Tennessee Titans: Winners and Losers at the Season's Quarter Mark

The Tennessee Titans are 3-1 through the first four games of the NFL regular season.

They sit atop the AFC South, matched evenly with the Houston Texans, and their only blemish comes on an opening day upset-loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Ahead are the winners and loser for the Titans through the first quarter of the season.

Winner: Jerry Gray and the Tennessee Defense

Out of all 32 teams, the Titans are ranked No. 7 in total defense.

Last week, Tennessee ranked No. 1 in total defense, but 61 pass attempts by Colt McCoy in garbage time dropped the stingy unit that is led by new defensive coordinator Jerry Gray.

The Titans defense has been outstanding, allowing the league's fewest points per game, 14.

After being one of the most penalized defenses in the league under former defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil, the Tennessee defense has become composed and confident with the second-fewest penalties in the NFL.

Winners: Tennessee Tight Ends

The Titans receiving corps took a serious blow when Kenny Britt went down with a season-ending knee injury.

Jared Cook, Craig Stevens and Daniel Graham decided it was their time to shine.

After pitiful performances in Weeks 1 and 2, all three tight ends got involved in the pass game in Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, catching four passes for 74 yards. 

After calling out Jared Cook last week, he did enough this week to shut me up.

Cook registered two catches for 93 yards and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns in Tennessee's Week 4 victory. 

Winner: Matt Hasselbeck

Matt Hasselbeck is off to the best start of his 13-year career. 

Hasselbeck has thrown eight touchdowns, three interceptions and has a 104.7 quarterback rating through four games.

According to Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com, Hasselbeck registered the highest QBR rating this season during Sunday's tilt with the Cleveland Browns.

Winner: Mike Munchak

With hardly any offseason and questions throughout the Titans roster, Mike Munchak took the reigns of a Tennessee organization in shambles.

Munchak turned a bleak outlook into one of the more successful starts in franchise history. The Titans are 3-1, atop the AFC South and are firing on all cylinders with a cohesive team and coaching staff.

Loser: Chris Hope

Standout safety Chris Hope is not necessarily playing bad this season; he is just being outplayed by backup Jordan Babineaux.

Hope has been plagued with injuries—first a shoulder, now a broken forearm—while Babineaux has taken advantage of every opportunity given to him during his first year as a Titan.

Nicknamed "Big Play Babs" for his ability to make big plays in Seattle, Babineaux has recovered one fumble, returned an interception for a touchdown and has made almost double the tackles Hope secured in limited action.

When Hope recovers, it's debatable if there will even be a contest to get his starting position back.

Some notable corrections in punctuation in adding some needed commas to break up compound sentences. Also, in terms of style No. 1 instead of number one. Nice assessments.

Loser: Kenny Britt

Kenny Britt was off to the best start of his young career.

Often plagued by hamstring injuries, Britt was finally healthy and showed his worth, catching 17 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns. 

Britt was averaging 17 yards per catch before tearing both his ACL and MCL on an awkward run-after-catch.

The third-year receiver was fifth in the NFL in receiving yards before sustaining the season-ending injury.

Loser: Marc Mariani

The Tennessee Titans are one of the teams suffering from the new NFL kickoff rule. 

Marc Mariani has returned two kickoffs for 48 yards total. He has also returned 10 punts for only 62 yards.

After such a superb rookie season, Mariani has been underwhelming in his first four games of the 2011 regular season.

Loser: Chris Johnson

Chris Johnson has been shut down through four games.

He came into the regular season, with no preseason experience, but a big paycheck in his pocket.

Johnson rushed for 98 combined yards through the first three weeks, but showed glimpses of his former self as he rushed for 101 yards on 23 carries against the Browns in Week 4. 

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