Titans Analysis: Offense shows improvement

Like Moses looking into the Promised Land, the Tennessee Titans’ first-team offense could see the end zone in Thursday’s 23-21 victory at Green Bay, but could not reach it.

Vince Young turned in his best performance of the preseason, completing 13 of 27 passes in the first half for 134 yards, including a 50-yard bomb to Justin McCareins.

Young, who did not play after the first half because of a bruised right hand, also incorporated the rushing element back into his game. He led the Titans in rushing with 57 yards on three scrambles, including a 31-yard jaunt.

But for all of Young’s heroics and the offense’s improvement in the final preseason game, the bugaboo of not scoring a touchdown with their starting quarterback under center through four exhibition games still haunts the Titans.

Four times in the first half, Young drove the Titans to the red zone, only to come away with three John Vaughn field goals. Vaughn then missed a field goal attempt on the fourth trip.

It looked eerily similar to the way the offense sputtered in close proximity to the end zone for virtually all of 2007.

Tennessee’s only touchdown of the first half came on a fake punt when upback Vincent Fuller took the snap and raced 40 yards untouched to the end zone to give the Titans a 13-7 lead.

In the third quarter, the Titans’ offense finally cracked the end zone with an eight-minute drive under the guidance of second-string quarterback Kerry Collins. Playing with a mix of starters and backups on the drive, rookie Chris Johnson scored from a yard out.

That touchdown pushed the Titans’ lead to 23-7, before Green Bay rallied and had a chance to tie the game as time expired in regulation.

Rookie Matt Flynn found Jake Allen in the end zone on a 21-yard touchdown as the clock ran out, pulling the Packers within a two-point conversion.

Backup safety Calvin Lowry then saved the game for the Titans, pushing receiver Johnny Quinn out of bounds before he could get his second foot down on the tying two-point conversion.

It ended the preseason for the Titans on mostly a high note for the offense, as Tennessee rolled up 403 total yards and held the ball for 36:45 in the game.

But even though some answers may have been found, there were still many more questions lingering with the regular season less than two weeks away.