Things are finally going right for the Titans

At 2-10, the Tennessee Titans are on the verge of posting their worst season since...well...since they've been the Tennessee Titans. Upon being hired, first year head coach Ken Whisenhunt said that the team's goal this year was to host a playoff game.


And he was dead serious.


Fans bought in, for several reasons. For starters, Tennessee lost a host of close games the previous two years. Then head coach Mike Munchak was an easy scapegoat because he had no previous coaching experience. Whisenhunt was on the staff of two Super Bowl teams, so he knows what it takes to win at the highest level.


Coach Whiz is also known as a quarterback guru, and we just knew that he could fix our beleaguered qb Jake Locker. Or at least patch him up enough to make a little noise this season. After all, Jake actually played decent when he was on the field, which was few and far between.


A lot of Titans fans were also happy to see running back Chris Johnson, and his "2K" first attitude see the door. His aloofness toward team goals grew old in Nashville. The offensive line was "upgraded", and a new running back (Bishop Sankey) was drafted to replace him.


Fans were also high on the wide receiving group. Kendall Wright was coming off a 94 catch, 1,000 plus yard season. Justin Hunter had a great camp, and was poised to have a breakout sophomore campaign. And tight end Delanie Walker, and his leadership, solidified the group.


With an entirely new defensive scheme, we knew we would struggle on that side of the ball. We just didn't care as long as we could score points.


Everything was set and fans were optimistic.


Fast forward to today, and the Titans are tied for the second worst record in the league. Losing nine out of ten could do that to a team.


While frustrating today, fans should be encouraged. It's the way the Titans arrived at this record that is the silver lining in all of this.


Jake Locker...once again...missed time early in the season with a myriad of injuries. As we've seen in the past, Locker teased Titans fans with a near flawless performance in a week 1 upset win over Kansas City...in Arrowhead Stadium. The next week he laid an egg in the home opener against Dallas. The following week he was injured...yada yada ya.


At least Tennessee found out early in the season that Locker just didn't have it...that he couldn't lead their franchise. It allowed rookie qb Zach Mettenberger to get substantial real game experience this year. And to this point, Mettenberger looks like he may be the guy. Knowing you have your qb of the future (if he turns out to be that) at this point of the season gives you a ton of options heading into next year's draft.


Returning starting running back Shonn Greene, who...like Locker...was mostly injured and otherwise inconsistent, went down early this season with yet another injury. This allowed rookie rb Bishop Sankey to get substantial playing time at running back. If nothing else, you know that Greene is done. So now you can evaluate Sankey to see if a complimentary back needs to be added next season. There are a few beast that will be entering the draft this year.


The Titans were able to evaluate their rookie first round offensive lineman Jake Lewan because of injury to the position, giving him valuable in game experience at a couple of positions.


And now Tennessee's starting receivers...Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter...are out with injuries. Seldom used backups will be thrown into the fire. Another great evaluation tool. Something you rarely get to do this late in an NFL season.


Lets face it, with the current state of the AFC playoff race, Tennessee would still not be in it. Even if Locker and Greene and whoever else was healthy all season. It's better to completely bottom out than to "just miss the cut" year end and year out. Sometimes it's best to start from scratch. Through apathy and attrition, Tennessee was forced to finally start the rebuilding process this season.


Key word being rebuilding.


Part of that process is a complete evaluation of the roster, something the Titans were forced to do this year. Through that process, they may have landed their qb of the future, with an extremely high draft pick to add to him next season.


That's how you rebuild.


That is...as long as they keep losing, but I'll digress on that until after the Giants game.


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