Why I'm Optimistic Ravens will stop Johnson

Those other 11 guys (less Ed Reed) probably don't concern KFC and crew as much as Ray Ray or Reed.

And with that said, to be fair, our offense has 11 guys too, not just CJ. Lest you forget we have two pro bowl caliber tight ends.

 

It will be hard to exploit the edge against the Ravens - but they also love to overload 1 side... there is likely to be a handful of plays where Johnson makes the cutback or we just have the right play called where he happens to hit the weak side. If that happens enough he'll break one.

I'm not so sure that having Mawae out will be a bad thing. Harris is bigger than Mawae, has very good feet, and is versatile... we'll see how it plays out. Mawae is great, but he's also starting to go downhill - he's had a handful of pretty poor games this year. Harris will be his successor soon, so this will be one of the more interesting matchups to watch.

 

CJ and Lenwhale will be hard pressed to run against these guys but we still have to pound it at them to keep them honest. Look at Westbrook and the Eagles last week. Basically he did nothing all game but they keep running him (to my surprise) and finally he broke a big one. Plus by running the ball the Vikes could not just tee off on every play, although they still managed to get lots of pressure on Donavan.

I hope Dinger will mix it up and maybe throw on first down a few times to keep the Ravens honest. If we have too many third and longs then the Ravens can blitz and put pressure on Kerry. Although he protects the ball for the most part this is a game where turnovers will be even more crucial than normally. And the last thing I want to see is Ed Reed looking for blockers. But I will be surprised if this is not a game of field postion. Special teams may be huge.

 

Its hopeless. The scatbirds are an unmovable force that can't be overcome. Just crown their arses

 

I'm going to be bashed for the honesty, but CJ is the type that butters his stats vs weak defenses and HUGE gaps to run through. Without either of those, he isn't much of a threat. He's a homerun hitter, but the type that strikes out as much as he knocks one out.

Bulking up this offseason would probably help.

 

every good RB does this.

 

That's true to an extent, but some rbs arent so one dimensional to where they solely depend on huge holes to run through for success.
Some can make a guy miss, or break a tackle to gain extra yards. If CJ doesn't have wide open field in front of him, he isn't going anywhere.

CJ reminds me of a Denver type back.

 

I'd partially agree - he's definitely best in the open field where he's got a man one-on-one. He needs to bulk up a bit to be able to break some of those arm tackles on the line, but I think he does work decently well in a crowd. He doesn't need a big hole - we've seen him take just a crease and make something good out of it, but when the O line is beat on a play he is dead in the water.

I'd like to see him cut to the backside more often - I love his patience in following his blockers, but I get the sense that he's too patient at times. When there is no hole I'd like to see him bounce it outside or take it the other direction.

 

Well...

Both sides have challenges...

The Titans need to have a defense for the Ravens big set and McClain. They pounded us last time with it. Not only should we find a way to stop it but also try that out on the Ravens. Outside of Adalius Thomas, I think Crumpler or Scaife are a favorable matchup against any of their other LB's. So pound it and work playaction off that to CJ, Scaife or Crumpler.

The Ravens will be fairly predictable on offense. Pound the rock in multiple formations and multiple rb's, throw it when necessary and get some plaction passes for 10-15 yards on first down. The Titans have also been susceptible to screens sometimes so expect a few of those.

The Titans are also very predictable til we get down. We will pound the rock with CJ and Lendale and hope we can get some decent yards or even a big run. We need to win the TOP battle or we're gonna be asking for another big game from Collins in the 4th qrtr.

I would like to see the Titans unveil 3 formation/personel groupings.

First is have CJ as the RB and go empty backfield (with both TE's). Here's where using him as a WR on short pass patterns can be very helpful as would using him on the outside as in a WR screen pass (like what the pats do with Faulk). Specifically, put both WR's on the strong side with crumpler to that side and split Scaife out and CJ in the slot. At the snap, Scaide burries the CB and CJ catches a little swing to the outside. By the time the OLB or S gets there it should be good for a few yards and get CJ in space. You can do the reverse for a WR screen type play as well. I would also like to see Dinger steal some stuff from that Dolphin game. There were a couple plays that confused the Ravens D.

Second, bring in both CJ and White into the game. White needs to get a chunk of carries between the tackles. The Titans did this recently on short yardage where they faked it to white or the fb up the middle and then pitched it to CJ swinging outside. Add in a FB as potential lead blocker on an outside run and you put there D in a bind. Many teams sort of do this with a WR motioning across the formation so in theory the DE on the opposite side has to stay at home to protect the end around from the WR. If we did this with CJ motioning from the outside and split a FB to the weakside, the ILB's have to make a choice or the Ravens would have to bring a S into the box cuz the FB could block the OLB and with the ILB's being frozen for a second and much slower than CJ, he could get outside if our WR's can block their CB's. Of course, if they bring a S down to defend it, the WR or one of our TE's can get single coverage in the medium to deep range.

Third, go BIG. The Ravens have played a lot more 2 DL, 5 LB packages. Play a big package and they likely will pull a CB off the field and go 3-5-3. With our 2 rb's and a FB, they have to respect both inside and outside runs and give us a good idea of what we'll see on 3rd and short situations. Because of our TE's and CJ, they Ravens could have a tough time matching up coverage. Also, we so many big bodies together, all out blitzes take longer to get around the edge.

Lastly, most people would think this is crazy, but they SHOULD have been working on some 3rd and short plays/formations for Vince Young. A running QB like him is a real weapon and one of the biggest things the Ryans hated trying to defend with their defenses. Having a goal line package for him as we did with McNair could be very useful and also not something they would have spent any time preparing for. Even if its a zone option run Vince has done the last 2 years could be helpful if there is a playaction pass to a TE out of it.

However, I expect the Titans to play it close to the vest. They will play conservative formations and pound the rock with CJ or White and use our TE's on 3rd down. The idea will be the same as its been all year. Control the clock and try to gain field position/points playing conservatively. We should have a better return game and rb who can make field position changing plays. The more we can play conservatively, the better according to the script. I expect Collins to take some shots downfield when single covered for again, getting field position or scores. Even if Bombs are picked (and not returned for big yardage or scores), it's like a punt. But Collins had better not throw into double coverage nor throw int's that aren't bombed down the field. We can't give the Ravens short fields. Collins must also avoid taking sacks because they are negative plays and frequently lead to fumbles. This is a game - like many he's had this year - where he should throw the ball away if no one is open. One thing to keep in mind, Collins is gonna be playing a game with Ed Reed. No one is better at reading a QB's eyes and breaking on the ball. Ed Reed was playing a 2 deep zone to the weakside and broke all the way to the short middle to intercept Pennington. He did that cuz Pennington was telegraphing where he was going with the ball. Collins can't do that. At the same time, Collins knows this because he fooled the D looking off the S's towards the end of the regular season matchup. Catch Ed Reed peaking and leaving his responsibility and you can get a big play. Show Ed Reed where you're going with the ball and he'll be looking for blockers on his way to the endzone.

BTW, the Titans need to get some swing passes out to Lendale so he can run over Samari Rolle. Rolle has always been relatively fragile. Bang him up with some runs or making him tackle some big guys and we'll have a better shot beating him in the passing game. The Titans will need to adjust their plays to the Ravens personel or run more with a FB lead. The Titans will probably need to double Ngota at NT or end up with runs getting stuffed in the backfield. No disrepect to Harris, but Ngota isn't an avg NFL starting DT, he's huge, very strong and very athletic. How much would we be licking our chops if a team put a backup OG in front of Haynesworth?

If the Titans can stay even in the turnover battle or ahead, they should win. If they can get positive yards...even 2 at a time in the run game and stay out of 3rd and long, they should be fine. Collins needs to be sharp and our D can't let us down. I hope Schwartz has some answers for what the Chargers did to us in the 2nd half last year, for what the Ravens did against Miami last week, and the success they had against us this year.

Or forget the above and just think...first team to 20 wins!

Gut

 

Its pretty simple, spread the Ravens defense out. Try to limit formations that are going to keep their front 7 between the hash marks. Screens, counters,draws, and no huddle are things the offense has to do to keep that defense from getting a head of steam. Heimerdinger is well aware that hes going to have to be creative in this game in order to come out on top, he has to be, thats one of the reasons why Fisher brought him back. Its for games like these...