Browns latest road block as Titans try to clinch top playoff seed

The Cleveland Browns visit Nashville to play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and the Titans must win to enhance their chances to be the AFC's top playoff seed. If this happens, the Titans will play all their playoff games at home. If not, the Titans will play at least one playoff game on the road (depending on how things shake out).

The Browns have been disappointing this year. They were a trendy pick in the pre-season to make the playoffs. Last year, they finished 10-6 but were edged out of the final playoff spot by the Titans. This year, their offense has sputtered, and the defense has resembled Swiss cheese. Additionally, the Browns top two quarterbacks (Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson) are both out for this game, which means third-stringer Ken Dorsey gets the call.

Obviously, the Titans took a lot of frustration out on the Lions last week after losing to the Jets. The big question is whether they can sustain that level of play. The Titans were razor sharp against the Lions, but a lot of that had to do with how bad Detroit is. The Browns defense isn't as bad as the Lions, but they do give up a lot of big plays.

Because of this, look for the Titans to roll on.

The pick: Tennessee 27 Cleveland 10

Other picks: San Diego over Oakland, Indianapolis over Cincinnati, Chicago over Jacksonville, Green Bay over Houston, New York Giants over Philadelphia

Last week: 4-2 (.667), Overall: 49-28 (.636)

Terrorism in India stark contrast to Thanksgiving

As we celebrated Thanksgiving back on Thursday, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who followed the terrorist attack that unfolded in India. More than 150 were killed and more than 300 were injured in an act of evil. There is no other way to describe it. It was an evil act.

Of course, we celebrate Thanksgiving in America to thank God for the ways He has blessed us. The irony is pretty obvious. As a nation, we were taking a break from daily life to thank God while evil was running amuck on the other side of the world.

I don't really have a point. If I do have one, it is that evil doesn't take a day off.

So, I guess I do have a point after all.

Mixed emotions about Tennessee hiring Lane Kiffin as football head coach

Well, the Lane Kiffin era as University of Tennessee head football coach officially began Monday, and I have to admit that I have mixed emotions about his hiring.

For a program of Tennessee's stature, I was hoping that we would hire a higher profile coach with a track record. I know Kiffin is well-respected for his work as an assistant coach at USC, but I wanted a coach with at least some experience as a college head coach. I know he has head coaching experience with the NFL's Oakland Raiders, but I don't know how much we can learn from that. After all, the Raiders are a mess.

The Southeastern Conference has four head coaches that have won national championships (Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, Urban Meyer at Florida, Nick Saban at Alabama, and Les Miles at LSU). With Kiffin's lack of experience, I kind of feel like Tennessee will be bringing a knife to a gun fight when we play those teams.

Additionally, I have read in multiple media reports that the biggest asset Kiffin may bring to the job is the top flight staff he will likely assemble. While I agree that it is important to have great assistant coaches, it shouldn't be the top attribute a coach has to offer. That sounds like the type of talk a job applicant would provide if he knew he didn't have the qualifications for the job.

On the other hand, I do feel good about this in some ways. Since taking over the job, athletic director Mike Hamilton has shown an uncanny ability to hire the right person (most notably, men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl.)

Also, Tennessee has a long history of hiring coaches that have had little or no head coaching experience. Each of those coaches were considered top flight assistants who were looking for a break. Of course, Phillip Fulmer fit that category. If he hadn't gotten the Tennessee job in 1992, then he certainly would have gotten one some place else. Before that, Bill Battle in 1970 and Doug Dickey in 1964 also fit that category. Dickey's tenure was a tremendous success, while Battle was a classy man who started well but fizzled at the end.

I wish Kiffin well as he recruits and attempts to get the program back on track. However, he has huge shoes to fill.

Time will tell.