Tonight there is real life football taking place on the field. Even though it is a preseason game, it is our first chance we get to see the 2008 Titans take the field. The first preseason game can get a little boring in the 4th quarter, but there are plenty of things that we can watch for early in the game:
- How Vince Young handles Dinger's offense. Most of the stuff they will run tonight will be very vanilla, but it will be important to see how VY gets the team in and out of the huddle and if he and the receivers are still on the same field.
- How Chris Johnson looks against live competition. The reviews of CJ in camp have been fantastic. It will be interesting to see how much the Titans give him to do tonight. I doubt we will see him going in motion or splitting out much tonight because they want to save that for the regular season, but the exciting thing is that he can take it to the house anytime he touches the ball.
- Which receiver steps up under the lights. It has been pretty obvious all through camp that Justins are the top 2 receivers. McCareins isn't going to play tonight so that will give someone else a chance with the first team. Who will step forward to prove they are worthy of the #3 spot?
- Jason Jones will probably be getting the start tonight at defensive tackle because of Tony Brown's shoulder injury. How will he do in his first live NFL action?
- How much pressure will the #1 defensive line be able to get on Marc Bulger and company? The key to the defense being as good as it was last season is the pressure from the front 4. How will the new additons on defensive line fit in?
- The return game. Last year the Titans were horrible in kickoff and punt returns. Chris Carr was brought to the Titans pretty much just for that purpose.
Don't forget to stop by Turf Show Times for the Rams prospective on tonight's preseason opener. There will be an open thread for tonight's game going up later today. Be sure and stop in during the game and leave your observations/comments.