Absolutely miserable is an understatement. The Tennessee Titans have proven one thing so far this season: They have a VERY long way to go. Sunday’s 51-20 loss to the Chicago Bears was downright embarrassing. Not just for the team and players, but for the fans as well. By halftime, the crowd became solely Bears fans, which isn’t surprising because who’s fans want to witness the worst loss ever at home?
The Titans have some fundamental issues to deal with before looking onto the rest of the season. The most important of them all: HOLD THE BALL. If you cannot hold the ball with one hand, use both. This may be football 101, but seems like this team needs a reminder. The Bears defense, actually ONE player, Charles Tillman, forced 4 fumbles against the Titans. FOUR FUMBLES. ONE PLAYER. Charles Tillman. That is definitely Defensive Player of the Week worthy, if not more. The rest of the Bears defense could have just relaxed on the sidelines and Tillman could have stopped the Titans offense single-handedly. Fumbling the ball in itself shouldn’t happen, but fumbling the ball 4 times, forced by the same player, is outright unacceptable. The Bears were able to capitalize on 5 total turnovers by the Titans.
The only bright spot in the loss was Chris Johnson’s 80 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter, reminiscent of the CJ2K that everyone used to know. Oddly enough, Matt Hasslebeck was able to pull off some great throws to Nate Washington and Kenny Britt, completing 20 of 35 passes. On the other hand, Jay Cutler’s return to Nashville was great, hitting 3 touchdown passes.
The Titans will have some work to do this week before facing the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. The following week, a bye, will give the Titans more time to work on fixing the problems. There is so much work to do to improve this team, it’s no surprise Titans Owner Bud Adams warned that the organization may undergo some changes after this season. The question is where to start?
