The Titans are a cocky bunch

After reading this article, you get the sense that the Titans are a cocky bunch. They feel they have the Colts figured, that their way of stopping thme is the best way.

As much as I dislike Jeff Fisher (he looks like Ron Jeremy, but with a mullet), he's got a point. However, it's the tone in which the Titans are talking that has an aura of cockiness to it. They think that by beating the Colts in one game last year (won on a lucky 60-yard FG) that they can spank Indy up and down Nashville Stadium. What I'm getting from Titans players here is they seem to think they are playing the same Colts defense that gave them over 200 yards rushing last December. For the Titans, there's a few problems with this assumption, and it's why I think the Titans are not indeed letting a homicidal chainsaw killer into their house this Sunday.

That's right. I have a feeling that the Colts are going to walk into Nashville Stadium and absolutely rip up the Titans on Sunday.

Now, unlike Titans fans, I'll actually show some respect for my team's opponent. I think the Titans have indeed improved on defense. I've always loved their special teams, and though he hasn't won a damn thing in this league but acts like he's God's gift, Jeff Fisher is an excellent coach. Why Bud Adams (one of the dumber owners in football) hasn't extended Fisher, I don't know. Seems like a no brainer. That aside, I don't think the Titans (or their fans) quite understand that this Colts defense is simply not the same defense they faced last December. It's much better. I'm sure Fisher does, because he's a good coach, but I don't know if the players do.

Coach Fisher?

There are three basic reasons why this Indy defense is different than last year's. One, this idiot is gone:

Gilbert Gardner. On the ground. Tackling grass.

Two, this guy (who couldn't tackle a crippled toddler) is also gone:

Cato June. Pig-back ride. Maurice Jones-Drew.

Third, this guy is healthy and eager to hit something dressed in powder blue and white:

Bob ponders the universe, and wonders how hard he can hit it.

How many times last year did we see Titans ballcarriers break free from Cato june "tackles?" How many times was Gilbert Gardner simply NOT THERE? I mean, he's supposed to be in the picture. That's his gap. That's Chris Brown or Travis Henry running through Gilbert's area, but Gilbert is noticably absent. Now, Gilbert is permenantly absent from the Colts roster, finding a new home backing up Keith Bullock in Tennessee. We Colts fans hoped and prayed Fisher would screw up and start Gilbert, maybe even at MLB. Sadly, Coach Fisher is not all that dumb. Gilbert would have stood a better chance of starting if Jack Del Rio were his coach.

The third factor is Bob Sanders. The Titans simply do not understand that this guy is as much a difference maker on the Colts as Peyton Manning is, and last year they did not face him. Not really. They faced an injured, hobbled Bob in one game, and even though injured, as pointed out oh so elequently by resident Titans fan mothrows, he forced a fumble. I really expect to see a lot of Bob on Sunday, and so should Vince Young and the Titans ballcarriers. In fact, they should expect to see a lot of these too, especially after Bob hits them:

Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet.

Again, I'm not reading from Titans players "These are the Champs and it's a big test for us and we gotta bring our A game, yadda, yadda, yadda." The sort of normal respect you'd give to a bigtime opponent that could drop 40 points on you on any given Sunday. No, I'm reading:

Interesting. I do believe it is time for me to pull out THE RESPECT CARD!

I'd just like a little respect from the Titans. That's all. Just a little. Alas, there is none. So, Tennessee fans can fully expect the Colts to walk into their stadium and embarrass the Titans on Sunday. The Colts are mad about last year's game. They want to come in and make a statement not just to the AFC South, but to the league. The Titans are just a little too cocky for a team that hasn't done jack squat in over 5 years. The Colts need to smack them around a bit.