Sportaholic Tennessee Titans vs. Carolina Panthers Preview

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The Cam Newton express is up next on the Tennessee Titans docket. After losing to the Bengals and rookie QB Andy Dalton, the Titans get a crack at the #1 picked Newton and his superior athletic skill set. In other words, if the Titans thought Dalton was good, wait until they get a load of Newton. He seems to be one of those once in a generation stars who wins at every level of competition he plays in. He is able to do things most QBs should not be able to at 6”6 250 pounds. He is big enough to run over you and as the

Washington Redskins found out, and quick enough to juke you out of your shoes. The Titans will have their hands full not just with Newton but also his big time play maker at receiver, Steve Smith. Mighty Mouse has been brought back to life as Newton’s number 1 target in the Panthers offense. The Panthers are an exciting team to watch just because of these two guys.

The Titans of course are now sitting at 4-4 and if the playoffs started today they would be on the outside looking in. They have lost three of four and two of the losses have come at home. There last game against the Cincinnati Bengals was basically a sample of what the Titans have done this whole season. They have come out strong in most games, building leads in all but two games they’ve played this year only to give way eventually in the 2nd half. Dalton pickedhe Titans secondary to shreds in the second half as he brought the Bengals down from 10 points and threw 3 TDs passes to three different receivers. The Titans offensive line also had its troubles as they allowed Matt Hasselbeck take multiple sacks. Carlos Dunlap of the Bengals had two sacks and seemed to always be in Hasselbeck’s face.

The Titans also too often allowed the Bengals to convert on third down. They were 8/16 and it seemed they got every third down in the second half. The Titans did a decent job on RB Cedric Benson as he was held to just 78 yards on 20 carries. Speaking of RBs Chris Johnson showed glimpses of his old self as he had a few big gains in the first half. He gashed the Bengals for a 20, 18 and 12 yard runs in the 1st quarter. He also made a nice run after the catch on pass from Hasselbeck. Johnson faded in the 2nd half as the Bengals recognized he was getting loose and Johnson ended up finishing with 64 yards. Love him or hate him, the Titans have to continue to get Johnson involved as much as possible because when he finally does breakthrough he will add another dimension to this struggling offense.

The Panthers will present a totally different set of problems for the Titans. Newton’s scrambling ability has to have DC Jerry Gray’s attention. Newton has already broken former Titans’ Vince Young’s rookie record of rushing TDs with 7. And you also can’t sleep on Newton’s passing ability as he has already had put up two games of plus 400 yards and had another 374 yard passing game against the Chicago Bears.

Now lets breakdown the three key factors that will determine the game and make a final prediction for the Titans-Panthers clash.

1. Can the Titans control Newton’s big plays ability? As I stated above, this guy can drop an 80-yard pass or bust a 45-yard run on you at any moment. He has that big play mentality and seems to always be looking for his next opportunity. There hasn’t been a player drafted with his big play capability in my opinion since Michael Vick as they both have that combination of speed and a cannon arm. Newton has single handely transformed Carolina’s offense that finished last in terms of points and total offense last year, to a offense now that ranks fifth averaging 415.1 yards a game. Now of course when you are young player coupled with the fact that he is looking to make the over the top play, then you are going to make some over the top mistakes. Newton has thrown 11 TD passes and also 9 Ints. So his penchant seems to be big play or bust. The Titans have to take advantage of this as Newton’s feast or famine attitude can lead to big plays for the defense. On the flip side of the thinking if Newton gets into a groove early than he can unleash a barrage of explosive plays that the Titans may not be able to recover from.

2. How will Matt Hasselbeck and the Titans offense attack the Panthers porous defense? The Panthers come into this game giving up 8.35 yards per pass attempt, good for second worst in the league. They also give up 133.3 yards a game on the ground which is sixth most in the league and are tied for the most rushing TDs with 11. So that means that the Titans should have all kind of opportunities to make plays. OC Chris Palmer should have fun this week devising his offensive scheme against such a bad defense. Hasselbeck should have open passing lanes and should also look to get all his targets involved early. CJ has to find a way to get going against this defense as the odds are stacked in his favor. Everyone on the offense basically should have a big game. Tennessee has to come out and show some offensive creativity. There were too many times against the Bengals that it seemed the Titans got predictable. When your going against a team that isn’t very good on defense then you have a chance to do some things you don’t normally get to. I would love to see Johnson get a few opportunites in the wildcat offense with the ball coming directly to him. Maybe that would spark him. I also wouldn’t mind seeing Jake Locker get on the field and possibly run an option read with Johnson, similar to what Johnson and Vince Young did last year. Just a thought but a big unexpected play could spark the offense early and lead to some momentum.

3. How will the Titans respond coming off a lost? The last time the Titans lost they came out and whipped up on a winless Colts team 27-10 at home. This time they have to travel to Carolina and face a hungry team in the Panthers. Can they channel their emotions and pick up the win or will they fold down the strecth as they have seemed to do in all of their losses. The team as a whole has to right the ship because your getting to the point of the season when you either a contender or a pretender and the Titans are squarely on the bubble at 4-4. The leaders of the team have to stand up and tell their teammates the time is now to make their stance and don’t make this repeat of last year’s second half slide.

Prediction: Titans 23 Panthers 20



NOTES

TITANS: Club has won 12 of past 13 games against NFC…QB MATT HASSELBECK has 90+ passer rating in 6 of 8 games in ’11. Hasselbeck (189) needs TD pass to reach 190 career. Hasselbeck has 6 TDs vs. 3 INTs & 88 passer rating on road this season…In 12 career games vs. NFC, RB CHRIS JOHNSON averages 106.3 rush yards per game (1,275). Johnson totaled 110 scrimmage yards last week (64 rushing, 46 receiving). Johnson (4,964) needs 36 rush yards to join EDDIE GEORGE & HOFer EARL CAMPBELL as 3rd player in franchise history to reach 5,000 career…WR LAVELLE HAWKINSrecorded 1st career TD catch last week. WR DAMIAN WILLIAMS has 3 TD catches in past 5 games…TE JARED COOK is averaging 16.7 yards per catch in ’11 (19 rec., 317 yards)…CB JASON MC COURTY leads team with 67 tackles…S MICHAEL GRIFFIN has 2 INTs in past 3 games vs. NFC opponents…DT SHAUN SMITH posted 1st sack of season last week…PANTHERS: Total (415.1 yards per game) & pass (285.5) offenses rank 5th in NFL…Rookie QB CAM NEWTON has completed 40 of 58 (69 pct.) for 546 yards with 4 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 121.8 rating in past 2. Passed for 1,381 yards in Oct., most in NFL history by rookie in any month. Has 4 games with 290+ yards, tied with PEYTON MANNING (1998) for most by rookie in NFL history. Ties for 3rd in NFL with 7 rush TDs. His 7 rush TDs tie VINCE YOUNG (2006) for most in season by rookie QB since 1970…In career, when RB JONATHAN STEWART has 15+ att., team is 14-3 (.824). RB DE ANGELO WILLIAMS has 4,574 rush yards & 983 rec. yards in career. Needs 17 rec. yards to become 1st player in franchise history with 4,000+ rush yards & 1,000+ rec. yards…WR STEVE SMITH leads NFC with 918 receiving yards. Has 5 100-yard games. In past 2, has 14 catches for 243 yards (121.5 per game) & TD. In only home game vs. Ten. (10/19/03), had 10 catches for 151 yards & TD (67 yards). TE GREG OLSEN has TD catch in 4 of past 6…DE CHARLES JOHNSON has 15 sacks in past 15. Rookie DT TERRELL MC CLAIN had 1st career sack in Week 8

Sportaholic Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts Preview

The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts come into this weekend’s game losing by a combined 87 points to their opponents last week. Both teams took one on the chin as they were just pummeled and were only able to produce 14 points between the two. Tennessee’s 41-7 loss marked their worst lost of the season and to top things off it was at home. The Titans look to rebound against Indianapolis who is still winless and getting desperate just to get a W on the board at this point after one of the worst losses in their franchise history. The Colts season continues to tank without their all everything QB Peyton Manning. I think most people expected them to be bad but lord have mercy not this awful. The joke I can keep hearing in Nashville is “Yeah we lost but at least we didn’t get beat as bad as the Colts did” I guess you have to just roll with it here in Tennessee.

This marks the 2nd straight home game for the Titans and a chance for them to get back on track after losing their last two in unceremonious fashion. The Colts come into the game ranked 27th in the league in passing yards per game and 29th in points scored per game. And that’s just their offense. Those numbers would be unheard of it number 18 was still leading them. If you go just by the numbers the Titans should dominate this game but of course games are not played on paper. Tennessee has enough problems of their own after being exposed by Texans. Houston ran their offense to near perfection on the Titans who put up little to no resistance. Coming into that game its was suppose to be an AFC South showcase between the two prohibitive favorites but Tennessee failed to get the memo. I saw several red flags in that game that puzzles me still to this moment. If your going to talk about Titans ineptitude, then you have to start off with the enigmatic RB Chris Johnson. Sports talk radio in Nashville has been going crazy with reports that Johnson has been seen out partying this week even as the Titans are in turmoil. I could care less about the partying and even more about those reporting it. Johnson has been doing the same things he always did but when you sign a $53.5 multi million dollar deal then everyone feels they should have an opinion on your lifestyle. Johnson does have to start producing on the field because a lot of people are starting to lose faith in the former All-pro back. He doesn’t seem to have that spunk that has carried him to greatness in his NFL career, I will agree to that much.

Another puzzling aspect from the Houston loss was the Titans defense. Arian Foster did everything he wanted and more in gaining 234 yards of total offense and 3 TDs. Foster’s 234 outdid the entire Titans offensive unit who were only able to muster up 148 yards of offense. That’s just pathetic and when you add what Ben Tate did with his 104 yards on 15 carries then you get the picture that I’m painting here. The Titans defense could never get the key stop that they needed and showed poor tackling as both backs continued to burst through the front 7 of the defense. Now with all due respect, the Texans do have one of the best offenses in the league as they are ranked 7th in the overall in total offense even without stud WR Andre Johnson but the Titans usually have a good showing against them. This was one of the first times I can remember saying without a doubt that the Texans were most definitely better than the Titans.

For the Titans to get back on track they have to get back to the things that made them successful and get off to that 3-1 start. Matt Hasselbeck in those 3 wins was able to spread the ball around and the receivers were able to get open to provide him with passing lanes. The defense was playing with a bend but don’t break mentality and were getting considerable more pressure on the QB. Neither of those things are happening right now and as a result they are on this two game losing skid. The Colts should provide sweet relief for the Titans as they had even a worse loss than Tennessee did. Curtis Painter, the man anointed with the misery of taking over for Peyton, was only 9-17 for 67 yards and one touchdown. The Saints passed for 321 yards and ran for another 236. the 62 points they scored was the highest allowed in the Colts team history. Indianapolis’s defense has been a joke ranking near the bottom in most defensive categories. I hate it to say but Chris Johnson and the offense really has a chance to do some damage if they are focused but that remains to be seen.

Now lets take a look at the 3 key factors of the game:

1. Which team comes out and strikes first? Before you could blink your eye in both games featuring the Titans and the Colts last week it was over. The Texans went up 20-0 by halftime on Tennessee and New Orleans was up 21-0 after the first and 34-7 at halftime. One of these teams will put up points early and gain confidence. The Titans have every reason to get off to a hot start as they are at home and after taking all those boos from last week they should be motivated from the first snap of the game. Curtis Painter and the Colts offense have been getting better each week but they no where close to what the Titans should be able to bring to the table. Even with that being said, if the Colts can find a way to accumulate points early and gain some traction then they could make this one a game. Watch out for who draws first blood and see how the momentum goes from there.

2. Which Titans offense will show up? The Titans have every reason to be successful on offense this Sunday. As I mentioned above, the Colts statistically are ranked near the bottom of every major defensive category. Matt Hasselbeck and his receivers should be able to find open lanes and even Chris Johnson should get loose as Indianapolis hasn’t’ stopped anyone on the ground this season. Now if Tennessee gets back into their bad habits of poor blocking, Hasselbeck trying too do to much and buy too much time, and Johnson running east-west instead of north-south then they could become their own worst enemies. Football is a cruel sport and can teach you a cruel lesson if you don’t play up to your potential. If the Titans play the way that they can on offense then they should have no problem disposing of the Colts.

3. Home field disadvantage? This game marks the 100th game in LP field for the Titans. Their record is 62-37 all time here in Nashville. You couldn’t tell that by the way the fans voiced their displeasure at last Sunday’s game. How will the fans in this one if the Titans come out flat like they did against Houston? That remains to be seen but in most games the LP faithful are some of the best fans in the league. If they come and cheer as they usually do, they can make this an even harder game for the lowly Colts. Curtis Painter will be baptized by fire with his first start in Nashville and I’m curious to see how he performs. Also, how will they react if Chris Johnson has another no show game like he did last week.



Final Prediction: This is a game the Titans can’t lose after being manhandled at home by Houston. The Colts are dangerous in a sense because they are desperate for a win in any conceivable way, so they will pull out all the stops. As long as the Titans play their game and don’t get into their bad habits they should win this will with ease. No Peyton Manning equals no wins so far for the Colts and I’m sure the Titans would like to keep it that way.



The Pick: Titans 31 Colts 17



NOTES

COLTS: Seek 6th consecutive win against Titans…Since realignment in ’02, Colts have 42-13 (.764) record vs. AFC South…In 4 career starts, QB CURTIS PAINTER has completed 60 of 108 passes (55.6 pct.) for 813 yards with 5 TDs vs. 2 INTs & 87.5 passer rating…RB JOSEPH ADDAI has 3 rush TDs in past 3 vs. Ten. Rookie RB DELONE CARTER (4th round, No. 119) had career-high 89 rush yards last week. Carter has rush TD in 2 of past 3 games…WR REGGIE WAYNE (817) needs 3 receptions to surpass Pro Football HOFer STEVE LARGENT (819) for 20th-most catches all-time. WR PIERRE GARCON is averaging 102.3 rec. yards per game in past 3 games vs. Titans (307 total). Has 3 TD catches in past 2 against Ten…WR AUSTIN COLLIE has 3 TD catches in 2 career games vs. Ten…DE DWIGHT FREENEY (98.5) needs 1.5 sacks to become 26th player with 100 career since stat became official in ’82. Freeney has 13 sacks in 16 career games vs. Titans. DE JAMAAL ANDERSON registered 1st sack as Colt last week…LB PAT ANGERER leads team with 79 tackles…TITANS: Dating back to 12/19/10, club has won 3 of past 4 at LP Field…QB MATT HASSELBECK has 90+ passer rating in 4 of 6 games this season. In only start vs. Colts (w/ Seahawks on 12/24/05) Hasselbeck completed 17 of 21 passes (81 pct.) for 168 yards with 2 TDs vs. 0 INTs & 131.7 passer rating…RB CHRIS JOHNSON has 100+ rush yards in 2 of past 3 vs. Colts (113, 111). Johnson (35) needs 2 rush TDs to surpass STEVE MC NAIR for 3rd-most rush TDs in franchise history (EARL CAMPBELL, 73; EDDIE GEORGE, 64). Johnson (4,866) needs 134 rush yards to reach 5,000 career. Tied season-best with 6 rec. last week…WR NATE WASHINGTON has 90+ rec. yards in 2 of 3 home games this season…TE JARED COOK is averaging 17.7 yards per catch this season (13 rec., 230 yards). Cook has TD catch in 2 of past 3…CB JASON MC COURTY leads team in tackles (51) & INTs (2) in 2011

Music City Meltdown for Titans

You can call this one the Music City Meltdown. This was suppose to be a game that would shape the race for the AFC South crown as the Titans and the Texans had rose to the top of division without Indianapolis and Peyton Manning in the way this year. Instead it turned into an epic blowout that announced that Houston is the top the team in the division until further notice. Tennessee was so thoroughly dominated in their 41-7 loss to the Texans that its hopeless at this point to put any argument to who is the best team in the AFC South. This one got ugly before you could really sit back and relax as Houston jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime on the overwhelmed Titans.

Tennessee seemed helpless to stop the Houston offense as they marched up and down the field to the tune of 518 yards of total offense (3rd most in Houston history). Arian Foster was a force as he racked up 115 yards on the ground and added another 119 yards receiving and 3 TDs in all. He had his way all game as he just bull rushed the Titans defensive line and linebackers. In my preview article of this game (http://sportaholic2112.blogspot.com/2011/10/sportaholic-tennessee-titans-vs-houston.html ) I stated that it would be a long game if the Titanse couldn’t contain the former University of Tennessee product and I was right on the money with that prediction. He became the first player in Houston history to rush for over 100 yards and receive for over 100 yards in the same game. Foster’s 234 total yards was actually more than what the Titans finished with as a team at 148 yards. Matt Schaub had a relative easy day as he could just sit back and rely on Foster and Ben Tate in the run game and then pick apart the Titans secondary with play action fakes. It was just a clinic as Schaub was efficiently (18/23 296 yards 2 TD passes 147.7 QB rating) able to find numerous holes in the back end of the Titans D. The tight ends of Owen Daniels and Joel Dressen just undressed the middle field openings and the two combined for 6 catches 102 yards and 1 TD. Foster’s 78-yard TD catch seemed to open the flood gates as the crowd was taken out the game from that point. The Titans defense was annihilated on the ground as they gave up two 100 yards games to Foster and the aforementioned Ben Tate who finished with 104 yards on 15 carries good for 6.9 yards per carry.

Another shocking development from this game was the play of the Titans offense, which had looked so potent before the bye. Matt Hasselbeck completed less than 50 percent of his passes going 14/30 for a lowly 104 yards and 2 Ints. He seemed flustered and could never get into a rhythm as the Texans sacked him twice and seemed to mix coverage enough to confuse the vet. He had one of his Ints returned for a 38-yard TD by Bruce McCain of the Texans. Chris Johnson looked dismal yet again as he only finished with 18 yards on 10 carries for 1.8 yards per carry average. Counter that effort with Javon Ringer’s as he finished with 31 yards on just 3 carries. It’s getting harder each week to defend Johnson as most have figured he would eventually turn it around. As I watched the game unfold there were a couple of plays where it seemed that CJ just didn’t want to kick it into high gear as we are so accustomed to. One play in particular was at the beginning of the game when Hasselbeck found an open Johnson sneaking out of the backfield. Johnson caught the ball in open space and seemed to skip for a second and then try and to put the after burners on only to be caught for a 17-yard gain. That one really puzzled me as in years past no one would even lay a hand on Johnson in the open field. He either doesn’t have the burst he used to or he is just flat out not giving the effort he use to. The fans must have noticed as well as he was showered with boos throughout the game. “It’s just a situation I got to continue to say I can’t do nothing but keep working hard, running hard and doing what I can do for this team,” Johnson said.

The Titans coaching staff deserves some of the blame as well. I didn’t see any halftime adjustments from the team. Houston came out and executed its same game plan and the Titans just let them do it. Coach Munchak and DC Jerry Gray have to do a better job at adjusting to what team are doing or at least try something different to see what works.. The fact that Houston was able to roll up 222 yards on the ground is just astonishing. “Obviously, we’re not happy with the product we put on the field (Sunday),” Munchak said. “It’s on all of us, coaches, players, that’s not us. That can’t be us and we’ve got to improve The Titans coming into this game were ranked in the top 10 of rushing defenses. The fact that Houston out gained the Titans 518 to 148 in total yards is also jaw dropping. This was a very disheartening loss anyway you look at it for the Titans They gave up their chance to take the division by the throat and allowed Houston to flex their muscles on their home field. You could tell by all of the boos that the LP faithful were in an uproar over the lackluster performance. Even Houston's kicker was able to lay a big hit on Marc Mariaini on a kick return for goodness sakes.

Tennessee may get a breather next week as they welcome the winless Indianapolis Colts to LP field next week. The Colts also had a day to forget as the New Orleans Saints dropped 62 points on them. The Titans have to find a way to get back into rhythm after this disappointing performance and hopefully the Colts are just the remedy they need. The Titans fall to 3-3 and into 2nd place in the division. The season is still early so they all the reason to turn it around. Hopefully this doesn’t become a repeat of last year’s 1-7 effort after the bye when they were 5-3. To prevent that meltdown from happening again they have to start with a W next week against the Colts.

T.O. to Tennessee Titans?

                 

Its been reported that Terrell Owens could make his way to the music city once he is fully recovered from a torn ACL he sustained during the off-season. In a story from Yahoo! Sports, Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak indicated some interest in Owens. Munchak was reportedly even excited to speak about the possible acquisition of the for former All-Pro receiver.

From 104.5 The Zone FM in Nashville, via John Glennon at The Tennessean:

"A lot is going to depend for us on how we are producing at that (wide receiver) position three weeks or two weeks from now, and how we're doing (overall)," Munchak said. "All those things will factor into it. But I'm sure whenever you've got a player that has his capabilities, everyone's going to know exactly where he's at. If he has a way of helping our team win, then for sure you're going to take a look at him."

The Titans of course have been in need of an explosive receiver to take the place of injured WR Kenny Britt who was on his way to a career year. The one million dollar question at this point is does Owens still have it? I questioned my listeners on “The Sportaholic Radio Show” on this very subject just last week and received a mix response. I personally think he still has something left in the tank and also that this would be the perfect team for him to land on. The Titans have everything that T.O. needs to succeed, a veteran QB who will stand up to him when he needs to, strong leadership in the locker room, and a team that can win now. Owens has been a model citizen for his previous two teams, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills because he knew his reputation preceded him and if he wanted to play for a contender again some day he had to tone down his act. He is a long way from being perfect as evident by his Batman and Robin gimmicks with former Bengal Chad Ochocinco but his production was great last year as well as he played 11 games and had 72 receptions for 983 and 9 TDs. Who couldn’t use those type of numbers on there team?

As I stated above, I think if this is carefully thought out by both sides that this could work. The Titans have a need for a big physical receiver who can make plays on the outside and who better to fit that bill then T.O. Yeah he is getting a little older and coming off a major knee injury but Owens isn’t your everyday 37 year old man. This guy is a freak of nature and he could pay big dividends for a small price tag at this point in his career. As with Owens, there is always a chance that he could lead a team mutiny (See: Dallas Cowboys Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers) but he has matured over the years and I just don’t see Owens going that route at this stage of his career. This is just like last year when the Titans landed Randy Moss last year from the Vikings. Even though he didn’t pan out as expected, the Titans got him at a low price and didn’t really lose anything in the deal.

In summarizing, T.O. in Tennessee could work provided all parties are on the same page. Matt Hasselbeck has proved he can deliver ball as long you protect him so you have to think he would welcome Owens into the fray. He would add yet another dimension to the Titans offense and could soften the blow of losing Britt. If Chris Johnson ever decides to join the party this year it would make for one of the better offenses in all of football.  Mike Munchak seemed almost over zealous in his speaking of Owens so you can tell he is on board. The only question now is will Owens himself decide to come to Nashville. From all the researched I’ve collected it sounds like the ball is in his court. Tennessee get your popcorn ready if he decides to come.

Do you think Owens would be a good fit in Nashville? Why or why not?

Sportaholic Tennessee Titans vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Preview

Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday, Oct 09, 2011 at 12:00PM CDT

TV: CBS

The Titans made it look easy last week against Cleveland as they put a 34-13 beat down on the Browns. Matt Hasselbeck was the man once again, as he passed for 220 yards on only 10 completions and had three of those go for TDs. Even Chris Johnson got on track somewhat as he had his first game of over 100 yards finishing with 101 on 23 carries. The offense has looked downright dominant at times so far this season. On the other hand Cleveland’s offense sputtered and couldn’t get anything going besides dinks and dunks for from Colt McCoy who finished with a good statistical game going 40/61 for 350 yards and a TD pass. If you pass 61 times you should throw for a bunch of yards so I see no fault in that from the Titans defense. They limited the Browns big plays and took advantage of the lack of playmakers that Cleveland had. Jonathon Babineaux’s 97-yard TD return all but sealed the game for Tennessee.

Speaking of big plays, the Titans have been getting them all of the field from multiple sources. With Jared Cook, Nate Washington and now with Chris Johnson getting back in the mix, the Titans have explosive play capability. As long as Matt Hasselbeck is able to stay upright, then he will deliver the ball accurately. The Titans now take their show on the road with all this momentum in what is a great time to travel to Pittsburgh to take on the reeling Super Bowl runner-ups. The Steelers suffered more than just a loss to Houston last week as a number of their key players suffered injuries. Intimidating LB James Harrison broke his orbital bone and won’t play, Rashard Mendenhall is questionable and the biggest banged up star of them all Ben Rothlisberger has been in a walking boot all week but will likely give it a go. This current version of Pittsburgh is not what most football fans are use to seeing. The marauding defense has looked flat out old at certain points this season. The Pittsburgh offensive line has been in shambles as they have suffered a rash of injuries to their linemen that led them to sign former starter Max Starks. I guess you have to pull out all the stops when your QB by 14 sacks, third most in the league. Big Ben in response to all the pressure has probably played some of the worst football of his 8-year career in return posting an 80.2 QB rating with 5 Ints and 4 fumbles so far.

The Titans should be out for a taste of revenge after last season’s 19-11 defeat at the hand of these same Steelers. They physically imposed their will on Tennessee last year and had Vince Young so flustered he had to be taken out of the game for Kerry Collins. This year is almost a 180 degree difference at QB with Matt Hasselbeck in the saddle. He is familiar with facing defenses and this shouldn’t be but another game for the 13 year vet. The Steelers also allowed Houston RB Arian Foster to rush for over 150 yards. That’s unheard of against a Mike Tomlin coached team. It has a lot to do with the injuries they have on that side of the ball but it also means that Chris Johnson should have a favorable match up this week. The addition of Ahmard Hall should boost Johnson even more as he comes back from a 4-game performance enhancement suspension. He will have his chances with no Harrison coming his way but Harrison’s fill in Lawerence Timmons isn’t a slouch either.

Let’s take a look at the keys for the Titans to win the game:

1. The Titans need to get after Big Ben: As I stated earlier in this column, Roethlisberger has been sacked 14 times so far this year and as a result his stats are among the worst ever in his career. To top things off, he suffered a sprained foot rather if the Steelers want to admit it or not. He’s been in a walking boot all week after being taken down multiple times by the Texans last week. The Titans will need to continue the harassment of Ben to be able to disrupt the Steelers offense. Rashard Mendenhall is questionable so that puts even more pressure on Roethlisberger and the passing game if he is not able to go. The Titans defense already has 10 sacks so far this season and if they want to take down Pittsburgh they will need more of the same.

2. Who steps up for Hasselbeck this week? The loss of Kenny Britt has forced the entire receiving corps to step up their game. Last week it was Jared Cook who stepped up and made big plays in the passing game including a game breaking 80-yard TD haul that displayed his speed and athleticism. You could tell the defender underestimated Cook’s speed and he paid dearly for it. Nate Washington just needs to keep doing what he is doing. This four game stretch is the most consistent I’ve seen him play in a Titans uniform. All of the receivers seem to be benefiting from the stability Hasselbeck has brought to the QB situation as it was a revolving door open the past few years with Vince Young and Kerry Collins. He also has brought the big play with him as the Titans are making plays in the passing game and not just relying on big runs from Chris Johnson. They have to keep it up to maintain a level of unpredictability on the offensive side of the ball. Chris Johnson will get involved more but for now the passing game is clicking and if its not broke don’t fix it. Look for Hasselbeck to continue to spread the wealth.

3. Will the Titans come out and make this there statement game? Lets be honest here, most people, pundits and predictions didn’t have the Titans being 3-1 at this point of the season and many still don’t believe this team is legit. This is a chance for the Titans to lay claim to being one of the best teams in league in dramatic fashion. They can dismantle the team that has generally dominated the AFC with New England in recent memory and bury them even deeper in the loss column. This game will go a long way in determining if the Titans have what it takes to contend with the top teams. They have every reason to win this game with the injuries that Pittsburgh is facing and all of the momentum they have going into this one. You have to win the ones your suppose to in this league. If Tennessee wants respect then they have to earn it and there is no better place to go take it then in Pittsburgh. We will see what the Titans are made of after this game.

NOTES:

TITANS: Seek 4th consecutive win…In past 2, QB MATT HASSELBECK has 5 TDs vs. 1 INT & 119 passer rating. Hasselbeck aims for 5th consecutive game with 100+ passer rating. Has 8 TD passes this season – his most in 1st 4 games of any of his 11 seasons as starting NFL QB…RB CHRIS JOHNSON (101 yards) record 25th career game with 100+ rush yards last week. Johnson (5,907) needs 93 scrimmage yards to reach 6,000 career…WR NATE WASHINGTON spent 4 seasons (2005-08) with Steelers…TE JARED COOK had career-long 80-yard TD rec. last week – longest TD catch by Titans/Oilers TE sinceWILLIE FRAZIER on 11/6/64 (80). TE CRAIG STEVENS posted 1st TD catch in ’11 last week…Defense allows NFL-low 14 points per game in ’11…LB BARRETT RUUD leads team with 27 tackles…DE DERRICK MORGAN has sack in 2 of past 3…Rookie LB AKEEM AYERS (2nd round, No. 39) recorded 1st career sack last week...S JORDAN BABINEAUX had 97-yard INT-TD return last week, 3rd-longest in franchise history…STEELERS: Club has won 4 of past 5 at home…In 3 career games vs. Titans, QB BEN ROETHLISBERGER is 2-1 & has completed 67 of 93 passes (72 pct.) for 910 yards with 5 TDs & 102.9 passer rating. Roethlisberger has 18-7 (.720) record as starter in Oct…RB RASHARD MENDENHALL has 6 rush TDs in past 7 games…WR HINES WARD (11,838) needs 67 rec. yards to surpass HOFerMICHAEL IRVIN (11,834) for 19th-most in NFL history. Has 100+ rec. yards (109, 103) in 2 of past 3 vs. Titans. WR MIKE WALLACE averages 113.5 rec. yards per game this season (454 total). Aims for 4th consecutive game with 100+ yards at home (102, 104, 126). 11 of WR ANTONIO BROWN’s 15 rec. have been for 1st downs (73.3 pct.) this season…TE HEATH MILLER (298) needs 2 catches to become 1st Pit. TE with 300 career…Defense allows 277 yards per game, 2nd-lowest in NFL this season (BENGALS, 275.5)…In last game vs. Ten., LB JAMES HARRISON had 2 sacks, 2 FFs & FR…S TROY POLAMALUhas 3 INTs in 5 career games vs. Titans

Sportaholic Tennessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos Preview and Breakdown

Tennessee Titans vs. Denver Broncos Preview:

The Titans did their best Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde impersonation last week as they reversed roles from their dismal week 1 performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars, to an unexpected dominant victory over the hated Baltimore Ravens. Many expected (including me) Tennessee to get trounced after what the Ravens did to Pittsburgh Steelers in their decisive week 1 victory against the Super Bowl runner-ups. The Titans showed a new and improved aerial attack as Matt Hasselbeck proved that if you can hold him upright, then he can deliver as he finished 30/42 for 358 yards and 1 TD pass. He and Kenny Britt, and Nate Washington made sweet music all day as Britt had 9 catches for 135 and 1 TD and Washington had 7 catches for 99 yards. It was by far the best passing performance I’ve seen from the Titans in quite a long time.

However, the one downside to the passing game was the inability of Chris Johnson to break loose. He was held to 53 yards on 24 carries, which amounts to 2.2 yards a carry. You can tell Johnson is still getting into game shape as well as learning the nuisances of new OC Chris Palmer’s offense. Its good to chuck the ball all over the field but the Titans bread and butter has always been the running game. Johnson has a great chance to get back into his groove against the porous defense of the Broncos. Denver comes into this game as the 28th ranked rushing defense allowing 131 yards a game on the ground and 4.4 yards per carry. If Johnson can’t run on this play-doe soft D, then he can’t run on anyone. I think this is the game he breaks off one of his signature long runs, he should be in better shape after being with the team and practicing for a few weeks now. As effective as the passing game was last weekend the need for Johnson to get his game back is a bit subdued. But think about if Hasselbeck continues to find success with Britt and Washington catching everything as they did last week and then you add the electric running of Johnson. It would make for a dangerous offense that would be capable of putting up points on any team.

The defense also looked surprisingly well against the Ravens as well. They held Ray Rice and the Baltimore run game in check and got pressure from all different sides on Joe Flacco. Derrick Morgan showed why he is a former 1st round draft pick as he was in Flacco’s face all game long and he recorded a sack and numerous QB hurries (That personal foul penalty was bogus by the way). Jonathon Babineaux and Barrett Rudd were also impressive as they played physical and delivered a few big hits on the Raven receivers that made them have alligator arms. This was such a stark turnaround from the team that was run on at will against Jacksonville. It’s like an entirely different team was on that plane for week 1.






So now the Titans take on a Broncos team on the decline and in disarray. It has been well chronicled that the fans of Denver prefer Tim Tebow over Kyle Orton as their QB even if Tebow is stuck at 3rd on the depth chart. Tebow did get some action last week as he was placed in as a receiver for blocking purposes. As far as the rest of the team, they are not very impressive. They are ranked 15th in total defense which isn’t too bad considering all things but they have sustained some injuries to key players on that side of the ball with Ty Warren out, Champ Bailey and Elvis Dumervil questionable. Their offense is pedestrian at best ranking 23rd in league averaging 314 yards a game (Tom Brady or Cam Newton would have that many yards by halftime) and they only average 22 points per game. They will get some help on that side as Brandon Lloyd is expected to be back at receiver and also RB Knowshon Moreno. Willis MaGahee did rush for over 100 yards last week and should get more of the load until Moreno is fully healthy. Eric Decker has also been a nice surprise as he had over 100 yards receiving and 2 TDs against the Bengals.

Now that we have an understanding of both teams let look at the three key factors that will determine the game:

1. Can the Titans passing game stay on the attack: As I mentioned above, last week’s aerial assault on the Ravens was the best I’ve seen from the Titans in quite awhile. Matt Hasselbeck should be able to find open lanes on the Broncos and with the emergence of Kenny Britt he should have a big target as well. Speaking of Britt, he is second in the league with 271 yards receiving yards this season and he is on a monster pace. He and Hasselbeck seem to have that chemistry you always want your QB and WR to have. Jared Cook has also been coming around here of late as well. The Broncos will have a hard time covering everything the Titans will be throwing at them especially if CJ gets on board. If the passing game plays as well as they did last game, the Broncos will be in for a long day.

2. How will the pass rush follow last week’s game? The Titans pass rush looked like the old days of Jim Washburn coaching as they just harassed Flacco all over the field last game. It was good to see as the Titans are known to usually have a strong defensive line. The Titans had three sacks on the Ravens and they will need more of the same against the Broncos. Kyle Orton shredded the Titans last year as he was 35/50 for 341 yards and 2 TDs. Now I don’t believe that is happening this year but if the Titans don’t get pressure on him it’s a possibility. Orton is underrated and as long as he is protected he can put up big numbers. The defensive line will look to add pressure to him as Jerry Gray has a nice mix of young and veteran players at his disposal. It will be interesting to see how that part of the game develops. If Orton is going down or getting hurried a lot, it could lead to a blowout for Tennessee.

3. Is this the week CJ kicks it into high gear? It seems like this has been one my key factors for every game this season. If you remember back to last year it took Johnson a few games to get it right but when he did boy was he a load. I think this is the week he starts on the upward trajectory as the Broncos will have plenty of holes for the explosive Johnson to run through. Mike Munchak has made it very public that the Titans will keep feeding their 53.5 million dollar man and I’m sure CJ wants to prove he is worth that kind of money. I look for him to go over the century mark this game and to do so with no problem. The Broncos don’t have the best LBs with rookie Von Miller probably already their best so Johnson has every opportunity this game to do his hands to the face dance multiple times.

Sportaholic Tennessee Titans Season Preview

The NFL season is approaching fast and with that in mind, its time to preview teams and project their season outcome. I have enlisted some help in that department, as I have a few guest bloggers to go over a few teams. First up is my good blogging buddy Jim Irwin from Chicago. Jim's blog is titled http://jim-heftyinfo.blogspot.com/ and he has a ton of knowledge for football and (Surprise) Politics. Make sure to check his blog, for easy access just click his link on my blog roll. Jim is in the process of previewing every NFL team in the league and he is so kind to allow us here at the Sportaholic to use his Tennessee Titans article on our site. Now its time to turn Jim loose as he gives us the lowdown on our Titans.

TENNESSEE TITANS







2010 RECORD: 6-10-0


(4th in AFC South)






HEAD COACH: Mike Munchak

By: Jim Irwin

Offense: Matt Hasselbeck (3,001 passing yards with 12 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions in 2010) comes over from the Seattle Seahawks and will be the starter. Rookie Jake Locker (Washington) will back up Hasselbeck.

Hasselbeck will be replacing Vince Young (now with Philadlephia) and the retired Kerry Collins as the quarterback and brings much experience and leadership to the team. He helped lead Seattle to a Super Bowl appearance in 2005.

Chris Johnson ... aka CJ2K is in a holdout and when he does return, he will give the team perhaps the premier running back in the game.

The numbers for Johnson were way down from his 2,000 plus yards rushing season of 2009.

Last season, Johnson gained 1,364 yards rushing for a 4.3 ypc average and scored 11 touchdowns. In addition, Johnson led the Titans with 44 receptions and also had one receiving touchdown. Javon Ringer (239 rushing yards and two TD) will spell Johnson and the fullback is Ahmard Hall.

Kenny Britt (42 catches for 775 yards and nine TD) and Nate Washington (42, 687, six TD) will be the main targets in 2011. Tight End Jared Cook, who made 29 catches for 261 yards last season, is back and will be backed up by Craig Stevens. Justin Gage (20 grabs for 266 yards) and Damian Williams (16 catches) are the other wideouts.

The offensive line consists of center Eugene Amano, tackles David Stewart and Michael Roos and guards Ryan Durand and Leroy Harris.

Defense: This was a unit that would bend but not always break a year ago, evidenced by the numbers.

The Titans finished in the middle of the pack in points allowed (339), but near the bottom of the league in total yardage allowed (368) per game and passing yards (252) as well. The run defense gave up 116 yards per game, which ranked 20th in the NFL.

Up front in the revamped 4-3 defense for the Titans will be ends William Hayes and Jason Jones along with tackles Shaun Smith and rookie Karl Klug (Iowa). There are others who will see action, including rookie Jurrell Casey (USC), along with David Ball, Derrick Morgan and Jovan Haye.

The linebackers also have a rookie starter with Akeem Ayers (UCLA) playing along with Will Witherspoon and Barrett Ruud. Also in the mix are Colin McCarthy, backing up Ruud in the middle and outside linebackers Gerald McRath and Tim Shaw.

The leader in quarterback sacks from a year ago (Jason Babin) is no longer around, but David Ball (seven sacks) is up front for the team, which totaled 40 sacks last season. Jason Jones had 3.5 sacks and Witherspoon three from the linebacker position.

In the secondary, which was a big problem last season, the Titans have Cortland Finnegan and Jason McCourty at the corners with Chris Hope and Michael Griffin (four interceptions) playing the safety spots. Alterraun Verner (three picks), Vincent Fuller, Robert Johnson and Jordan Babineaux will give the Titans depth in the secondary.

The Titans had 17 interceptions last season, but ranked 29th overall against the pass, giving up 252 yards per game. They also were torched frequently by the long pass in 2010 and that has to improve as well.

OUTLOOK: The Titans are looking to unseat the Colts in the AFC South (which they did three years ago) in 2011 but have an uphill battle ahead of them.

The Colts are odds-on favorites in the division with Houston and Tennessee looking to battle for second place this year.

The offense for the Titans still will rely on Johnson (if and when he plays) in 2011, along with Hasselbeck getting acclimated to new Head Coach Mike Munchak's system.

Munchak replaces longtime (former) Head Coach Jeff Fisher for the Titans. In a bizarre scenario following the 2010 season, Fisher announced he wouldn't be back if (former Titans QB) Vince Young remained with the team.

Young departed, but so did Fisher.

It all adds up to a new look for the Titans, as they look to improve an offense that was 27th overall last season, averaging just 302 yards per game. The rushing game was solid, getting 108 per game, but the passing game averaged less than 200 yards per game in 2010 and that must improve.

The team must also score more. The Titans only had 356 points last season and were shut out by Houston (30th ranked defense last year) and had a four-game stretch when they put up just 39 total points in those losses.

The defense is looking to be revamped, especially in the front seven and will look to improve the pass rush and the coverage in the secondary as well.

Look for a 8-8 season from the Titans as they are definitely rebuilding and Hasselbeck will hold the reigns on offense until Locker is ready to take over in the future.



TEAM SCHEDULE:

Week 1- at Jacksonville

Week 2- vs. Baltimore

Week 3- vs. Denver

Week 4- at Cleveland

Week 5- at Pittsburgh

Week 6- BYE WEEK

Week 7- vs. Houston

Week 8- vs. Indianapolis

Week 9- vs. Cincinnati

Week 10- at Carolina

Week 11- at Atlanta

Week 12- vs. Tampa Bay

Week 13- at Buffalo

Week 14- vs. New Orleans

Week 15- at Indianapolis

Week 16- vs. Jacksonville

Week 17- at Houston

The Chris Johnson Contract Dispute

VS.

Eric Dickerson

He has been compared to some of the greats at his position and has posted similar numbers the greats such as Eric Dickerson (who could forget those goggles and that Jheri Curl?) and Emmitt Smith. So it’s only right that he has a similar holdout just like those players. Dickerson had his holdout moment in 1985 just two years into his contract (Just like Johnson) and Smith had his infamous spat with Jerry Jones back in 1993. Ultimately both Dickerson and Smith received multi year deals to suffice them but they had to go to extreme lengths for ownership to reward them their just due. Chris Johnson is now in the same capacity as these two Hall of Fame running backs. I guess if you want to be comparable you have to emulate the greats who came before you, on and off the field right?

Titans GM Mike Reinfeldt

The Chris Johnson contract dispute has to give every Titan fan a moment of trepidation as the best player in powder blue and navy has a legit beef with his deal and is putting the Titans in a tough situation. This isn’t your run of the mill contract dispute either, as both sides have valid points and appear to have dug their feet in the ground as neither side wants to budge in a positive direction. What is so fascinating about the Johnson contract squabble is the fact that still has two years left on a contract that is clearly outdated due to his performance on the field. Everyone in the state of Tennessee, and for that matter everyone in the world, knows that Johnson is worth more than his scheduled $550,000 he in line for this year. The craziest thing about his contract situation is that his backup Alvin Pearman is due to make $630,000 this year. That's right, his backup makes more money than Johnson does which is just preposterous to think This has the makings of an extended holdout as Johnson has reason to stay away from the Titans until he is compensated the amount that he thinks he should be. However that may be hard considering the hefty 30k fine a day fine for missing camp. And of course, Johnson’s absence hurts the Titans as they look to begin a new season under a new QB and new coaching staff. For the sake of continuity, it would be beneficial for the Titans to have their best player at least show up at camp and be in the mix with his teammates.

Above all at this moment is the stalemate in the front office on Johnson. The Titans know that running backs have a short shelf life in the NFL. Most peak around 29 and go all down hill from there. Don’t believe me you say? Well take a look at this excerpt the biglead.com:

“Earl Campbell carried the ball over 1,000 times in his first three years, averaging 4.9 yards a carry. In year 4, he still carried it a lot (361 times) but dropped to 3.8 yards per carry and was never the same. In today’s NFL, he would have played to the end of his rookie contract and earned little compared to his value to the team. Barry Foster had 390 carries in his third season, then got hurt, and never made it past five seasons. Terrell Davis blew out his knee in his fifth season. Gerald Riggs had 1,093 carries for the Falcons from age 24 to 26, and never had more than 203 in a season after that. Larry Johnson had 416 carries in year 4 in the league, the same as CJ this year, and then was done.”

It kind of puts things in perspective about running backs. One thing I will counter that argument with is how the style of Johnson isn’t as physical as the players on that list. Most football fans know that Earl Campbell was a human wrecking ball and Terrell Davis had bad knees to begin with. CJ’s style is more of the quick and elusive types that don’t take on as much visceral damage as most running backs do. He has the speed and finesse to stay out of harms way on most occasions. He is only 5’11 181 pounds for goodness sakes and knows that his meal ticket isn’t trying to run over guys as much as it is to run around them. So I believe he will be able to sustain a longer than average career at his position for that reason alone.



Samari Rolle



Another equally interesting facet of this is that the Titans also haven’t been this embroiled into a contract dispute since 1997’s Samari Rolle holdout. He missed organized workouts in May and then left the team for several days near the end of training camp as he sought a long-term contract. It was less than a week after he rejoined the team that he signed a six-year, $37.5 million deal. So this isn’t uncharted territory for the Titans even though that was back in ’97 when Floyd Reese was the GM and Jeff Fisher the coach, not incumbents Mike Reinfeldt at GM and Coach Mike Munchak. Johnson wants a deal reportedly north of $30 million dollars and has seen the recent deals awarded to running backs such as Deangelo Williams of the Carolina Panthers, Maurice Jones-Drew of Jacksonville and Steven Jackson of St. Louis, All of these players have received compensation of at least $30 million and none of those players have had the success that Johnson has had.

As an illustration take a look below:

Johnson ran for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns last season after his 2,006-yard, 14-touchdown 2009 campaign. In just three NFL seasons, Johnson has racked up over 5,500 all-purpose yards and 38 touchdowns.

He has made three straight Pro Bowls and was named the offensive player of the year by The Associated Press in 2009.


Became the sixth player to ever rush of 2,000 yards in a season



So this goes back to the point that Johnson has clearly outplayed his rookie contract but in the defense of Tennessee, it’s only so much they can do. The league only allows a 30-percent limit on how much a player's base salary can increase from one season to the next. Tennessee could restructure a deal with guaranteed signing bonus money at the risk of what would amount into a front loaded guaranteed deal upwards of $40 million. In other words that isn’t happening as it would restrict the Titans cap flexibility over the upcoming years.

In summarizing, there are no real bad guys in this situation, its just business for both sides. Johnson is at the peak of his career and deserves a new deal after outplaying his rookie contract. As we have already discussed, the short life of a RB in the NFL has been well chronicled. Johnson knows that this is his opportunity to cash in before things could change in the future. The Titans know that no matter what Johnson does, they still have under contract for another two year and could possibly franchise him for a third. They also know the history of RBs with the type of work load that Johnson has had in his first few years could eventually wear him down. Of course they would love their best player in camp to start the transition from the Jeff Fisher/Vince Young era and to give new QB Matt Hasselbeck the ultimate weapon but due to the league’s salary limitations, they are hamstrung on making a significant offer to Johnson that wouldn’t hinder there future cap space. This one has the makings of a doozy but eventually one side will have to cave and more than likely it will be Johnson. He still has two years left on his contract and can’t do much besides sit out the whole season, which would be detrimental to him as well as he would lose his free-agent accrual by one year.









I predict a deal will get done by the end of pre-season and Johnson will be available by the first regular season game. I just can’t fathom Johnson sitting out an entire season of football. He and the Titans will get a deal done but each day he misses only will make things worse in Nashville. The Titans run the risk of alienating Johnson to the point of no return i.e. Carson Palmer and the Bengals. Stay tuned as the saga is sure to grip all of Titans nation for the rest of the summer.



Palmer has vowed to never play again for the Bengals.