When the Josh McDaniels-led Broncos beat the Titans in Week 4 in 2010, some observers thought the team was getting back on the right track. For those who watched the game closely, concerns about an offensive line that couldn’t run block or pass protect instead came to the forefront. Those who watched closer were less surprised by the rest of the team’s 2010 season, but those struggles arose mostly from an inept defense, which seems to be getting better.
The Titans, meanwhile, also parted ways with their head coach after the season and Jeff Fisher’s replacement Mike Munchak had to feel confident his team has a chance to compete for the division this year with Peyton Manning off the field. The Titans disappointed against the Jaguars, but pulled off the upset against Baltimore in Week 2, perhaps catching the Ravens in a bad spot after Baltimore’s emotional Week 1 dismantling of Pittsburgh.
There are some important individual and unit matchups in this game, with some potential mismatches to exploit that just may decide how this one shakes out.
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1) Wide receivers Brandon Lloyd and Eric Decker vs. Titans cornerbacks
All of these players were vitally important last week. Brandon Lloyd’s importance was felt in his absence, while Eric Decker scored two TDs including the go-ahead TD in the 4th quarter. Cortland Finnegan was all over the ball and, in the nickel, defended the slot superbly against the Ravens. Finnegan will need every bit of his physical presence when lined up across from Lloyd, who may not be fully healthy though and this could be exploited by the player voted as the dirtiest in the league by his peers last year. Jason McCourty and Alterraun Verner both had picks last week and figure to have ball-hawking opportunities this week as well, particularly if the Broncos running game struggles as badly as it did the last time these two teams played each other. Verner may not play much as the Broncos will probably not use a lot of 3 receiver sets with Eddie Royal still out.
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2) Titans offensive line vs. Broncos defensive line
The Titans just can’t seem to get Chris Johnson going and while it’s easy to blame his conditioning for his lack of success so far (due to his holdout), Johnson isn’t entirely to blame. While he did earn himself a -2.8 overall grade last week, Johnson’s blockers aren’t doing him any favors. Besides LT Michael Roos, the rest of the Titans O-line has been off to a rocky start in the run game, with the next best cumulative run blocking grade being Jake Scott’s -1.3. Tennessee will look to get its running game finally going against the Broncos and to do that, their offensive line needs to beat the Broncos at the point of attack, where they are weakest. If they allow the Broncos linemen to eat up blockers, the Denver LB corps has the ability to shut down a rushing attack. Robert Ayers, back in his natural 4-3 position, did a good job getting containment in the run game last week and funneling Cedric Benson inside into his linebackers’ waiting arms and earned a 2.1 run defense grade for his efforts, so RT David Stewart will especially have to do well at the point of attack if the Titans want to run right side at all.
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3) The Titans' offense Britt-ish accent
While Johnson struggles to get going, the Titans offense has evolved somewhat. Johnson is not currently the face of the offense, but instead the offense is being directed through WR Kenny Britt. Matt Hasselbeck dropped back to pass a whopping 42 times against the Ravens vaunted run defense and Britt was the target of 13 of them after receiving nine targets against the Jaguars. And all Britt has done with those looks is produce 271 yards, three touchdowns, and our highest receiving grade, with 6.9 through two games. Britt has produced in just about every way possible: he can beat guys downfield, take a screen pass and force a missed tackle and pick up some YAC, or simply execute a beautiful double move and turn and catch the ball right as it’s delivered as if he’s worked with Hasselbeck for years. It’s obvious that we are witnessing the emergence of a star while Johnson gets going, so we’ll keep an eye on Britt to see if he can keep up the pace, for one, but also how his role will be affected once Johnson starts playing at his usual level. For this game, at least, Britt should continue to be a huge factor if Champ Bailey isn’t available for the Broncos.
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