OK, Im gonna try to do this every week and see how it pans out. My final score predictions were off last wk against the Pats, but I wasn't wrong when I said it will be a one possession game. I also said that the game will depend on how Sanchez plays and so far, he has exceeded expectations. This week, the winless TennesseeTitans will be coming into town to face the undefeated NY Jets. Last year, the Jets 'manhandled' the Titans and sent them home with their first defeat of the season. This year, the Titans have a chance to do exactly what the Jets did, hand them a first loss of the season. Titans Passing O vs. Jets Pass D The Jets D shut down Houston in first wk. They also kept the Patriots from reaching the endzone and handed Brady one of his worst rating ever. This unit, that is ranked first overall, has allowed 361yds passing, 0 TDs, and 2 Ints with a passer rating of 54.3 against arguably the two best passing teams in the NFL. They have allowed only two plays of 20 yards or more, be it passing or rushing. On the other hand, Kerry Collins seems to playing good putting up 460 yards, 3 TDs and 2 ints in his first two games against the 19th ranked Pittsburgh and the 22nd ranked Texans. However, he does not have a great tandem of WRs and those passing yards will be expected to fall soon. That could very well be against the Jets. Jets have a secondary that features 3 pro bowlers. Lito and Strickland's injuries are a concern but Lowery was solid as a replacement and knocked down any Patriots hopes when he batted a Brady pass to Moss. Again, expect lots of blitzes and pressure on Kerry. He will be forced to throw away or throw the ball up for grabs. Expect atleast one Int and possibly two if Lito and Strickland come back. EDGE: NY Jets Titans Run O vs. Jets Run D This will be the key to the game. Titans rely on their running game. Jets strength is their run D, forcing opponents to try to beat them in the air. However, Titans are ranked 5th overall with 326 yards rushing in the first two games. Chris Johnson was a monster last week racking up 197 yds on 16 attempts with two TDs. His two TD runs were 91 yards and 57 yards. He went untouched on both runs, finding a big hole and great blocking up front. On the other 14 attempts, he only gained 49 yards. The Jets have only allowed 121 yards rushing, no TDs. Their LB corp, which consists of Bart Scott and David Harris, is pretty good consider Pace is still out. Upfront linemen feature the all-pro Kris "move out the way" Jenkins and Shaun Ellis. This is going to be a tough matchup while Tennessee will try to run off the edge where they would have to beat out either Bart Scott or David Harris. It doesn't get any better than that. EDGE: Titans Jets Passing O vs. Titans Pass D This is going to be another interesting matchup. The Jets feature a rookie QB who has displayed nothing but flashes of greatness. He played a couple of weak defenses, but when the game was on the line, he came through big. This 'third down Mastro' has a chance to put behind any doubts and make a name for himself this wk. Keller is also emerging as his safety blanket and has not disappointed him one bit. Cotchery is his usual self, proving doubters wrong and trying to become a solid number 1. Titans passing defense has been nothing but awful. They have given up 720 yards, 5 TDs and 2 Ints to Texans and Steelers. That just wont cut it for them this wk. They have to toughen up, put pressure on the rookie and hope he makes a few mistakes. If they don't, the Jets will roll over the Titans in the air. EDGE: Jets Jets Run O vs. Titans Run D The Jets rank number 7 in rushing yards in the league with 307 yards. They hold one of the best OL in the league and feature two pro bowl running backs. However, the Jets have not run very well on first downs. Jones and Leon will need to pick up 4-5 yards on first downs to help out the rookie QB. This will be a great matchup to see. The Titans feature the second most stingiest defense in the league, allowing ONLY 99 yards with an avg of 1.9. Those numbers are mind blowing, considering Haynesworth is no longer with the Titans. They will stack the line, which may open up a few play actions and screens. EDGE: Titans Special Teams Rob Bironas missed two FGs in the first wk, and the Titans punter is injured. Jets have Feely, who has been perfect in his last 18 FG attempts, turning them into points. Weatherford's punting has been consistent so far. Jets return game features Leon Washington and Leonhard. Leon is arguably the best returner in the game and makes a great case against Hester. Titans return game is average at best. EDGE: Jets Intangibles The Jets rookie head coach came over to the Jets and introduced his 'blitz happy' D. So far he has been outstanding and should be given a lot of credit for it. Jeff Fisher is a top NFL head coach and this chess match will be interesting to watch. Once again, the Jets will have the home crowd advantage. The crowd was loud, causing a well awared Tom Brady into three delay of the game penalties. Expect a somewhat similar intensity. EDGE: Jets Predictions The Jets are on a roll, winning the first two games most people thought they would lose. Titans were expected to win atleast one of its first two games but lost both. Titans can potentially leak a lot of passing plays and that will keep the rookie confident. Titans will need to work hard on offense side though as most of their yars have come off a few big plays, something the Jets have not allowed. Key to the game will be if the Jets can stop Chris Johnson and I believe they will keep him relatively quiet. Titans 16-24 Jets Thoughts/opinions?
Kerry Collins' magic carpet ride is over. the way that game ended last week with a bad pick and the ball slipping out of his hand at the end was the harbinger. i predict we knock collins out of the game and we see young by half time and for the rest of the season.
The thing that scares me is if the Jets go on an all out blitz and Collins dumps the ball off to Johnson for a screen.
There was the same fear last week with Brady dumping off to Faulk, and i think the jets did a great job keeping him in check while blitzing the heck out of Brady.
I think it's all about Jenkins eating Mawae for lunch.... Those 2 big runs for Chris Johnson looked like complete breakdowns... One he wasn't covered at all - You think that will ever happen again? Good thing it happened last week, I'm sure Rex was all over that and Someone will always have an eye on CJ... The other big run, Mawae broke free and held one guy - I just think we match up a lot better Vs the Mawae finesse type play and this guy will be getting a beat down all day.
If the titans are going to beat us, it is going to be because of chris johnson breaking some huge runs for TDs
I have no fear we will win this one, Tennessee has a lousy pass defense and I think Sanchez is gonna have an opportunity to show off his arm. 28 - 9 Jets.
I think the Titans running attack will be similar to what they did against the Steelers. 86 yards rushing, I don't think you can compare what happened against the Texans. Also, their rushing defense is "stingy" because they have given up over 700 yards in the air. If you can throw against a team why run. I think the Jets will get their running game going and a lot of screens and shorrt passes like last year. Jets 28 Titans 6
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On the Playbook show, Billick mentioned in an offhand way that its hard to run screens against a Baltimore/NY defense because it is so back-oriented. I'm guessing he was saying we read our keys off the RB first, but I'm not really sure. I just hope the end result is true.
CJ might break a couple loose if our tackling stinks , but generally I see us shutting the running game down
I don't see CJ breaking loose against us, our secondary is extremely solid at tackling and Rex will have a plan.
That's going to be the key to the game. If we can keep Johnson from breaking free, we'll have this game under control. Collins will never win the game for Tennessee against our elite secondary, and the amount of pressure we put on the QBs. They have a couple of good TEs, but our LB corp and Eric Smith playing as hybrid should take care of that. I do believe we'll keep CJ in check. Tennessee should be held for less than 300 yards, under 200 passing and under 100 rushing. If u take away those three huge plays on hand offs and a dump off, Tennessee offense looks pathetic. Eliminating such plays is what will help us shut down this offense, and that's where Rexy steps in.
