Denouement

It was always going to end like this. Fans were blinded by recent success, relative as it was, into thinking that not only was a Wild Card trip a possibility, but a playoff run. We knew. We knew that there wasn’t going to be a happy ending to the 2009 season.

Last night’s game was hard to watch, not because the Titans “blew” their opportunity to advance the season, not because they were exposed on national TV, but because that’s who they have been all season. Last year’s team was Jeff Fisher’s dream. The defense was so good that the offense only had to be middle of the pack. The team was clutch, always scoring or preventing a score when needed. There was a little good fortune sprinkled in there. This year’s Steelers team is similar in that every bounce went their way last year, and this year just a couple of cracks led to a nearly complete breakdown.

We knew when the D line couldn’t get any rush on the Cowboys in the preseason game. We knew when that same D line couldn’t get any rush on the Steelers in the second half of the opener. We knew when receivers started dropping too many passes. They couldn’t catch anything when Kerry Collins started. When Vince Young got in the game, suddenly nothing was dropped. Did we honestly expect that the receivers learned how to catch consistently in the middle of a season?

It was a sloppy game, and turned into a worst-case nightmare. We knew that if the offense turned the ball over, the defense couldn’t create turnovers, make third-down stops, get pressure or not have stupid penalties, and Fisher made his trademark “bawk bawk” punt in a close game, the dreams of January football were gone.
Vince Young had his worst game of the year. On his first interception, Alge Crumpler was wide open when he pulled his arm back. As his arm went forward, a linebacker moved in front. I don’t know if he could have pulled that one back. He did the right thing on his fumble, sliding as he got near the first-down marker. It’s rare that a QB gets the ball stripped a split second before sliding. Bad luck there. On the last interception the team was losing big-time anyway. The ball was behind the receiver, and Vince does that. No one on the team seemed capable of making a catch for the rest of the game.

The Titans had a shot to keep it close, but I don’t know if they could have defeated the Chargers. It was a little like the Colts game. If the Titans played their best and the opposition made a few mistakes, it was possible. But the Titans didn’t play their best. It was the worst performance since the Patriot game, and darn it all of one of the best teams in the league isn’t going to pick you apart when you’re an 8-8 team and don’t play up to par.

I know one thing. Chris Johnson might be the 2,000-yard rusher on the worst team ever. He ran for 141 yards even though he was the team’s only consistent weapon. He seems to disappear at the line of scrimmage and shoot out. Antonio Cromartie looked scared on Johnson’s first run. He got turned around like a JV cornerback covering a starting college wideout. The Chargers didn’t let Johnson get into the end zone when he scored the garbage-time TD. It did look a little like they were admiring his work.

It’s a dream season for Johnson and a nightmare for everyone else. You can’t go 13-3, lose your best defensive player, replace him with a few replacement-level guys and think that it will happen again. I don’t think the Titans had a shot at re-signing Haynesworth. Had Jason Jones been healthy all year, the defensive line would have been better but not good enough. The secondary was a little overrated last year and desperately needs depth. Losing Thornton was one thing, but when Bulluck was out, the defense lost its leader.

My father-in-law insisted that Jeff Fisher needs to go. He’s been with the team so long that it’s possible a new leader is needed. I’m not ready to let go just yet. All the teams that hired the hot, young coach haven’t done so well. Unlike the Colts, who seamlessly moved on from the Tony Dungy era, the Titans don’t have a replacement on staff.

I didn’t like punting on fourth and two when the team had the ball, a little momentum, and trailed by 11. Notice how many defenses that once were feared have turned to jelly this year? Mike Tomlin went for an onside kick because his number one defense from last year couldn’t stop the Packers. Bill Belichick went for fourth and two from his own 30 because his defense, once the cornerstone of a dynasty, couldn’t stop the Colts. The Titans stopped the Chargers on the opening possession and that was all they had. Chris Johnson could get those two yards. Vince Young could get those two yards. There’s no way that Nate Washington would get those two yards. I’d take those odds.

Even though the game was over, I didn’t like Fisher sitting on his time outs with the Chargers holding the ball in the final two minutes. I get that the defense couldn’t stop Mike Tolbert, a backup fullback, from running when the team was not going to pass. I would have liked to see a little fight.

The season ended a lot like 2006, when a team on the verge of a miraculous playoff run ran into a wall of reality. The Chargers, like the Patriots team that crushed the Titans on that cold December afternoon, are bound for the AFC Championship game, at least.

I’ll finish with Vince. He better work a lot harder in this offseason than he did in the 2006-2007 offseason. No video game covers. Work with Heimerdinger. Let’s see what this offense is capable with Chris Johnson ready to become a star, Kenny Britt prepared to make a second-year leap, and Jared Cook not getting injured every other week. The line is great, even if Mawae is gone. Could Nate Washington learn not to drop every other pass? That would be nice.

I enjoyed most of the second half of this year. I don’t know if the championship window is closed. Teams that traditionally didn’t win a Super Bowl, the Wild Card road warriors, the sieve-like rush D of the 2006 Colts, and the sieve-like offensive line of the 2008 Steelers means that anyone can win if they get hot at the right time. There was a lot of promise that led to despair, hope, and finally denouement.

Titan review

My fantasy season is over. Arian Foster could take the blame, but it’s all on the coach. I didn’t see Jonathan Stewart’s 25-point game coming, and I certainly saw Matt Forte’s six-point effort coming.

I have Fred Davis and I need 16 more points to win. I don’t see it coming. The Giants could stop playing defense. Where was this Giants D last week?

In my z34 game, I led for a couple of hours but my relative lack of talent “won” out. My opponent scored nearly 200 points, and 200 points is the gold standard. Our German owner is enjoying his first year in the league, probably because he took over a three-time champ and is in the title game again.

Let’s talk Titans. Fans are upset that Fisher and Heimerdinger got conservative after a 24-6 lead. I think we should be happy that this team was capable of getting an 18-point lead over a playoff-caliber team. The Dolphins have zero explosion on offense but their running game is solid and Chad Henne looks like a keeper at QB.

I know that Chris Johnson is on a roll that’s almost once in a generation, but his workload might be an issue. During a carry late in the game, the Dolphins’ D line actually picked Johnson up and tried to strip the ball. It reminded me a little of the Ravens’ wishbone treatment of Johnson in the playoff game. He’s getting 30 touches a game and while you can’t argue with the results, it’s a lot for one guy, any running back honestly, to take.

Vince Young made some nice passes. All three touchdowns were in tight coverage. Justin Gage caught the ball well in his two opportunities. Nate Washington only dropped one pass.

The defense was pretty much hopeless in the fourth quarter. After Keith Bulluck was lost to a borderline tragic ACL injury, there was no stopping the Dolphins. Michael Griffin handed a long reception to Brian Hartline and made up for it by picking Henne off.

If there was any doubt that the Rob Bironas of two years ago is back, it was erased in overtime. Griffin took a knee on his pick, and Greg Camarillo hit him late, putting the Titans in automatic field goal range. The Titans all but took a knee three times. I was nervous. I had no reason to. Bironas made the 48-yarder like it was an extra point. Clutch.

Yahoo came up with a playoff scenario page that’s freaking awesome. The Titans had nearly everything come up their way, with most playoff contenders losing. The Steelers, Texans, and Ravens did not play along.

The Arian Foster Show

Here's why they play the games. In the preseason, Matt Forte was an obviously better fantasy option than Chris Johnson. In some leagues he went as high as number one overall. Thirteen games later, Chris Johnson has 941 more rushing yards than Forte. I'm starting Arian Foster, a running back who only recently moved up from the practice squad for the Texans, over Forte. It's pretty much a no brainer. Forte will likely have his typical 48-yard effort on 15 carries while another unheralded rookie free agent running back Khalil Bell will probably average more per carry and get half a dozen touches. Forte faces the Ravens, which means the Bears probably will be losing big time early and the running game will be off the table. While Foster is in a three-man competition for touches, the Texans play the Rams. It's highly likely that the Texans will lead early and Foster could get 15 touches in the second half alone.

Tonight I root for the Colts. It's not often that I cheer for the masters of boring but effective. My opponent in my all-important local keeper league semifinal matchup has Manning and Addai. After tonight I should know if I need Foster to have a Ron Dayne-esque performance. In week 15 of the 2006 season, Dayne had 32 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns. If that happens, it will be the fantasy equivalent of moving into the first house or getting married. You think I jest.

When the dream dies

So this is what happens when a dynasty dies. My zealots 17 fantasy team had that new dynasty smell when the team's record was 6-0 and I had the highest score by far in the league. I slumped, finishing 9-4 and losing the first-round bye. My team was dispatched in the first round of the playoffs.

What happened? Hubris, I suppose. I traded Ricky Williams away in the offseason, all but giving him away for a third round rookie pick. I did not foresee a Ronnie Brown injury, obviously a blind spot on my part. Michael Turner got hurt and Marion Barber stopped scoring points. Jamaal Charles, who I considered trading, ended the year as my top scoring RB, with Darren Sproles close behind. LenDale White was the 15th highest scoring RB last year. This year, he's barely outscoring Garrett Wolfe. Percy Harvin, my stud rookie WR, got a headache and couldn't play. Reggie Wayne tailed off in a major way (four straight weeks without double digit points).
Here's what happens in the fantasy playoffs. You flip a coin and hope for the best. I won my first-round playoff game in my local keeper league. I scored the most points in the league. My opponent, the one seed, scored the second most. I had Andre Johnson and Brandon Marshall. His RB4 was Jamaal Charles. Cedric Benson, my RB1, scored less than half what Charles scored. I needed Johnson and Marshall to practically set league records for me to advance. I picked up the Texans D and lucked out with a TD.

In fact, the only team I have that did not advance in the playoffs was my dominant dynasty league team that had won two straight championships. I survived Randy Moss's sleepwalk of a performance to score the second most points in the ongoing Masters total points playoff challenge. I won in zealots 34 when Michael Crabtree outscored Larry Fitzgerald. I bet last week was the only week all year that this was the case. It takes luck and timing and it feels like more when you do it.

The best part of advancing in the fantasy playoffs is knowing that the football season is meaningful for another week. Titan fans understand that every week at this point is a gift.

The dream dies

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. The Titans were halfway to an incredible season turnaround, to start 0-6 and potentially finish 10-6. Chris Johnson was running like no one in NFL history. Vince Young became the QB we all thought he could be in 2006. Receivers were making plays. The defense started looking like the squad that was a step behind last year’s team, but good enough to win.

It didn’t end because the team played so much worse than the past five weeks. It ended because of a lot of the things that happened in the past five weeks.

You can’t catch everything: for the first three weeks of the Vince Young Experiment, receivers didn’t drop a pass. It was an uncanny reversal. But it couldn’t last. Nate Washington can get open but he can’t be trusted to bring in the big catch. In the first quarter, with the score 7-0 Colts, he had a chance to bring in a long touchdown. He dropped the pass.

When you get in the red zone against a good team, you need to finish: The Titans had more than 400 yards of total offense in the first 58 minutes of last week’s game. They only scored 13 points, and seven of them were on one play. The offense stalled inside the 20 too many times. Against the Colts it happened again. Two trips inside the 20 in the third quarter resulted in no points. That included a first and goal at the one. You have to make it happen.

And finally, the defense: The Titans all but shut out Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie and Joseph Addai filled in the gaps. One of the reasons why the steady but boring Colts have managed to be so effective this year is that Garcon and Collie have stepped up. The Colts’ offensive skill players, until this year, have been dominated by first-round picks.

The Titans weren’t going to win ten in a row, because you can’t play at your peak for ten consecutive weeks. You’re going to have to win with less than your best, as they did last week. Against an elite team like the Colts, less than the best wasn’t good enough. An 8-8 finish would be miraculous considering the 0-6 start. Remember, we don’t know anything until Vince Young gets another shot at starting 16 games. The secondary and defensive lines need more depth. Bringing in another veteran receiver who can catch but isn’t completely finished (hi, Torry Holt) would be nice. Sorry to say it, Titan fans, but the hot streak is over and it might be time to cash in the chips.

Quick Fantasy Football Playoff Rant

Is there anything I do that is more fun to do but less rewarding than setting up fantasy playoff systems? I enjoy looking over the rules for tiebreakers, writing information on each team and putting the final portion of the season in motion. I’m not getting any feedback.

Let’s face it. Fantasy sports have become less fun. The smack talk has almost evaporated. People don’t have as much time to play. I’ve had half a dozen unsubmitted rosters in my dynasty league alone. There’s so much information out there that there’s no excuse to start injured players and such. But people still do it. Just not when they’re playing me.

Five by five

Before I get too far into today’s game description, let’s get a few things out of the way. The Arizona Cardinals are a very good team. They’re going to be a tough out in the playoffs. I bet that they beat the Vikings next week. That defense is strong and hits hard. The receivers catch anything in their area code and both running backs are hard to bring down.

During this modest winning streak, we had yet to see the Vince Young who made the “wow” plays to lead the team to improbable victories. He had led the team to game-winning field goals but nothing like the 2006 season. Today, we got the 2006 treatment.

Before we got to the screaming (but the good time), we had a super boneheaded play. After Vince completed a fourth and one pass to Kenny Britt, there were eight seconds left in the half. A field goal was assured. Vince scrambled. Calais Campbell pulled a Mathias Kiwanuka, bouncing off him. There were two seconds to go. Vince needed to throw the ball away to allow a field goal attempt. He didn’t. The clock ran out. We knew that this play would be critical.

The game was a full on bore fest when Chris Johnson took over. As usual, he looked totally bottled up but was averaging five yards a carry. He took a handoff up the middle and once he had run 20 yards, he was gone. 85 yard touchdown. The Titans were up 13-3.

The game was over. Matt freaking Leinart wasn’t going to lead the team to victory, was he? Well, the Titans forgot about special teams. LaRod Stephens-Howling was a backup running back at Pitt. The Cardinals drafted him in the sixth round. He took the kickoff and went 98 yards for a touchdown. Could the Titans draft a guy like this? Please? Stephens-Howling later would down two punts inside the two yard line. If a special teams guy could single-handedly win the game, he was the guy.

After a really bad pitch to Chris Wells, who did the rookie thing by continuing to run backwards, a Cardinals drive seemed to be stalled. It wasn’t. Leinart made throws and Timmy Hightower took the ball in for the score.

With less than five minutes to go, Vince Young started a drive from the two-yard line. He hit Kenny Britt for 51 yards. Britt lost the ball on the play. Ugh. The Cardinals needed a few first downs. They couldn’t do it. The punt landed at the one yard line.

The Titans had 157 seconds to go. 99 yards. Chris Johnson couldn’t be a factor. It was fourth and four three plays later. VY threw the ball at the defensive back’s head. Britt made the catch. The next play was one of those ‘plays of destiny’, as Calais Campbell tipped the ball directly to Bo Scaife. Five plays later, it was fourth down again. The Cardinals blitzed on third down and it worked. They blitzed again and Young threw a short out to Hawkins. There was a Jared Cook sighting. He caught a pass and turned the corner inside the ten yard line. The Cardinals called a time out to regroup.

Four downs, nine yards to go, 21 seconds, two time outs. Any play is available. They could try to run Chris Johnson, or even run the option, which had not been tried to date. Young missed Scaife on first down. Scaife stopped on a post pattern. On second down Young started to run but hesitated and was brought down at the 11. The tension I had felt for the entire drive was growing. On third down, Young hit Washington inside the five yard line. Touchdown. Except that Washington dropped the pass. Here’s our goat, because an 11-yard pass is too much. The Titans called time out. The Cardinals called time out. It was endless. I couldn’t imagine what it would have felt like to be at the stadium. The play occurred right outside the end zone in which my parents stood.

There were six seconds to go. Vince dropped back. He moved up, throwing the ball. I saw Kenny Britt jump. I knew what was going to happen. Touchdown. The clock operator may or may not have run an extra second off the clock to ensure no additional Stephens-Howling return. I jumped up and down and probably surprised my Funk Bar and Grill hosts. They gave me high fives. That might have been the most exhilarating rally ever.

An 18-play, 99-yard drive with three fourth down conversions. Are you serious? Now, the Titans are officially playoff contenders. When the game ended I thought they were one game out. They are, but only if the Steelers lose. And they already lost to the Steelers, so technically they are two games behind. A ten-game winning streak is most likely necessary for this team to be a playoff squad. They only need to win five in a row, and they’ve already done that. Next week’s game in Indy just got a lot more interesting.

Real men run the option

For three weeks, I resisted the siren call. The Titans were back, Vince Young is reborn, Chris Johnson is crazy good and the defense has stopped sucking. So what. None of the six losses had been erased. There were still issues to be resolved. As a long-time fan, I was beyond being taken by these ebbs and flows.

Last night, I drank the Kool-Aid. Actually I didn’t drink anything besides water, and maybe that helped. You can measure a team by how they respond when a game is not perfect. The special teams coverage was bad. The pass D gave up more than 300 yards. Covering Andre Johnson was just a theory. Chris Johnson didn’t score a TD. Bironas missed a field goal.

They still won.

When the game was over, Vince Young’s stats looked like 2007. 12-22, less than 120 yards passing, one TD and one turnover. After he threw a near-interception in the third quarter he got very conservative. But he kept moving the team. On too many third downs to count, he looked downfield, found nothing and took off. He always went out of bounds. The one time he didn’t led to the turnover.

The defense gave up 300 yards passing, but that was about it. The Texans made Chris Brown their main ball carrier. He averaged 3.3 yards a carry and never got untracked. Steve Slaton made a few plays but dropped a big third-down pass. It was like a turnover.

After a first half in which the Texans seemed poised to take a big lead but ended up tied, it was a tense second half. Kris Brown missed a field goal. Bironas made a field goal. Brown made one. Bironas missed one. With five minutes to go, the Texans drove but weren’t able to get past midfield. The Titans started from the five-yard line and I knew that one first down was all the momentum they needed.
When Kerry Collins led the Titans to a dramatic last-minute victory in Baltimore last year, it took a penalty to jump-start things. On the opening play of the final drive, the Texans took Chris Johnson down hard. It looked like a horse collar. The call was a horse collar. As the announcers said, Johnson’s dreads would make giving him a horse collar almost impossible.

After a false start penalty, of which the Titans had plenty, Johnson ran for 22. He couldn’t quite make the TD escape but had lots of these runs. On second and short Crumpler appeared to catch a pass but it was ruled incomplete. Vince scrambled for a first down. A short third-down pass got Bironas in range and it was game over. Almost.

Horrible kick coverage got the Texans in position for a tying field goal. With eight seconds left and a time out, the Texans didn’t try to get closer. They had Schaub take a sneak to get into a favorable spot for Brown. Brown then pulled a Vanderjagt, missing the kick so badly that there was no doubt.

I laughed when he missed, but feel for the guy now. He missed two kicks last night, and a game-tying try last week in Indianapolis. It’s possible that the Texans could be 7-3 if not for these misses. Being a kicker has to suck at times.
There was one second left for the victory formation. The victory was so exhilarating that I couldn’t sleep for an hour and will live on Diet Dr Pepper for the rest of the day.

Oh yeah, the line on T-Rac Posse’s post game story is mine. The wildcat truly is for pussies. Real men run the option.