From The Diaries -- On the Radar: Tennessee Titans

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Date: Monday, November 19, 2007
Time: 6:30 p.m. MST
Teams: Tennessee Titans (6-3, Tied for 2nd in AFC South) at Denver Broncos (4-5, Tied for 2nd in AFC West)
Location: Invesco Field @ Mile High - Denver, CO

       

1.  Titans are coming off a downer game in JAX, losing 28-13 and giving up 168 yards rushing and 3 rushing TDs.  A win, coupled with INDY's loss would have put them in a tie for first, but as it is they simply had a 3 game winning streak broken.
2.  Their defense has been playing tremendously lately, though they suffered a letdown in the JAX game.  Ranked 4th against the rush and 7th against the pass, the Titans will come to Denver as the #2 Defense in the AFC.  No small potatoes there.  Our offense should have its work cut out for it.
3.  After spending much of the season with a WR corp in much the same shape as ours, the Titans are finally fielding all their starters.  However, whether they catch it short or long they have one of the lowest yards-after-catch in the NFL.  Our cover corners could give them a very long day.
4.  The Titans come into the game 4th in the NFL in rushing yards, but that can be partly attributed to very predictable play-calling that is the hallmark of their conservative coach, Jeff Fischer.  Run, run, pass.  There is no reason they would not continue this trend against Denver's low ranked Rush defense.
5.  As a team, the Titans are not playing as well as their record would indicate.  After rushing for 282 total yards against JAX in week one, they have been rotating Henry, Brown, and White looking for the right combination, struggling to reach 100yds rushing until a win at Houston in their sixth game.  They have scored more than 20 points only twice, and one of those times the QB was Collins.  This is a team whose defense is keeping a poor offense in the game.

WHO TO WATCH FOR

1.  Lendale White.  White is returning home to Colorado for this game and wants very much to get back to rushing for 100yds a game.  After rushing for 104, 133, and 100 yards in three consecutive games he was stymied last week with an injury as the backs contributed only 10 yards to the Titans meager 62 yard rushing effort.  It is quite possible that Henry (their Henry, not our Henry) will drop his appeal for a drug-related suspension and will be out begining next week against Denver.  His replacement, Chris Brown, has been out with an injury of his own, and it was thought he could return last week against the Jags.  He will be ready for sure against Denver.  White's injury was not serious, though he should be monitored leading up to the game, as he is the better of the two rushers and should get most of the carries.
2.  Vince Young  This is a given of course.  He seems to be losing the trust of his coaches though, and has been shackled in high pressure situations as of late, whether in the red zone or late in a game.  In many ways he does not fit "Fischer Ball"  which does not gamble and is very structured.  Many fans wonder if he hasn't taken a step back this year.  He seems to be mastering the checkdown, however, which is a two edged razor.  On the one hand he is endearing himself to his coaches, but all those short throws are ending drives prematurely, eliminating a lot of scoring chances for the Titans.  He is rushing as well as ever, it is what he truly does at an elite level, and he played quite well in a no-huddle shotgun formation for part of the Jags game.  This should worry Denver, since we would be vulnerable to many things, but particularly draws and counters out of this formation, as our D-line rotation doesn't react to the no-huddle very well.
3.  Albert Haynseworth  Tennessee's stud RDT missed last weeks game against JAX, and it showed.  He is the heart of their run defense and a tremendous contributer in the pass rush.  He has had several multi-sack games for the Titans and in his absence the Titans were fairly decimated in the ground game against JAX.  Denver should expect to see him back this Monday night, as he was a gametime decision for his last game.  This is definitely an injury to watch for though.  He is the key to that #2 ranked defense.  The Titans were also missing Travis Laboy, their starting DE, but he is expected to be ready for the Broncos as well.
4.  Justin Gage  I noted earlier that the Titan's finally have their stable of WRs healthy, and this guy is probably the most consistent contributer in the bunch.  He has posted several 100yd games and is a lock for 5 or more catches.  Last week Vince Young hooked up with eight different receivers, and Gage was his #1 target.  Unfortunately, like all the Titans WR, he is little threat after the catch.  Look for solid tackling by Bailey and Bly to keep that trend going strong.

UPDATE: From DannoE on Music City Miracles Who else to watch for: Secondary The Titans have an underrated secondary. Early in the year, they gave up a lot of long pass plays, but since they've put their 1st Round pick Michael Griffin in at FS, that problem has been mostly corrected. In fact, right now I would say that Griffin has been a Top 5 player coming out of this year's draft class. The rest of the secondary is also pretty strong. At SS is Chris Hope, now in his second monster season as a Titan. CB Cortland Finnegan has gotten a lot of press lately and easily shut down WR Steve Smith from the Panthers. Nickel CB Vincent Fuller has a bunch of picks and generally plays very well. So far the easiest target has been CB Nick Harper, who is still a very good player. However, when he goes out, that brings in CB Reynaldo Hill, which is a big drop off in quality although he started last year and could probably still start on a lot of other teams. DannoE
Hat Tip to Styg50 for the breakdown!! -- TSG