Craig Stevens had his knee scoped and will be out for a few weeks, and Bo Scaife is coming off one of his worst overall games of a thoroughly disappointing season, so the stage is set for Jared Cook to take hold of a bigger role in this offense. Cook has been slow to gain the coaches' trust in his year and a half here, but he really needs to come up with some big plays when he gets his chances, and some consistent plays when his job is to block or distract the linebackers underneath. I expect he'll come through over the next few weeks.
Paul Kuharsky heard Blaine Bishop theorize that the Titans defensive line may be getting tired by the 4th quarter, leading to a reduced pass rush. Paul pulled the numbers and they definitely drop off in the 3rd and 4th quarters, but getting tired may not be full story being told by the stats. Jim Washburn has a good point point that teams definitely adjust at halftime to keep more guys in to block or get the ball out faster. Either way the solution seems clear: blitz. If we can get great pressure early with just the front 4 (we have more sacks by our D-linemen than anyone else in the NFL), then we can mix in some blitzes teams won't be prepared for or have time to adjust to later on when it gets crucial. Here are the stats by quarter:
• First quarter: 12
• Second quarter: 6
• Third quarter: 6
• Fourth quarter: 3
Randy Moss will have the big game this weekend we all expected last weekend. Book it. He's had a full week of practice with VY, the Redskins have been shredded by tall receivers and this week just has bounce back game written all over it for the whole team.
Jump!
It would be really good for the offense to get back on track, because we don't really have a legit D left on the schedule. If these guys can show up every week like they are capable of, we could put up 35 points a a game the rest of the way.
The Titans will have to make their decision on David Thornton by next Tuesday at 4:00. Unless they think Thronton is the key to helping out with the TE problem, there's little chance he makes the 53 man roster. That being said, his chances have been boosted by the declining LB play over the past few weeks.
Boclair previews this weekend's game.
So I'm scouring the internets for the latest and greatest Titans story and what do I stumble across... a Q&A between our man Jimmy Morris and CSNWashington.com!
Steve Rushin has an odd Ode to Kickers poem, but it's cool with me because Rob Brionas makes it to football-heaven in the end.
PFF had a good breakdown of last Sunday's debacle that I didn't manage to get to. Their review found Chris Hope more at fault for the TE problems than the LBs, which is a little surprising.
Check out KSK's latest LOL series for plenty of chuckles at the expense of the Redskins.
Have a great weekend, and be sure to follow me on Twitter @AugustWest_MCM