Remember when the Titans started last season 10-0 and amassed the league’s best record? Well that’s nothing but a distant memory because the 2009 version of the Titans is done.

That statement might be overblown given that it’s only Week 3 of the season, but after their 24-17 loss to the Jets on Sunday, it’s clear that this isn’t the same Tennessee team that was among the NFL’s best last season.

Look, I realize that the Titans started 0-6 in 2006 and still made the playoffs. And I also realize that had rookie corner Ryan Mouton not fumbled twice on kick returns today (both resulting in scores by the Jets), Tennessee might be 1-2 and fighting its way back into contention.

But there’s just something missing on this Titans team and it’s not only Albert Haynesworth. Kerry Collins has lost a lot of that veteran magic that he had last year, the secondary is an absolute mess and while Chris Johnson is a superb player, this team is still lacking offensive playmakers in the passing game.

Things just aren’t clicking right now for the Titans and while it might be premature to write them off at this point in the season, I just don’t see this team mounting a comeback given their issues.

The Jets, meanwhile, are the team to beat in the AFC East – period. Mark Sanchez (17 of 30, 171 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) isn’t tearing up the stat sheet by any means, but he’s playing like a 10-year veteran and is giving his team a chance to win every week (not unlike Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco did as rookie starters last year).

What was impressive today about Sanchez is that Tennessee did a nice job taking away the Jets’ running game and the rookie QB still found ways to make enough plays to win. The play-action fake that Sanchez made on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Ben Hartsock in the first quarter was a thing of beauty. And despite not having the skill set as a No. 1 receiver, Jerricho Cotchery managed to haul in eight passes for 108 yards and a touchdown while giving Sanchez an open target to throw to all game.

It’s hard to gush about the Jets without talking about the job Rex Ryan has done with New York’s defense. Ryan continues to use different defensive looks to disguise where pressure is coming from and confuse opposing quarterbacks. A lot of times the opposing signal caller can’t figure out where the extra defender is going to come from until it’s too late.

Some may disagree, but the Jets are the team to beat right now in the AFC East. Their defense can contend with anyone in the league and as long as Sanchez can cut down on the fumbles (he already has three on the year) and show the poise he has in his first three games, the Jets are going to be tough to beat all season.