The defense got the job done in the victory over Tennesse, the offense still has work to do and that will be reflected in the grades. Here's my position by position breakdown and grades.

Rob Johnson showed he can take a hit in this game as he was constantly hit but continued to get up off the turf until a nerve injury did him in early in the fourth quarter. Alex Van Pelt came off the bench and showed poise in leading the Bills to the winning field goal drive. Johnson moved around quite a bit and did most of his damage running with the Ball as he gained a team leading 60 yards on the ground. He showed nice improvisation on the touchdown pass in the second quarter. Grade C: Not spectacular but got the job done.

Antowain Smith ran the ball 17 times, so it appears it will be a running back by committee effort this season. Unfortunately their were no holes for Smith, Shawn Bryson or Sammy Morris. They combined for just 69 yards on 29 carries. Morris did have a nice run in the front of the I formation and Bryson caught a screen pass for 23 yards also. Grade C: No holes equaled little yardage.

Receivers:

Peerless Price showed he will be a solid number two receiver this year as he led the team with 4 catches and showed great concentration on his touchdown catch. Jeremy McDaniel looks like he will be a solid number three with three catches for 40 yards. Eric Moulds was quiet all night until he made the biggest play of the game turning a short reception into a 36 yarder setting up the winning score. The tight ends combined for 2 catches as they were kept in to block more than usual and were not much of a factor in the passing game. Grade B-: There is more talent at wide receiver than we thought.

Offensive Line:

This was the real achilles heel of the team. They played poorly in the preseason saying they weren't ready for the schemes thrown at them, well they weren't ready when the bullets began to fly for real either. Everyone on the line was atrocious as they opened up no holes for the running game and got Johnson killed on many occasions. Grade F: Need to do a lot of work in practice this week.

Defensive Line:

This group was exceptional plugging up the middle with using Ted Washington and Pat Williams on the field together at the same time on many occasions with good results. Williams and Phil Hansen each had a sack and they did their part in rushing McNair and stopping George. Grade A+: late substitutions of Williams were pure genius.

Linebackers:

Sam Cowart showed why he is one of the best young linebackers in the game as he led the team with 11 total tackles and nearly had a sack. Keith Newman had two sacks in his first career start and this unit helped contain the running game as well. Grade A: The most talented unit on the team.

Secondary:

This unit blanketed the receivers most of the night and took away the Titans gameplan of going downfield. Antoine Winfield had blanket coverage all night and some hard hits. Keion Carpenter picked off a pass in his first career start. Ken Irvin had the one negative, a pass interference penalty that setup the Titans lone touchdown. Grade B+: Didn't miss a beat.

Special Teams:

Steve Christie hit three of four field goals including the game winner. The one miss was a 51 yarder that had the distance. The returns game did not return any kicks and Chris Watson bobbled one kick. The coverage teams were their usual horrible self, giving the Titans a chance to tie it late. Grade C: coverage units will cost this team a game before the year is out.

Coaching:

Brilliant gameplan on defense, pulling Marcellus Wiley for Williams when the Titans were coming to the line confused their offense all day. On Offense the schemes weren't working and the offensive line was confused all game. Gutsy call keeping Doug Flutie on the bench when Johnson went down. Grade B+: Good gameplan helps win close game

Game Analysis and Review
Playoff Atmosphere At The Ralph
NFL.com Gamebook - Complete stats including play by play (requires Acrobat Reader)
Tennessee Game Preview

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