Tennessee Titans O 43
Houston is almost assured of scoring a ton of points this afternoon due to major INJURIES to the Tennessee defense. First of all, the Titans have just lost CB Andre Woolfolk for the rest of the season due to a fractured wrist. Note that Tennessee is already playing without injured starting safeties Lance Schulters and Tank Williams. They are also without reserve CB Tony Beckham, starting LB Peter Sirmon and DE Bo Schobel. With DT Albert Haynesworth expected to miss his second straight game with an elbow problem, the Titans will have to start a pair of ROOKIES at the defensive tackle slot. It definitely will be in Tennessee’s best interest to score more than 18 points which they did in last week’s 18-15 triumph in Jacksonville. Star RB Chris Brown did NOT play last week due to a painful turf toe injury, but he SHOULD be back in the Tennessee backfield this afternoon after showing improvement late in the week. In last week’s triumph at Jacksonville, the Titans finally got a full game effort from QB Steve McNair for the first time in recent memory. McNair has missed 2 full games and parts of others with a bruised sternum. At this point, it is not hard to figure out why Tennessee has struggled to win games under excellent coach Jeff Fisher as opposed to previous seasons. The Titans have already lost the equivalent of SEVEN starters and 2 top backups for the remainder of the season. I am going to take full advantage of the numerous Tennessee injuries, especially on the defensive side of the football. Not only do I expect Houston to take advantage of Tennessee’s depleted defense, there should be plenty of offensive support from the Titans. The Texans’ defense has alternated between being a sieve and being a solid unit all season due to a YOUNG unit that is starting 3 ROOKIES that are learning on the fly! CB Dunta Robinson has been excellent at times but still gives up too many big plays, which is partly because of inconsistent help from fellow rookie SS Glenn Early. With QB Steve McNair finally getting a full game under his belt last week, the undervalued Titans offense will thrive including WR Derrick Mason who has been their most consistent performer in the passing game. I have found out that Houston’s offense will be using plenty of THREE-RECEIVER sets to take advantage of the Titans’ lack of depth at cornerback. After a blistering start to the season, Houston WR Andre Johnson has been severely slowed down by a heavy dose of double teams over the past month. Johnson now admits that it is time for him to make the proper adjustment that all PREMIER receivers have to make once opposing defenses being rolling coverage their way. These two teams already played each other in a 20-10 Houston victory at Tennessee back in mid-October. In that contest, the Texans intercepted an injured Steve McNair FOUR TIMES. Odds of that happening again are remote, especially since McNair was Co-MVP of the league just one year ago. From the database: Tennessee is a staggering 10-1 OVER SINCE 1992 on the road versus poor pass defenses that allow at least 235 passing yards per game. But the big news is that in the 3 year history of the Texans franchise, they are 7-0 OVER/HOME after a game where they committed 1-or-LESS turnovers.
GOOD LUCK
Houston is almost assured of scoring a ton of points this afternoon due to major INJURIES to the Tennessee defense. First of all, the Titans have just lost CB Andre Woolfolk for the rest of the season due to a fractured wrist. Note that Tennessee is already playing without injured starting safeties Lance Schulters and Tank Williams. They are also without reserve CB Tony Beckham, starting LB Peter Sirmon and DE Bo Schobel. With DT Albert Haynesworth expected to miss his second straight game with an elbow problem, the Titans will have to start a pair of ROOKIES at the defensive tackle slot. It definitely will be in Tennessee’s best interest to score more than 18 points which they did in last week’s 18-15 triumph in Jacksonville. Star RB Chris Brown did NOT play last week due to a painful turf toe injury, but he SHOULD be back in the Tennessee backfield this afternoon after showing improvement late in the week. In last week’s triumph at Jacksonville, the Titans finally got a full game effort from QB Steve McNair for the first time in recent memory. McNair has missed 2 full games and parts of others with a bruised sternum. At this point, it is not hard to figure out why Tennessee has struggled to win games under excellent coach Jeff Fisher as opposed to previous seasons. The Titans have already lost the equivalent of SEVEN starters and 2 top backups for the remainder of the season. I am going to take full advantage of the numerous Tennessee injuries, especially on the defensive side of the football. Not only do I expect Houston to take advantage of Tennessee’s depleted defense, there should be plenty of offensive support from the Titans. The Texans’ defense has alternated between being a sieve and being a solid unit all season due to a YOUNG unit that is starting 3 ROOKIES that are learning on the fly! CB Dunta Robinson has been excellent at times but still gives up too many big plays, which is partly because of inconsistent help from fellow rookie SS Glenn Early. With QB Steve McNair finally getting a full game under his belt last week, the undervalued Titans offense will thrive including WR Derrick Mason who has been their most consistent performer in the passing game. I have found out that Houston’s offense will be using plenty of THREE-RECEIVER sets to take advantage of the Titans’ lack of depth at cornerback. After a blistering start to the season, Houston WR Andre Johnson has been severely slowed down by a heavy dose of double teams over the past month. Johnson now admits that it is time for him to make the proper adjustment that all PREMIER receivers have to make once opposing defenses being rolling coverage their way. These two teams already played each other in a 20-10 Houston victory at Tennessee back in mid-October. In that contest, the Texans intercepted an injured Steve McNair FOUR TIMES. Odds of that happening again are remote, especially since McNair was Co-MVP of the league just one year ago. From the database: Tennessee is a staggering 10-1 OVER SINCE 1992 on the road versus poor pass defenses that allow at least 235 passing yards per game. But the big news is that in the 3 year history of the Texans franchise, they are 7-0 OVER/HOME after a game where they committed 1-or-LESS turnovers.
GOOD LUCK
