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Making some noise Tennessee a great unknown as NFL playoffs begin
Posted: Tuesday January 11, 2000 11:06 AM
By John Donovan, CNNSI.com NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans have won some huge games this year. They beat arguably the best team in the NFL -- twice. They beat the league's beloved St. Louis Rams. They have one of the best running backs around, and maybe the best defensive end in football. Right now, the Titans are playing as well as they have all year. Maybe better. Maybe better than anyone. But ... well, there's always a but. When the NFL playoffs start Saturday and the football-mad city of Nashville hosts its first playoff game ever, the Titans -- 13-3 and in the playoffs for the first time since they were the Houston Oilers in 1993 -- will have some convincing to do. "I'm not sure we've answered the questions," admits Floyd Reese, the general manager of the Titans. "But I think we've shown we can do it." The Titans roll into the playoffs as one of the great unknowns, a team that barreled its way to the best record in the history of the franchise, yet still became the first team to win 13 games and not win its division. Their season seemingly came out of nowhere, after three straight 8-8 years and a painfully long move from the Astrodome to Adelphia Coliseum.
The Titans, in fact, are one of the most dangerous teams in these playoffs. They handed the Jacksonville Jaguars their only two losses of the season and they beat maybe the NFC's best team, too, handing the Rams a 24-21 loss on Oct. 31. But ... their three losses came to two teams that didn't make the playoffs, San Francisco and Baltimore, and one that maybe shouldn't have, the Miami Dolphins. Except for a surge in their last three games, the Titans have done little convincingly. Their first 10 wins were by an average of 6.3 points. Five of those were by a field goal or less. "We've turned the corner, as far as learning how to win," Eddie George, the team's Pro Bowl running back, said recently. "But as far as our offense, we haven't even scratched the surface yet. We haven't put that double-headed monster into full effect yet." The Titans' offense relies on George and the ground game, but for that to work, the passing game needs to be a threat, and few opponents have feared it this season. Quarterback Steve McNair has been bothered with injuries, missing five games after an early season back operation. His best deep threat, Yancey Thigpen, also has lost time to injuries. Still, the Titans have had their moments. In a 41-14 romp over the Jaguars on the day after Christmas, McNair threw for a career-high five touchdown passes. They put up 47 points in the finale against Pittsburgh. Their offensive line, solid all season, allowed only 25 sacks this season, third in the league. "I think we feel better in that our quarterback is back to the level that he was prior to the injury," Reese says. "We had thought all along if we could get back to that level, we could be contenders." Tennessee's defense, with rookie pass-rushing stud Jevon Kearse, has been unstoppable at times, mediocre at others. They have forced 40 turnovers and are +18 in turnover margin this season, second in the NFL. But coach Jeff Fisher says they've dropped at least 25 sure interceptions. Critics point out that the Titans seem to play to the level of their competition, that they lack the ability to put people away. Those questions may have been answered in the team's last three games, when the Titans averaged better than 39 points a game. The 27-point rout of Jacksonville in Week 16 was probably the best game the Titans have played all season. "When it comes down to it," safety Marcus Robertson says, "I think we're a really good team."
How far can the Titans go? The Titans are unbeaten at Adelphia this season, and when playoff tickets went on sale for the game against Buffalo on Saturday, 12,000 tickets were scooped up in 18 minutes. A loud home crowd never hurts. If that helps them get past the Bills, the Titans may end up having to get past both Jacksonville and Indianapolis, both on the road. A tall order, to be sure, but neither of those teams is playing as well right now as the Titans. In fact, the Titans -- like the rest of the NFL -- see these playoffs as an anyone-can-win affair. "This year, there doesn't appear to be that one giant hurdle out there," Reese says. "There's not the 49ers in their heyday. You don't have Green Bay coming off a couple Super Bowls. You don't have Denver coming off two straight. "The field's pretty wide open." Maybe. But ...
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