Current Las Vegas odds put them at around 40:1 according to various sources, so there's what people with money think.
The majority of the talking heads on TV, print and alternative media don't even see the Titans finishing any better than the Houston Texans, and in most cases worse. There is a strong argument to be made that the AFC South actually has four playoff teams that should be playing in January, as they had the most last year with three. I can describe it in many ways, but the AFC South is one of the harder divisions to play in primarily because they have to play each other so much. There are no off days on division games. It is somewhat like the argument that the SEC makes in the NCAA Championship every year- "If we didn't have to play each other, we would've been undefeated". Actually, I guess it's like that for a reason; there are a ton of SEC players in the AFC South.
I normally don't make any pointless predictions about the season for any of the teams I like to follow, but this year I'm breaking with tradition.
THE TENNESSEE TITANS WILL WIN THE SUPER BOWL.
No hold on, I know what you're saying; Vince Young, no wide receivers. How can a team win a Super Bowl with a talented yet unpolished QB, and a wide receiver corps who would get shut down by Vanderbilt's secondary on most days? I don't necessarily disagree with these facts, because they are facts.
Vince Young has tons of talent but has been downright ugly at times in his decision making adjustments since he came to the the NFL. I've seen just about every NFL game snap he's had in the two years he's played. The list of plays he's made have ranged from walk-off homeruns in over time, like this-
to others like the abomination he had at home last year against the Atlanta Falcons, in which the Titans still won 20-13, thanks to the Defense. For an example of Vince also just being Vince, fast forward to about the 1:10 mark of this video and watch him throw a 2nd and 10 rollout directly to the other team as if he forgot what jersey they were wearing. That was also for my friends at DGDB&DM: A Texans Blog who will surely appreciate that video.
I think this is the year that Vince gets it together, mainly because Mike Heimerdinger has replaced Norm Chow as the Offensive coordinator. One thing Vince is not is a Matt Leinart Pac-10 style drop back QB. Chow and Young were never going to see eye to eye, and I'm not sure Chow worked all that well with McNair either. The last time Coach Heimerdinger was in charge of the Titans offense, Steve McNair shared the MVP of league with Peyton Manning. I have every reason to believe that Vince Young will fit better with Coach Heimerdinger based on what he was able to do with Steve McNair in terms of style. Steve was also a QB who could get the job done wth his legs too, running for four TD's in the 2003 MVP season. I think this was the problem with Vince last year, and it has now been corrected.
If Vince plays better, expect to see less whining about our Wide Receiver corps, because they do have some potential in the two Justin's- McCareins and Gage. Plus, the addition of pro-bowl Tight End Algae Crumpler will be a much needed safety valve option for Vince. Crumpler is used to playing with a non-traditional QB from his days with Michael Vick from Atlanta, so this could really be interesting.
Other than these two issues and the normal injury-free hopes for the starters, I can't really find any other big problems with the 2008 Titans lineup. The Defense appears ready to pick up where it left off last year. If pro-bowlers Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch stay healthy, no one will be running against us, and our secondary is a year less green with true studs emerging at CB Courtland Finnegan and at safety Michael Griffin. We have one of the best LB's in the business in Keith Bulluck. Did I mention The Freak is back? Yes, Jevon Kearse has come back for another year to terrorize AFC South QB's again. How about thunder and lightning in the backfield with Lendale "Bowling Ball" White and Chris "What was that?" Johnson ?
Watch this run from Chris from this years preseason game against the Rams-
This kid should be fun to watch.
So there's my argument. I have no reason to root for or desire anything less than a Super Bowl Title for the Tennessee Titans. When you root for your team you should throw the odds and the talking heads out the window and cheer for them to win the whole damn thing. Why would I want to write anything less with this team? Sure, they have some issues, but which team doesn't?
Last year the Giants started out 35-1 odds to win the Super Bowl.
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