State of the Union: Tennessee Titans

I miss this version of Vince.

I'm fairly confident that if I didn't have an icon of Vince Young in a Longhorns jersey made out of his old gum like Helga from Hey Arnold! I would hate him. True, mobile quarterbacks are much more fun to watch than prototypical pocket passers (which is partially why I'm on the Dennis Dixon bandwagon and also why I think dog fighting isn't as bad as people with a northern bias think. Different strokes for different folks. I digress...). True, he has a .667 winning percentage in the NFL and the majority of those games he played without Chris Johnson as his feature back. True, he beat up a strip club owner for giving him the Horns down. He possesses many qualities that I admire, but he has a knack for making people support him look like jackasses. Oh you like that I'm rookie of the year and on the cover of Madden? Boom, I'm gonna throw a few picks and go for a joy ride with my .45. You like the fact that I make a previously bad team exciting to watch? Well, I'm going to come into your house and take you out of playoff contention. Roasted. All that aside, Vince looks really good this preseason, and with their young corps of receivers they could do some damage through the air to give Chris Johnson a bit of rest. His receivers always play in single coverage because their running game is so good, but don't be surprised if those catchable balls he lofts everywhere start being caught by the other team.

In reality, the Titans start and end with Chris Johnson (CJ2K. I can't decide whether or not his decision to get that tattooed is cool. I'm leaning towards cool but officially sit on the fence). He makes up almost all of their offense, but they'll need to lighten up his load or he's going to end up like Shaun Alexander in his post MVP years. They've brought in Jevon Ringer, who was a workhorse at Michigan State and averaged 6 yards a carry in his first year with the Titans. He's no Chris Johnson, but nobody else in the league is either, so the kid should be serviceable especially considering that he's replacing Fatty. Giving CJ the ball through the air will be another way that the Titans can get him in the open field and have him avoid the punishment that comes with carrying the ball between the tackles. All in all, there's no shot in hell he's running for another 2,000 yards on the ground. Losing Kevin Mawae hurts (even though there's talk that his replacement Leroy Harris is an improvement) and, even if the line is still good, it'll be hard to pick up yards when you're still playing starters and aren't losing 59-0. If he does pull it off, then don't expect the Titans to be in the playoffs because it'll come at the expense of a complete offense. Last year was special for any athlete but I don't think he's realized that yet.

If the Titans want to get back to form, their defense is going to have to play like it did in 2008 rather it's 28th ranked 2009 counterpart. The big names from the past, like Haynesworth, may be gone, but it's hard to be worse than last year. Playing their starters all the way through 16 games would be an improvement. Linebacker Keith Bulluck is still there to anchor this defense that has a lot of youth coming in. Since Jevon Kearse and Vanden Bosch are out, the Titans drafted defensive end Derrick Morgan out of Georgia Tech as their replacement. If he can get over his calf injury that has hampered him all preseason then he should step in and make an immediate impact on their line. Their secondary isn't great but cornerback Jason McCourtney has some experience under his belt and will be counted on to replace Nick Harper. If their pass rush improves it will make make life easier on their think looking secondary, but if Morgan doesn't get healthy then it's nothing but a continuation of the status quo.

Success for the Titans depends on how well Young handles the pressure of starting week in and week out of the NFL. It's great to come in and be a hero when the team is garbage, but being asked to take a team to the playoffs from week one is a different task entirely. The receivers will help but not if Kenny Britt keeps making dumb decisions like showing up out of shape or kicking the ball out of bounds against the Cardinals. Nate Washington and Justin Gage are good, but Britt has the talent to take this team to another level. Young needs to get them the ball. Until the Titans build a passing offense that can consistently supplement the run like they did at the end of the season, then they may sneak into the playoffs, but they won't win. It showed in 2008. VY can't just be Kerry Collins. He needs to be the explosive player they brought him in to be. He'll always be remembered for the confetti shot at the end of the Rose Bowl, but if he doesn't complete this season then he'll be nothing but a footnote in the NFL.