Dein erstes Forum » The Tennessee Titans won their first playoff

NASHVILLE http://www.falconscheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-john-cominsky-jersey , Tenn. (AP) — game in 14 years in a thrilling rally from 18 points down on the road.Then they fired coach Mike Mularkey once the postseason run ended in an ugly rout.Yes, expectations are very high in Tennessee where consecutive 9-7 seasons with Marcus Mariota just didn’t cut it, not with an offense that didn’t get the most out of the young quarterback.Now the Titans have first-year head coach Mike Vrabel with his three Super Bowl rings as a linebacker in New England in charge of a roster that needed only a little tinkering in the offseason.“Now we’ve just got to pick up where we left off,” linebacker Brian Orakpo said. “It’s not a rebuilding stage, we just reloaded essentially.”This is the 20th season for this franchise since dropping the Oilers’ nickname for the Titans, and they capped that debut season with a run to their lone Super Bowl appearance in Atlanta. The Titans unveiled redesigned uniforms in April and are hoping for another trip to Atlanta — site of this season’s Super Bowl.Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker said they have plenty of motivation from how their last playoff berth ended in a 34-14 loss to New England .“It didn’t sit well with me,” Walker said. “I think everybody in that locker room felt the same way. I worked as hard as I could this offseason.”Some things to know about the Titans, who open the season Sept. 9 at Miami:FIRST-TIME COACH: For so many years, Vrabel was seen as a sure winner once he became an NFL head coach.Now the man who played 14 seasons and was an assistant coach for four more will be making all the big decisions on his own. Vrabel has tried to prepare himself by watching tape from games over the past decade to decide what he would do in specific situations. Everything from tossing a challenge flag to deciding whether to go for it on fourth down will be a first for Vrabel this season, with fans and critics watching closely.“My playing career is going to help us win zero games,” Vrabel said.MARIOTA TIME : The Titans already have picked up the fifth-year option on Mariota, and that $20.9 million for 2019 could prove a great deal if offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur’s offense helps the quarterback look like the Heisman Trophy winner he was at Oregon. Mariota is going to get to run and throw more in an offense the Los Angeles Rams used to lead the NFL in scoring last season. Mariota is coming off his worst season, having thrown more interceptions (15) than touchdowns (13). But he enjoyed a rehab-free offseason and looks faster playing without a knee brace.DEFENSIVE CHANGES: Legendary coordinator Dick LeBeau is gone, replaced by another longtime success in Dean Pees. The Titans did so much right under LeBeau, ranking fourth against the run and tied for fifth in sacks.But they were 17th in points allowed and 25th in yards passing given up. That’s why general manager Jon Robinson signed cornerback Malcolm Butler and drafted linebackers Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry to shore up remaining holes.He also replaced safety Johnathan Cyprien when he was lost to a torn ACL with another veteran in Kenny Vaccaro in training camp.YOUNG RECEIVERS: This position easily is the biggest question for the Titans. Veteran Rishard Matthews missed the entire offseason and the preseason with an undisclosed injury. Corey Davis is expected to be the top guy; the fifth pick overall in 2017, he didn’t catch his first touchdown pass until the playoff loss in New England — against Butler. After Davis, there are young and unproven receivers in Taywan Taylor and Tajae Sharp. That makes Walker so valuable with his 356 catches since 2013 Qadree Ollison Jersey , most by any tight end.NEW BACKFIELD DUO: The Titans released DeMarco Murray in March , and it’s now time for Derrick Henry, the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner, to show his skills after leading the team in rushing last season despite only two starts. They also signed Dion Lewis to a four-year deal to give Mariota another dangerous receiving threat and a change-up to the powerful Henry .TOUGH START: Five of their first eight games are on the road, including the franchise’s first trip to London to play the Chargers on Oct. 21. The first month isn’t kind, with Houston and the defending champion Eagles visiting, along with a trip to Jacksonville. If the Titans survive, four of the final five games are in Nashville, where they went 6-2 last season. KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had just scored their second touchdown in less than 10 seconds of game time, an interception that Ron Parker returned untouched for a score, and taken a 38-7 lead over the Cincinnati Bengals with nearly an entire quarter to go.Talk about being able to put a game on cruise control.The Chiefs didn’t exactly sub out their entire first string down the stretch, leaving quarterback Patrick Mahomes and most of the regulars in the game. But they were able to rest easy over the final 10 minutes as they improved to an AFC-best 6-1 and kept their stranglehold on their own division.“Week-in, week-out, we’ve just been preaching playing consistent, playing a full 60 minutes,” Chiefs cornerback Kendall Fuller said. “We’ve been putting good film out there.”Now it’s up to the rest of the league to break it down.The only team that’s managed to hang with the Chiefs this season was New England Rashan Gary Jersey , and even Tom Brady and Co. had their hands full at home. If not for a crucial drive that set up Stephen Gostkowski’s winning field goal, the Chiefs might have been able to win that one, too.Making the first stretch of the season even more impressive? The Chiefs have weathered probably the toughest stretch of games they’ll have all season and come out shining like a diamond.They beat the Chargers on the road to open the season, and Los Angeles has only lost once since that defeat.Pittsburgh has two losses and one of those was to the Chiefs. The Jaguars and Broncos would be at .500 if not for their losses to Kansas City, and the Bengals rolled into Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night with plenty of optimism and headed home after a 45-10 blitzing.Take out games against the Chiefs, their first seven opponents are a combined 23-17-1.The next nine games include a pair of games against Oakland, which is 1-5, and a home game against Arizona, which is 1-6. Throw in games against struggling Denver at Arrowhead Stadium and trips to Seattle and Cleveland and the Chiefs fully intend to keep hold of the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.“Of course you have the ultimate goal in mind,” Chiefs linebacker Dee Ford said, “but whatever we need to do to improve. We know that this is the kind of league where what you put on film or what you struggle with, teams are going to challenge you the next week.“Really the biggest challenge for us is to keep playing,” he said. “Stay in the process.”The Chiefs do have a couple of marquee games down the stretch, including a showdown with the unbeaten Los Angeles Rams in Mexico City. But their other difficult games against Baltimore and the Chargers are at home, where a sellout crowds have made life miserable for opposing teams this season.Just ask the Bengals about facing the Chiefs at home.Or anywhere, for that matter.“It was a bad look for the whole team to see that happen. It’s such a big score difference,” Bengals linebacker Preston Brown said. “You never want to go out there and get blown out on a Sunday night Hakeem Butler Jersey , (especially) when it’s been something we’ve been waiting to show the whole league what we can do. And now, to put up a goose egg like that, it’s not a good look.”Brown took heart, though, in the fact that the Chiefs have made lots of defenses look foolish. They have only been held under 30 points once and still beat the Broncos 27-23 that night, and the versatility they have shown with Tyreek Hill, Kareem Hunt and Travis Kelce leading the way has helped them put up the kind of numbers that kids pile up playing the “Madden” video game.They’ve set a franchise record with 260 points through the first seven games, and their three 40-point efforts this season is tied for third-best in Chiefs history — for an entire season.Mahomes has tossed 22 touchdown passes in his first eight career games, breaking the NFL record held by Kurt Warner. He also has a record 2,507 yards passing over that span, throwing for at least 300 yards in a franchise-record six consecutive games.No wonder the Chiefs pulled out some audacious touchdown celebrations against the Bengals on Sunday night. Life in the NFL is a lot of fun when you’re cruising to wins almost every week.“It’s a young bunch,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “I’m the grandfather. These guys are moving around and enjoying what they are doing, and it’s fun to be a part of and fun to watch.”