Titans vs. Dolphins: Instant Grades, Analysis for Tennessee

In a complete reversal of last week's fortunes, the Titans ran away with a victory over the Dolphins 37-3.

Chris Johnson and the Titans defense proved to be the main catalysts for the teams scoring as the team picked up 20 points off of four turnovers.

The defense forced a fumble, Johnson had a 21-yard run and Jake Locker found Kendall Wright for a 9-yard touchdown.

Later in the game Chris Johnson took what looked like a run for a loss of yardage for an incredible 17-yard touchdown run.

The defense officially put the game on ice with a Colin McCarthy pick-six at the beginning of the second quarter.

The Dolphins looked every bit as bad as the Titans did last week and Tennessee suddenly looked like they had the best defense in the league.

Whether the Titans can come even close to matching today's performance for the rest of the game will be seen soon enough, but let's take a closer look at how each unit of the Titans' roster performed today. 

QB Jake Locker

FINAL GRADE: B

Locker has some work to do in the passing game after sitting for six weeks. He finished the game 9-of-21 for 122 yards and 2 TDs. He could have thrown a few interceptions that luckily dropped and his receivers let a couple easy ones hit the turf as well. It was great to see Locker's wheels again after watching the statuesque Hasselbeck for so long. 

Fourth Quarter Grade: Incomplete

There wasn't really any quarterback play for Tennessee in the fourth quarter. Jake Locker was pulled from the game to avoid risk of injury to his dislocated non-throwing shoulder. Matt Hasselbeck came in an nearly threw an interception on his only pass of the day.

Third Quarter Grade: B+

Jake Locker is looking a bit sharper here in the third. He threw two great passes to Kenny Britt and Jared Cook to keep the drive alive and score a touchdown. He had five completions in the quarter, which is one more than he had in the entire first half and picked up his second touchdown of the day.

Second Quarter Grade: C-

Locker has done a great job of making plays with his legs today. No one could ever consider scrambling one of Matt Hasselbeck's strengths. He is still struggling to find open receivers and when he does they seem to drop it. For the quarter his has one completion on six attempts.  

First Quarter Grade:  C+

Locker has come out looking a bit rusty in the passing game, throwing a couple passes short and high. He still has managed to throw a touchdown but he only he has 29 yards on three completions. The highlight for Locker so far has been his running ability. On a play that looked like  sure-fire sack for a loss of 10 he took of for a gain of 20. He has 25 yards rushing at the end of the quarter.

Offense

FINAL GRADE: B+

The offense had a pretty easy day today with the defense gift wrapping 20 points for them in the game. Chris Johnson looked like CJ2k yet again and the offense is getting acclimated to Jake Locker again. The second quarter was awful, but they looked great in the third taking up more than 8 minutes on one possession. The unit still needs to work on its consistency however.

Fourth Quarter Grade: A-

With the game well in hand the offense's main goal for the fourth quarter became running down the clock. Consider it mission accomplished as Tennessee had the ball for more than 11 minutes in the quarter. 

Third Quarter Grade: A

Chris Johnson is the first running back to rush for more than 100 yards against the Dolphins in 22 games. Johnson has been great over the last seven weeks. Jared Cook did a good job of adjusting to a pass thrown just a bit to far over his shoulder. Kenny Britt did a good job of looking back at his QB while scrambling and finding a soft spot in the defense for a big gain. Great time of possession in the quarter.

Second Quarter Grade: F

On three possessions in the quarter the Titans have moved the ball five yards, three yards and four yards. The team is only surviving off the play of its defense who is responsible for all he scoring in the quarter. Jared Cook had an awful drop and the offensive line is starting to get pushed around a bit. The offense needs to step it up after the half.

First Quarter Grade: B+

Chris Johnson is officially back people. Once again we've seen him use his burst to make something out of nothing on his 17-yard touchdown. He has 50 yards on six carries through the quarter.

Kenny Britt is still fighting the ball every time he tries to catch it, but Kendall Wright is looking like he'll be a nice receiver for years to come. The offensive line has done nice job of holding back this tough Dolphins defense so far.

Defense

FINAL GRADE: A+

The Titans defense had been embarrassed all season, last week's 51 points allowed included, but somehow managed to hold Miami to just three points in the game. The Unit finishes with three INTs, one fumble recovery and two sacks. Now the question is whether they can come even close to matching this effort after the bye.

Fourth Quarter Grade: A

The Titans defense once again managed to hold after allowing Miami to drive into the red zone, but this time rookie LB Zach Brown read the play perfectly and intercepted a pass and returned it to the Dolphins 37 yardline. a perfect shutout for the second half.

Third Quarter Grade: A

The defense didn't have to do too much in the third quarter as the offense held the ball most of the time. The Dolphins only gained 19 yards on their one possession and were then forced to punt. Sen'Derrick Marks picked up the units' first sack of the game and the Dolphins just look discombobulated.  

Second Quarter Grade: A+

The Titans defense is making plays all over the field. They started off the quarter with a near interception by Verner and then followed it up with a Colin McCarthy pick-six from 49 yards out. The defense held strong to force a field goal after briefly looking like the defense we've seen all season and then followed it up with another interception.

This time by Akeem Ayers, who also tipped the pass on the first interception. Great quarter of play for Ayers.

First Quarter Grade: A

You have to grade the Titans' defense on a curve. When a unit allows 34-plus points a game, posting a shutout at the end of a quarter is huge. The defense forced a three-and-out on the Dolphins first possession and also picked up a fumble recovery later in the quarter. They've done a great job of keeping Miami out of scoring range.

Special Teams

FINAL GRADE: A

Overall the special teams units did a great job today. A big play isn't something that should always be expected. Kern did a great job of keeping field position in Tennessee's favor and Reynaud did a solid job on punt returns. The Dolphins had some nice returns that you would like to see the coverage units put an end to sooner, but everyone had a solid performance on the day.

Fourth Quarter Grade: A

Rob Bironas put field goals of 38 and 53 yards through the uprights in the quarter, Brett Kern continued to look great and the coverage units made sure to snuff out any hopes of a big play.

Third Quarter Grade: A

Darius Reynaud is doing a solid job of returning the ball, especially on punts. Brett Kern is averaging more than 57 yards per punt and the coverage unit has improved.

Second Quarter Grade: B+

The kickoff coverage unit needs to do a better job of getting to the return man, he's averaging 26.5 yards per return. That may sound like nitpicking, but a big special teams play could put Miami right back in this game.

First Quarter Grade: A

Brett Kern booted a 71-yard punt in the quarter to really switch up the field position, otherwise there hasn't been much story to tell. Good things to here from your special teams unit.

Coaching

FINAL GRADE: A-

The team was fired up for this one, but they need to come out ready to play like this every week. Every unit still has things to work on, because the offense appeared to be inconsistent at times and we can't count on the defense getting four turnovers a game either. 

Fourth Quarter Grade: A

Great job by the coaching staff to get Locker and Chris Johnson out of the game early after putting it in cruise control and still managing to dominate the time of possession. 

Third Quarter Grade: A

The coaching staff has kept the team focused despite the huge lead and Tennessee is primed for a blowout victory.

Second Quarter Grade: B

Clearly Jerry Gray should have been sitting up in the coaches box all season, this defensive play is an aberration. Coach Palmer needs to get his offense going, because they looked awful in the quarter and they're being helped out tremendously by the defense. Special teams needs a little coaching up too.

First Quarter Grade: A-

The coaching staff has the team ready to play today after the embarrassment they suffered against the Bears last week.