Last week: 11 (-14)

Record: 0-2

Before the season, I had the Titans as a playoff team. I thought they had a very strong supporting cast and that Jake Locker would be an upgrade over Matt Hasselbeck, who took this team to 9-7 last year as nothing more than a game manager. I felt that Chris Johnson would continue his strong running from the 2^nd half of last season (4.8 YPC in the final 8 games, as opposed to 3.0 YPC in his first 8) and that the addition of Kendall Wright and the re-addition of Kenny Britt to this receiving corps, as well as the continued maturity of receivers like Jared Cook and Nate Washington would make this a more explosive offense. I felt their depth at cornerback, the addition of Kamerion Wimbley and potential breakout of Derrick Morgan as much needed pass rushers, as well as the continued maturity of a 8^th ranked scoring defense in 100 that had 6 of 11 starters in their 3^rd year or younger, would counteract the loss of Cortland Finnegan at cornerback.

I did mention that if Jake Locker didn’t play well, it would derail the whole thing and that’s been the case over the first 2 games. On top of that, Chris Johnson has been awful, rushing for 21 yards on 19 carries in 2 games and the defense has really missed Finnegan, surrendering 8.3 YPA, 25^th in the NFL, and 36.0 points per game, 30^th in the NFL. I know they’ve had a tough schedule, but they’re the only team in the league who hasn’t been in either of their first 2 games and they rank 27^th in yards per play differential. I said before the season they could be anywhere from 5-11 to 11-5. I thought it’d be closer to 11-5. Now it’s looking closer to 5-11.

Studs

CB Alterraun Verner: Allowed 2 catches for 16 yards on 5 attempts, 1 interception, 1 pass deflection

MLB Zach Brown: Allowed 4 catches for 43 yards on 4 attempts, 6 solo tackles, 2 assists, 4 stops, 2 quarterback hurries on 4 blitzes

LOLB Will Witherspoon: Allowed 3 catches for 13 yards on 4 attempts, 7 solo tackles, 3 assists, 5 stops, 1 missed tackle, 1 sack and quarterback hurry on 4 blitzes

RE Kamerion Wimbley: 9 quarterback hurries on 32 pass rush snaps, 1 solo tackle, 1 stop, 1 penalty

LE Derrick Morgan: 1 sack and 2 quarterback hits on 27 pass rush snaps, 3 solo tackles, 2 assists, 3 stops

P Brett Kern: 7 punts for 361 yards, 3 of 7 inside the 20, 1 return for 1 yard, 48.6 net yards per punt

Duds

RT David Stewart: Allowed 1 quarterback hit and 3 quarterback hurries on 32 pass block snaps

C Fernando Velasco: Allowed 1 quarterback hit and 1 quarterback hurry on 32 pass block snaps, 1 penalty, run blocked for 3 yards on 4 attempts

LG Steve Hutchinson: Allowed 2 quarterback hits and 2 quarterback hurries on 32 pass block snaps

TE Jared Cook: Caught 3 passes for 23 yards on 7 targets on 29 pass snaps, 1.3 YAC per catch, 1 interception when thrown to, 2 drops

RB Chris Johnson: Rushed for 17 yards (17 yards after contact) on 8 carries, 1 broken tackle, caught 2 passes for 11 yards on 3 targets

SS Robert Johnson: 2 catches for 27 yards and 1 touchdown on 2 attempts, 1 solo tackle, 1 assist, 2 missed tackles

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