Dein erstes Forum » han hosting it.As fine a coach as Ackermann

To the Tennessee Titans, it mattered little that they spent the first three quarters of last weeks game in Detroit flailing and failing like the team thats gone 5-27 the previous two years.What mattered most at the end of a decidedly inelegant game was this: In the fourth quarter, Tennessee put together two touchdown drives, came up with the big stop in the last minute and left Ford Field with a 16-15 win.Being around here, we havent won many games like that, cornerback Jason McCourty said. Hopefully, that will turn stuff around. I think the one thing this year is that we honestly believed and we thought throughout that whole game that wed be able to pull it out. Then to do it, now we know we can.Tennessee (1-1) will try for its first back-to-back wins since 2013 Sunday when it hosts the Oakland Raiders at Nissan Stadium. Coincidentally, that was also the last year the Titans sniffed any kind of playoff contention, although they turned a 3-1 start into a 7-9 finish that resulted in the firing of coach Mike Munchak.Oakland (1-1) followed up a dramatic 35-34 win in Week 1 at New Orleans with a come-from-ahead 35-28 loss last week to Atlanta. The Raiders defense has allowed more than 1,000 yards in the two games, leading to some serious questions.In fact, coach Jack Del Rio took over the defense in the fourth quarter from coordinator Ken Norton, Jr., then said Monday that changes were coming. But Del Rio said he isnt planning to run the defense this week.I think for us, its about us, he said. Its a collective effort. We all share in it so Im not going to throw any one person under the bus. Its not any one person thats at fault here. Collectively, as a group, we have to pick it up.Tennessee would seem to be an ideal foe to pick it up against. While the Titans have shown flashes of being the team coach Mike Mularkey envisioned in preseason, theyve only managed 16 points in each of their first two games.In quarterback Marcus Mariota, running back DeMarco Murray, tight end Delanie Walker and rookie wide receiver Tajae Sharpe, Tennessee has more pieces offensively than its had in a few years. But critical mistakes had tripped it up until the fourth quarter in Detroit.There, Mariota threw two touchdown passes and completed all nine of his attempts for 74 yards on the game-winning drive, giving the Titans only their sixth win since the 2014 seasons beginning.We have to build off this win and show up at our home game, Walker said. We have to protect our house.Thats been much easier said than done for Tennessee, which is 2-15 in its last 17 games at home, dating back to the 2014 home opener. Its two wins in that span have been one-possession verdicts against equally bad Jacksonville.Oakland is one of many teams to leave Nashville with a win in the last two-plus years, rallying late to take a 24-21 decision on Nov. 30, 2015, as Derek Carr found Seth Roberts for a late touchdown pass.Carr already boasts 618 yards and four touchdown passes in two games, while wide receiver Amari Cooper has 208 yards. The presence of Michael Crabtree and Roberts keeps teams from constantly doubling Cooper, and Latavius Murray offers a ground threat that prevents opponents from concentrating solely on the passing game.We know the challenge they pose and how good they are offensively, McCourty said. They are going to come in here hungry after they lost a tough one to Atlanta. So its going to be a tough challenge for us.The challenge will be equally difficult for the Raiders if they dont start generating some 3-and-outs, as well as big plays, on defense. The Titans are certain to emphasize Walker in the game plan after Falcon tight ends combined for 180 yards on 10 receptions last week.Del Rio might insert rookies Karl Joseph and Cory James at safety and inside linebacker, respectively, and could also bench cornerback Sean Smith. Even linebacker Khalil Mack, the leader of the defense, has been neutralized with only two pressures and no sacks the first two weeks.Like his teammates, Mack is chagrined at the defenses play.A thousand yards, he said. Being the leader of this defense, that hurts. Morten Andersen Saints Jersey . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. Erik McCoy Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Sam-Mills-Jersey/ .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Thomas Morstead Jersey Willie Roaf Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Lions coach Johan Ackermann has done a masterful job transforming his team from easybeats to Super Rugby finalists, yet his decision ahead of the final round may have already dashed any hope of a fairytale title.It certainly has been sensational season for the Johannesburg side, one that began with Super Rugbys historic entry into Asia when the Lions were the first team to face Japans fledgling franchise, the Sunwolves.The Lions then beat tournament heavyweights, the Chiefs, on their own patch before going on to finish the regular season with 11 wins and 52 competition points - giving them second seeding for the finals series.All this after they were confined to Super Rugby obscurity just three years ago when the South African Rugby Union guaranteed Southern Kings a competition spot, only to realise they would be forced to demote a franchise at the same time.But a year later the Lions were back and after a steady progression from 12th (2014) to eighth (2015), Ackermann has taken the Lions into unchartered territory - a Super Rugby final.It has been a supreme coaching effort, one sure to see him coach the Springboks in the future.Yet the former Springboks lock appears to have made one big error in judgement: sending a second-string team to face the Jaguares in Buenos Aires in the regular seasons final round.Ackermanns logic in doing so appeared sound enough, given the fact the Lions had already secured a home quarterfinal and what looked like a matchup against one of New Zealands wildcard qualifiers.But when the Hurricanes stunned the Crusaders with a bonus-point win in Christchurch and the Highlanders beat the Chiefs in Dunedin, the No.1 seeding was suddenly up for grabs in Argentina.And if the Lions had risked even half their regular starting lineup against the Jaguares, they may have been preparing for a final on home soil at Emirates Airlines Park in Johannessburg.ddddddddddddTheir assignment instead is a trip to Wellington to face the Hurricanes, a team riding an irresistible wave of momentum and the sublime skills of Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara and Ardie Savea.The Hurricanes, too, are desperate to atone for last years loss to the Highlanders in the decider at home; coincidentally it was the Highlanders that the Lions beat on Saturday night to earn a maiden shot at some silverware.But history suggests the South Africans will be at long odds to lift the trophy.For while the Highlanders upset the Hurricanes in Wellington last year, just four other Super Rugby finals have been won by the away team - three of which belong to the Crusaders.And crucially, the Crusaders are the only side to win a Super Rugby final overseas, a feat they achieved against the Brumbies in Canberra way back in 2001.Those statistics wont make pleasant reading for Lions fans, yet those wearing black and yellow on Saturday could be forgiven for feeling a little edgy as the Hurricanes remain the only New Zealand franchise still to win a Super Rugby title.And given the Lions boast a similarly in-form trio as the Hurricanes in Faf de Klerk, Elton Jantjies and Jaco Kriel, Saturdays final is anything but a foregone conclusion.But Ackermanns decision to send a second-string side to Argentina, albeit before the final-round drama in New Zealand, suggested the Lions were content with reaching the final, rather than hosting it.As fine a coach as Ackermann has become, the Lions now must defy an overwhelming majority of history and win in Wellington or he will otherwise be added to an unfortunate list of all-time coaching blunders.That would be a sad result for a franchise that has picked itse