Arizona Cardinals Chat With The Enemy: Music City Miracles

 We were recently able to talk with Jimmy, the lead blogger at Music City Miracles about the Tennessee Titans. We also answered 5 questions for their site, which you can view here Music City Miracles.

1 - The Titans are obviously on a roll after a really rough start to the season that included tough losses to some of the best teams in the AFC. Some have listed the quality of your opponents as one of the big reasons for the turnaround while others note the lack of turnovers from the offense. What is the biggest difference in your mind between the first six games and the past four?

It is hard to say what the biggest difference is.  A lot of it has to do with the secondary getting healthy.  The biggest concern for most Titans fans in the offseason was the lack of depth at corner, and in the first 5 games they lost both starting corners and their nickelback.  All of those guys are back now.

Of course switching to Vince Young has provided a spark to the offense.  He has played well and having him on the field opens some things up for Chris Johnson, but I would say that the defense was the bigger problem in the first 6 games.

2 - Chris Johnson is starting to challenge Adrian Peterson for the "best back in the league" title and it seems as that he can do just about anything with a football. After seeing him first hand for the past year and half, does he have a noticeable weakness that you'd attack if you were a defensive coordinator? Or is it simply about praying that he doesn't hurt you too much?

The only real knock on his is that he takes a lot of negative plays.  Obviously his biggest asset is his speed, and sometimes he thinks he can pick up some yards running to the sideline if a defensive line gets some penetration.  I am not sure that I would really call that a weakness, but it is the one thing that people point too when they are making the case for Peterson.

That really is about it.  I would say defending him is all about keeping him from the 1 or 2 big runs he has been getting every week through this four game stretch especially.

3 - Vince Young seems to do just enough at QB to keep defenses honest and it seems as if they're tailoring the offense around him finally (options and option reads out of shotgun), but he still looks pretty raw as a passer. How do Titan's fans feel about his future with the team and how do you see him ultimately making his mark in this league?

We are starting to feel really good about his future with the team.  A month ago pretty much every Titan fan thought VY would be on another team when 2010 kicked off, but he has played really well over these four games.  He spent time in the film room really learning the offense and has been making great decisions.

As for his mark in the league, I would say it will be in an offense like he is running right now.   He is never going to be the Manning/Brady type that shreds a defense from the pocket.  He is at his best when he is throwing some from the pocket and making some plays with his legs.

4 - The Titans defense seems to have turned a corner during the recent win streak as well. To what do you attribute their improved play over the past four games?

The health of the secondary.  Vincent Fuller, the Titans nickel back, went down in week 3.  Pro Bowl corner Cortland Finnegan went down in week 4.  That left the only remaining starter Nick Harper, and he is terrible.  Both guys returned after the bye week, and the team has played a lot better.

5 - The general consensus at ROTB after watching last nights game is that the Cardinals must shut down Chris Johnson and the Titans run game in order to win. Regardless of how that's done (jumping out to an early lead or stacking the box), is Vince capable of winning a game right now if he has to truly shoulder the load?

That is the question we as Titans fans are all waiting to see the answer too.  It is really impossible to tell because he hasn't had too at this point, but judging by the way he has handled the offense in his 4 starts I really think that he is.  Hopefully we don't have to find that out.