What Has Happened to the Tennessee Titans

Just a few weeks ago the Tennessee Titans were 6-2. They were only a game behind the Super Bowl Champions and they appeared to be well on their way to making the NFL playoffs. Fast forward three weeks, and they are now 6-5 and one game out of the last wild card spot. Titans fans are not happy. What has happened to this team? How have they gotten to this point. Here are a few points to ponder.

The big man on defense, Albert Haynesworth has been out due to a hamstring. There was a time I used to get kinda of mad at big Al, or Fat Albert as he is known. It seemed like every game Haynesworth was falling down hurt. I wondered why do the Titans hang on to this guy? Now I know. With out Haynesworth, the Titans defense has looked pretty pathetic.

They have allowed teams to run the ball on them, right up the middle and have given up big plays for huge points. This is something that did happen the first half of the season. With Albert in the lineup, defenses had to put to guys on him allowing other guys like Vandenbosh to get to the quarterback. Say what you want, but this defense is not as good with Haynesworth on the sideline.

Lack of efficiency in the red zone is another big problem. The Titans got the ball in the red-zone five times last week against the Bengals. They scored a total of 6 points. This was the same case for them against Denver and Jacksonville in previous weeks. It's been an ongoing problem all year long. Rob Bironas is a great kicker but if the Titans want to win games, they need to find a way to keep him on the sideline until it's time to kick the extra point.

I've grown tired of people putting all of the blame on Vince Young for this teams problems on offense. We know Vince is not Tom Brady, heck he may never be. But he as proven the last three weeks he can throw the ball. He hasn't exactly got lots of help. With the exception of a few moments here and there, the Titans receiving core has looked average at best.

They have dropped a number of passes, in particular in the Denver game where two dropped passes would have resulted in TD passes. Vince has got to get some help. The Titans must look at drafting or signing a quality receiver this off season.

Falling behind early has also hurt Tennessee. This is not a team that is built to put up points in a hurry. The Titans are most effective when they can pound the ball on the ground and eat up lots of clock. When you fall behind by 10, 14 or 17 points, that becomes difficult to do. The Titans have got to find a way to stay in games early.

There is still hope for Tennessee. I think Haynesworth coming back will help the defense. If this team can get it's swagger back, they can still finish strong and make the playoffs. We will soon find out.