Know Thy Enemy: Tennessee Titans

Jimmy from Music City Miracles was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. Without further adieu...

How can one player (Albert Haynesworth) make such a difference?

MCM: It is pretty amazing the diference he has made this season. He has finally started playing to the potential the Titans saw in him when they drafted him. He has been collapsing offensive lines from the middle, and I am not football coach, but I can tell that messes up most plays. He also commands a double team which frees up other guys on the defensive front to make plays.

The other reason is because the guys they have behind him are so bad.

How many seasons will Titans fans give Vince Young before he's considered a "bust"?

MCM: Some fans are already calling him a bust. The intelligent fans, however, understand that there are more factors to Vince's struggles this season than just him. The Titans have no playmakers on offense. Also, the play calling has been bad this season. Norm Chow isn't putting Vince in the situations to use his talents. He is trying to make Vince fit his offense instead of making the offense fit Vince.

That being said, there is still a lot of work Vince needs to do. He has to become more accuarte, work on the communication with his receivers and his foot work. I think if he has numbers similar to this year's after the 2008 season, pretty much everyone will be calling him a bust.

Where do you put the Titans playoff chances?

MCM: The chances took a big hit when the couldn't hold a 14 point lead in the final 8 minutes of the game last week against the Chargers. Honestly, I think it is 50/50. The Titans have to win out. Can they do that? Sure, but it isn't going to be easy. The game this Sunday scares me for a lot of reasons. The Titans haven't played in the cold weather at all this season, the Chiefs don't lose at Arrowhead in December, and the Chiefs have a good defense that could force some turnovers, just to name a few.

If the Titans get past this week with a win, they have the Jets at home which is a very winnable game, and go to Indy in week 17. The Colts should be locked as the #2 seed at that point, so they could be resting a lot of people. Plus, the Titans always play the Colts well.

The bigger problem may be the fact that they really need the Browns to lose 2 games to have a chance. If both teams finish with the same record, the Browns go to the playoffs because they will have a better AFC record.

That is a long way of explaining that, as I said up front, the chances are about 50/50.

What are your impressions of the Kansas City Chiefs this season?

MCM: I don't really have any impressions besides the obvious. They look to me like a team with an emerging defense and a struggling offense. Of course, it is always going to hurt an offense when they lose the focal point for as long as they have lost LJ. They scare me this weekend though.

What lesser known but talented Titans players should the Chiefs keep an eye on?

MCM: Justin Gage. Gage is a guy the Titans brought in as free agent from the Chicago Bears before the season. Gage only had 4 catches last season. This year he has emerged as the Titans most reliable wide receiver.

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My answers to Jimmy's questions are here. Head over to Music City Miracles for all things Titans. They seem to be pretty nervous about our Chiefs. Fear the 30th ranked offense!