In a game that provided little to be encouraged about, one good development for the Tennessee Titans in Sunday’s loss at Cincinnati was the second-half play of running back Bishop Sankey.
We saw six carries for 20 yards in Kansas City, and against Dallas he carried just twice for 3 yards. But against the Bengals, he received 10 carries for 61 yards, an effort that should get him more looks in games to come.
He was especially impressive on the Titans' first drive of the third quarter, when he gained 18, 4, 9, 9, 2 and 22 yards on consecutive plays. The last of those was erased because of a hold by left guard Andy Levitre. The Titans looked to pass on the next three plays, starting with first-and-20, and got a 6-yard gain from Justin Hunter, an incompletion for Delanie Walker and a 5-yard sack of quarterback Jake Locker.
Sankey said a quicker pace for the offense helped.
"We picked the tempo up coming out at halftime, picked the tempo up with no huddle," he said. "We were just getting some good blocks with good creases and we [were] just rolling with it. We had some momentum and it seemed like we had a drive there for a second there. Unfortunately we stalled out in the end. So that’s pretty much how the success went coming out in the second half."
Shonn Greene received the bulk of the early work, and he turned his 10 carries into only 33 yards. We're still hopeful Sankey eventually comes away with the bulk of the carries, but a news item last week pointed out that the team is happy using a committee. However the team invested a second round pick in Sankey back in May and many feel he has the tools to be used a lot more than he has been. If owners can afford to continue to be patient, it could work out and maybe we're starting to see some signs. However as roster spots become more and more valuable, Sankey is starting to hit waiver wires...
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