Bleacher Report - Tennessee Titans

Why Chris Johnson Plays Football Like His House Is On Fire

Voodoo Magic — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:01:56 -0500

I’ve recently come to realize why I love Tennessee’s Chris Johnson.

No, it’s not because he’s ridiculously fast. No, it’s not because he’s got good size. It’s not even because he’s so been productive that a ton of teams would take a serious mulligan on passing him up in the 2008 NFL Draft, where he went 24^th . 24^th ! Do you think, if the draft were to be redone, he would go any lower than the fourth pick (where the Raiders took the once heralded Darren McFadden)?

No, it’s because Chris Johnson plays football like his house is on fire. He plays the game like, as another writer on this site has put it, every carry will be his last in the NFL. He is the kind of player that every coach loves, the one who sees a difficult situation and says, “There is no freaking way I am letting my team go down like a bunch of chumps. Hop on my back, everyone, and I will carry you.”

Yes, Chris Johnson is One of Those Guys.

Let’s take a brief look at his stats, shall we? Through Week 10 he leads the NFL with 1,091 yards rushing, never mind the fact that he’s done so while maintaining an obscene 6.4 yards per carry average. But there’s more to it than just that. In fact, I’d like to use the New England game as proof that Chris Johnson is One of Those Guys:

In week six, the Titans were absolutely lambasted by the New England Patriots 59-0, a score that easily could’ve been worse had New England had vengeful score to settle. While the Titans were being humiliated, what were Johnson’s stat lines? 17 carries for 128 yards, a clip of 7.5 yards per carry.

As someone who’s been around the game for a while now, I can say from experience that many players would just give up on their team when the score got that bad. But Chris Johnson? Chris Johnson apparently doesn’t understand giving up. Chris Johnson is One of Those Guys.

During their bye week, the Titans switched quarterbacks and went back to Vince Young. Since that time, the Titans have gone 3-0. Perhaps Young has made the difference. Or maybe it’s Johnson’s 495 yards rushing, six touchdowns, and 6.6 yards per carry average during that three-game winning streak.

The Titans have gone from possibly the worst team in all of football to a team that may or may not make the playoffs (8-8 looks like the ceiling, as I doubt they’ll beat Indianapolis and San Diego). Why? Because they have a guy on their team who won’t quit. They have a guy on their team who deserves to be league MVP (where would the Titans be without Johnson? 0-9?).

Indeed, the Tennessee Titans have One of Those Guys on their team.

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Why The Titans Defense Is Responsible For Their Turnaround

Robert Rees — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:37:35 -0500

In order to determine the reason for Tennesse's unexpected turnaround, you have to figure out what was wrong in the first place. Although Vince Young has been playing well, and has even had a better Quarterback Rating and a less touchdown—to—interception ratio than Kerry Collins, you have to consider that Kerry Collins pass attempts per game are nearly double that of Vince Young's, and the Titans were down quite a bit in some of those games trying to play catch—up.

Overall, Kerry Collins was doing an efficient job; Vince has been playing well, but not that much better to put the credit on him for the recent success. I would even say that the only reason Vince Young started playing was for business reasons. Bud "The Bird" Adams wanted to know if it was going to be worth keeping Vince Young's salary cap number or whether they needed to dump him. (So far the diagnosis would be to keep him, but the season's got a long way to go)

So if the problem wasn't the quarterback position, then what was it? The odd thing about this team is that they won 10 straight games last year and finished the season 13-3, but the only thing different on this team compared to last year's is that Albert Haynesworth is gone, they have a new Defensive Coordinator and their secondary was banged up in the early games of the season. Of those three pieces, the departure of coordinator Jim Schwartz to the Lions ended up being the most impactful.

Suddenly, the team that had the 2nd BEST defense in the league a year ago became the 2nd WORST defensive team in the league. If a team decided to score, they just threw the ball deep. Although defenders would drop every errant throw, interceptions were often not the issue. Receivers wouldn't even be covered, because they were out of position due to schemes and/or lack of coaching.

In the first three games of the year the Titans played very close games and arguably played better than their opponent but just weren't able to finish strong in the 4th quarter, the one that really matters in a close game. Then Cortland Finnegan got injured and they got pummeled by the Jacksonville Jaguars, followed by being killed by the Indianapolis Colts, and buried by the New England Patriots.

Here comes the bye-week, free agent pick-up, Roderick Hood, and the return of Cortland Finnegan. In the last three games Hood piled up 11 tackles and has had an interception in each game, one of them for a pick-6. Finnegan has had two interceptions, one for a pick-6. The defensive schemes improved, and although players were occasionally still out of position, the focus on improving the passing defense helped the team turn things around. It did provide weakness in the rushing game, ala Maurice Jones—Drew, but when they needed major third down stops they were able to get them whether it was through the passing or rushing defense, something they weren't able to do during the pummel, kill, and bury games.

With the improved defense, the offense started with better overall field position, and even if the offense's drive fizzled out, they weren't getting back on the field with a larger deficit on the board. For the Titans to make the playoffs this year would be amazing, and this team has shown that they have that potential as seen last year. Unfortunately, they may have to win 10 games straight after going 0-6 in order to make the playoffs.

However, in order for them to beat the Arizona Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and the Houston Texans, Michael Griffin will have to contribute like Finnegan and Hood. To help Griffinregain last year's form, new Defensive Coordinator Chuck Cecil will need to continue to adjust and develop his schemes. If the defense continues to improve, they very well could finish 10-6 or 9-6 and no one in the NFL would want to meet them in the playoffs.

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Titans vs. Texans: May the Best Defense Win

Dave Stanley — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:33:33 -0500

At least this time, the Tennessee Titans know what they're getting into.

The Houston Texans can flat-out play.

When they want to.

As per their usual, consistency, or lack thereof, has plagued this otherwise talented franchise. They followed their best-ever 5-3 start with a tough loss to the Indianapolis Colts, and now find themselves in "do-or-die" mode.

Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee are resurgent as of late; Monday night's matchup—along with the Jags' success or failure on Sunday—will go a long way in determining who the runners up to the Colts will be in the increasingly interesting AFC South.

For the Titans to emerge victorious, they'd be wise to hedge their bets and assume that the Texans of Week Two will show up.

Chances are, this battle will hinge on defense. Tennessee's offense can keep pace in most shootouts, but isn't really strong enough on defense to come out on the winning end of such contests (see: Titans vs. Texans, Week Two).

So, how can the Titans, who will no doubt find a way to get their points, keep the potentially explosive Texans in check?

In essence, they should play the pass. To heck with the psychology of "but what if they run?" The Texans' ground attack is downright anemic this year and Tennessee's rush defense, in spite of their other woes, has been decent (when not facing the Jags' Maurice Jones-Drew, of course).

Odds are, they won't get burned by daring the running game.

On the other, parallel side of the ball, the burning question remains: can Houston stop Titans' running back Chris Johnson? All year long, teams have been stacking the line to stop him, knowing the limitations of Tennessee's passing game.

And yet he still is on pace to rush for over 2,000 yards. A while ago, he was merely a bright spot on a bad team. But, in light of the Titans' recent winning streak, the MVP murmurs are beginning (but more on that later this week).

Even if the Texans manage to bottle him up as a rusher and "limit" him to, say, 70 or so yards, he still remains a volatile and dangerous receiving threat.

In addition, Vince Young poses a whole new set of challenges for opposing defenses. Now, does he necessarily make it any harder for those defenses? Well, frankly it depends on which Vince shows up.

But if he plays like he has been recently, then things bode well for Tennessee.

On Monday, two teams on the way up will square off. At the end of the day, one will go home to their proverbial drawing boards with their spirits deflated.

With both offenses clicking and displaying their fair shares of explosiveness, the smarter, more tenacious defense will win. Look for mistakes and turnovers to play a large role in this matchup.

It will all come down to whoever allows the least big plays. On Monday, simple fundamentals will take center stage.

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UCLA is Upset by Cal St. Fullerton

Jaime Irvine — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:11:49 -0500

Having hernia surgery yesterday, the one good thing that has come out of everything is me being confined to my couch and watching ohhhhh about 20 of the 24 hours of ESPN’s college basketball tipoff.

One of the more memorable games last night was the Cal St. Fullerton vs. UCLA that went into two overtimes with Fullerton pulling off the improbable upset. So, early in the season, I hate to ring the fire alarm so quickly on the UCLA Bruins for this season, however, there were definitely some genuine question marks that they will have to overcome.

For one, the Bruins lost four of five starters from last year and it shows. Anytime you lose two first round draft picks and two other very solid players, it can be very difficult to overcome no matter what program you are in. Not only is the talent loss a detriment to the team, but losing on the court and off the court leadership maybe just as important to this team.

When watching teams, I always like to look at the bench during timeouts and during the game to see how the players are acting and reacting. What I saw during crunch time of this game last night, was joking around, not taking the game seriously, and geniune immaturity–all of which is not a good sign for Coach Howland in 2009-2010.

Secondly, Cal State Fullerton was definitely the underdog team going into this game. When you see upsets, it is usually in regulation and comes down to the wire with a game winning shot of some kind. However, last night, Fullerton played with UCLA through two overtimes!!

This was not a fluke, but a team that stuck with it for 50 minutes of play and pulled out the victory on their own, not to mention, they missed countless easy buckets in regulation that would have put the game away then without the need for overtimes.

Lastly, UCLA had a very good chance to win it at the end of regulation and made, IMO, a huge coaching error. With approximately 13 seconds left, Fullerton was taking the ball out of bounds down by one and they needed a bucket to pull ahead. The Bruins had only one foul in the entire second half and had five fouls to give.

What they should have done was use five fouls and keep running the clock down. I believe they could have gotten down to two or so seconds making the last shot of the game that much harder. Instead, they tried to play defense and ended up fouling a shooter who made one of two free throws and sent the game to overtime.

I want to say and entrust my belief that Ben Howland is one heck of a college basketball coach and I believe these issues he will solve over time this year, it is the first game after all. If anybody can turn this team around, it is him, but I do believe they will not be the Bruins we have known for years. They will surely have their struggles, but rest assure Bruin fans, they will be more than ready for next year.

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NFL Week Eleven: My Three Wishes

Richard O'Hagan — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:02:57 -0500

1. I wish that the NFL understood Ochocinco

I've never been sure what to make of the guy myself, to be honest. For large chunks of the time, he comes across as the biggest idiot alive – the name change, the begging to be traded and so on.

On the other hand, he's one of the few players who has really worked out how to use modern technology to his advantage, and this in turn has helped to soften his image – no-one who reads his Twitter feed can be in any doubt about his devotion to his children, his loyalty to his friends or his dedication to his craft.

Then there is the fact that, oddly, we seem to have the same sense of humor. An acquaintance I had a rather public row with a few weeks ago has been complaining about the amount of spam she's been receiving lately and I am so tempted to send her a tin of the real thing.

Especially now we now about Ochocinco's proposed mustard stunt. And waving a dollar bill at an official carrying out a booth review? Hell, I'd love to have the chance to do that!

The fact remains, though, that by being so po-faced about everything he does, the NFL just plays into his hands. They're giving a shameless self-publicist the oxygen of publicity. There's always a risk that in ignoring him, he would do something really stupid.

But there's also the chance that he'd become a real asset to the league, a character, but also a positive influence for all of the reasons I have mentioned above. I don't understand why they can't look beyond all the nonsense and realise that, actually, here is someone with the potential to be a real ambassador for the game.

2. I also wish that the NFL had a sense of proportion

I'm sorry, but I don't care if someone does flick the Vs at opposing fans and I don't care if they are so wealthy that they sweat money, fining someone $250,000 is obscene. That's close to the NFL's own minimum wage.

To say that you are going to take that sort of money for something like that, whilst at the same time allowing people to play when they have significant criminal convictions is vulgar, repulsive and frankly untenable. Until this week, I thought Roger Goodell was doing a good job. Now I am worried that he is losing it.

3. I wish that the Titans had started Vince Young earlier

At the start of the season, I thought they would be less troubled by the Haynesworth trade than they thought they would be. Then they started like 53 people who had never met each other before.

I appreciate that it would have taken some guts for Jeff Fisher to admit that he was wrong and make the switch to Young, but at the same time those sort of hard decisions are what he is paid for. The change in the side has been incredible, but imagine what their season would've been like if it had happened in Week three?

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Bye-Bye, Birdie: The NFL Levies Bud Adams Heavy

K. D. James — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:35:18 -0500

Remember when, as kids in an archaic time period, our mothers would scold us for sticking our tongues out at funny-looking strangers, and say something like, "[Insert your full , full name here], you come over here, mister/missy! What you did was impolite! Apologize to him/her right this very minute, or I'll send you to your room this evening—without any supper!"

We'd bicker and bawl, trudge begrudgingly some odd distance to the insulted gentleman or lady, and then have to tell him or her how we're sorry for the impoliteness.

"Do you remember that?," as Chris Farley famously used to say in the "Chris Farley Show" skits on Saturday Night Live .

Decades have passed since those of authority have corrected public impudence.

Well, have they?

Not on Sunday afternoon in Nashville, TN, yessiree Bob!

During the end of a pro football game between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills, the 86-year-old Titans owner Bud Adams flipped the birdie twice—yes, raised his middle fingers quite proudly, America!—to Bills players, coaching staff, and fans from his sky box for about five seconds.

He started out with an apparent "Hook 'em Horns" sign, giving a supposed shout out to his Titans quarterback Vince Young, who played college ball at the University of Texas, Austin.

The signs with his fingers slowly changed while he had a devilish grin on his face, alternating each digitus infamus —first, his right one...then left one...then both!—to people probably not on the same side as his franchise.

The staunch, quick-acting National Football League execs received photos of said action, and within hours came out like a 1950s school marm or June Cleaver, rightly fining Adams $250,000 for his obscene hand gestures, described as "conduct detrimental to the league."

I'm not condoning what Adams did, nor am I saying that the "No-Fun League" shouldn't have carried out the fine.

What made it odd, though, was that the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was in Nashville at the time. Goodell left Adams's sky box to join some fans in the end zone after the third quarter. So, of course, once Goodell and his colleagues were notified of the owner's improper behavior, they were going to empty the rich man's pockets just a bit.

An even more bizarre fact is that Adams and fellow senior-citizen owner, Buffalo's Ralph Wilson, 91, are friends. So why did Adams insult his old friend's team like that?

I can just guess that it was one of three things: a. Adams' old-fashioned way of Tweeting; b. an episode of an elderly fellow forgetting his sense of surroundings; or c. (the most "logical") his special, weird way of expressing joy for a franchise that finished 13-3 last year, started 0-6 this season, and capped a two-game winning streak with a resounding 41-17 beatdown over Buffalo.

Go figure. People in today's society get away with a lot more in-public impudence than they used to in our day, boys and girls. But Sunday into Monday, the NFL whipped out its apron and rolling pin, forced soap down the Bartlesville, OK, oilman's mouth and said to him, "Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr., you will go to your room—with no supper!"

And $250,000, too!

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Tennessee Titans' Chris Johnson Could Set Record and Salvage Season

Bryan Hollister — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:00:11 -0500

With Tennessee Titans running back Chris "I'll see you in the end zone" Johnson rapidly piling up yards this season, there has been much speculation as to whether or not he will eclipse the 2,000 yard mark. Through nine weeks Johnson is averaging just over 121 yards per game.

With seven games remaining on the schedule, this average will put him at 1,939 yards, just shy of the goal.

But when you consider his last four games, three of which are wins, the numbers look a little different: 155 yards/game, including 128 yards in an otherwise horrendous game against New England.

That's quite a pace, but somewhat unrealistic. His current production, however, suggests that he might come in somewhere between the two extremes, meaning that if he averages 138-140 yards/game for the remainder of the season, he has a legitimate shot at eclipsing the mark set by Eric Dickerson 25 years ago.

However, there is nothing that says he will maintain this pace: as the season wears on, running backs wear down from the abuse of going full blast into defenders in search of downfield yardage.

Not to mention the fact that teams, particularly those with playoff aspirations, tend to turn up the wick as the regular season closes.

But Johnson is a little different. First of all, he has unreal speed. Once he gets free, he has a gear that no one has been able to match, easily outrunning defenders while making it look like he isn't even trying.

Secondly, he isn't known for grinding out short yardage between the tackles; LenDale White is responsible for carrying the majority of that load. When Johnson does run up the middle, he either slips through whatever hole he sees and gets gone, or bounces it back outside when there aren't any running lanes.

Forcing the issue inside is not his bailiwick, he knows it, and he plays the game that way.

Still, 2,000 yards in a season is not an everyday, or every season, accomplishment. In fact, only five running backs have managed the feat in their career; the pre-felony O.J. Simpson set the mark first with 2,003 in 1973; Eric Dickerson, the current record holder, put up 2,105 in 1984; Barry Sanders and Terrell Davis made back-to-back forays into the realm in 1997 and 1998, rushing for 2,053 and 2,008 yards respectively; and Jamal Lewis made the most recent showing in 2003, putting up 2,066 yards, coming the closest to knocking Dickerson off his perch.

The Titans seem to be on a roll of late; whatever spark it was Vince Young provided to Tennessee has seen them win three straight, and Johnson has been an integral part of each of those wins. With each passing week he seems to grow stronger, and if possible, faster.

And considering that a 10-6 record might have a shot at the playoffs, the Titans may be one of those teams playing for all they are worth in the last few weeks of the season. If this comes to pass, Johnson will be critical to the effort.

Still, the fact that only five men have ever broken the mark indicates that Johnson has his work cut out for him. Considering that this goal may become a driving force for the Titans as the season wanes, defensive coordinators are sure to game-plan against allowing Johnson the requisite yardage to join the rather elite group.

The Titans are capable of reeling off 10 straight wins: They did so last year en route to a 13-3 record. Of course, they started their run at the beginning of the season last year, but 10 straight is 10 straight no matter where it occurs in the season.

The catch-22 is this: Tennessee will need Chris Johnson to maintain his current production in order to have a chance at 10-6. And Tennessee realistically needs to run the table to give Johnson a chance at the record.

This won't be easy: Tennessee's next seven opponents have allowed an average of only 112 rushing yards per game through week 10, well below the mark Johnson needs to pass Dickerson.

However, their next game is against Houston—in Houston , mind you, which will be a homecoming of sorts for Vince Young.

If Young plays well in front of at least a marginally friendly crowd, Johnson surely will have as good, or better, a game as he did against Houston in week two, rushing for 197 yards in a losing effort.

In fact, only one team of Tennessee's remaining opponents have a defensive rushing average under 100 yards. If he stays fresh, Johnson is likely to eat those defenses alive.

If he does, and that's a mighty big IF , we will be crowning a new single-season rushing king at the end of the season.

And who knows? it might just be enough to salvage what many have already deemed a lost season for the Titans. On top of becoming the new rushing leader, Johnson just might wrest an MVP award out of the deal.

They'll need considerable help, to be sure; they are currently seeded 12th of 16 teams in the AFC.

But stranger things have happened. And who doesn't like a storybook ending?

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Vince Young-Chris Johnson Combo Too Much to Handle, Bills Fall To Titans

Bryan Hollister — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:07:21 -0500

So this is what everyone's been hollering about for the last few weeks.

At times he stood in the pocket and threw.

At times he scrambled out, extended the play, and threw.

At times he tucked the ball and ran, picking up critical yards and first downs.

Through it all he looked less like the confused, out-of-synch former college star that his detractors see, and more like the Vince Young everyone keeps crowing about, leading the Titans to a 41-17 victory over the visiting Bufallo Bills.

He isn't quite there yet, folks, but it appears that he is getting the hang of this football thing.

Granted, he had plenty of help from other key players: Chris Johnson, the Titans' lightning-fast running back, racked up 132 yards rushing and, just for kicks, threw in 100 yards receiving.

It's been 12 years since a Titans running back has had as many consecutive 100-yard rushing games as Johnson has strung together this year. It's been almost 50 years since a Titan—or an Oiler, for that matter—has pulled the "double-triple", gaining 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game.

In fact, Johnson is only the second player in franchise history to achieve the mark, the last one coming courtesy of the infamous Billy Cannon in 1961.

The defense stepped up big as well; the big men up front held the Bills to less than 90 yards on the ground, looking like the Titans unit from the 2008 season.

As for the defensive backs, where does one start? Vincent Fuller jumped a route on Trent Edwards for a pick-six just before the two minute mark in the fourth quarter, adding seven points to a 10-point Titans lead.

Roderick Hood pitched in two minutes later when he was in perfect position to snag a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass that slipped right through "superstar" wide receiver Terrell Owens' hands, taking the ball 31 yards for the final score of the game—and serving notice to future opponents that these Titans are back, and they are ready for some football.

But this week, Vince Young truly began to show that he has something more than a few short passes and the option to contribute.

First came his 38-yard laser to Kenny Britt at the end of the first quarter. Not only was it one of his longest passes of the year, it was near perfection, hitting Britt in stride as he went deep down the left side of the field.

He followed that up two plays later with a strike to Nate Washington over the middle, standing firm in the pocket and delivering the ball like a seasoned pro.

Throw in a couple of well-timed scrambles for 14 and 12 yards apiece, and what you have is a young quarterback who looks like he is grasping how big of an opportunity he has to show how much he has matured, how much he has grown, and just what he can bring to the table.

He still got a little greedy early, throwing into coverage and being rewarded with an interception. And he put the ball on the ground twice, which is not what we want to see out of the emerging star.

But overall, this was his best game since his return, and if he continues to grow and improve like he has over the last three weeks, even his detractors will have to recognize his abilities and admit they were wrong.

I'm not saying it yet, mind you. But I have considered the possibility.

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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: The Top 10 NFL Collapses Since 1990

Dave Stanley — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:53:13 -0500

Since the dawn of free agency in the NFL, patterns and trends in the win-loss column have been less frequent; dynasties tend to be more of a rarity. In a sense, the vices are wrapped in its virtue. What's pleasing to a fan is equally as frustrating—the fortunes of a franchise in any given year are not necessarily indicative of how things will play out the next. This list chronicles the more significant falls; the ones that ultimately weighed heavier in the grand scheme and big picture than a mere "off year" would have. For instance, the disappointing 1992 Atlanta Falcons didn't make the cut. They were surprising Cinderella's in 1991, but their lackluster campaign the following year didn't generate much headlines, considering that they had been mediocre at best in previous years. Conversely, these rankings are not based on shock value. Some of the clubs on this list were indeed expected to have slight drop offs—only to accelerate their slides into oblivion faster than anyone could have predicted. So, in light of the inexplicably bad 2009 Tennessee Titans*, here's a rundown of the other teams that have gone down that path. *-Then again, at the time of this writing, the Titans just reeled off their 3rd consecutive victory in rather convincing fashion. In a few weeks, the context of this article might just be irrelevant. No doubt, a good problem for Tennessee and their fans to have.

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Silva Week 10 Waiver Wire Report

Evan Silva — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 13:56:50 -0500

Passing Fancy Following Alex Smith's four-turnover performance that led directly to a Titans win in Week 9, coach Mike Singletary did nothing but praise his starting quarterback. "Alex had only one play that was really on him," Singletary said Monday, pointing out that the other miscues were a result of the ball just taking "an unlucky bounce." Needless to say, Smith enjoys plenty of job security at the moment. In another encouraging sign, the heretofore conservative 49ers rolled out 358 yards of offense while skewing toward the pass for the second straight week. "It was, unfortunately, one of the better offensive performances that I've seen since I've been here," Singletary said. "Take away the turnovers, and we have a chance to really have a good offensive game and have some excitement and momentum going forward." Since Smith and Michael Crabtree entered the starting lineup simultaneously, the Niners have shockingly morphed into a pass-first offense. With Vernon Davis emerging as a legit go-to receiver and Jason Hill now playing well in the slot, expect that trend to continue. The Steelers took note of Arizona's pass-happy run through the playoffs last year, turning to their own uptempo attack early this season. Other teams besides San Francisco have taken notice. Matt Hasselbeck's 39 completions against the Lions were a team record, and coach Jim Mora indicated that he won't be stubborn about pushing the running game going forward. Seattle's best offensive players are in the passing game, and the injury-ravaged offensive line isn't opening any holes on the ground. Hasselbeck's gaudy pass attempt numbers could become the norm rather than the exception over the second half of the season. The Chiefs showed their most successful passing attack of the season after moving to the no-huddle formation against the Jags in Week 9. Just like in Seattle, the offensive line is getting dominated on the ground. With Larry Johnson out of the picture, the team can put its best aerial weapons on the field and attempt to stretch the defense. Chris Chambers' two-touchdown performance will help draw attention away from Dwayne Bowe, and Lance Long is emerging as a destitute man's Wes Welker in the slot. Throw in Jamaal Charles as a backfield playmaker, and Matt Cassel finally has a chance to succeed in Kansas City.

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