a better chance next year against teams within their own division.
So what about the Titans? Well, they really have been on a downhill roller coaster in the last few years. In 2008, they had the NFL’s best record at 13-3 but they missed the playoffs in since that season. Their rushing offense ranked seventh in the league
along with their total defense. In the 2009 season, they fell to 8-8 but their rushing offense was ranked second in the league while their total defense fell to be tied in 27th place.
The 2010 season was the lowest point of their wild ride so far, with the team falling to a losing record 6-10 with their rushing offense ranking 17th in the league and the total defense coming in at number 26. Then there was the drama going on
with quarterbacks Vince Young, Kerry Collins and Rusty Smith. It was basically a game of musical chairs for the quarterbacks with a point where they had seven consecutive games with a different starting quarterback in 2010.
Also, Jeff Fisher is no longer the head coach in Tennessee with a new leader in the form of Mike Munchak. So what is the personality that “Munch” will be bringing to Tennessee with him? Considering that he is a Hall of Fame offensive lineman, there is only
one direction where he will be taking the team. He is going to focus on the run. Every single offensive lineman wants to do the exact same thing; they want to run the ball.
The Titans have Chris Johnson and a good offensive line and on top of that they bring in former Houston Oiler Chris Palmer as their offensive coordinator. When you look at Palmer’s track record as an offensive coordinator and head coach in the league, he
also likes to focus on the run. That’s a lot of running. So that’s going to be their main concern, getting their rushing game in shape. But they need a better quarterback to offset this; otherwise every opponent will stack the box to stop Johnson as they did
last season.
Johnson had over 100 receiving yards in eight of his sixteen games this season and had 13 or more receptions in every single game except one, a shutout loss to the Texans in Week 12. They lost 20-0 and Johnson had only seven receptions for five yards. He
has had 316 receptions for 1,364 yards this season for 11 touchdowns, the longest being for 76 yards. He has the most kickoffs returned for a touchdown in NFL history with 8.
So with such great talent in the AFC South, it is only a matter of time before they start playing consistently and take home some Super Bowl rings. But they will have to spend the off-season working on the concerns pointed out in this series of articles.
If they can correct all of these problems, look out Packers. The AFC South wants the Lombardi Trophy.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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