Before I begin my recount of the Titans-Steelers game, I must clarify that the Titans are probably not as bad as they played on Sunday, nor are the Steelers quite that good. That said, the word "flogging" comes to mind. As does, "obliteration" and, "humiliation."
Regardless of how many players the Titans have lost over the years and/or how young their current roster is, I have never seen a team be so dominated the way the Titans were by the Steelers. In fact, after the opening touchdown drive, Tennessee's next seven possessions were: fumble, missed field goal, interception, punt, punt, fumble, interception. Meanwhile, the Steelers scored on their first six possessions.
And, Pittsburgh's back-ups were playing from the middle of the third quarter on.
Despite the fact that the Steelers dominated the game, after watching Tennessee march down the field on the opening drive, the pessimist in me is a little nervous about the defense. A few years ago the Bengals found a weakness in the Steelers defense. Then, a few games later, the Patriots exploited that weakness...and every team thereafter exploited it, as well. If the Steelers allow teams to move the ball the way the Titans did on that drive, it will be a long season for the black and gold.
Then again, Dick LeBeau was not the defensive coordinator back when teams were exploiting Pittsburgh's secondary. In other words, I am sure that Dick LeBeau will remedy this situation. In fact, if the rest of the game was any indicator, it appears that the Steelers will allow teams to move the ball between the twenties...and then cause a turnover...which, in truth, sounds like an extraordinary plan.
On a similar topic, the secondary is full of playmakers. Every time I blinked, someone was intercepting a pass or recovering a fumble. When Bryant McFadden and/or Ricardo Colclough join the starting group of Taylor, Polamalu, and Hope, it makes for a secondary that is not only difficult to pass upon, but a group of players that is athletic, fast, and young...with "young" being the operative word. In time, this group of defensive backs could be quite special. The name Rod Woodson comes to mind. As does, Carnell Lake. And, Darren Perry.
Back to my concerns. Before this game, I was a little worried about the passing game. Then, Ben responded by passing for 218 yards on nine of eleven attempts, with two touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating (158.3). Nay-sayers will point out that all Ben did was hand the ball off...forty-one times. And, they would be right to some degree: handing the ball off to Willie Parker is what ANY smart quarterback would have done...because, on Sunday, Willie appeared to be the second coming of Tony Dorsett.
Alright, comparing Willie Parker to Tony Dorsett might be a little hasty, but in my opinion, 161 rushing yards, 48 receiving yards, and a touchdown is worthy of entertaining the comparison, even if only for a second. Let me put it this way: even if Willie plays half as well the rest of the season, he is on pace for 1,288 rushing yards, 384 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns.
Furthermore, Sunday's statistics do not take into account the fact that Willie was four yards short of scoring on a 48 yard screen pass, and was replaced by Verron Haynes at the 14 yard line on another drive. In other words, Willie should have had at least one more touchdown added to his stats (if not two).