Believe it. After the first seven weeks of the 2008-09 NFL season, the Tennessee Titans are the only squad without a loss on its record. And they're showing very little signs of letting up for anyone, either.
Despite the fact that they won 10 games and made the playoffs last season, the Titans entered the year with a slew of question marks and a particular emphasis on quarterback Vince Young's playmaking ability. Of the 16 "experts" forecasting the season on ESPN.com, just five picked Tennessee to earn a Wild Card berth and none picked the team to win the AFC South.
Young has become a non-factor, but the Titans' stable of consistent and reliable receivers and running backs has made the job easy for his replacement, Kerry Collins. That, coupled with the best scoring defense in the entire league, has vaulted Tennessee to the top of the AFC South standings, a full three games better than preseason Super Bowl contenders like the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
So how has Tennessee so easily torched the competition on such a regular basis? The answer lies in its defense, which has yielded only 11 points per game. Tennessee has forced a league-best 14 turnovers and boasts a plus-six turnover differential that also ranks atop the NFL. And don't even think throwing for scores against this team: The Titans have given up just one passing touchdown the entire season.
On the offensive side, Tennessee's dynamic duo of rookie Chris Johnson and bruiser LenDale White has teamed up to form the fourth-best rushing attack in the NFL, averaging 154.5 yards per game on the ground. The two were at it again in Sunday's 34-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs when they combined to rush for a franchise-record 332 yards and four touchdowns. Each had scoring runs of at least 65 yards in the blowout.
Johnson's incredible speed, coupled with White's scoring prowess, has proven a lethal combination for Tennessee this season. Neither has turned the ball over through the six games, while White has scored in all but one contest, and Johnson is averaging well over five yards per carry.
Still, some doubters will point to the Titans' relatively easy schedule as the reason for their fast start. None of Tennessee's first six opponents, who enter Week 8 with a combined 12-26 mark, has a winning record. But with a loaded schedule in the next couple weeks that features home games against the Colts and Green Bay Packers, as well as a Nov. 16 date against division rival Jacksonville, the Titans will finally have the chance to prove they are for real.
While the new-look Titans kept their record unblemished, a perennial AFC power reminded the league that it isn't exactly ready to cede its stranglehold on the conference yet. The New England Patriots proved they can indeed survive without quarterback Tom Brady, slaughtering the Denver Broncos 41-7 on Monday Night Football. Eternal backup Matt Cassel finally had his coming-out party, throwing for 185 yards and three touchdowns and leading the Patriots to 404 yards of total offense in his best game to date. Most telling, though, was Cassel's ability to remain cool under pressure, as the USC product led five scoring drives of over 50 yards.
With a relatively cupcake schedule including games against the St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders, New England certainly has a good chance at salvaging a playoff berth in a season played without the reigning league MVP. The Patriots certainly have the weapons to do so, and those emerged in full force against the beleaguered Broncos.
Randy Moss, arguably the most talented receiver in the NFL, hauled in two scores from Cassel, while speedster Wes Welker also found the end zone once. Perhaps the best indicator that New England can indeed inch its way up the AFC standings again and supplant the Titans was found in its rushing attack. Led by Sammy Morris and his career-high 138 yards, the Patriots piled up 257 yards on the ground, all in the absence of Laurence Maroney, who was placed on injured reserve Monday.
Should New England return to the form of its perfect 16-0 2007 season, it will do so behind the emergence of Cassel, who seems to be coming into his own under center. For now, though, the Patriots will have to settle for second fiddle behind the Titans, the current top dog in football.
