NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Jeff Fisher has gotten his message through very clearly to his Tennessee Titans: They are their own worst enemy.
The Titans are off to a 3-0 start for only the second time under Fisher and just the third time in franchise history. Beat Minnesota (1-2) on Sunday and they would be 4-0 for the second time ever. A schedule featuring only two teams with winning records over the next seven games offers the chance at this franchise’s best start ever.
Not that these Titans are looking past Sunday.
“It’s still young in the season. It’s just the first quarter,” Titans linebacker David Thornton said Monday. “If we go out and lay eggs in the second, third and fourth part of the season, this strong start can really be in vain. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish, and we must continue to persevere for the duration of the season.”
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They host Minnesota, then visit Baltimore (2-0) before their bye. The Titans visit Kansas City (0-3) and could be 6-0 when Indianapolis visits on Oct. 27. The Titans already have beaten Jacksonville and Houston in the division and hold a two-game lead over the defending AFC South champion Colts.
“It means everything right now just to be 3-0 and on top of the division,” cornerback Cortland Finnegan said after their 31-12 win over Houston on Sunday. We’ve got a good Minnesota team coming in here, so we have to look forward to Minnesota.”
These Titans now have won six regular-season games in a row dating back to the end of last season, a late push that earned them the AFC’s final wild-card berth to cap a 10-6 record. Fisher sees some carry-over in his defense, a group that ranked fifth in yards allowed in 2007 but now has given up only 29 points through three games.
Fisher isn’t looking ahead, not when his team hasn’t won the AFC South since 2002.
“It’s still so early. What we’re trying to do is just build wins, just trying to win the next one. Six, seven weeks from now, we can start talking on those lines …” Fisher said. “Our division for whatever reason … has got off to a slow start. … We just have to make the best of our opportunities.”
s that could have gone the distance.
“There’s a lot of little things we have to continue to work on,” Fisher said.
But these Titans are experienced enough to shake off the distraction of a quarterback change from Vince Young (sprained left knee and questionable attitude) to 14-year veteran Kerry Collins. Young watched the Texans game from the coaches’ box. Fisher may bring him back to the sideline against Minnesota, but the offense remains in Collins’ hands.
Tennessee has played well enough that Collins has thrown one pass in the fourth quarter of the Titans’ past two games. Rookie Chris Johnson leads the AFC in both rushing with 276 yards and yards from scrimmage with 327. LenDale White is providing the punch with 148 yards and four touchdowns rushing.
“Most rookies don’t come in and be on an undefeated team in the first three weeks. Being 3-0 feels good,” Johnson said.
Better still, a team that was last in the NFL at scoring inside an opponent’s 20-yard line now leads the league in that category, getting TDs on seven of eight trips, with only one field goal. Rob Bironas, who led the NFL with 35 field goals last year, has only three so far.
Finnegan leads the NFL with four interceptions, with teammate Michael Griffin tied for second with three, and nobody has given up fewer points through three games than Tennessee with 29.
end Kyle Vanden Bosch said. “We are physical, and that is going to help us down the road. … We are going to continue to correct our mistakes, but we are off to a good start.”
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