Those are two tough teams

The only team that comes close to the Ravens and Titans in terms of toughness is the Steelers, nobody else in the playoffs is even close. That was a war, as expected, here are some random thoughts.

-This was a perfect demonstration of why turnover ratio is the most important statistic in football, it trumps all else. I think the Ravens deserve more credit for forcing those turnovers. It was not luck, it was not given to them by the Titans, it's something the defense has done all year. They hit hard, they go for the football, they put pressure on QBs over and over until they eventually make a mistake.

Luck is something that happens out of the ordinary, but forcing turnovers is something our defense has consistently done every game, even when we're playing the top two teams in the NFL at protecting the football.

-Kerry Collins played a damn good football game. He was accurate, he got rid of the ball quickly before we could get to him, and he was poised in the pocket. Justin Gage really used his size advantage to shield our corners from the ball, he was open most of the game. You all were smart to throw a lot of short timing routes, it doesn't allow our pass rush to play a factor. Gage did more damage then your tight ends, which is where I expected us to have trouble.

-Losing Willie Anderson, Terrell Suggs, LeRon McClain, and Samari Rolle for parts or all of the game sucked, but losing Chris Johnson was a bigger loss than all of them put together. He exposed our D's biggest weakness, cornerback tackling. People keep trying to compare this D to our 2000 D and in my opinion it's not even close and one of the main reasons is that Duane Starks and Chris McCalister were great tackling corners.

Does anyone else think Johnson could have played through the injury? High ankle sprains are rough but McClain played through his, and the swelling does not restrict your movement until they day after. Given the circumstances, divisional playoff game and players staying in despite injuries on both sides of the ball, I would think that he would have attempted to tough it out. I can't imagine a guy like Keith Bulluck who puts his heart and soul into the game would be too happy with CJ today, he's obviously talented and productive but he doesn't seem like a Titans style player.

-The parallels to 2000 are getting a little scary. Great D and a mistake free albeit very limited offense. Playing in Tennessee, who was the number one team in the NFL, and winning on turnovers and a missed FG despite being dominated on the rest of the stat sheet. Potentially going on the west coast for the AFC championship, then Tampa for the Super Bowl. I'm drinking the purple kool-aid.

-Watching that game was not an enjoyable experience. I was literally nauseous the entire time until you didn't convert on 4th down to end the game.

-I feel for you guys. After our loss in 2006 I was not on a message board talking to other people, I did not watch another game in the postseason, I did not go on any sports related television channels or websites for at least a month. It was just too painful, and especially the manner in which you lost. This is going to linger for years and you probably won't start to feel better until next season when you start winning games again. But as Jeff Fisher said, you will overcome it, you're loaded with talent and you're well coached. I look forward to seeing you guys again as we have a great rivalry and we are two of the best organizations in the NFL.

Congratulations on a great season, and I have no problem with you not wishing us the same back, it's far too soon for that.

 

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for having me, as the Governor of California would say, I'll be back.

Yea, talk about two different running backs. L-Train's ankles are wrapped in so much tape it looks like he's running in ski boots.

If that was actually the rationale behind the decision that's terrible on the coaches part. You were in a tie game in the playoffs, not up two touchdowns. You do whatever it takes to win the game and deal with the fallout afterwards.