Kenny Britt Injury: Britt's Absence Won't Hinder Matt Hasselbeck

After a couple of seasons of making them look like fools for drafting him in the first round of the 2009 draft, Kenny Britt was making the Tennessee Titans look like geniuses in the early goings this season. He entered Week 3 with 14 receptions for 271 yards and three touchdowns.

But alas, in the second quarter of Tennessee's tilt with the Denver Broncos on Sunday, disaster struck. After making a catch, Britt injured his right knee.

He eventually had to be carted to the locker room, and it didn't take long for ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen to report that Britt may have torn both his ACL and his MCL.

If he has, Britt is out for the season.

If that ends up being the case, the Titans offense is going to be without its most effective pass-catcher. As I've already written, the pressure will thus be on Chris Johnson to pick up the slack in Tennessee's offense. After all, every team needs a big-play threat, and the Titans may have lost a damn good one for the season.

However, there has been talk about how Britt's absence will ruin Tennessee's passing game, and that's where I disagree. He may be a very good receiver, but I think Matt Hasselbeck deserves more credit than that.

Heck, just look what Hasselbeck was able to do after Britt left the game on Sunday. He ended the day at 27-of-36 for 311 yards and two touchdowns. Of that, only three completions went to Britt, and he gained just 18 yards. The other 24 completions were spread out among 10 players.

So if you want to look on the bright side of life, you'll see that Britt accounted for a very small part of what was a very successful day for Hasselbeck.

But to understand Hasselbeck's true quality, you have to go back to his days in Seattle. He routinely passed for over 3,000 yards, but he never did have the luxury of a top-flight wide receiver. He made do with the receivers he had, some of whom were notorious for having butterfingers.

That, to me, is a fine testament to just how savvy Hasselbeck is. He's never been flashy, and he's never played favorites, but he's always been productive.

Because of that, I'm going to be surprised if Hasselbeck feels Britt's absence too much. I do think we can expect Mike Munchak to try to get CJ more involved, but he'll feel comfortable knowing that he has steady quarterback to lean on.

Is all of this meant to suggest that the Titans are suddenly going to turn into the 2009 New Orleans Saints? Hardly. Capable and steady is not quite explosive and prolific. The Titans were not a good offensive team with Britt, and they will not be a good offensive team without him.

But I don't think the Titans are going to be a bad offensive team. They'll have just enough to win if their defense can do its part, and that has proven to be successful so far this year.

Britt may be gone, and his absence may be felt, but all is not lost in Tennessee. Not yet, anyway.