How the Titans and Texans match up

by fanoftheunderdogs on Oct 17, 2011 6:55 PM CDT

I actually typed this up for myself, out of curiosity. After reading about how Vegas is basically opening with the Titans and Texans at even (+3 Titans because of us being at home) I wanted to see just how even this matchup is.

Turns out, there are some advantages for both teams.

Titans Offense         Texans Offense

QB: M. Hasselbeck QB: Matt Shaub
Grade: B+              Grade: B+
Advantage: Even

RB: Chris Johnson                RB: Arian Foster
Grade: D+                               Grade: B
Advantage: Texans

#1 WR: Kenny Britt                1# WR: Andre Johnson
Grade: out for season           Grade: probably out this Sunday
Advantage: Even

#2 WR: Nate Washington     #2 WR: Kevin Walter
Grade: B                                   Grade: C
Advantage: Titans

TE: Craig Stevens         TE: Owen Daniels
Grade: B-                                   Grade: B
Advantage: Texans

O-Line                                      O-Line
Grade: C                                  Grade: C+
Advantage: Texans

Titans Defense            Texans Defense

LBs:                                                      LBs:
Barrett Ruud                                       Brian Cushing
Will Witherspoon                               Connor Barwin
Akeem Ayers                                      DeMeco Ryans
                                                              ~~Mario Williams~~ (out)

Grade: C                 Grade: C
Advantage: Even

CBs:                  CBs:
Cortland Finnegan                           Jonathan Joseph
Jason McCourty            Kareem Jackson
Alterraun Verner          Jason Allen

Grade: A              Grade: C-
Advantage: Titans

S:                                                        S:
Michael Griffin       Danieal Manning
Jordan Babineaux          Glover Quin

Grade: B                                           Grade: C-
Advantage: Titans

D-Line:                  D-Line:
Dave Ball                                         Antonio Smith
William Hayes          JJ Watt
Jurrell Casey                                  Shaun Cody
Shaun Smith

Grade: B                                          Grade: B-
Advantage: Titans

OVERALL ADVANTAGES:
QB: Even
RB: Texans
#1WR: Even
#2WR: Titans
TE: Texans (Slight)
OLine: Texans (Slight)

LBs: Even
CBs: Titans
S: Titans
D-Line: Titans (Slight)

So, it seems that the offense is slightly edged out by the Texans (assuming Andre Johnson doesn't play, if he does then it's clearly advantage Texans).

As for defense... Our cornerbacks are way better than theirs in every way. The rest of it matches up pretty evenly, although if they didn't lose Mario Williams they'd definitely have the advantage at LB. (If only Ruud wasn't playing like a piece of shit. He's the only thing keeping me from saying we have an advantage in this game at LB)

Now, for some random stuff I found interesting while I was looking into player stats:

Texans LG (Yes, Left Guard) Wade Smith has two fumble recoveries to his name this year. (2 fumbles recovered)
CJ and Texans backup RB Derrick Ward both have the same number of TDs. (1 TD for each)
A tight end on each team has over 200+ yards receiving so far this season (O. Daniels 284, J. Cook 208)
Matt Hasselbeck has 9 more yards rushing than Matt Shaub. That's 3 digits above their age difference. (Hasselbeck has 15 yards rushing. Shaub has 6; M. Hasselbeck is 36. M. Shaub is 30.)
Titans are undefeated at home. Texans are 1-2 on the road. Their one road win came against a team that simply cannot win a home game. (Miami Dolphins)

Yep, basically everything in this FanPost was copy/pasted. From my Notepad straight to MCM. Armchair fanposting FTW.

PS: I'm sorry if this was a messy read. I couldn't create a proper graph to save my life.

Poll

Who do you believe has the Advantage on Sunday?

Titans

66 votes

Texans

26 votes

COWBOYS FAN!!!1

5 votes

97 votes | Poll has closed

Tweet Comment 33 comments | 1 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Well, you see the two Texan fans voted Texans in the poll.

Titans, let’s own em’ come Sunday!!!

GO TITANS!!!

by RhiNo6705 on Oct 17, 2011 9:11 PM CDT reply actions

Chris Johnson, D+

Sounds about right

"You give Peyton Manning a better gm, coach, owner and he goes down as the greatest person to ever live." - coltsfan1888

by Dynamic Dreadlocks on Oct 17, 2011 10:45 PM CDT reply actions

i think that was a generous grade.

MCM's Favorite Public Servant

by Titans_Firefighter on Oct 17, 2011 11:14 PM CDT up reply actions

*insert "This is going to be CJ's breakout game" comment here

I think we’re going to have to be content with the fact that getting a 100+ yard rushing day out of CJ this year is going to be a rarity

"You give Peyton Manning a better gm, coach, owner and he goes down as the greatest person to ever live." - coltsfan1888

by Dynamic Dreadlocks on Oct 17, 2011 11:24 PM CDT up reply actions

CJ can have a 100yr game but i'm still going to question him until its

2 or 3 100yd games in a row. oh and i would really consider it much of a 100yd game if he gets a 80yd td run. If he got something like that then he would have to have 125+ or 150+.

MCM's Favorite Public Servant

by Titans_Firefighter on Oct 17, 2011 11:39 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, we're all forgetting CJ used to get those 100+ yard games

by getting one or two really long TD runs per game.

I had a signature here, but it got sacked by Karl Klug.

ByThePowerOfMunchak - Illiterate Blind Gay Porn Director
StPrattrick - Stupid picture posting internet agitator
rothbard - Psychic trainer
BonzosMontreaux - Mad emo fan
fanoftheunderdogs - Cowboys fan
gramsay712 - Ravens fan

R.I.P. Dinger

by fanoftheunderdogs on Oct 18, 2011 2:59 AM CDT up reply actions

It really was.

I raised him to D+ because he hit 100 in the Browns game, got two 20+ yard runs in both of the last two games, and looked good in the Steelers game before we started getting blown out and had to pass a lot more. If he had continued his sucking streak from the Broncos game I definitely would’ve given him an F.

I had a signature here, but it got sacked by Karl Klug.

R.I.P. Dinger

by fanoftheunderdogs on Oct 18, 2011 2:25 PM CDT up reply actions

ah heck....

CJ will be fine this week, dont you guys remember that the Texans do not cover him when he is lined up out wide….So that is where we will put him all game.

/sarcasam….

by bullrider73 on Oct 18, 2011 10:45 AM CDT up reply actions

Well, had two weeks of preparation going into a home game against a team missing at least one of its best players.

So I had to go Titans here.

That said, I could completely see us getting blown out if we get abused on the DL like we did last game. Foster will eat us alive.

by FYNBYAC on Oct 18, 2011 1:33 AM CDT reply actions

You are tripping if you think you LB's are just as good as the texans.

We have three pro Bowl players, how many do you have? Your corners are ok at the most, also Glover quin is now our safety and jason allen is our other corner. I have not seen many titans games this year, but i have a feeling that CJ could have a good game.

by southpaw70 on Oct 18, 2011 9:51 AM CDT reply actions

Pretty sure, we will have 11 guys on the field every play too

by Indiana Titan on Oct 18, 2011 10:07 AM CDT up reply actions

might play better if you only have 10 players.

yes i am taking a shot at my team with this one and o well.

by southpaw70 on Oct 18, 2011 10:13 AM CDT up reply actions

hahaha

Best sig ever, reason 1, reason 2

by Ice0ne (CAJ) on Oct 18, 2011 7:16 PM CDT up reply actions

Witherspoon has played well this season, and Ayers is a solid rookie. Don’t even ask us about how bad Barrett Ruud is.

"You give Peyton Manning a better gm, coach, owner and he goes down as the greatest person to ever live." - coltsfan1888

by Dynamic Dreadlocks on Oct 18, 2011 10:57 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Yeah, that's exactly how I passed out the grades amongst the linebacking core.

D was probably doing him a favor.

I had a signature here, but it got sacked by Karl Klug.

R.I.P. Dinger

by fanoftheunderdogs on Oct 18, 2011 2:23 PM CDT up reply actions

RUUD JUST GETS RUNNED OVAA!!11

Best sig ever, reason 1, reason 2

by Ice0ne (CAJ) on Oct 18, 2011 7:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Barwin was a pro bowler as a Bengal back somewhere around 2008.

This isn’t 2008.

Besides, Cushing only has one sack on the year, which is strange considering you guys played against O-Lines like the Dolphins and Colts a few weeks ago.

DeMeco Ryans has been largely quiet all year.

Mario Williams has had 5 sacks in 5 games. He’s by far your best LB, and he’s out for the season.

As for our LBs? Dynamic Dreadlocks’ summary is accurate. Witherspoon has played well, Ayers has been solid, and Ruud has been terrible.

I had a signature here, but it got sacked by Karl Klug.

R.I.P. Dinger

by fanoftheunderdogs on Oct 18, 2011 2:32 PM CDT up reply actions

What are you talking about with Barwin?

He did not get drafted till 2009.

Also Cushing is now a ILB so his sack will drop of a little, he is playing good football, dude never comes off the field.

DeMeco is doing his thing also, not like he use to but he is still a good tackler.

by southpaw70 on Oct 18, 2011 4:13 PM CDT up reply actions

SB Nation had drafted by the Bengals in 2005.

Wouldn’t be the first time SB’s stats page glitched up.

I had a signature here, but it got sacked by Karl Klug.

R.I.P. Dinger

by fanoftheunderdogs on Oct 18, 2011 10:20 PM CDT up reply actions

Cushing is an ILB in a 3-4....not a premium sack position.

"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."

by TexansForever on Oct 18, 2011 4:19 PM CDT up reply actions

Also, thanks for the correction about Jason Allen and Quin.

With the safety matchup being Griff and Babs VS Manning and Quin, I can take the “(Slight)” off of the Titans advantage. :P

I had a signature here, but it got sacked by Karl Klug.

R.I.P. Dinger

by fanoftheunderdogs on Oct 18, 2011 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions

Yea no problem.

by southpaw70 on Oct 18, 2011 4:14 PM CDT up reply actions

There linebackers are far and away better than ours.

Deleting comments from a blog is not 'censorship.' Common practice. -BBS

by WinnipegTitanFan13 on Oct 18, 2011 12:05 PM CDT reply actions

I'd agree if they still had Mario Williams.

I have Akeem Ayers at B, Ruud at a D, and Witherspoon at a ‘meh’ B-.

I have Brian Cushing at B, Connor Barwin at a C-, and DeMeco Ryans at a C.

Just going by that alone, I called it even because Ruud is a full grade below Ryans and Witherspoon is a full grade above Barwin, whereas I have Ayers and Cushing both with the same grade.

We’ll see on Sunday who has the better linebacking core for sure, but IMO it’s about even.

I had a signature here, but it got sacked by Karl Klug.

R.I.P. Dinger

by fanoftheunderdogs on Oct 18, 2011 2:22 PM CDT up reply actions

Our linebackers are better in my opinion (I know surprise right?) but not by a wide margin.

I would grade it out at a B+ for the Texans and a B for the Titans.

"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."

by TexansForever on Oct 18, 2011 4:33 PM CDT up reply actions

i really have not seen a titans game so i cannot grade their LB's

is ayers really playing that good?

by southpaw70 on Oct 18, 2011 4:47 PM CDT up reply actions

I watched a Titans game when I was out of state one Sunday.

Ayers looks to be playing very well. I would compare his LEVEL of play with that of Brooks Reed.

Great physical talent and a good motor but still getting his NFL “legs” so to speak. As in just needs to get better with his assignments.

"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."

by TexansForever on Oct 18, 2011 5:52 PM CDT up reply actions

He has been solid

Munch said that we’re going to start using him more to rush the passer coming out of the bye, so I think we might hear his name more as the year goes on

by trevor2013 on Oct 18, 2011 6:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Ruud really brings that average down

ruud gets -G from me

Best sig ever, reason 1, reason 2

by Ice0ne (CAJ) on Oct 18, 2011 7:19 PM CDT up reply actions

I take issue with the Ryans grade.

He’s a very, very good ILB. A ‘C’ doesn’t do it justice. I would also rate the roid-rager slightly higher than a B, but the only one I really think you’ve got wrong is Ryans. Dude’s just a solid player.

Deleting comments from a blog is not 'censorship.' Common practice. -BBS

by WinnipegTitanFan13 on Oct 18, 2011 11:38 PM CDT up reply actions