TENNESSEE TITANS
Is-Vince-Able: Will Vince Young be able to back up the hype he created during his first year in the NFL? The former Texas quarterback led the Titans to a 8-5 record in 13 starts last season. That included a 6 straight wins and 8 out of 10. Vince’s presence was felt, to say the least. The Titans were 9-2-2 O/U when Vince started at quarterback. But was it all Vince? Last years’ stud running back, Travis Henry, no longer calls Tennessee home. Will LenDale White and Chris Brown keep defenses honest? Pacman Jones, responsible for just as many late game heroics as Young, is out for the season. In games Vince started, the Titans were 10-3 ATS, 8-5 SU, and 9-2-2 O/U. Can he repeat his success with limited help in 2007?
Over or Under: The Titans have surprisingly covered the total in most of their football games over the last 4 seasons. Not a team known for their scoring prowess, the Titans are 38-26-2 O/U since 2003. Tennessee was 8-3-2 O/U as an underdog in 2006, 3-0 O/U as a favorite. Overall, they were 11-3-2 O/U in 2006. Before last season, the Titans were just a game over .500 O/U over the last 3 seasons. They were 6-1-1 O/U at home last season.
Against the Spread: The Titans took care of the spread last season, covering left and right on way to a 11-5 ATS record. Over the last 4 seasons, the Titans are only 32-24-1 ATS. Like I said above, with Vince Young at the helm, the Titans were 10-3 ATS. The Titans were also 10-3 ATS as an underdog in 2006. The Titans were 1-2 ATS as a favorite in ’06, so it might be interesting to see how they respond to higher expectations in 2007. The Titans were 5-3 ATS at home in 2006, 6-2 on the road. The Titans 2 straight losing ATS seasons in ’04 and ’05 were the first since 2000. The Titans have only 3 ATS losing seasons in the past 10 years.
Straight Up: The Titans are 30-36 SU over the last 4 seasons, but finished 8-8 with Vince Young starting most of his first season in Tennessee. The Titans had a winning record as an underdog last season, finishing 7-6. The Titans were 4-4 at home and on the road in ’06. Their 8 win season comes off of 2 straight years of 5 wins or less. The Titans have a .500 record or better in 8 of the last 11 years. Jeff Fischer has won a couple football games over the years.
Underdogs: The Titans are one dominant bunch of underdogs. From 1996 to 2006 the Titans were 54-34-4 as an underdog. That includes the only 2 underdog losing percentage seasons for the Titans since 1996, where in 2004 and 2005 they were 8-14 ATS. If you throw those 2 off-years out, the Titans were 46-20-4 ATS as an underdog in 9 seasons of football. The Super Dogs haven’t disappointed many of the people rooting for the little guy, and they’ve made a few gamblers a pretty penny or two.
