The upcoming Titans game, 10/23/2011

[Arky]

The 3-3 Texans take to the road for the second straight week in a showdown with the Tennessee Titans to play for 1st place in the AFC South. Important game on many levels as it is not only a conference game but a division game that will bring a lot of plus or minuses in tie-break scenarios. Texans will probably be without receiver Andre Johnson who is still recovering from a hamstring/tendon procedure. The Texans are coming off a 29-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and the Titans are coming off their bye week.

The Titans are one of the surprising teams so far this year compiling a record of 3-2. They have a new coach (Mike Munchak) and a new QB (Matt Hasselbeck) and were not expected to be doing so well at this point in the season. They have victories over the Ravens, Broncos and Browns and losses to the Steelers and Jaguars. With WR Kenny Britt out, WR Nate Washington has become Hasselbeck's favorite receiver. Although camp-holdout RB Chris Johnson has had a mediocre year so far (83/250, 3.0 ypc), he cannot be overlooked.

TV = CBS (channel 11 local), 12 noon CST

Announcers = Marv Albert, Rich Gannon

Favorite = Titans by 3



"Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed
Poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed
Then one day he was shooting for some food,
And up through the ground come a bubbling crude
(Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea)"

[Fonz the Boss]

Maybe they are throwing these AJ injury statements out there to mess with their defensive gameplan... Who knows but this game comes down to two things, if AJ plays we win... if he doesn't then we lose.

[Nconroe]

I think if our OL blocks well enough for Schaub to not feel hurried on passes and for RB to get decent carries, should do pretty good with or without AJ. Of course I expect Defense to get after it and keep Titans score pretty low.

[HPF Bob]

I think the key is stopping Chris Johnson, something the Texans don't do well in the losses but has done well in the wins.

In any case, once this game ends, the "easy season" begins and we can better assess if this club can win the division.

While going through the "bully stretch", we lost AJ and Mario. Losing Schaub would be the trifecta I didn't say this but I really wondered if the Ravens would take him out last week.

Protecting Schaub will be important but I thought they did a decent job through the air last week. If we can get off to a good start on the ground, the play action passes should open up.

[nunusguy]

In spite of whats happened in recent weeks (namely the Texans losing "winnable games" where expectations were high), I sense many Texans fans seem to have this underlying confidance that we will win this game against the Titans. Let me offer 2 caveats for those who might not be prepared for a possible big disappointment/letdown:
(1) The Titans QB led his 7-9 Seahawks to a win over the "visiting" defending Super Bowl champs, the NOLA Saints, in last years playoffs, (2) the "line" has the Titans favored by a FG, and it's correct in predicting the winning team far more often than not.

[NBT]

The running game is suffering because of the absence of our lead blocker par excellance, Vontae Leach, who we didn't bother to resign. Now teams are loading up on the defensive line and daring us to run. Thjen when it is second, or third and long, they are doubling OD and daring us to throw to either JJ or Walter, and they aren't even in AJ's league.

I predict this game with the Titans will be a very physical affair. One in which we are likely to lose some more players to the injured list. Never the less we need to win to keep our lead in our division. Especially we need to win in those last 10 minutes that we have been failing to do in all those "close" losses.