*2007 Stats

1st game here.

This week 17 game will be a lot different than last season's week 17 game because this game will decide who wins the division.  The Colts will have a slight advantage in this game because they will be playing at home. 

The Titans enter the playoffs as the #5 seed with a record of 11-5.

*All stats are 2007 regular season

The Steelers play a very similar brand of football to the Titans.  They run the ball well and are really good on defense.

This will be a game that turns on a big play or turnover of some type.  The Steelers play a pretty brutal schedule, and will probably be in a fight for the division title with the Browns.  The Titans come into this game 11-3 but will lose a tough one to drop to 11-4.

*2007 Stats

I picked the Titans to win the first matchup already, and I still stand by the statement that Vince Young will never lose to the Texans.  11-3.

*All stats are 2007 regular season

Stop me if you have heard this one before: The Titans will be facing a team with a shaky defense and a high powered offense, and they will probably try and run the ball to keep said offense off the field.

I am very interested to see how the Browns are this season.  These are not your older brother's Browns.  They took a huge step forward last season, and made some moves in the offseason to upgrade their defense.

This should be one of the better games of the season.  The Titans are probably due a loss since they are 10-2.  Again,  I don't think anyone is going to be too upset with 10-3.

*2007 Stats

It is pretty cool that the Titans will be playing on Thanksgiving this year.

The Lions have a very talented offensive squad.  Jon Kitna isn't the best QB in the league, but he, unlike Vince Young, has weapons.  He has one of the best receiver combos in the league with Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson.  Johnson had a great preseason, and looks like he is ready to be the stud receiver they thought he was when they drafted him.  The Lions rushing attack got a boost this week with the signing of Rudi Johnson.  They also drafted running back Kevin Smith out of Central Florida.

The Lions defensive squad is not really talented.  The Titans should be to control time of possession and keep the Lions offense off the field.  Look for LenDale White to carry the ball 30+ times in this game.  Hopefully they can keep him from eating Thanksgiving Dinner until after the game.

The Titans will rack up 200+ yards on the ground a win this one going away.  10-2 baby.

*All stats are 2007 regular season

I am going to get through the schedule before Sunday, so I am going into hyper-breakdown mode.

The Jets are the only non-divison team that it seems like the Titans play every season.  Last season they played one of the ugliest games in the history of football with the Titans coming out on top 10-6.

As I said when I previewed the Packers game, the stats here can basically be thrown out the window because of the Brett Favre factor.  It is really hard to say what will happen in this game because we really don't have any idea how Favre is going to come along in this offense.  He does have two really good receivers, Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, and a pretty good running back in Thomas Jones, so you have to figure the offense will at least be pretty good.  The thing with Favre is that you can make him be his own worst enemy.  The Titans should be able to pick him off a couple of times.

The Jets were bad against the run last season.  The Titans were able to gain 127 yards in the game here last season.  They will try and grind it out to keep Favre and company off the field.  No reason to think they won't be successful doing that.

A successful running game + a couple of forced turnovers = Titans 9-2.

Ridicule away..

*All stats are 2007 regular season

I already broke down this match-up here, so I don't have a whole lot more to say about it.  I don't see the Titans sweeping this match-up, and since I picked the Titans to win the week 1 game, in route to a 8-1 start, which prompted DGDB&D to accuse me of using meth, I will say the Titans lose this game to move the record to 8-2.

*2007 Stats

I have little doubt that the Titans will be the better team when these two take the field in November, but traveling to Chicago to take on the Bears in November is never easy.  Looking at the stats above, the Bears defense actually struggled last season.  They did suffer some injuries, but they do not strike fear into teams like they did a couple of years ago. 

The Titans look to establish the run in every game they play, but it will be especially important on what will probably be a cold, windy day in Chicago.  They should be able to have some success on the ground against this team.  Vince Young will probably just be asked to take care of the ball in this one. 

Who knows what the Bears offense will be?  They have announced that Kyle Orton is their starting quarterback.  They are planning on using Devin Hester as a wide receiver and it looks like rookie running back Matt Forte will be there feature back.  The only fire power this team will have will come in the returns of Hester. 

If you have been keeping up with the Breaking Down the Schedule series, you are aware that I have the Titans entering this game at 7-1.  I don't see any reason they won't improve to 8-1 after this game.

Site note: Beginning tomorrow August West will be bringing you the morning linkage.

*2007 Stats

Obviously the Packers offensive stats should be taken with a grain of salt considering they put up those numbers with a Hall of Fame quarterback, and they will be led in 2008 by Aaron Rodgers who has exactly zero career starts.  Rodgers will still have all of the weapons that helped Brett Favre put up those numbers including Greg Jennings, Ryan Grant and Donald Driver.  Rodgers, assuming he stays healthy, will have a few starts under his belt when he comes to LP Field.  I expect their offense will look a lot better by this time in the season than it does early on.

The Packers were pretty much middle of the road on defense which means the Titans should be able to move the ball on the ground through the air.  This could be a tricky game for the Titans because they will be coming off a big win over the Colts in front of a national televison audience.  They will also be working wtih a short week since that Colts game is a Monday Nighter.  This will be the Titans first hiccup of the year.  It will be close, but they will get their first loss of the season, but hey, no one is going to complain about a 7-1 start.

*2007 Stats

The Colts (click at your own risk) put a lot of single digit rank in stats on the board in 2007.  There is no doubt they have been one of the elite teams in the NFL for years now.  Is this the year they slip?  Time will tell, but what we do know is that the Titans have played them very well in the past couple of years, and there is no reason to think that will be any different this season.

This will be the first Monday Night Football Game in Nashville since the shootout against the Chiefs in 2004.  (By the way, Billy Volek was 29-43 for 426 yards and 4 TDs, and Drew Bennett had 12 catches for 233 yards and 3 TDs.)  We all know that Keith Bulluck is Mr. Monday Night, and that Vince Young plays his best on a national stage.  This game will be about ball control for the Titans.  Look for LenDale White and Chris Johnson to have big games.  The Titans will win this game to push their record to 7-0.