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What I think they’re thinking in the headquarters of the Tennessee Titans this afternoon…

A couple weeks ago, some fans were calling for Ryan Fitzpatrick to be the starter. Now, after Jake Locker puts up a good stretch and goes down with hip and knee injuries, the same people are horrified at the prospect of turning to the backup. We want Locker in the lineup, of course. But we’ve got one of the best backup situations in the league. If we lose to Kansas City on Sunday, it’s not going to be on Fitzpatrick. Our defense should be able to contain the Chiefs, who haven’t been real explosive on offense. And the offensive line’s been getting better and should be able to get our backs some room and allow Fitzpatrick to operate against a group that’s rushed the passer very well so far.

Let’s run through where the Titans stand in key categories through four games.

Overall offensive and defensive rankings and rushing and passing rankings are based on yardage, and yardage isn’t the most important thing.

Points are the most important thing, and third down is quite important, too.

We will include last year’s final rankings, at least for now.



The rushing offense isn’t in that bad of a spot considering some of the fronts the Titans have matched up against. But a run-heavy team playing its backup quarterback needs to begin to climb in that category now. And the Chiefs have given up 5.4 yards a carry.

The third-down defense numbers are very solid -- Tennessee is allowing conversions just under a third of the time. Last year they allowed a conversion rate of nearly 40 percent.

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A second MRI revealed Jake Locker's got a sprained right hip to go with his sprained MCL in his right knee.

That's probably as good an evaluation as possible.

The team said he'd miss a few weeks. I expect that means he misses the next three games -- against Kansas City, at Seattle and against San Francisco.

The Titans then have a bye week.

Locker will have had 31 days to recover if he returns Oct. 30 when the Titans begin to prepare for their Nov. 3 game at St. Louis. Hopefully he'll be ready to return at that point.

The Titans will have to make a roster move to create room for a backup quarterback in the meantime. I still think promoting Rusty Smith from the practice squad is the most likely scenario.

The Titans tried out some veterans Tuesday, and David Carr and John Skelton are the two names that have been reported.

The Kansas City Chiefs finished last out of 32 teams in the final edition of last season’s ESPN.com NFL Power Rankings and the Tennessee Titans finished 26th.

The two teams meet in Tennessee this weekend, so one of their respective rises up to fifth and 13th in the Power Rankings this season will be put on hold

Each team's vast improvements on defense, however, could ensure that any fall may be short-lived.

Chiefs Defense – Best Pass Rush in the NFL
Not only have the Chiefs recorded the most sacks this season (18), they’ve sacked quarterbacks at the highest rate in the NFL (10 percent of dropbacks).

Although Justin Houston is tied for the league-lead with 7.5 sacks this season, nose tackle Dontari Poe may be having just as big of an impact.

Poe has recorded 3.5 sacks this season, best among interior defensive linemen. He had zero sacks last season despite playing 75 percent of the Chiefs’ defensive snaps.

Poe’s production this season is even more impressive when you compare him to nose tackles in 3-4 defenses in recent years.

Since the start of 2008, there have been only five instances of a nose tackle recording as many as four sacks in an entire season, and none have posted more than 7.5

Poe’s pressure from the interior makes it harder for offensive lines to account for the rest of the Chiefs’ pass rush.

Eight Kansas City defenders have at least a half sack this season. Last season, they had six defenders record at least half a sack.

Titans Defense – More Pass Rushers, Bigger Impact
The Titans allowed a league-worst 29.4 points per game last season, but have shaved 12 points off that average this year.

One of the keys to the turnaround has been a strategical shift on defense.

The Titans had good production when pass rushing five or more defenders last season. The problem was they used such pressure on only a quarter of opponent dropbacks.

Tennessee allowed a league-worst 70 percent of passes to be completed when rushing four or fewer last season, but were a Top-10 defense when sending extra rushers (54 percent).

The Titans defense has allowed similar numbers this season, but the big difference is that the Titans are sending at least five pass rushers on 44 percent of opponent dropbacks, the third highest rate in the NFL.

The increased number of pass rushers may be the influence of Gregg Williams, now a senior assistant with the Titans’ defense.

Williams was the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator from 2009 to 2011. During that stretch, the Saints sent five or more pass rushers exactly half the time. No other team did that more than 43 percent of the time.

A weekly examination of the Titans' ESPN.com Power Ranking:

Preseason: 27 | Last Week: 17 | ESPN.com Power Ranking since 2002

Their blowout win againstf the New York Jets served the Titans well in the AFC South standings and boosted them four spots to No. 13 in ESPN.com’s NFL Power Rankings.

The Titans have six games to come against five teams that rank ahead of them, including their next three. It starts with Kansas City on Sunday. The undefeated Chiefs stand fifth.

Here’s our weekly update on where the Titans stand:



In the AFC South, the Colts are sixth, the Texans are 15th, and the Jaguars are holding steady at 32nd.

Tennessee's win over the Jets dropped New York from 18th to 22nd.

If you’re watching the Kansas City Chiefs at the Tennessee Titans on television at noon CT on Sunday, you’ll be hearing CBS’ Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots on the call.

It's the second time the network’s fifth broadcast team will call the Titans. They had the call in Houston in Week 2.

We’re tracking the weekly broadcast teams and their rank at their network.

It’s not there yet, but you’ll ultimately find a distribution map for this game and the whole league at 506 sports.

Reading the coverage of the Tennessee Titans ...

Turnovers plagued Ryan Fitzpatrick in Buffalo, says John Glennon of The Tennessean. The Titans are 3-1 in large part because they’ve yet to turn the ball over. David Boclair of the Nashville Post writes about how Fitzpatrick’s history doesn’t mesh with the Titans’ philosophy.

To which I say: Mike Munchak said the system will help Fitzpatrick limit the sort of problems he’s had in the past. We’ll see.

The Titans are bracing for life without Jake Locker, says Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. David Carr and John Skelton are two veteran quarterbacks the Titans will look at Tuesday as they consider what to do behind Fitzpatrick.

Munchak founds the hits on Locker unnecessary, says Glennon.

Late to this one: Don Banks of SI.com says Locker's injury cast a pall over a surprising 3-1 start for the Titans.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ryan Fitzpatrick is starting at quarterback for the Tennessee Titans on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, and very likely for a while beyond that.

While Jake Locker is out with hip and knee injuries, the Titans need a new backup.

Dowell Loggains said during the preseason that he'd stand on the table for Rusty Smith, though Smith was cut and then signed to the practice squad.

The likely move to back up Fitzpatrick would be to promote Smith to the 53-man roster. But Mike Munchak hardly offered a ringing endorsement of the 2010 sixth-round draft pick out of Florida Atlantic.

"We haven't decided what we're doing yet at that position," Munchak said. "...He knows our offense well, he knows what we are doing well. So you have to take a lot of those factors into what's the best thing if something does happen now to Ryan? What's the best thing for this team to win. We'll consider our options before we decide what to do."

But why have Smith on the practice squad if he's not technically the third quarterback?

"I didn't say he's not going to be the two, we're always going to take a look at the situation before we make a decision," Munchak said. "Standing right here, I'm not going to make the decision right now. We haven't made any decisions right now. We're just going to make sure it's the best decision when the time comes."

"If he's not the guy, I'll explain to you why at that time."

Munchak said the Titans would have available quarterbacks in for a look on Tuesday.

There is hardly a quality list of available quarterbacks. It includes veterans like Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, Tyler Thigpen, David Carr and Trent Edwards.

There are also young quarterbacks on other practice squads the Titans could sign, though they can't try those guys out and making that move would be the biggest possible indictment of Smith.

Those quarterbacks include Indy's Chandler Harnish, Buffalo's Thad Lewis, Oakland's Tyler Wilson and Cincinnati's Greg McElroy.

If Locker doesn't go on IR-recall, which Munchak made sound unlikely, the Titans will have to cut someone to make room for Smith or an outsider.

Offensive tackle Byron Stingily and rookie defensive end Lavar Edwards have both been inactive for every game. Rookie cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson re-aggravated a hamstring injury in the win over the Jets and they could put him on IR to create room.

A look at the key drive in the New York Jets' 38-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans:

The situation: The Titans took over at the Jets' 46-yard line with 1:28 remaining in the first half, following Geno Smith's second interception. Despite a poor half, the Jets were still in the game, trailing 17-6.

The drive: The Titans used all but two seconds of the clock, taking a commanding 24-6 lead on Jake Locker's 16-yard touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Justin Hunter. The drive took seven plays, 46 yards. The Jets knew Locker would try a jump-ball pass to Hunter in the end zone, but they still couldn't defend it. Cornerback Darrin Walls was burned on the play.

The impact: This was a crushing score for a couple of reasons. Moments earlier, the Jets forced a three-and-out and used two timeouts, setting themselves up for a potential hurry-up drive at the end of the half. They got the ball in good field position, at their 41, but Smith forced a ball to Santonio Holmes and was intercepted. Just like that, the defense was back on the field. Instead of cutting into an 11-point deficit before halftime, the Jets went to the locker room down by 18 points. It changed the complexion of the game.

An examination of four hot issues from the Titans' 38-13 win over the Jets:

Is anyone actually watching? It’s time to start giving Jake Locker his due. He was superb against the Jets, with three touchdown throws in the first half. Yet a national overnight radio host put him in the same category as Tim Tebow and another national personality compared him to Oakland’s Terrelle Pryor. Sure, Locker has had issues with his game before this season. But if you've actually watched him through four games, you see a guy making good decisions and good throws. The Titans are 3-1 largely because of Locker, not despite him. Now they have to see how long he’ll be out with a hip injury and how well they can survive with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm.

Michael Griffin wavers: A week ago against the Chargers, the Titans free safety went low on a pass-catcher on a play he could have blown up with a high hit, or might have even intercepted. He admitted the reason he approached the play as he did was because of the way the NFL is fining players for high hits. Against the Jets, as Alterraun Verner intercepted a Geno Smith pass on the second play from scrimmage, Griffin hit the receiver, Stephen Hill, in the chin with his helmet. Hill wound up with a concussion, and odds are Griffin will end up with a fine.

Receiver depth showing: Kenny Britt was out because he’s got an injured rib and neck. Set aside any conspiracy theories. The Titans may lack a superstar receiver, but all along we’ve spoken of their good depth. They showed it off against the Jets. Nate Washington was big again. Justin Hunter had a TD catch that was better than the game winner against the Chargers. Damian Williams chipped in with five catches for 53 yards. With or without a functioning and focused Britt, the Titans have guys who can make plays.

Swarming: The Titans don’t have a singular pass-rusher, but if the group effort is like this, they don’t need one. Ropati Pitoitua, a run-stopping defensive end, had two sacks of Geno Smith. Linebacker Zach Brown and defensive tackles Jurrell Casey and Karl Klug also had sacks. He Titans hit Smith an additional six times. He dropped back 34 times and the Titans hit him on just under a third of them.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The NFL reviews a slew of plays from each weekend, and Adam Schefter reports they will review the hits by Muhammad Wilkerson and Quinton Coples on the play where Tennessee Titans quarterback Jake Locker injured his right hip.

My colleague who covers the Jets, Rich Cimini, spoke to Wilkerson after the game, and Wilkerson said an official told him his hit was legal.

There was no flag. But the league office deciding a game official didn’t call something right hardly qualifies as a rarity anymore.

I think Wilkerson’s hit was OK. He gets one step after the ball is released, and my reading of the play is that he used that one step. Maybe it was a step and a half, and maybe that draws a fine.

But as I review the play, it seems clear that Locker was hurt because he wound up in an awkward position and something freak happened, not because Wilkerson did something nefarious.

I've rewatched the play multiple times on NFL Rewind this morning.

As Locker let go and followed through, his body opened to the left sideline, and that’s where Wilkerson was coming from. He hit him with his helmet in the right shoulder.

Locker kind of bounced off it, and spun around where he faced the left sideline and then wound up with his back to the line of scrimmage. His right foot was planted, perhaps with the foot pointed a bit to his left, and his left leg was bent and up in the air.

That’s when Couples put his right shoulder into Locker’s left shoulder -- the most unnecessary piece of the play and the one that should, in my opinion, earn a fine.

That hit prompted Locker’s lower right leg to fold awkwardly, with his foot still planted wide of his body, and his knee going to the ground under him. He went to both knees, still facing backward, then his body opened up and as he started to roll over from his stomach onto his left side, he grabbed at the hip before he got to his back.

The medical staff was on the field very quickly, teammates circled around Locker worried, some praying, some looking up to see the replay and try to understand what happened. Ryan Fitzpatrick immediately began tossing a ball on the sideline.

There is no predicting league discipline.

In my eyes, Coples' hit was the most unnecessary part of the play and came well after the ball was released. He should be in line for a fine.

I don’t know that Wilkerson really did anything wrong.