Fire Jeff Fisher, is he on the hot seat ?

The Titans fell to 0-3 today, and there are many grumblings around the online Titans community that Jeff Fisher is on the hot seat.

Jeff Fisher has been on the sidelines since 1994 making him the longest tenured coach in the NFL. Fisher has a regular season record of 128-105, and a post season record of 5-6. His first and only trip to the Super Bowl was back in 1999 where Kevin Dyson came up one yard short vs the Rams.

Is it time to make a change in Nashville? Lets take a look at some interesting head scratching moves that Fisher has made recently.

Personnel
Yes, A lot of this is on GM Mike Reinfelt has well, but I think Reinfelt has actually done a great job with this team since his arrival. Why on earth is Craig Hentrich still on the roster? This has nothing to do with a GM, but everything due to Fishers loyalty to his veteran players. Hentrich is at the age (38) where injuries are going to bother him more, thus the Titans are forced to carry an extra punter on their squad because of this. Do you think it was Reinfelt's decision to re-sign Hentrich to a one year deal in the off-season? This was Fishers decision.

The Titans lose CB/KR Chris Carr to free agency and they do absolutely nothing about it. Instead they rely on rookies Javon Ringer, Ryan Mouton & Jason McCourty to return kicks. If the Titans didn't have to keep 2 punters on their roster, they could have at least kept WR Chris Davis on the roster to return kicks where he was at least servicable last year.

Game Decisions
Ryan Mouton had two fumbles in Week 2 vs the Texans, but yet he was back in action in Week 3 vs the Jets. Does Fisher just have a soft spot in his heart for CB's? I remember back in the old Fisher days where when you make a mistake, your ass is on the bench. Mouton was giving ANOTHER shot in the 3rd qtr today vs the Jets and muffed another return. You fix these things in practice, not in a must win game like today.

Rob Bironas has one of the best legs in the league, but yet Fisher will not give the guy a chance to put up points on the board. If you are inside the 35 yard line, you need to be kicking field goals and attempt to put up points on the board. Going for it on anything more then 4th & 2 is crazy. This has happened in 2 of 3 games this season, and a handful last year.

Mike Heimerdinger was great back in the Super Bowl years, but Heimerdinger also had a great QB to work with in Steve McNair. Kerry Collins is not a great QB. He is a game manager, not a game breaker. McNair was a game breaker. The Titans need to get back to their smash mouth run offense. They need to find more ways to get Chris Johnson the football. The Jets were attacking all day today. How many screens/draws did the Titans run today. ZERO. Lendale White who also played well today needs more touches. The Titans win by running the ball, not by throwing it 30 times plus a game.

Defensively adjustments needed to be made in the Pittsburgh game. It was Chuck Cecil's first regular season game as defensive coordinator and Ben Roethlisberger was picking apart the Titans soft zone defense. Fisher needs to step up and make an adjustment on the fly if his coaches are not doing it. Coaching is one big chess match, and Jeff Fisher is certainly no Bobby Fischer.



Back to Kerry Collins. How many times has he actually put this team on his shoulder and won a game? When is the last time he has made a clutch throw late in the game?
Fisher does not have the cajones to make the move back to Vince Young. That would be admitting that he was wrong about the switch to begin with. Young might not be able to throw the best pass, but I remember a few games where he battled back and won a game late for us. (Giants comeback, Texans OT game) Vince has actual weapons now in Chris Johnson, Kenny Britt & Nate Washington to work with that wasn't there two years ago. The change needs to be made now at QB, not for the sake of this season but for the sake of the franchise. Tennessee needs to see if Young is a franchise QB NOW before the draft next year.

I am one of the biggest Jeff Fisher fans out there, but his coaching has cost the Titans all 3 of the games this season. It is time for a change at QB, and if Fisher does not make that move, then it is time for a change at head coach. Jon Gruden anyone?

Titans fumble away win vs Jets

It was by far the best game of the year the Titans played but costly turnovers on special teams resulted in two Jets touchdown drives on short fields and a 24-17 loss.

After a great 1st drive put together by Mark Sanchez and the Jets that resulted in a touchdown, Titans rookie CB Ryan Mouton fumbled on the ensuing kickoff which led to another Jets touchdown to give them a 14-0 lead.

The game was far from over though as the Titans clawed back into the game. There wasn't a lot of running room for Chris Johnson today, but he did finish the game with 97 yards on 22 attempts. Kerry Collins looked especially good in the 2nd & 3rd qtrs of the game and the old vet led the Titans back with 17 unanswered points to give them the lead. Lendale White played great today. He hit the hole hard and was always fighting for that extra yard. His TD run today in the 2nd qtr was probably his most impressive TD run I have seen from him in a long time.



The big story of the day was the Titans defense. They were getting pressure with their front four, and a few timely blitzes from DC Chuck Cecil who failed miserably in his debut vs Pittsburgh. The Titans defense was the reason why they were able to come back in this game.

The Jets had no answers on offense for the Titans defense, but like earlier in the game benefited from another huge turnover as Ryan Mouton fumbled another return deep inside Tennessee territory. The Jets capitalized with a Jerricho Cotchery TD Reception and they never turned back. The fumble was clearly the turning point in this game, as the momentum was shifted back into the Jets favor.

Tennessee did have some chances to get back into the game, but the same problems that have plagued this offense in the past showed up again in the 4th qtr. The inability to make a clutch catch, Justin Gage, Nate Washington, Kenny Britt & Alge Crumpler all dropped passes that need to be caught in this league. The sloppy conditions might have been a small factor, but a couple grabs here and there would have resulted in a possible comeback.

Kerry Collins was 0-13 in his last pass attempts but a lot of the passes should have been caught. I don't blame Kerry for the loss even though both of his interceptions were bad throws. His play was very good today.

"It's frustrating," Collins said. "By no means can we start pointing fingers and start pushing panic buttons. We've just got to stay together and keep believing in what we are doing and we'll get it turned around."

So what now? Since the expanded playoff format in 1990, only 3 teams have made the playoffs since going 0-3. The last team, the 1998 Buffalo Bills. Can this Titans team make it 4? It will be very tough to do so in the AFC as it looks right now that the Jets,Ravens have a pretty good hold of both wildcards being 3-0 right now. (I still expect New England & Pittsburgh to win their divisions) For a wildcard in the AFC you will need to be at least 10-6 to be considered.

So lets look at the schedule. 4 more losses ends the season. A split vs Indy & Houston, a sweep vs Jacksonville. 4-0 vs the NFC West which I don't think will be a problem. That puts the Titans at 8-4. That means the remaining games vs the AFC are absolutely critical. (New England, Buffalo, Miami & San Diego) 2 of 4 from this bunch would result in 10-6.

The talent & coaching is there, lets just hope lady luck is on their side.

Titans lose heartbreaker vs Steelers

The Titans dominated the majority of the game in the season opener at the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night, but came up short in overtime as their tired defense could not stop another Ben Roethlisberger 4th qtr comeback.

The Titans defense started the 2009 season as expected with a forced 3 and out, but Tennessee CB Courtland Finnegan who was returning punts for the first time in his NFL career made a costly mistake by not fair catching a punt which would have given the Titans ball on their own 10 yard line. Instead, Finnegan let it drop and Steelers CB Keenan Lewis downed the ball at the 2 yard line.

The Titans first offensive possession of the year was a quick one, as their backs were up against the wall. Troy Polamalu made two tackles on the drive and the big one on 3rd & 6 where he hit Chris Johnson like a bullet coming out of a gun.

The Steelers started their 2nd drive of the game on the Tennessee 43 yard line, but 2nd year DL Jason Jones who dominated Pittsburgh offensive linemen last year with 3-1/2 sacks got to Roethlisberger and knocked the Steelers out of FG range.

The Titans second possession started on their own 11 yard line, and they quickly marched down the field behind a 32 yard run by Chris Johnson with a personal foul late hit by Troy Polamalu, and a 20 yard pass completion to TE Bo Scaife. The Titans drive stalled on the Steelers 19 yard line, and a bad snap by center Ken Amato made Rob Bironas push a 37 yard field goal attempt wide right.

Pittsburgh couldn't capitalize on their next attempt with the ball. DT Tony Brown sacked Roethlisberger on a 3rd and long and the Steelers had another 3 and out.

The Titans moved down the field well there next possession until Kerry Collins hung one on a long pass attempt to rookie WR Kenny Britt. Britt made a rookie mistake by not playing defender and Polamalu made a great one handed interception.


The Titans quickly got the ball back as Ben Roethlisberger threw and interception of his own on a 3rd and long to S Vincent Fuller. The 1st quarter had ended, and the Titans defense was outstanding. Three drives, two sacks, 1 interception, and zero first downs.

Titans punter Craig Hentrich pinned the Steelers down at their own 5 yard line, but Big Ben finally connected on some passes and had two nice first downs before finally having to punt.

Tennessee marched from their 27 yard line all the way down to the Steelers 13 yard line. Collins threaded a pass perfectly in the endzone to Justin Gage on a 3rd and long, but Gage could not hold on. Bironas who has been one of the best kickers in league history in terms of accuracy had his next field goal attempt blocked. Troy Polamalu got injured on the play when Alge Crumpler fell on his knee when Polamalu was trying to scoop up the block.

The Steelers moved down the field with their two minute offense and Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes on a 34 yard passing touchdown on a pump fake where Chris Hope just bit big time.

The Titans were resilient though getting the ball back with only 1:22 left in the half. Collins hit a wide open Kenny Britt, and Britt did the rest on a nice run after the catch. Collins hit Justin Gage on the very next play in the endzone for the touchdown to tie the game.

The Titans scoring drive was only 34 seconds long, so Pittsburgh did get the ball back, and managed to drive all the way down to the Titans 42 yard line. It was looking like the Steelers would have a shot at a FG until DE William Hayes came up big with a sack pushing the Steelers back to midfield. The Steelers were forced to throw up a hail mary which Courtland Finnegan almost pulled a James Harrison by returning it for a TD. Finnegan ran out of gas, and blockers.

Going into the 2nd half, there was some big news for Titans fans. Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu who was all over the field in the 1st half would not be returning to the game. Polamalu suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and he will be out a few weeeks.

The Titans once again marched right down the field only to have their drive stalled when Bo Scaife fumbled after getting hit in the knee.

"He dove at my leg. It was a cheap shot,'' Scaife said. "I have been playing my whole life and no one has ever hit me like that. So I know when it is real and when it is not real. So it was a cheap shot and I don't care if that gets back to him either."

This was the turning point in the game as the Titans lost their #1 receiving option.


The Titans had another nice drive to start the 4th qtr and Rob Bironas finally connected on a field goal when he hit a 45 yarder with just over 11 minutes left in the game.

Pittsburgh finally went back to what was working in the 1st half with their next possession when they ran a lot of no huddle which stopped Tennessee from substituting their players on the d-line. Pittsburgh moved right down the field, but when they got to the Titans 10 yard line on a 2nd & 2, they ran two consecutive run plays. The Titans stuffed both of them, and then didn't jump offsides on a 4th & 1 where Roethlisberger was trying to draw the penalty. Jeff Reed nailed the chip shot to tie the game with just about 3 minutes left.


On the ensuing kickoff Tennessee had a huge holding penalty, that cost them 10 huge yards. Collins to Gage got those yards back, but then the Titans offense sputtered for the first time pretty much all game when Pittsburgh brought the heat and Justin Gage dropped a catchable pass on 3rd & 10 which would have kept the drive going. The Titans did not take any time of the clock in this drive. The Steelers received the ball back with just under two minutes left in the game.

Once again, the Steelers two minute offense was too much for the Titans conservative defense and Roethlisberger tore up the Titans soft zone. It looked like a Titans loss until Hines Ward fumbled at the Titans 10 yard line on an incredible strip by Michael Griffin. All Ward had to do was fall to the turf and the game was over, he admitted it was a mistake after the game in a post game interview.

The game went to overtime when you guessed it, the Steelers win the toss and march right down the field against a soft zone defense and mediocre pass rush. Jeff Reed nailed the game winner and the Titans lost 13-10.

Some things I noticed

1. The Titans need to utilize the screen pass a little more. Find more ways to get Chris Johnson the ball. When Johnson has the ball in the open field he is as dangerous as any player in the league. The Titans had 2 called vs Pittsburgh, but the pressure came too quick before the screen developed.

2. The defense strives on rushing with their front four, putting pressure on the QB and forcing mistakes. They are able to do this by rotating fresh bodies in at a constant basis. When teams go no huddle against them, tired legs are in the game and they don't get the same result. Defensive Coordinator Chuck Cecil will need to mix it up with a blitz every once in a while, otherwise the Titans will be sitting ducks all season. 30 other NFL teams took note of how to beat the Titans defense, so hopefully changes will be made in the next game.