This should be a great football game with two teams that play exactly the same way.  Both teams are great defensive teams that are going with veteran backup QBs with great running games.  Gus Frerotte was efficient in his first start last week and he will have to throw the ball a lot on first and second down to open up some running lanes for Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor against the Titans’ defense which is allowing only 89.0 yards rushing per game and 3.7 yards per carry.  Frerotte will have to be careful when throwing the ball as the Titans already have 11 sacks and 7 interceptions this season.

The Titans will also have to throw the ball to open up holes for the running game as the Vikings only allow 70.3 yards rushing per game and 3.2 yards per carry.  Still, the Titans will want to run the ball with rookie RB Chris Johnson and LenDale White but they will have to fight for every single yard.  The Titans’ offensive line has played great this season as the Titans are averaging 156.0 yards rushing per game this season and Titans’ QBs have only been sacked 2 times this year.  With that in mind look for Collins to attack the safeties of the Vikings with TE Bo Scaife and the corners with WRs Justin Gage and Justin McCareins.

PREDICTION:  TENNESSEE TITANS 17, MINNESOTA VIKINGS 14

The Tennessee Titans pushed the Texans all over the football field in this game.  Kerry Collins was solid again completing 14 of 26 passes for 189 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Chris Johnson had a solid game with 74 yards rushing on 16 carries (4.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 5 yards.  LenDale White pitched in with 49 yards rushing on 16 carries (3.1 ypc) on Sunday.  WR Justin McCareins was the leading receiver for the Titans in this game as he caught 4 passes for 90 yards (22.5 avg).  The Titans finished up with 154 yards rushing on 36 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 26 passes for 189 yards.

DBs Cortland Finnegan (6 tackles, 99-yard interception return for TD) and Michael Griffin (2 tackles, 2 interceptions) both had huge games for the Titans’ defense in this game.  The Texans finished up with 146 yards rushing on 28 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 37 passes for 171 yards.  The Titans are now 3-0 on the season.

The Houston Texans’ fans hate the Tennessee Titans who used to be the Oilers so the team should be up for this game.  The Texans were swept last season but they were outscored 66-56 showing that the teams were pretty evenly matched.  The Texans would like to run the football to help set up the passing game but that’s not likely to work against the Titans’ defense which is only allowing 60.5 yards rushing per game and 2.7 ypc.  Still, rookie Steve Slaton will be making his first NFL start and he will do his best to make a good impression on the coaching staff.  The Titans’ defense already has 8 sacks and 4 interceptions in two games this season so Matt Schaub will have to be careful with the football.  Still, look for Schaub to attack the corners of the Titans with Andre Johnson and the safeties with TE Owen Daniels.

Look for the Titans to attack the Texans’ defense the same way the Steelers did in week #1.  They will run the ball with Chris Johnson (202 yards rushing, 5.9 ypc) and LenDale White (99 yards rushing, 2 TDs) against a porous run defense that allowed the Steelers to get 183 yards rushing against them.  After the running game is established, look for Kerry Collins to attack the Texans’ defense with play action passes to WR Justin Gage and TE Bo Scaife.

PREDICTION:  TENNESSEE TITANS 24, HOUSTON TEXANS 16

The Titans played a great game in windy conditions yesterday in Cincinnati.  Kerry Collins did a good job of managing the offense completing 14 of 21 passes for 128 yards with 1 TD pass.  Rookie RB Charles Johnson had another outstanding game for the Titans as he rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries (5.7 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 12 yards.  LenDale White was also busy in this game with 59 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.3 ypc) with 1 TD run (1-yarder).  WR Justin Gage led the way in the passing game for the Titans yesterday with 5 catches for 59 yards (11.8 avg) with a TD grab (11-yarder).  The Titans finished up with 177 yards rushing on 41 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 21 passes for 118 yards.

The defense and special teams made some game altering plays in this game.  Safeties Chris Hope and Vincent Fuller led the way for the Titans in this game with 8 tackles apiece.  CB/S Michael Griffin also had a good game as he made 6 tackles and had a interception.  Linebacker Keith Bulluck also made some big plays as he had 4 tackles and he recovered a blocked punt that he returned for a TD.  The Bengals finished with only 88 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 27 passes for 127 yards.  The Titans are off to a very good start to the 2008 season with a 2-0 record that has them in first place in the AFC South.

This should be a good football game tomorrow.  The Titans got thrashed 35-6 by the Bengals last season so they will likely be looking for revenge in this game.  Kerry Collins will be starting for a injured Vince Young and that could change the way the Titans run the offense.  Collins is a classic dropback passer with a strong throwing arm so he will likely test the Bengals’ secondary deep a few times.  Make no mistake though, the Titans are going to attack the Bengals’ running defense which allowed 229 yards rushing last week against the Ravens who didn’t even have their starting running back (Willis McGahee) available for that game.  Rookie RB Chris Johnson is the speed merchant who will test the exterior of the Bengals’ Defense while LenDale White will pound away at the middle of the defense. 

The Bengals will have to protect QB Carson Palmer well against a defense that rolled up 7 sacks last week with most of them coming right up the middle.  If Palmer gets the time he needs to throw the ball look for T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Ocho Cinco to have good games against a Titans’ defense that allowed 215 passing yards last week.  The Bengals would like to get the running game going this week with Chris Perry and Kenny Watson but it will be tough against a Titans’ defense that only allowed 33 yards rushing and 1.9 yards per carry last week against the high powered Jags’ running attack. 

PREDICTION:  TENNESSEE TITANS 23, CINCINNATI BENGALS 17

The Tennessee Titans talked Chris Simms out of working out for the Chiefs and then they signed him up to back up Kerry Collins.  Simms did not play last season as he was still recovering from a beating he took in 2006 against the Panthers in which his spleen was removed.  Simms has played in 19 games (15 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 291 of 492 passes (59.1%) for 3,087 yards with 12 TD passes and 17 interceptions (71.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 30 times for 52 yards (1.7 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  The Titans think that Simms is a good fit for the run first type of offense that they run.

The Titans have lost starting QB Vince Young for the next 2-4 weeks due to a sprained MCL.  He completed 12 of 22 passes (54.5%) for 110 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions (45.6 QB Rating) against the Jaguars last Sunday.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 4 yards.  With many questioning whether or not Young even wants to play football the Titans might let Kerry Collins keep the starting job even after Young is healthy if he plays well.  Collins completed his only two pass attempts for the Titans last Sunday covering 65 yards.  In three years with the Titans, Collins has played in 11 games (4 starts) and he has completed 94 of 174 passes (54%) for 1,145 yards with 1 TD pass and 6 interceptions.  Collins is a better pure pocket passer than Young so he might go down field to the WRs more which should open up the running game more.  I think he will do a good job for them.  After all, Vince Young is like a starting pitcher on a baseball team that scores 7 runs a game and that’s why he wins so much as he is not a good QB.

Make no mistake the Titans won this football game on defense.  CB Nick Harper led the way for the Titans in this football game with 8 tackles.  Safety Michael Griffin (7 tackles, sack) and CB Cortland Finnegan (5 tackles, 2 interceptions) both pitched in with huge games.  DT Tony Brown was bringing the heat on Jags’ QB David Garrard the whole game as he finished up with 6 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Jaguars finished up with only 17 yards rushing on 9 carries (1.9 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 35 passes for 156 yards.  This was a very impressive opening effort by the Titans’ Defense.

The offense ran the football well in this game.  Rookie Charles Johnson had a impressive NFL debut as he carried the ball 15 times for 93 yards (6.2 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 34 yards (11.3 avg) including a 7-yard TD reception from Vince Young.  LenDale White also contributed in the running game with 40 yards on 15 carries (2.7 ypc) with a TD run.  Vince Young did not have a good game before leaving with a knee injury that will cause him to miss the next 2-4 weeks.  Young completed 12 of 22 passes for 110 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  Kerry Collins replaced him and he completed his only two pass attempts for 65 yards.  TE Bo Scaife was the star in the passing game as he caught 6 passes for 105 yards (17.5 avg).  The Titans finished up this game with 137 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 24 passes for 172 yards.  This was a impressive opener for the Titans last Sunday.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be a little under manned at WR in tomorrow’s game with the Titans.  It’s possible that the Jags will be starting Dennis Northcutt and Matt Jones at WR on Sunday.  That means that the Jags will keep the football on the ground for the most part on offense.  Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor will likely get a ton of carries tomorrow so DT Albert Haynesworth must have a big game for the Titans if they are going to win this football game.  Linebackers Ryan Fowler, Keith Bulluck and David Thornton will be busy all day long for the Titans.  Safeties Chris Hope and Michael Griffin are also good in run support which should aid the Titans’ cause.  If the Jags establish the running game the Titans will be in big trouble as David Garrard is a master of play action passing.

With Vince Young a little banged up coming into this football game the Titans will also try to pound the football on the ground.  LenDale White and rookie Chris Johnson will likely both have big roles in this game but the Jags definately have the talent in the front 7 of the defense to challenge them.  DT John Henderson is a beast and linebackers Mike Peterson, Daryl Smith and Justin Durant are all fast and active against the run.  The Jaguars have a very physical and active secondary so Vince Young will have to be careful with the football. 

PREDICTION:  JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 17, TENNESSEE TITANS 13

I just don’t think that the Titans have what it takes to repeat their success of last season.  I think the Titans have the look of a 6 or 7 win team in 2008 so I have to suggest betting the under.  Still, I like Coach Fisher and I wouldn’t be surprised if he waves his magic wand and makes me look bad with this prediction.