Titan-ing Up For The Final Stretch - or - Miami vs Tennessee

Before I get started with our little look in to the road game vs the Titans, a special thank you goes out to reader, Kent from Tennessee for his help getting me acquainted with a team I know very little about.  Enjoy the game from your luxury suite, Kent.

In typical NFL/CBS fashion, the match-up between two East Coast play-off contenders will not be aired locally in 90% of the East Coast  (subject to change) although for some reason it's being aired in Greenville, North Carolina and in Savannah, Georgia, two places full of both Titans and Dolphins fans.  The majority of the East Coast will get the New England/Buffalo game.  However, if you're in North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Washington or Oregon, the Dolphins are on your local TV this week, so congratulations. (also being aired in FL, GA, AL, AR, TN, MS, IN, IL, MI, and NE - this just in, Austin, TX, and Tyler, TX just picked up the game - they must not like the texans in those two cities). On top of that luck, Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts will be commentating.  Those two, while not perfect, are clearly a notch above CBS' other regulars, Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Dan Dierdorf, Greg Gumbel, Solomon Wilcots, Rich Gannon, and Steve Tasker.

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So I think it's been well accepted by most NFL fans that the Titans have a top notch coaching staff, starting with Jeff Fisher.  Despite his poor sense of humor shown when he donned his Peyton Manning Indianapolis Colts jersey in wanting "to feel like a winner," he has gotten his team to turn things around after an 0-6 start to the season.  They have won 6 of their last 7.  Miami has won 5 of their last 7.  

So these two teams have started out pretty badly and now have narrow playoff hopes that make this a playoff-type game in it's own right.  Lose and you're eliminated.  

Expect this to be a very physical, smash mouth type game.  Tennessee is 7th in the league versus the run and 31st versus the pass.  A stat that will likely lure Miami into a pass-first game plan. I do worry about Henne's arm being over-used in this final stretch, but it may be our best option for now.  It seems like our O-line is coming back into full-strength/health and we may be able to push around Tennessee's 4-3 defense a little bit.  We should match up our strength and size versus their speed.

In the past, when talking about the Titans, one would focus on their defense, but these days it's their offense that makes the most noise - averaging 360 yards per game including 165 on the ground - good for 2nd in the league (the Dolphins are currently third with 150 per game).  Chris Johnson is clearly the best player in the league this year, besting his pro-bowl recognized performance of 2008 in fewer games this year (this is in part due to the fact the Titans decided to just eliminate their two-headed attack featuring Johnson and Lendale White, and go with the feature-back system starring Johnson).

Meanwhile, Vince Young, who didn't look to even be in the Titans plans for this year, is having his best season since entering the NFL, posting a 90.9 QB rating.  He has committed just 4 turnovers in 9 games - something that has always been his downfall (he had 20 in 2007, 16 in 2006), but he is prone to fumbling the ball.  He's also prone to scrambling and taking off when he's chased out of the pocket.  If you're a Miami fan, you'll know how dangerous that trait has been and could be headed into Sunday's game.

Another strength of the Titans are their tight-ends (Bo Scaife, Alge Crumpler, Jared Cook, Craig Stevens).  These guys are all know for their blocking, but Scaife is fast and Crumpler is huge, and both provide safe pass targets.  Word today out of Dolphins camp is that Yeremiah Bell was limping, taped up and sitting out individual drills today.  That could spell trouble.  If he doesn't play, I would hope the Dolphins would put in Chris Clemons at Free Safety and slide Gibril Wilson over to strong safety, but my hopes in that regard are rarely met by the coaching staff.

The Titans have a decent WR group, featuring rookie Kenny Britt (remember him?  he was my favorite WR not named Crabtree in the 2009 draft).  He has started the last 5 games and in that span has caught 18 balls for 346 yards (19.2 ypc) and 3 TDs.  

Britt and Scaife are the biggest threats downfield, but the leading receiver on the team is Chris Johnson.  Tennessee is a team that runs the screen.  You know how Miami does against the screen.  

So, the good news is that we're 98% healthy heading into this game and focused on fundamentals and playing mistake-free football.  The bad news is this game is probably our toughest remaining on the schedule, and it will be played in their house under playoff-type atmosphere.

Other than a big win, coupled with a surprise unveiling of Buffalo's new 'gimmick' play, the 'WildBill' vs the reeling Patriots, what are you looking forward to seeing on Sunday?