Playoff Picture Looks Good Right Now...

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by GoTitans3801, Nov 25, 2008.

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  1. GoTitans3801

    GoTitans3801 Forward Progress!

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    http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3711069

    I'd happily take this in a heartbeat. We play the winner of Colts/Broncos, and Steelers/Jets/Ravens are left to beat the heck out of each other. I think we match up much better against Colts and Broncos than any of those other three. I'm also glad that as of today, the Pats aren't in.

    It's likely that the Steelers will drop below the Jets, due to their tough closing schedule compared to the Jets fluff. It's also likely that the Ravens will struggle to make the playoffs, for similar reasons. The pats could easily take their spot, though the Fins and yes, even the Bills are a possibility there.

    Your thoughts, both on what WILL happen, and what you LIKE to have happen?
     
  2. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

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    Honestly, I think the Titans would struggle against all the above if they can't get the running game back.
     
  3. onetontitan

    onetontitan Marioto

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    patience, jeff. we play detroit on thanksgiving...they are dead last in run defense. We'll get our swagger back...then we can carry it along for the rest of the season.
     
  4. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

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    I don't think how the Titans do on Thursday will be any indication of how they will do against anyone with a decent run defense. The Browns and Texans are also near the bottom of the league.

    I think Pittsburgh will be the test.
     
  5. Mr.biggums

    Mr.biggums Special Teams Standout

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    As far as the jets game, I am not worrying one bit.......we made stupid penalties and turnovers....very correctable. I am glad that we lost in that now we can start with basics again....running the ball....which makes this team click. Plus it takes the media spotlight off of us and we can dominate with stealth. Also if I am not mistaken we have actually done very good againist good run defenses....except for chicago, who sold out againist the run and thus got burnt with the pass.
     
  6. yanek27

    yanek27 Starter

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    Does anyone remember the blowout in Cincinnati last year to the lowly Bengals. I was at that game and the Titans were destroyed but we seemed to do just fine at the end to get in the playoffs. Not worried.
     
  7. Childress79

    Childress79 Loungefly ®

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    I completely agree & Im actually worried about the Lions right now.

    We got by with not playing a complete game for 10 weeks.

    It's been frustrating for me to see us stall on many drives because of a dropped pass or a stuffed run. When we've needed to close out a game with a long drive we've consistently failed & been bailed out by the defense.

    Winning covers a lot of flaws.

    The Packers game was ridiculous. We completely shut them down for the last 20 mins of regulation but were inept on offense. The Packers made a few plays but it was drops & miscues from our offense that kept them in the game.

    We've seen us blow down field & score lightening quick TD's to answer other teams scores a number of times.The frustrating & concerning thing is that each time we do it I think that the corner has been turned & we'll go on to run consistent drives.

    It hasn't happened though.

    The last few games we've had our running game mostly shut down until late in the game. The passing game has more than made up for it though & our D has allowed us to have too many stalled drives & get away with it.

    This last game we literally dropped the ball & never got going on offense.The defense kept us in it for longer than we had a right to be but the constant 3 & outs wore them down.

    The Jets had their way with our O line but had we not had all of those drops it would have been a different game.They were way better than I believed them to be but the Titans are not as good as I thought we were.

    We have issues & if the play offs started tomorrow I'd expect us to be one & done unless we have all our defensive starters available & healthy.

    I do however think that Fisher,Schwartz & Heimerdinger can regroup & fix things though.It was perhaps the wakeup call we needed.
     
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  8. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

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    Let's examine that for a minute.

    The Titans are now 9th in rushing with an average of 124.7. The top five are:

    1. Giants 164.9
    2. Falcons 151.5
    3. Redskins 143.7
    4. Ravens 143.5
    5. Vikings 137.9

    How many of these teams have played against top 11 rush defenses (allow less than 100 per game)?

    1. Pittsburgh
    2. Vikings
    3. Jets
    4. Ravens
    5. Bears
    6. Giants
    7. Redskins
    8. Cardinals
    9. Dolphins
    10. Cowboys
    11. Eagles

    The Giants have played the Ravens, Skins, Steelers, Cowboys, Cards and Eagles. That is six of their 11 games against top run Ds. They hung 207 rushing on the Ravens. Against the Steelers, they ran for only 83. But being the top rushing offense when you've played so many good run Ds tells the story, IMO.

    The Falcons played only the Bears and the Eagles. They put up 75 on the Bears and 77 on the Eagles. That's decent but is a good indication that they are not nearly as good a running team as their rankings show.

    The Titans have played only four teams in the top 11 in run defense. Against those teams, they have been very mediocre. Against the Vikes, they had 76, the Ravens 47, the Bears 20 and the Jets 45.

    To me, this shows the Titans are very average running the football. If they want to do well against the Jets, Ravens and Steelers in January, they have to find a way to run the football against some of the better run Ds.

    Everyone stacks it in against the top running teams. The best ones see some success anyway.
     
  9. mcmojo

    mcmojo Starter

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    Good stats Jeff. But what those stats don't factor in is that teams don't fear the Titans passing game - they sell out against the run. Teams do fear the Giants passing game. They have good receivers and a QB that can hurt them if he gets hot. How many 8 or 9 men fronts do the Giants ever see? I doubt as many as the Titans have faced.
     
  10. mcmojo

    mcmojo Starter

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    Childress79 said:
    Ravens, Colts, Jags - the offense closed out all of those games with decisive drives. In many of the other games we didn't need a decisive drive - the game was already decided. The only game that bothered me was against Green Bay - and the team did respond in overtime with a good drive.
     
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