ICON
11-15-2007, 12:32 PM
Why To Watch
This is a bigger game than it might look because both of these teams are surprisingly in the playoff hunt despite flaws, but neither can afford many more slips. The Titans are coming off a physical loss to Jacksonville (probably their wild-card playoff rival) and Denver is actually in the hunt to win the mediocre AFC West with a win over Kansas City in Week 10. The Broncos are coming off a long-awaited good defensive performance over a mediocre Chiefs offense, but it's something to build on, while the Titans couldn't stop the power run game and ball control style of the Jaguars.
Can an up and down Vince Young make plays versus this temporarily improved Broncos' defense, and also establish a run game versus an overload run defense? And can Jay Cutler attack a good Tennessee defense without the promise of a stable run game? This will be physical and it will be interesting to watch how these young quarterbacks handle a national stage.
When the Titans have the ball
Rushing: The Broncos did a good job last week of showing Kansas City eight and nine man fronts while showing little regard to the Chiefs' passing game and they will likely do the same this week versus Young and the Titans' woeful passing game. The Broncos also did a much better job of maintaining their gap responsibilities and the Broncos linebackers were excellent in their step up and fill techniques. LenDale White could not get anything going on the ground against Denver and the Titans' key rusher was Young. Tennessee thrives on ball control, time of possession and a safe and limited passing game, none of which happened in Week 10.
The weakness of the Broncos' run defense (until last weekend) has been their inability to hold up inside versus power run games and they lack the size up front to win consistently at the line of scrimmage. White is a north and south runner with good power and he should get a lot of carries if the Titans don't fall behind early. Denver will likely bring at least one of its safeties in the box in run support while the Broncos' fast linebackers must get to the edge and contain Young on QB scrambles when he tries to get outside. The Broncos will also use a variety of run blitzes to put additional pressure on the Tennessee run game, but the Titans' offensive line is underrated and they usually do a good job of identifying and holding their blocks.
Passing: This is the most-anemic looking passing game in the NFL and the Titans seem to be winning games in spite of Young instead of because of him in the passing game. He doesn't protect the ball real well and his accuracy and decision making is inconsistent, especially on the deep ball. So, why put the ball in the air 41 times last week versus Jacksonville? The Titans do not have a true vertical threat at wide receiver and the Broncos have two corners, Champ Bailey and Dre Bly, who can play man-to-man coverage without any help over the top from the safeties.
Look for Young to make a lot of low-risk throws to his first progression and roll out with some bootlegs and play-action opportunities if the run game is going well. With the Broncos bringing at least one safety in the box there should be some opportunities to attack the middle of the field if Young makes the right read, probably to tight end Bo Scaife. The best case scenario for the Titans would be to get Young to the outside where the threat of the run will force defenders to make quick decisions, which could lead to breakdowns on defense and big plays on offense.
When the Broncos have the ball
Rushing: The Broncos are so established in what they want to do in their run game that they can seemingly plug in any back and get solid production. In Week 10 versus Kansas City, it was little-known Selvin Young, who rushed for 109 yards and one touchdown. This will be an interesting matchup in the trenches between the Broncos' zone-blocking offensive line and the physical, nasty Titans' defensive front seven. The problem for Denver is that it has been ravaged by injuries up front and it is playing with a young, makeshift unit.
Titans DT Albert Haynesworth is a beast against the run and he can really disrupt the inside run game. Plus, if the Broncos try to run wide the Titans have athletic defensive ends and two outside linebackers in Keith Bulluck and David Thornton who have speed and the ability to string the play out. They will try to force Young to run east and west or meet him in the hole when he turns up field. It would not be surprising to see the Broncos run directly at the edges of the Titans' defense. This will not only neutralize their athletic guys, but it will also help them avoid running inside too much, where they are vulnerable with their personnel at guard and center. The Broncos need good run production on first and second downs because they will struggle versus Tennessee's defense if they get in a lot of third-and-long situations.
Passing: QB Jay Cutler continues to be an up-and-down producer, but he still shows all the physical skills necessary to be an excellent passer. However, he faces a solid Titans' defense that is better than their statistics show, in terms of pass coverage. Because they are so stout versus the run a lot of offenses are forced to throw on third down versus Tennessee, so the secondary is usually challenged. Look for the Titans to get a strong, inside push with their DTs versus Cutler, which could free up the defensive ends in one-on-one pass rush situations off the edge.
Although Cutler is dangerous when he gets outside the pocket and he can create with his feet or arm, right now the Broncos do not have a great vertical threat at wide receiver, although Cutler has the arm strength to go deep. The Titans are vulnerable versus the deep ball, but we may see a passing game that will feature a lot of underneath throws, possibly off the play-action package featuring their tight ends, Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler, who catch the ball well. It also wouldn't be shocking to see usually-conservative defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz bring some blitzes, maybe from the inside or off the edge on fire blitzes, to disrupt Cutler trying to force mistakes.
Special Teams
Neither one of these teams are anything special in the kicking game and their cover units are middle of the road. The Titans do a good job of covering punts, but they struggle versus kickoffs and the Broncos really struggle covering punts, but they are better versus kickoffs. Denver probably has a better kicking game with veterans Todd Sauerbrun on punts and Jason Elam on field goals, although Titans kicker Rob Bironas is having a solid year, but Elam is a great clutch kicker. Neither return game is special and we will not likely see many big plays on kickoffs and punts, but if this game comes down to field goal trust Elam.
by insideher!
This is a bigger game than it might look because both of these teams are surprisingly in the playoff hunt despite flaws, but neither can afford many more slips. The Titans are coming off a physical loss to Jacksonville (probably their wild-card playoff rival) and Denver is actually in the hunt to win the mediocre AFC West with a win over Kansas City in Week 10. The Broncos are coming off a long-awaited good defensive performance over a mediocre Chiefs offense, but it's something to build on, while the Titans couldn't stop the power run game and ball control style of the Jaguars.
Can an up and down Vince Young make plays versus this temporarily improved Broncos' defense, and also establish a run game versus an overload run defense? And can Jay Cutler attack a good Tennessee defense without the promise of a stable run game? This will be physical and it will be interesting to watch how these young quarterbacks handle a national stage.
When the Titans have the ball
Rushing: The Broncos did a good job last week of showing Kansas City eight and nine man fronts while showing little regard to the Chiefs' passing game and they will likely do the same this week versus Young and the Titans' woeful passing game. The Broncos also did a much better job of maintaining their gap responsibilities and the Broncos linebackers were excellent in their step up and fill techniques. LenDale White could not get anything going on the ground against Denver and the Titans' key rusher was Young. Tennessee thrives on ball control, time of possession and a safe and limited passing game, none of which happened in Week 10.
The weakness of the Broncos' run defense (until last weekend) has been their inability to hold up inside versus power run games and they lack the size up front to win consistently at the line of scrimmage. White is a north and south runner with good power and he should get a lot of carries if the Titans don't fall behind early. Denver will likely bring at least one of its safeties in the box in run support while the Broncos' fast linebackers must get to the edge and contain Young on QB scrambles when he tries to get outside. The Broncos will also use a variety of run blitzes to put additional pressure on the Tennessee run game, but the Titans' offensive line is underrated and they usually do a good job of identifying and holding their blocks.
Passing: This is the most-anemic looking passing game in the NFL and the Titans seem to be winning games in spite of Young instead of because of him in the passing game. He doesn't protect the ball real well and his accuracy and decision making is inconsistent, especially on the deep ball. So, why put the ball in the air 41 times last week versus Jacksonville? The Titans do not have a true vertical threat at wide receiver and the Broncos have two corners, Champ Bailey and Dre Bly, who can play man-to-man coverage without any help over the top from the safeties.
Look for Young to make a lot of low-risk throws to his first progression and roll out with some bootlegs and play-action opportunities if the run game is going well. With the Broncos bringing at least one safety in the box there should be some opportunities to attack the middle of the field if Young makes the right read, probably to tight end Bo Scaife. The best case scenario for the Titans would be to get Young to the outside where the threat of the run will force defenders to make quick decisions, which could lead to breakdowns on defense and big plays on offense.
When the Broncos have the ball
Rushing: The Broncos are so established in what they want to do in their run game that they can seemingly plug in any back and get solid production. In Week 10 versus Kansas City, it was little-known Selvin Young, who rushed for 109 yards and one touchdown. This will be an interesting matchup in the trenches between the Broncos' zone-blocking offensive line and the physical, nasty Titans' defensive front seven. The problem for Denver is that it has been ravaged by injuries up front and it is playing with a young, makeshift unit.
Titans DT Albert Haynesworth is a beast against the run and he can really disrupt the inside run game. Plus, if the Broncos try to run wide the Titans have athletic defensive ends and two outside linebackers in Keith Bulluck and David Thornton who have speed and the ability to string the play out. They will try to force Young to run east and west or meet him in the hole when he turns up field. It would not be surprising to see the Broncos run directly at the edges of the Titans' defense. This will not only neutralize their athletic guys, but it will also help them avoid running inside too much, where they are vulnerable with their personnel at guard and center. The Broncos need good run production on first and second downs because they will struggle versus Tennessee's defense if they get in a lot of third-and-long situations.
Passing: QB Jay Cutler continues to be an up-and-down producer, but he still shows all the physical skills necessary to be an excellent passer. However, he faces a solid Titans' defense that is better than their statistics show, in terms of pass coverage. Because they are so stout versus the run a lot of offenses are forced to throw on third down versus Tennessee, so the secondary is usually challenged. Look for the Titans to get a strong, inside push with their DTs versus Cutler, which could free up the defensive ends in one-on-one pass rush situations off the edge.
Although Cutler is dangerous when he gets outside the pocket and he can create with his feet or arm, right now the Broncos do not have a great vertical threat at wide receiver, although Cutler has the arm strength to go deep. The Titans are vulnerable versus the deep ball, but we may see a passing game that will feature a lot of underneath throws, possibly off the play-action package featuring their tight ends, Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler, who catch the ball well. It also wouldn't be shocking to see usually-conservative defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz bring some blitzes, maybe from the inside or off the edge on fire blitzes, to disrupt Cutler trying to force mistakes.
Special Teams
Neither one of these teams are anything special in the kicking game and their cover units are middle of the road. The Titans do a good job of covering punts, but they struggle versus kickoffs and the Broncos really struggle covering punts, but they are better versus kickoffs. Denver probably has a better kicking game with veterans Todd Sauerbrun on punts and Jason Elam on field goals, although Titans kicker Rob Bironas is having a solid year, but Elam is a great clutch kicker. Neither return game is special and we will not likely see many big plays on kickoffs and punts, but if this game comes down to field goal trust Elam.
by insideher!