Tennessee’s 31-21 win over the Colts Sunday night was nothing special on paper.
After all, the only thing we know after the fact is that a 6-0 team – now 7-0 – won a game at home against a 3-3 team (now 3-4).
Of course, games aren’t played on paper. Games are played on the field and in the hearts and minds of the combatants – a form of psychological warfare in which you’re not better than another team until
- You actually beat a team on the field and
- All observers finally submit to your will and agree you’re a better team.
And on the field and in the hearts and minds of the combatants, the Colts were clearly the superior team in recent years.
But not any more.
Tennessee gave what will go down as a vintage performance by its 2008 team. We’re thinking 2003 Patriots – a superior defensive team with clutch offensive play that just keeps on winning, while observers keep demanding more proof that they’re legitimate.
Well you got plenty of proof Monday night.
We put the Titans at the top of our Power Rankings two weeks ago and, of course, we’ve been touting their dominant defense for weeks. But even as they played absolutely dominant defense and were the only undefeated team in football, few people around the country had seen them play.
Monday night they go the national showcase that should propel them in the national consciousness. So as you sit around the water cooler this morning (or around the keg if you work for CHFF), here are all the facts you need to know about a team that that is two games better than any other in the AFC and looks ready to host a pair of playoff games in January.
0
The number of losses the 7-0 Titans have suffered this year. Nobody else made it past five games without a loss.
Zero is also the number of Big Plays the ironclad Titans surrendered in the win over Indy – no runs of more than 25 yards, no passes of more than 40, no turnovers, no big kick returns. The Titans essentially suffocated the Colts.
1
Tennessee’s spot in our Power Rankings each of the past two weeks. They also gained the No. 1 spot in our Relativity Index (+10.1 PPG) this week, our measure of how teams perform relative to the quality of their competition. And they remain No. 1 in our Bendability Index (22.2 Yards per Point Allowed), our measure of defensive efficiency and the “bend-but-don’t-break” phenomenon.
(Updated Quality Stats will be published later today.)
2
The number of times the Titans intercepted Peyton Manning Monday night.
It’s also the number of consecutive victories Tennessee has enjoyed over their AFC South nemesis from Indy, followinig a period of inferiority in which the Colts had won eight of nine over the Titans from 2003 to 2007.
3
The number of TD passes the Titans have allowed here in 2008. It puts them on pace to allow 7 TD tosses – which would be a Live Ball Era record for defensive stinginess, and the fewest since the Super Bowl champion 1973 Dolphins surrendered five TDs through the air.
Three is also where Titans QB Kerry Collins stands among active players in career passing pass yards (35,733), behind only Brett Favre (63,266) and Peyton Manning (43,380).
4
Tennessee’s lead in the AFC South – a division most thought was the toughest in football last year. The Titans have not officially locked up a playoff spot. But at this rate they could do so as early as November.
5.73
The average gain of opposing teams each time they pass the ball against the Titans, second in the NFL and just 4/100th of a yard behind No. 1 Pittsburgh (5.69 YPA).
6
Sacks by Tennessee DT and defensive player of the year candidate Albert Haynesworth, the most by an interior lineman (tied with Minnesota DT Kevin Williams).
7
This is the most remarkable Cold, Hard Football Fact for the Titans this year. It’s the total number of negative pass plays the Tennessee offense has suffered (five INTs, two sacks) in 194 dropbacks. That’s a negative pass play rate of just 3.6 percent – easily the best in the league this year.
Kerry Collins has been the victim of just four of those negative pass plays (three INTs, one sack) in 171 dropbacks since taking over the offense in Week 2 (a remarkable 2.3 percent).
To put Tennessee's rate of negative pass plays into perspective, consider that the historic passing offense of the 2007 Patriots committed 30 negative pass plays (21 sacks, nine INTs) in 607 dropbacks last year – a negative pass play rate of 4.9 percent ... more than twice the rate of the Collins-led Titans offense!
For the record, the Titans dropped back to pass 37 times Monday night and suffered not a single sack or pick.
Teams that avoid mistakes in the passing game win – and the 2008 Titans stand as proof.
12-0
Penn State's record in 1994 with Collins at quarterback, Joe Paterno's last undefeated team before his 9-0 club of 2008.
12.3
Tacos per day you must eat on the LenDale White diet plan.
14
Tennessee’s league-leading number of TD runs in 2008 – four more than the second-place Eagles and Ravens.
25
The number of unanswered points the Titans ripped off Monday night after falling behind 14-6 in the second half.
35
The age of Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins.
52
The age Tennessee quarterback Kerry Collins looks.
71.7
Tennessee’s team-wide passer rating this year – only five teams, including some of the league’s bottom-feeders – are worse (Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, Cincy and Seattle).
75
The length of Craig Hentrich’s second-quarter punt Monday night, the second longest boot of the 2008 season (San Francisco’s Andy Lee, 80).
80
The length of LenDale White’s TD run against Kansas City in Week 7, the longest run from scrimmage in the NFL this year.
