The Titans Won, And There Was Much Rejoicing

In the most inevitable—yet still shocking—development of the weekend, the Tennessee Titans have wrapped up the AFC South. It's not so socking that they managed to end up on top of their division, but what is surprising is the way they did it. Their opening day quarterback had a complete meltdown in the first two weeks, they replaced him with a cardboard cutout of Kerry Collins, and they still rattled off an 1110-0 start and bested the Indianapolis Colts by three games.

Maybe that's why their fans seem a little guarded about this new-found success. No one seems too impressed by their 28-9 victory over the hapless Browns and there are definitely concerns about the team's playoff viability. Remember, it's the people who love this team that think this way. Not exactly tough talk from a team with the best record in football. Has anyone told them about Layla Kiffin yet?

• "Some observers will overlook Collins two interceptions and 155-yard passing performance against the Browns. Thankfully, Tennessee did not need a big performance from Collins, due to the success of the running game. However, if a playoff opponent sells out to stop the run, as the Chicago Bears did in week 10, Collins will be expected to move the ball in the passing game. Is Collins still capable of getting the passing game into a groove?" [Titans Tracker]

• "The Titans were a bit like a videoboard that didn't work in a power outage in part of the stadium. They turned it over three times, with LenDale White losing his first fumble this season, and they had a season-high 12 penalties for 126 yards. It wasn't nearly enough mistakes to help the Browns, who now haven't scored an offensive touchdown in three straight games and couldn't add to the 6-0 lead Phil Dawson gave them after the first quarter." [AP]

• "When it was mercifully done, the Titans modeled their division champs ballcaps in the locker room. Some fit better than others: Griffin's thick bun of dreadlocks made his hat sit nearly a foot off his head, drawing zingers from fellow cornerback Cortland Finnegan, who charged that Griffin 'looks like Whoopi Goldberg.'" [Huntsville Times]

• "The penalties need to be addressed. They didn't matter yesterday because it was an inferior opponent, but they can't afford those numbers against any of the 3 remaining teams or in the playoffs. That was the last week that sloppy play will get a win.

That is all of the complaining I have though. 12-1 is awesome." [Music City Miracles]

Photo: AP

Send an email to Dashiell Bennett, the author of this post, at dashiell@deadspin.com.

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