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Arizona Cardinals Chat With The Enemy: Music City Miracles

Vince Young has undoubtedly been the difference maker on offense and has led the Titans to a four-game win streak.

More photos » David J. Phillip - AP

Vince Young has undoubtedly been the difference maker on offense and has led the Titans to a four-game win streak.

 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.

Star-divide

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.

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If the Titans guy is here...

I thought the problem before was that Collins was throwing the ball too much instead of handing the ball off to Chris Johnson…

Lifelong Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan.

No band-wagoner fans allowed, pick a team and stick with em, throughout the good and the bad.

by JoeCB1991 on Nov 27, 2009 2:27 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

A lot of Titans fans would tend to agree with that.

One problem with having a pocket-passer like Collins and a 1st-round WR like Kenny Britt is that it can apparently give you OC delusions of grandeur. Without Collins, the Titans are running a much more power-football gameplan, and that clearly plays to the team’s strengths.

But the other key is that Vince Young is making A LOT more plays on 3rd Down than Collins was, especially late in games. Late in games, you start to see Vince running more, extending drives. In those same spots, KC was often off-target. I mean, the worst was the NE game when his total stat line was 2/12 for -7, but even before that, he was virtually blanked in the second half of games. Even in the season opener and the 2nd week game vs. the Texans, the guy just couldn’t make a play late to get anything going. But Vince is making those plays, which is part of why the team tends to take a commanding lead late.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

by DannoE on Nov 27, 2009 2:36 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs

If only you guys would've started Vince sooner...

What? I didn't break it, I was just testing its durability, and then I placed it in the woods becuase it's made out of wood and I just thought he should be with his family.
Revenge of the Birds

by Andrew602 on Nov 27, 2009 2:40 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs

I don't get this
He is never going to be the Manning/Brady type that shreds a defense from the pocket.

Why not? Technically, this is Vince’s 3rd season with a second offensive coordinator. I love Jimmy to death but I don’t know why he keeps saying this. It just reminds me of statements that others were making before the season that Vince could never be a starting qb in this league. Uh…yes, he can.

by earlers on Nov 27, 2009 7:05 PM MST reply actions   0 recs

No one is saying that he needs to do it EVERY down.

But assuming that he will NEVER be able to pick apart defenses from the pocket is just wrong. The guy is still developing as a qb. 3-4 years down the road, the guy may be just like Steve Young…picking defenses apart and still being able to run.

by earlers on Nov 28, 2009 8:22 AM MST up reply actions   0 recs

true

I think titans offense can do well this week, but or defense is going to struggle. If Arizona can get an early jump on us , will have to make Vince throw, AND THAT SCARES ME !!

by jaketitan427 on Nov 28, 2009 4:07 AM MST reply actions   0 recs

Technically that's true, but seems like your run-game has more big-play potential than your pass-game

Even though it’s not time-effective do you guys think it would be smarter to continue to try and run at us, regardless of point deficit?

by tw3kr on Nov 28, 2009 1:04 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs

I do think...

That VY has the ability to become another Manning/ Brady type as does any other pseudo experienced QB in the NFL. The only reason people are saying that right now is because of the current passing stats for Tenessee. And honestly the only reason their passing stats are what they are is because of what’s working best for them currently. That would be the running threat with either VY or Johnson/ the option, etc.. Just give him time and I think he’ll mature beyond the type of play that depends so heavily on the run. I think we have a good game ahead and can’t wait to see how our D responds to this kind of teams playing / offense.

by Ghettoboxx on Nov 28, 2009 10:07 AM MST reply actions   0 recs

It really depends more on his mechanics and motivation, imo

Manning and Brady are excellent pure passers who also have a high football IQ. You can work on your stance, your throwing motion, etc., but if your arm’s not that great, it’s just not that great. Does he throw a good deep ball? Can he make all the throws? I don’t know much about Young, but given his QB archetype, I assume that he cannot. So, while the experience will come and he may or may not put in enough work to learn to read defenses better, etc., he won’t ever develop into a Manning/Brady type.

Again, I don’t know the scouting report on him or what-have-you, but that’s my (mostly uninformed) opinion.

by tw3kr on Nov 28, 2009 1:09 PM MST up reply actions   0 recs


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