The Titans are now 6-3 in Alltel Stadium after Sunday’s 18-15 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game that will sit sorely long after Coach Jack Del Rio’s 14-hour rule has ended.
“We’ll do the 24 hours and then get working on next game,” said Del Rio, referring to his rule that says the team can think of the last game for no more than one day, win or lose, and then concentrate on the next week.
The Jags seemed to have the game in hand with a 15-10 lead and the ball with 7:24 left. But Josh Scobee missed a 44-yard field goal and the team then fizzled with dropped passes and defensive lapses that let Tennessee score the winning touchdown with 3:34 left.
“We could have had a breakout game today and we didn’t,” said quarterback David Garrard.
• The Jags are now 6-4 and face a rugged game this week as they visit Minnesota. The next home game is Dec. 5 against Pittsburgh.
• The River City Rickshaws were making a killing before and after the game. Unless you have a close-in parking pass, it can be a long walk from some of the lots, and there were five rickshaws hauling customers at $5 plus tips. Never seen one of the rickshaws? It’s a bicycle pulling a two-seat cab.
• The only stadium area that’s sold out is the Terrace Club and this year they’ve added seats to make the demand. For about $3,000 for the season, you get a seat, food and beverage, and there now around about 800 seats with the addition of bleacher-like tiers on each end.
• New signs on the facing of the upper deck. It had been bare since the start of the year except for the “ribbon” electronic boards and the small scoreboards, but Sunday’s fans saw two bigger boards on each side touting Alltel.
• Baptist Hospital CEO Hugh Greene was the “honorary captain,” which meant he got a few minutes of fame by standing with the players for the coin flip just before kickoff.
• It was the biggest crowd of the year with perhaps as many as 65,000 on hand. The Jaguars announce only “tickets distributed,” which was 69,703. It was a party hearty crowd, too, with the upper deck of the South end zone stacked five-deep on the warm, sunny day. Bartenders in the Bud Zone said it may have been the best day game for sales in recent years.
— by Fred Seely