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TagsBY SAM HITCHCOCK
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Quick question. Which coach has had the longest tenure of any coach in the NFL? The answer: Tennessee Titans Coach Jeff Fisher.
What should be taken away from this are a few things. One, after coaching in the same city for most of his career, a coach builds a certain rapport with his fan base, so even at 0-2, the Titans are not panicking just yet. They know that under Fisher they can expect their team to maximize its talent and most likely finish over .500. Two, last season, they finished 13-3, but won the close games. This season they have lost two games by three points each. So while Rex Ryan and the rest of the Jets seem brash and invincible, it is hard to see the Titans, who finished with the best record in the NFL a year ago, continuing to go winless.
If New York is going to avoid this hiccup against a team which is 0-2, but really is much better than that, there are certain match-ups that will be key. First, stopping Titans running back Chris Johnson. Johnson looked awesome last week, tearing through the Houston Texans in the air and ground as he had 284 yards combined yards and three touchdowns. If it were not for quarterback Kerry Collins making a game changing fumble without anyone around him, the Titans could have flipped this effort into a possible win.
The previous week the Titans had lost in heartbreaking fashion as well, in a hard fought game against the defending champs on Thursday night to open the season. The game went into overtime, and the Steelers won the coin toss and scored immediately.Taking this into account, this Jets team has a new face and attitude and will not roll over for any team. Ryan may want to attack through the air, as the Texans' passing attack against the Titans was spectacular. Also, the Texans' Andre Johnson found plenty of room to operate against Tennessee's secondary, racking up 149 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Texan quarterback Matt Schaub, who looked so lost against the Jets, looked stellar against the Titans, throwing four touchdown passes and 357 passing yards.
Sanchez and Ryan will both get a lesson in maintaining consistency this week as it will be a good litmus test for whether the rookie coach and quarterback can continually produce the magic they have been making. For this week, the rabbit does not emerge out of the hat.
Prediction: Titans 24 Jet 10