Green Bay Packers @ Tennessee Titans: My Thoughts

by Jimmy on Oct 30, 2008 1:37 PM CDT in News Comment 9 comments

I think this is the toughest game of the season so far for a few different reasons:

The Packers could be the best team the Titans have played so far
The Titans are coming off a very emotional win
The Titans head into this game off a short week and the Packers are coming off a bye

1. The Packers come into this game at 4-3. They have wins over the Vikings, the Lions, the Seahawks and the Colts. They lost to the Cowboys when they were still good, the Buccaneers and the Falcons.

They have a lot of offensive weapons in Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and Ryan Grant. Jennings, being the most dangerous of those weapons, is having a fantastic year. He already showed the Titans secondary what he can do in the preseason when he caught 68 yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game. On the season he has 37 catches for 685 yards (18.5 ypc, wow) and 4 touchdowns. The Titans excellent secondary will have their hands full with Jennings.

2. This isn't so much a trap game, but it is a game that has the danger of seeing the Titans come out flat. They won a very emotional game on Monday night over the Colts, and it is really easy to not be able to get to that same level in the following week.

My worry about that is eased a little because Jeff Fisher knows how to get his team ready for games in any situation, and because the game is at home. The crowd should still be energized from the win on Monday and because the Titans are the only remaining undefeated team.

3. The Packers have had the week off to heal. They were suffering from some offensive line injuries and Rodgers had a shoulder injury. The week off appears to have most of their team at 100%.

They have also had 2 weeks to prepare for the Titans while the Titans have had a short week to get ready for them. There is also the short week coming off the emotional win, but we covered that in #2.

I picked this game as the first Titans loss back when I was doing predictions before the season started for those very reasons. I think the Titans are the better team (not by much), but there are a lot of things working against them this week. However, I will still pick the Titans to win the game when it is pick time tomorrow.

Leave your thoughts/concerns/comments below.

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Comments

This game makes me nervous.

As well as the Titans played, the more I look at the tape the more I see Peyton Manning just not throwing the ball anywhere near what he is capable of. The Titans won it, no doubt, but we did not see the same Peyton thats owned the Titans for the last few years.

This Rodgers kid has the arm right now to do the damage that Peyton was incapable of doing on Monday. And the receiving corps for GB is probably better than Indy’s as well right now. We will need to see one of the best games of the season from our defense to win it.

But I do have faith that GB’s LB’s will not have as much success as Indy’s did in stopping the run, so we should so a better game out of smash ’n dash.

I hope it’s another blowout, but I doubt it will be.

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.
Vince Lombardi

by TmanInTn on Oct 30, 2008 2:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You honestly believe GB's receiving

corp is better than Indy’s? Also, there is a reason why Peyton wasn’t throwing the ball the way he is capable. Even a man down our pressure was decent and our pass coverage was straight highlight reel.
There is no doubt this game is scary but I’m not yet ready to anoint Rodgers or the GB receives as the second coming. Our largest struggle this week will be psychological and physical. With short rest and an emotional win it will be difficult getting ready for GB. However, I do have faith in our coaching staff that if anyone can make it happen they can.

I believe your correct when you say our run game should have a better week. A.J. Hawk is good but not a one man wrecking crew. That is unless they watch tape of the Indy game and decide to go with a 4-4. At any rate Kerry proved he can pick apart a D given that opportunity.

The PAIN TRAIN is comin baby!

by BigW on Oct 30, 2008 5:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

sorry bigW

but there was almost no pressure on peyton. his white uni was spotless. in fact the one play albert almost got him he threw a td pass. monday night proved what a big deal KVB is to this defense.

you are right about the coverage though. this is definitely the best secondary the titans have had since it was rolle, robertson and bishop back there

by hal41605 on Oct 30, 2008 7:10 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I said decent

not perfect! heh

The PAIN TRAIN is comin baby!

by BigW on Oct 30, 2008 8:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Peyton has owned the Titans for the last few years???

We have a winning record against the Colts going back to 2005.

2008 @TEN Loss 21-31 26-41 2TD 2INT QB rating 73.5
2007 @TEN Win 22-20 28-42 1TD 1INT QB rating 86.6
2007 @IND Loss 10-16 14-16 0TD 0INT QB rating 91.4 (this is the game where he threw nothing but hitch routes to Wayne so Wayne could get over 100 receptions… it’s meaningless completion stats – he average 5.9 yards per throw)
2006 @TEN Loss 17-20 21-28 1TD 2INT QB rating 98.8
2006 @IND Win 14-13 20-31 2TD 1INT QB rating 86.2

You see, for the past 2 and a half seasons, we’ve gotten the better of Peyton. His avg. QB rating for 2006 season was 101, and in 2007 it was 98. Against us, it was materially lower. In 2005, he owned us, sure. But we were also a struggling, rebuilding team, and the Colts were at their peak performance.

He has thrown 6 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions in the past 5 matchups against the Titans.

I’m not sure if there is a team out there that he has played worse against over the last 2.5 years, but I’ll tell you one thing. He clearly has not “owned” the Titans for a long time. Those days are long gone.

by BeansCarter on Oct 30, 2008 6:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hate Peyton as much as any Titans fan...

and I agree that the Titans may play him better than a lot of teams, but let’s be clear about this. The Colts have been the undisputed champs of the AFC South for the last 5 years, and Peyton is the foundation of that team. He flat out missed about seven or eight throws Monday night that 99% of the time he makes in his sleep. I think part of it is the pressure of Albert and Co., but a lot of it has to do with Peyton not being Peyton this year. How many times does he miss a wide open Reggie Wayne cutting over the middle so bad that Fuller can catch up and make a play? Not many. The point I was making above is that Rodgers is not missing 7 or 8 throws a game. He’s really not missing much at all lately so the defense will have their biggest challenge yet.

I paused when I wrote the part about Peyton owning the Titans, but when his team wins the division five straight years, and during those years the Titans and the rest have struggled to beat them enough to win the division, it’s tough to deny it. I’m not saying we don’t play him well, but obviously not well enough to beat them consistently.

Sure is nice to be on this end of the division again though. No doubt about that. Reminds me of the Steve ad Eddie show from years past and it’s a great feeling.

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.
Vince Lombardi

by TmanInTn on Oct 30, 2008 8:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Jimmy, you are exactly right.

These are three of the major concerns. But if the Team overcomes the MNF let down and the coaching staff gets them ready to play on Sunday, I don’t think the Titans lose this game.
I’ve posted this before – if the pundits all think that the Titans are ranked number one based on more than the number of wins, and the Packers are ranked 10 and below, it stands to reason that the Titans should win this game. I have faith that the running game should prevail this week. It’s at home. The team has clearly outscored most opponents this season and stomped down on points allowed. The formula and philosophy should win this Sunday. It’s going to be a great game and Albert or Boom King is going to do some damage.

by FaninEcuador on Oct 31, 2008 8:48 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

By the way

GB has beaten Minnisota (like us), Indianapolis (like us), Detroit (0-7) and Seattle (2-5). They are looking to make a reputation on this game, but I can’t see it happening, even with the healthy players coming back. We will have KVB back as well.

by FaninEcuador on Oct 31, 2008 9:00 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

if they throw the 4-4

look at us with their corners being as good as they are, it could be a very long day. sure they are bad at defending the run when they line up honestly with their base defense, but any nfl team can stop the run when they stack the box like indy did. i think this one is gonna be all about turnovers.

by hal41605 on Nov 1, 2008 10:48 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs