Tennessee Titans' 2010 Betting Odds Rely On Better Start Than '09

NFL News - March 9th, 2010 - Written by John Ritter

It might as well have been two completely different seasons.

It took the Tennessee Titans seven weeks to finally get off the starting blocks, but when they did, it was a landslide that ended with an 8-2 mark in the second half. After starting 0-6, Tennessee finished the year 8-8 and nearly wound up making the playoffs. Everything seemed to click once Vince Young entered the lineup, and with Chris Johnson topping 100 yards virtually every week, the Titans became one of the most fearsome teams in the league late in the year. That momentum makes them a serious contender for at least a wild card spot in 2010, and a 35/1 favorite to win the Super Bowl, according to Bodog.

Coaches dream about a running game as efficient as Tennessee's in '09, and it's anyone's guess where it would have ended up if not for the forgettable start to the schedule. Johnson ran for a league-high 2,006 yards and 14 touchdowns, and was the only NFLer to receive a unanimous selection to the All-Pro team.

He had three touchdowns runs of 85 yards or more, most in NFL history, and averaged out at 5.6 yards per carry. The Titans were the second-ranked rushing team in the league, most of it riding on the shoulders of their sophomore back. But Young added another 281 in only 10 games, and was the only variable in the team's dramatic second-half renaissance.

Young single-handedly won Tennessee's Week 12 match-up against Arizona, engineering a 99-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass as time expired. He ended up with a season-high 387 yards that game. He threw for 1,879 yards and 10 scores on the year, and will return as the starter.

The Titans lost defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch to Detroit via free agency, making him the second defensive line leader to bolt in two years.

Tennessee's pitfall was a porous defense that ranked 28th in the league. Only Detroit allowed more passing yards and touchdowns than the Titans, and opposing quarterbacks averaged a 91.2 rating.

Nate Washington finished the year leading with six receiving touchdowns, but it was Kenny Britt, who was one the receiving end of Young's Arizona heroics, who led with 701 yards and a 16.7 average.

Tennessee could be a sleeper for the Super Bowl, but it's NFL Betting Odds will undoubtedly depend on how it starts the year.