December 6, 2000
How Do You Spell Mediocre?
by Dave Sabo
HoustonProFootball.com
How do you spell “mediocre?” T-I-T-A-N-S! Yes, folks, the team that SI proclaimed “simply the best” a month ago has shown over the last 4 games that a marshmallow-soft schedule and having an obscene number of breaks go your way can go a LONG way toward hiding a few warts. And if the losses to the Ravens and Jags and the Cleveland and Philly debacles are any indication, the Titans have more than a few to worry about.
Delusional Tennessee fans began penciling the Titans in for Super Bowl XXXV as soon as they realized that nobody was going to crown the Titans “Super Bowl Co-Champions” last January (don’t laugh, this was suggested more than once on a couple of message boards). They took a look at how close they came and evidently assumed that the Titans will just stroll into the Super Bowl every year until they win it. Well, when your team plays a sham schedule against a sham division, who could blame you?
Let’s be honest, if you went to any team with serious Super Bowl aspirations and asked them if they would have traded schedules with Tennessee, every one of them would have done it. The AFC Central, top to bottom, is the worst in the NFL today and may be one of the worst of all time. Yeah, the AFC West is bad, but that’s mainly due to the woeful Chargers and the NFC East is chock full over overrated, underachieving teams with good records (guess who the Titans play their non-conference schedule against). The AFC Central sucks across the board. Cincinnati and Cleveland are just plain awful, Jacksonville has been utterly decimated by injuries and Pittsburgh is stuck having to choose between Kordell Stewart and Kent Graham at quarterback. That leaves Baltimore as the Titans’ only competition. Yeah, the team that tied an NFL record by going 21 quarters without a touchdown is the Titans big rival. Not exactly Terry and Franco and Swanny and the “Steel Curtain.” Believe me, any team in the NFL would be salivating over the chance to play 10 games against these scrubs.
So, surely, the mighty Titans would roll over the rest of the Central, right? Well, not so fast, there. They have gone 7-2 against the AFC “Comedy” Central, but it hasn’t been the cakewalk that Tennesseans would like to believe. The NFL all but admitted that a blown call cost the Steelers the game in Pittsburgh and the Titans needed a last second drive and field goal to beat them at home. hey gave up 30 points and split the series with Baltimore as well as that with Jacksonville. They trailed Cincinnati at halftime and they trailed Cleveland twice at home.
When it comes right down to it, the Titans haven’t really beaten a quality team. The closest they’ve come is beating the Giants by 14 and Sunday’s win in Philly in which they failed to reach the end zone. New York and Philadelphia may make the playoffs, but they won’t be there long. Basically, I’m not impressed.
What is impressive, however, is Jeff Fisher and his ability to get the most out of a less than stellar roster (his inability to keep mouth shut vis-à-vis owning the Jags in their own crib not withstanding). After Eddie George, you’d be hard pressed to find a Pro-Bowler on this squad. Derrick Mason will probably make it as a special-teamer and Bruce “Ripken” Matthews will be a selection as long as he continues to play, but no other starter should make travel plans to Hawaii until they find out who will refuse to play. Even Bud Adams stated in a brief moment of lucidity that this team has nowhere near the talent of the ’93 Oilers, but they have the chemistry that that Oilers team sorely lacked. And for that, the credit goes to Jeff Fisher.
Fisher has the Titans believing that they will always find a way to win. The Titans will play like the JV for 95% of the game and then, when they need to make a play, they do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen them in third and long and they end up making the play. And it’s always the same damn thing. McNair drops back, waits for his protection to break down and then takes off. And every single time this happens with the game on the line, the nearest defender is about 30 yards downfield. HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? What are teams doing dropping 7 guys back to cover Chris Freakin’ Sanders and Derrick “I’m Gonna Love Free Agency” Mason!? It’s as if they rush the defensive front and then Fisher Jedi-mind-tricks the rest of the defense into ignoring McNair. Everybody on the planet knows he’s going to pull it down and run, so keep somebody at home! And why does ANYBODY blitz this guy? Make him stand in the pocket and throw!
The only other area in which Tennessee impresses (aside from the obvious fact that Eddie George is a monster although if they keep running the guy into the ground, his tank is going to be empty come playoff time) is special teams. Derrick Mason is averaging, what, about 78 yards a return? And Craig Hentrich has the strongest leg in the NFL. Until his clutch 50-yarder last Sunday to win the game with no time left, Al Del Greco had come under fire for missing a couple of chip shots and a PAT, but in all honesty, those games shouldn’t have come down to field goals. Not for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, anyway.
So, there you have it. Get a solid running back, a gimmick quarterback, some special teamers, 40 other warm bodies and a head coach savvy enough to convince them that they’re invincible and you’ve got Super Bowl credentials. Unbelievable. But I guess that this is what NFL parity (parody?) has wrought.
Pathetic.
A Super Bowl team shouldn’t have to “find a way to win” against the Bengals. A Super Bowl team shouldn’t lose at home to teams that go a month without reaching the end zone. A Super Bowl team shouldn’t turn the ball over seven times at home against the Browns. A Super Bowl team should be something more. I’m hoping the Titans will be exposed come playoff time, but in the year 2000, it looks like mediocrity is good enough to get you by.
Dave Sabo is an Archives Specialist with the National Archives and Records Administration. A native of Spring, TX and a life-long Oiler fan now languishing in the heart of Redskins country (Laurel, MD), Dave is utterly convinced that new ‘Skins owner, Daniel Snyder, is, indeed, the anti-Christ.
Jeff Fisher 
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