This is looking like it is going to be the best game of the season so far.  The Jets are very tough against the run so we could be looking at another game that is going to be won or loss by Kerry Collins.  I don't know about you, but I feel a lot better about the odds of the Titans winning that type of game than I did 3 weeks ago.

The key for the defense will be to pressure Brett Favre.  We all know that he is capable of making big plays for either team, and the way to get him to get him to be the bad "Gunslinger" is to get guys in his face.  I really hope Kyle Vanden Bosch can get back on the field for this game. 

I have included DVOA from the Football Outsiders in the chart this week.  Click here to learn more about it.  Any questions shall be directed to DannoE because he seems to be our resident stat nerd.

Stats after the jump..

Continue reading this post »

I am a little worried about this one because when I was picking the games before the season I picked the Titans to lose this game.  I am 7 for 7 so far.

Continue reading this post »

 
The Colts are giving up over 150 yards per game on the ground.  What do you think this Jeff Fisher team is going to do tonight?  If you guessed run the ball 30+ times then you are correct.  This is going to be another of those games that Kerry Collins only puts the ball in the air 15-20 times......unless......the Titans turn the ball over a few times and fall behind. 

I really think that is the only way the Titans lose this game.  This Colts defense is small, fast and built to play from ahead.  They are excellent at getting after the quarterback when they have nothing to worry about but the pass.  The Titans would be in some trouble if they got in that situation.

This is going to be the game that wins Chris Johnson the offensive rookie of the year.  He is going to have a huge game against this defense.  I think we will see him a little more involved in the passing game as well.  They haven't thrown many screens to him this year, but they will probably have some opportunities to do that tonight against the Colts defense.

Look for LenDale White to have his typical game tonight.  I think he gets 15-18 carries and averages right around 4 yards per carry.  Last week Ryan Grant had 31 carries for 105 yards against the Colts.  His 3.4 yards per carry doesn't look great, but it was effective in moving the chains and keeping Peyton Manning off the field.  That will be Smash's job tonight.

Defensively we will see "Bend but Don't Break" just as we have for the last 2 years against the Colts.  It is pretty amazing that in the last 4 match-ups the Colts have averaged 15.75 points per game (for comparison in 2006 they averaged 26.7 ppg and 28.1 in 2007).  I realize that the 2nd game last season was a throw away for the Colts, but in 2006 the Colts scored 14 and 17 against a bad Titans' defense.

The biggest question mark for the defense tonight is the health of Kyle Vanden Bosch.  The Titans won't blitz Peyton much, so they need The Boom King in there to get that pressure.  The play of the front 4 will go a long way in determining the outcome of this game.  The Colts have had some problems on the offensive line this season, and the Titans should be able to take advantage of that.

Again, the Titans are the better team in this game, but I don't think it will be a blow out.  The Colts still have a lot of offensive weapons, the main one being Peyton Manning.  It is really hard to ever count a team out as long as he is on the field.  I predicted a win in this game at the beginning of the season and again on Saturday.  I don't intend on going against that now.  Titans 20-14.

Be sure and be here tonight for the game thread if you aren't going to the game.  I will have the open thread up at 5 central so there is plenty of time for discussion before the game.

If I would have told you before the season started that heading into week 8 the Titans would be ahead of the Colts in every statistical category besides passing offense and passing defense, you would have called me crazy.

Continue reading this post »

This game scares me a little.  The Titans are easily the better team, but as we have talked about all week long, there are a lot of other things the Titans could be thinking about besides beating the Chiefs.  Here are the 4 letter "expert" picks:

Continue reading this post »

The Titans stand as the last undefeated team in the NFL, they are going on the road to take on a Chiefs team that isn't that good, and they have a huge game next Monday night against the Colts, so if ever there were a trap game, this is it.

Continue reading this post »

Another week, another slobber-knocking football game.  This one should be a low-scoring affair.  The "experts" are pretty split on this one:

Hoge loves us.

Continue reading this post »

Another matchup of similar teams.  Once again the key will be taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers.  The Titans have obviously been very good at that this season.  That was the difference against the Vikings on Sunday.  Here's to hoping they can do it again.

This is the most anticipated non-divison game I can remember in a long time.  The Titans have the chance to start 4-0 for the first time since they became the Titans.  There has been a lot of trash talking between our site and the Daily Norseman, but I think any reasonable person can agree that this is going to be a tight, physical game.  These are two very talented, very similar teams.  Here is a look at who the "experts" at the four letter picked this week:

Shocked am I that Hoge picked against the Titans.

The Vikings are very good against the run.  We have talked about that all week, but you know as well as I do that Jeff Fisher doesn't care about that.  The Titans are still going to come out and hit the Vikings in the mouth.  We all agree that the Titans have a great offensive line.  They get a chance to prove tomorrow just how great they are.  

There is a good chance that Kerry Collins might have to win this game.  That would have really scared me this time last year, but I have faith now that he can do it.  Look for the Titans, especially if they have trouble running the ball, to throw a lot of screen passes to Chris Johnson and a lot of dump offs to Bo Scaife and Alge Crumpler.  Those plays are good extensions of the run game and should be open against the Vikes' defense.

The Titans will also take some shots down the field because the Vikings' defensive weakness is their secondary.  The key to the game will be the offensive line giving Collins time to take those shots.  The receivers have looked better the last couple of weeks, and Justin Gage should be good to go, so I look for some big plays in the passing game.

Defensively the game plan is simple on paper;  Stop Adrian Peterson.  No big deal, right?  Peterson is one of the best running backs in the league and stopping him is no easy chore.  There has been a lot of talk this week about the Titans run defense being overrated because "they haven't played anyone yet."  They will get their chance on Sunday to silence the critics.  I think they are up to the challenge.

The other popular banter from Vikes' fans this week has been that the Titans' secondary is overrated.  The Titans' secondary is not overrated, but it really doesn't matter on Sunday.  The combination of Gus Frerotte and his receivers does not strike fear in my heart.  The Titans' secondary may be getting more hype than they deserve, but there is no doubt they can handle Frerotte and the Purple Pass Catchers.

The Titans will be the better team on the field Sunday.  The key will be to play Fisher ball.  Take care of the ball, run the ball successfully, stop the run, and the Titans walk away from this game 4-0.