Fisher Really Needed a Flag on the Play

Jeff Fisher was down to his last option.

The coach of the Tennessee Titans had been told by his strength and conditioning coach, Steve Watterson, that Colt punt returner Terrence Wilkins had stepped out of bounds at his own 33-yard line en route to a potentially crucial fourth-quarter, 87-yard return.

Fisher was confident the video replay would confirm his challenge to the officials. If only he could issue a challenge.

He tried using the electronic device which beeps the official. But it either wasn’t working or was being drowned out by the noise of the crowd inside the RCA Dome.

Fisher is supposed to carry a flag as a backup signal to the officials, but had neglected to do so, forcing him to burn a timeout to get the officials’ attention.

“I haven’t had to use that red flag all season,” Fisher said, “but I learned a lesson about the importance of carrying it today.”

Fisher’s appeal was upheld.

And in next Sunday’s AFC championship game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, be assured that Fisher will be sure his flag is available for waving.

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When Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning was at the University of Tennessee, Titan defensive end Jevon Kearse was at the University of Florida.

But Kearse didn’t have any better luck against Manning in college than he did Sunday.

“They [the Colt offensive line] could have let me get at least one sack,” Kearse said. “I didn’t get [Manning] today. I didn’t get him in college. Hopefully one day I’ll track him down.”

Shed no tears for Kearse, whose 14 1/2 regular-season sacks enabled him to become the first rookie to lead the AFC in that department. Although neither Kearse nor any of his teammates recorded a sack against Manning, the Titan defender drew enough double teams to allow his teammates to effectively shut down the Colt offense for most of the day.