32-year old linebacker Keith Bulluck just isn’t acting his age as he has been dominating so far this year.  Bulluck has played in 13 games for the Titans this season and he has 103 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 7 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  He has now played 10 years for the Titans appearing in 156 games in which he has made 1,052 tackles, 68 passes defensed, 18 sacks, 15 forced fumbles and 19 interceptions (one of which he returned for a TD).  Bulluck is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down this season.

24-year old RB LenDale White has pretty much disappeared from the Titans’ offense and he isn’t happy about it.  He has played in 11 games this season for the Titans and he has carried the ball 63 times for 221 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg) this year.  It’s hard to blame the Titans for riding Chris Johnson this season as he has been spectacular.  I have a feeling that LenDale White is going to want out of town because he probably thinks that he should still be playing.  White has played in 56 games in his four years with the Titans and he has carried the ball 627 times for 2,348 yards (3.7 ypc) with 24 TD runs.  He has also caught 41 passes for 202 yards (4.9 avg) with the Titans in his career.  I have a feeling that the Titans will try to trade White in the off-season as long as Johnson doesn’t get hurt.

The Tennessee Titans (6-7) gave the St. Louis Rams (1-12) a beating on Sunday, but they also took a little one themselves.  Vince Young left the game early after pulling his hamstring, but he should be okay and is listed as day-to-day.  He was able to do some damage before leaving, going 6/8 for 132 yards and a touchdown.  Kerry Collins filled in very nicely for the injured Young, throwing for 154 yards and 1 touchdown on 11/19 passes.  Chris Johnson was great once again, rushing for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries.  He also caught three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.  Johnson became the first Titans’ player in franchise history with at least 2,000 yards from scrimmage in a season.

On defense the Titans took advantage of the inexperienced rookie Keith Null, who was starting in place of the injured Kyle Boller.  Boller was expected to play but he was a last minute scratch.  That left the starting quarterback duties to Null who had never even taken a snap yet in his young NFL career.  The Titans intercepted Null five times and were able to stack the line and shut down Steven Jackson.  Jackson rushed for a season-low 47 yards on 19 carries.  The lowly Rams were no match for the Titans, especially with Keith Null starting for them.  The playoff hopes are still alive for the Titans, but just barely.

The Tennessee Titans (5-7) are still holding on to playoff hopes despite the end to their 5-game winning streak last week.  They should have no problem getting back to their winning ways as they host the St. Louis Rams (1-11) on Sunday.  The Titans do one thing very well:  run the ball.  The Rams do a lot of things bad, but one of their worst is stopping the run.  They give up 146 rushing yards on average, and with Chris Johnson and Vince Young in the Titans backfield it could look like a track meet on Sunday.  Johnson has been great this year and is averaging 6.2 yards per carry this season, so he should have a big day against the Rams and their stingy run defense.

The Rams have a pretty good running back themselves in Steven Jackson.  Jackson has been basically the Rams whole offense this season, and has rushed for 1232 yards this season and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry.  The Titans are pretty decent and stopping the run though, so they should be able to limit what Jackson does.  They do not have a good pass defense, but fortunately for them the Rams quarterback is Kyle Boller who is awful.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 31, St. Louis Rams 14

The Titans have lost DT James Jones for the rest of the year due to shoulder surgery.  Jones played in 7 games for the Titans this year and he made 15 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, he defensed 5 passes and he had 4 sacks.  Jones has now played in 20 games in his two years with the Titans and he has 46 tackles, 7 passes defensed, 9 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.  The Titans will miss Jones who was a big time playmaker in the D-Line rotation.

The Titans never really seriously threatened the Colts in the game earlier today.  Vince Young had a decent game though completing 24 of 43 passes for 241 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 16 yards (4.0 ypc).  Chris Johnson was busy as usual with 27 carries for 113 yards (4.2 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 28 yards (4.7 avg).  TE Bo Scaife (5 rec, 56 yards) and WR Kenny Britt (3 rec, 46 yards) each caught 1 TD pass apiece for the Titans today.  The Titans finished up with 375 total yards on offense (142 rushing, 233 passing) in this game. 

LB David Thornton led the way for the Titans on D in this game with 13 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  S Vincent Fuller (9 tackles) and LB Keith Bulluck (7 tackles) also pitched in on D.  The Colts finished up with 358 total yards in this game (88 rushing, 270 passing).  The Titans are now 5-7 on the season as this loss really hurt them as far as competing for the playoffs goes.

These are two hot football teams that will be playing each other this Sunday.  The Titans have won five in a row while the Colts have won all 11 of their games so far this season.  These two teams also contrast in styles on offense so this should be a great game to watch.  The Colts pounded the Titans 31-9 in Tennessee earlier this season but that seems like a long, long time ago.  The Titans will come out running the ball with Chris Johnson against a Colts’ D that is allowing 108.9 yards rushing and 4.2 yards per carry.  The Colts will need to contain Johnson and keep him from getting to the edges of the D or they will be in big trouble.  The Colts will also have to worry about Vince Young sending all of his WRs deep and then taking off running which he has been really effective at this season.  The Titans will likely use ball control passing throwing a lot of short passes in the middle of the field.

The Titans are still having issues on pass defense as they are allowing 266.7 yards this season so look for Peyton Manning to attack them down the field.  The Colts’ O-Line has blocked great for Manning this season as he has only been sacked 10 times this whole year.  Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark will likely have good games but the player to watch in this game for the Colts in the passing game will be Pierre Garcon who has been electric lately.  The Colts will likely just keep passing and passing in this game to take the Titans out of there gameplan on offense.  Joseph Addai will get his touches but don’t expect him to have a big game.

PREDICTION:  COLTS 27,  TITANS 21

Since owner Bud Adams got his wish to start Vince Young at QB the Titans are 5-0 after starting the season 0-6.  The 26-year old Young has played in 7 games (5 starts) for the Titans so far this season and he has completed 83 of 132 passes (62.9%) for 1,010 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (90.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 40 times for 159 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run this season.  You have to wonder if this is a mirage or if Vince Young is capable of playing like this the rest of the year.  The reason I kind of doubt that he can keep playing like he is right now is because he has never shown anything like this in the past.  He has now played in 40 games for the Titans in his career in which he has completed 527 of 907 passes (58.1%) for 5,974 yards with 26 TD passes and 34 INTs (71.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 224 times for 1,133 yards (5.1 ypc) with 11 TD runs in his career.  It will be interesting to see if Young can deliver on his promise of getting his team to the playoffs or not.