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Monday, October 25, 2010

Hello America, my name is Kenny Britt and I'm about to become a house-hold name.

Going into Sunday's game against the Eagles, Kenny Britt wasn't having the best of weeks.

His starting quarterback Vince Young - who he has always looked good with - was looking like he wouldn't start during their game due to a knee and ankle injury. Then on Friday, Britt was reportedly involved in a fight at a local bar around 2:00 AM. Head coach Jeff Fisher said that he wouldn't start the second-year wide receiver from Rutgers, but he would get into the game at some point.

Well that point wasn't until mid-way through the second quarter, when Britt entered the contest and put a dent in the scoreboard, catching a 26-yard touchdown on an underthrown ball by back-up quarterback Kerry Collins. This touchdown gave the Titans a 7-3 lead and also extended Britt's touchdown streak to five straight games.

However, the offense sputtered after that, giving their defense a tough time with no help. The Eagles scored 13 unanswered points and looked to put up another touchdown to make it 23-7, but Jason Jones stripped the ball from Kevin Kolb at the two-yard line and it was recovered by rookie cornerback Alterraun Verner.

Collins and Britt went to work after that, as Britt drew a pass interference call when his team was backed up on their own half-yard line. Collins then looked for Britt again and he came down with it, being a toe away from breaking it for a 78-yard touchdown. Instead, he settled for 34 yards and after catching a six-yard pass later during the drive on third down, the Titans tacked on a field goal, cutting into the Eagles' lead.

Philadelphia responded with a field goal of their own in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but Britt then made the biggest offensive play of the game for Tennessee. Adjusting on a poorly underthrown bomb, Britt came down with it, then sprinted down the field for an 80-yard touchdown, making it 19-17 Eagles after a Rob Bironas extra point.

Britt found an open space between the Eagles' safeties on the next drive, leaping up to bring down a 42-yard catch. That play ended up setting up the eventual game-winning field goal by Bironas with 9:31 left in the game, but the Titans weren't done from there.

After another three-and-out, Britt found himself open in double-coverage, catching a 21-yard pass to move the sticks. Chris Johnson then found some success running the ball, moving it forward 14 yards on two carries, before Collins made his best play of the day, baiting the defense on a pumpfake to the flats before adjusting his vision and hitting (guess who?) Britt for a 16-yard touchdown. Another Bironas field goal and a Cortland Finnegan pick six set the final at 36-17, as the Titans rattled off 27 unanswered in the fourth quarter.

If you had Britt in fantasy, you were a very happy individual this week. A statline of seven catches, 225 yards and three touchdowns is one of the best this year and would be a lock for conference player of the week, but he has to compete with Raiders runningback Darren McFadden, who had four touchdowns in a 59-14 drubbing of the Denver Broncos.

Back to the topic at hand, let's talk a little more about the tremendous talent that Tennessee has split out wide.

After missing on so many receivers during the draft - Kevin Dyson over Randy Moss in 1998, Tyrone Calico in 2003, Paul Williams in 2007 - it really is starting to look like they've finally found a gem. He showed flashes last season, catching 42 passing and three touchdowns while averaging 16.7 yards a catch in six starts. His most notable highlight was leaping up to pull down a Vince Young pass in the end zone, completing a 99-yard drive as time expired in the Titans' improbable comeback against the Arizona Cardinals.

With all the momentum from his rookie season, Britt was poised to have a huge second year. However, that wasn't the case to begin with. He came into training camp noticeably out of shape. He had the "baby mama drama" with his ex-girlfriend which was plastered all over Facebook. He dropped numerous passes during the pre-season, including one against Arizona in which he kicked the ball out-of-bounds in disgust, drawing a penalty and a verbal lashing from Fisher. And we'll add the bar fight to this as well.

After not catching a pass against Oakland and hauling in five against Pittsburgh, he started finding himself to be real comfortable in the offense during the next week. His 13-yard touchdown catch against the New York Giants was a thing of beauty, then the following week, he tapped both toes in-bounds on an eight-yard score against the Denver Broncos.

Before this game, you could say his game against Dallas was his "coming out" moment this season. He went up to bring in a Young touchdown pass in the first quarter, then brought in a 52-yard pass later on in that game en route to a four catch, 86 yard day. Mike Jenkins, Pro Bowl cornerback for the Cowboys, had a nightmare of a time trying to stay with Britt, committing three pass interference penalties. Britt then caught an early touchdown from Young against Jacksonville and was on his way to another big game before Young went down with the aforementioned injury.

After week seven, Britt's 434 receiving yards rank 19th in the league, but his seven touchdown catches are second behind Chargers tight end Antonio Gates. Keep in mind that Britt has started just two games - @ Cowboys, @ Jaguars - and that was just because Justin Gage was out because of a hamstring injury.

Nothing against Gage, but Britt should have been starting much earlier than that and there's no way that the veteran receiver gets his spot back when he comes back from injury. With defenses still focusing on last year's 2000-yard rusher Johnson, Britt will have plenty of opportunities to have big games throughout the rest of the season.

I've been saying it since the end of last season, but if Britt continues to progress and become the consistent deep threat that the Titans drafted him to be, the Tennessee offense will be extremely explosive for years to come. And you won't be asking who this guy is much longer, but instead you'll be asking where to rank him among the top 10 receivers in football.

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