Keys to the game from a Titan's fan

[titans/oilers]

Haynesworth.....Haynesworth....Haynesworth!! If Albert isn't playing it could be a long day for the Titans. The difference has been astounding. How can one player make that big a difference.......On to the game.


Despite the score last week the Titans had the ball in the red zone 5 times! Penalties and miscues haved killed us all year. Even when Collins was in there we kicked a record 8 field goals. If that doesn't tell you a team can't score touchdowns, then I don't know what will. The receiving corp catches the ball well enough but there is no Andre Johnson like run after the catch. When they catch it, they get tackled on the spot. Even when they do break free(Gage last week) they still find a way to run out of bounds. This forces the Titans to maintain long 10 - 14 play drives. We all know the more plays you need to score, the more chances the defense has to stop you. The Titans will move the ball against the Texans but will they stall in the red zone or find a way to punch it in?

The Texans should consider throwing deep against the Titans. The Titans struggle finding the ball on deep passes, and the receiver almost always comes down with the ball. Last week was the first deep pass I saw defended. As you guys saw last time we played if you can avoid our pass rush there are plenty of opportunities down field. It the Texans can score quickly they can force Vince Young to have to throw early and often. Now surprisingly Vince has done his job here. The problem is you get the ball out of a playmakers hand and into a mediocre players hands. Advantage Texans. Vince has thrown for 821 yards over the last 3 weeks but you have not seen a highlight of one single Titans receiver doing anything special with the ball after they catch it. The Texans have to contain Young on short yardage situations or when the play breaks down.

The match ups to watch will be the Texans O-line vs the Titans D-line, and the Titans receivers vs the Texans . That will tell you everything you need to know. If the Titans D-line can't get pressure like the last three weeks good night! They have made the last couple QBs look like Tom Brady in the pocket. It has been miserable!! The second match up will determine the game. The Titans receivers have to BEAT the man in front of them. Which has been like pulling teeth this season. If they play like they played vs New Orleans they will be fine. If they play like they have the last couple games, especially in Denver, it will be a long day! Drops and a lack of explosiveness have killed the team's drives.

[HydrOshocK]

Haynesworth.....Haynesworth....Haynesworth!! If Albert isn't playing it could be a long day for the Titans. The difference has been astounding. How can one player make that big a difference.......On to the game.


Despite the score last week the Titans had the ball in the red zone 5 times! Penalties and miscues haved killed us all year. Even when Collins was in there we kicked a record 8 field goals. If that doesn't tell you a team can't score touchdowns, then I don't know what will. The receiving corp catches the ball well enough but there is no Andre Johnson like run after the catch. When they catch it, they get tackled on the spot. Even when they do break free(Gage last week) they still find a way to run out of bounds. This forces the Titans to maintain long 10 - 14 play drives. We all know the more plays you need to score, the more chances the defense has to stop you. The Titans will move the ball against the Texans but will they stall in the red zone or find a way to punch it in?

The Texans should consider throwing deep against the Titans. The Titans struggle finding the ball on deep passes, and the receiver almost always comes down with the ball. Last week was the first deep pass I saw defended. As you guys saw last time we played if you can avoid our pass rush there are plenty of opportunities down field. It the Texans can score quickly they can force Vince Young to have to throw early and often. Now surprisingly Vince has done his job here. The problem is you get the ball out of a playmakers hand and into a mediocre players hands. Advantage Texans. Vince has thrown for 821 yards over the last 3 weeks but you have not seen a highlight of one single Titans receiver doing anything special with the ball after they catch it. The Texans have to contain Young on short yardage situations or when the play breaks down.

The match ups to watch will be the Texans O-line vs the Titans D-line, and the Titans receivers vs the Texans . That will tell you everything you need to know. If the Titans D-line can't get pressure like the last three weeks good night! They have made the last couple QBs look like Tom Brady in the pocket. It has been miserable!! The second match up will determine the game. The Titans receivers have to BEAT the man in front of them. Which has been like pulling teeth this season. If they play like they played vs New Orleans they will be fine. If they play like they have the last couple games, especially in Denver, it will be a long day! Drops and a lack of explosiveness have killed the team's drives.

I agree with you. The most important matchup will be the two lines. The Titans man handled our front 4 last time. Salaam was a turnstile getting Schaub killed on the blindside hits, and I won't even go into the belly flop Haynesworth was allowed to take on him to put him out of the game.

Haynesworth will probably play in this game. Our C and Guard play will have to be playing well to keep him from crashing the middle and forcing Schaub to move around. If we can contain the pressure from the Titans front 4 then Schaub will have time to exploit the secondary. An effective run game is equally as important because our offense relies on a lot of play action. Our run blocking has improved and Dayne has been effective lately, but Haynesworth changes all of that. They will likely force us to the outside where Dayne is less effective. Of course if Ahman plays this week then that could change things completely.

As for the Titan receivers, they make way too many mistakes and are always dropping the ball. We should be able to contain them but the key will be keeping Young in the pocket. Once he sees no one open he will take off. If it's around the edges then he could do some damage, but if Mario can force him to one side of the field then Meco and the guys should get their shots at him.