After seven games, the Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts have one thing in common – neither is anywhere near as good as the Tennessee Titans.
With the Titans off to a 7-0 start, their AFC South rivals have sputtered to a 3-4 record and can only wonder how things became this way.
The AFC South has played out much of a broken record over the last five seasons. For the Texans, the all-too-familiar position of last place has become mind numbing. No one in their right mind expected the Texans to be tied with the Colts after seven games.
The Colts, however, have won the AFC South for the last five years, casting a shadow over their division rivals. The Jaguars and Titans have usually fought it out for the No. 2 and No. 3 spots respectively.
The Colts were expected to be a dominant team again this season, but quarterback Peyton Manning missed training camp and the preseason after his knee surgery and his season went downhill from there.
A quick glance at the AFC South standings shows a dominant Titans team looking down at three teams struggling to stay near .500.
Tennessee, however, was able to shake off the controversy surrounding troubled starting quarterback Vince Young, who was suspected to have quit on his team in the season opener. Young was replaced by the ageless Kerry Collins and the Titans continue to roll from week to week with a devastating defense ranked first in the NFL in scoring defense (12.4 points per game) and fourth in total defense (275.4 yards per game).
Led by Collins and powered by running back LenDale White, the Titans’ offense does just enough to get the win. Its numbers aren’t spectacular (309.7 yards per game), but you can’t argue with a 7-0 record.
The Titans have had a great head start, breaking early from the pack with seven wins. Defense wins championships, and that they have plenty of. Maintaining their defensive intensity will be important, considering their offense is barely getting by these days.
Without a doubt, there has been a changing of the guard in the AFC South. The Colts (1-6) have been knocked off the high horse they once road and are off to their worst start since the 1998 season.
Manning and his crew are mere shadows of the team that hoisted the Lombardi Trophy two years ago in Miami. Once ranked among the top five offenses in the league, Indy is in the bottom 10 in that category this season and last in the running game.
The Colts, Jaguars and Texans are unbelievably in the same boat. Hearing the slug "second place" associated with the Texans this late in the season is a perk no matter what their record reveals.
After losing the first four games of the season, the Texans have slowly pieced together a winning combination. They’ve enjoyed home field advantage the last four weeks, winning their last three after nearly beating the Colts.
The Jaguars lost to the Cleveland Browns, another struggling team, on Sunday. One of the more promising teams in the AFC South, the Jaguars entered this season hoping to establish itself as a more dominant team.
So far, the only thing that has been dominant is opposing offenses.
The Jaguars’ defense has allowed 21.6 points per game.
Each team still has time to establish themselves as competitors.
Both the Texans and the Jaguars have teams that can turn it around.
The Jaguars need to establish more stability on both sides of the ball. Neither side has played consistently this season, but with all the young players the Jaguars have, they can improve.
The Texans must continue to play a full four quarters in each remaining game if they plan to compete the rest of the season.
The Colts have to pull a lot of together to shake off their slump. The good times may be over for Manning and Co. as injuries and age catch up to the former Super Bowl champs.Getting maximum production out of key players such as wide receiver Reggie Wayne and running back Dominique Rhodes will be important, but with an ailing Manning, an aging receiver Marvin Harrison and an injured Joseph Addai, a second half surge may be out of reach for Indy.
