The Tennessee Titans are one of the league’s best kept secrets so far this year, while the Cleveland Browns have been luckier than they are good.  Still, this is going to be a solid matchup on the shores of Lake Erie this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to try to get Chris Johnson going against the Browns, who are allowing 128.7 yards rushing and 4.0 yards per carry.  They will need to try to attack the Browns off the edge in the running game because they have two giant DTs and a outstanding middle linebacker clogging up the middle of the field.  The Titans need a threat of a running game, because the Browns have a solid secondary to go along with 11 sacks already this year.  Matt Hasselbeck has been getting rid of the ball pretty quickly, but his #1 WR (Nate Washingt0n) will likely have to deal with CB Joe Haden, who is already one of the best shutdown corners in the NFL.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns are likely going to attack the middle of the Titans’ D with RBs Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty.  The Titans should be up to the challenge there as they have only allowed 89.0 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry.  The Titans need to get a good pass rush on Colt McCoy (he has only been sacked three times this year) and they need to keep him in the pocket.  His best throws this year have come on rollouts.  TE Ben Watson and RB Peyton Hillis will probably be his favorite receivers in this game, but he likes to throw the ball down the field as the game goes on, so the secondary is going to be challenged at points by WRs Mohamed Massquoi, Josh Cribbs and Earl Little.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 20, BROWNS 17

The Titans have signed 27-year old WR Donnie Avery.  Avery missed all of last season due to a knee injury.  He has played in 31 games in his first 3 years in the NFL and he has caught 100 passes for 1,263 yards (12.6 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Avery also carried the ball 14 times for 99 yards (7.1 ypc) with 1 TD run in this career so far.  When healthy, Avery is a solid WR, so I like this low risk/high reward signing for the Titans.

26-year old RB Chris Johnson held out after the lockout and it has appeared to hurt his game.  In his first three years with the Titans, Johnson played in 47 games in which he carried the ball 925 times for 4,598 yards (5.0 ypc) with 34 TD runs.  He also caught 137 passes for 1,008 yards (7.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his first three years with the Titans.  This year though, Johnson hasn’t been able to shake of the rust.  He has played in all 3 games for the Titans so far this year and he has carried the ball 46 times for 98 yards (2.1 ypc) and he has also caught 13 passes for 91 yards (7.0 avg).  The Titans hope that Johnson gets back in gear starting this weekend against the Cleveland Browns.

28-year old WR Nate Washington is now the #1 WR for the Titans going forward due to the season ending injury to Kenny Britt.  Washington has played in all 3 games for the Titans so far this year and he has caught 21 passes for 258 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has career highs of 47 grabs for 687 yards with 6 TD grabs, and he’s likely to smash all of those numbers by Week #10 this year if he can just stay healthy.  Matt Hasselbeck likes throwing to Washington, so this is going to be the breakout year that the Steelers were waiting so long out of him.

The Tennessee Titans have lost 23-year old WR Kenny Britt for the rest of the season due to a torn right ACL.  Britt played in all 3 games for the Titans this year and he caught 17 passes for 289 yards (17.0 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Veteran Nate Washington will become the Titans’ new #1 WR, but the Titans will need one of their younger receivers to step up and replace Britt in the starting lineup.  23-year old Damian Williams (2 rec, 24 yards), 25-year old Lavelle Hawkins (5 rec, 38 yards) and 24-year old Marc Mariani (3 rec, 13 yards) are the guys who will be competing for a starting job this week in practice.  This is a HUGE blow to the Titans’ passing game as Britt was the best WR on the team by far.

The Tennessee Titans played excellent defense yesterday and Matt Hasselbeck would not let them lose this game, period.  Hasselbeck completed 27 of 36 passes for 311 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Chris Johnson had another rough day as he only rushed for 21 yards on 13 carries (1.6 ypc) but he did catch 4 passes for 54 yards (13.5 avg).  WR Nate Washington led the way for the Titans in the passing game yesterday with 8 grabs for 92 yards (11.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  TE Craig Stevens (1 rec, 58 yards), WR Kenny Britt (3 rec, 18 yards) and TE Daniel Graham (1 rec, 4 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Titans in the passing game.  The Titans finished up with 38 yards rushing on 23 carries (1.7 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 36 passes (75%) for 295 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:54.

The defense was outstanding for the Titans for the most part yesterday.  Safety Jordan Babineaux led the way for the Titans’ D yesterday with 8 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  CB Jason McCourty (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception), LB Akeem Ayers  (6 tackles) and Will Witherspoon (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in for the Titans on D  in this game.  The Broncos finished up with 59 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 39 passes for 172 yards.  The Titans are now 2-1 on the year.

Both of these teams are coming off nice home wins, but this weekend’s game is in Nashville.  The Titans’ defense and the play of Matt Hasselbeck have been incredible this year, and I think it will continue this weekend against the Broncos.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans have been a passing team to this point in the year, but I think they are going to try to get Chris Johnson going this Sunday against a Broncos’ D that is allowing 131.0 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  Don’t think for a minute that the Titans aren’t going to throw the ball though.  The Broncos only have three sacks so far this year, so Matt Hasselbeck should have plenty of time to throw the ball.  WRs Kenny Britt and Nate Washington are set up to have big games against a Broncos’ D that is allowing opposing QBs to have a QB rating of 99.8!

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos are going to try to run the ball in an effort to control the clock.  Willis McGahee is likely going to have a heavy workload against a Titans’ D that is only giving up 3.3 yards per carry despite giving up 104.0 yards rushing per game.  He will have to fight for every yard he gets.  The Broncos are thin at WR with Brandon Lloyd gimpy (but likely to play) and the impressive 2nd year WR Eric Decker.  The Broncos’ O-Line has given up 7 sacks already this year, so look for the Titans to be blitzing early and often in this game.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 27, BRONCOS 10

35-year old QB Matt Hasselbeck has the Titans thinking big.  He has played in both of the Titans games so far and he has completed 51 of 76 passes (67.1%) for 621 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs (94.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 1 time for 9 yards so far this year.  It looks like rookie Jake Locker is going to be watching Matt Hasselbeck for quite a while.  Hasselbeck has really covered well for RB Chris Johnson who is off to a very slow start this year.

The Titans exploded in the second half as they outscored the Ravens 16-3 to surge to victory.  Matt Hasselbeck was great yesterday as he completed 30 of 42 passes for 358 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception. Chris Johnson had to fight for every yard he got yesterday as he carried the ball 24 times for 53 yards (2.2 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 12 yards (4.0 avg) in this game.  Javon Ringer pitched in with 21 yards rushing on 5 carries (4.2 ypc) and 2 catches for 30 yards (15.0 avg).  WRs Kenny Britt (9 rec, 135 yards, TD) and Nate Washington (7 grabs, 99 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Titans.  The Titans finished up with 74 yards rushing on 29 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 30 of 42 passes (71.4%) for 358 yards as the had possession of the ball for 35:52.

The defense was outstanding for the Titans yesterday.  DE Dave Ball (4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits) and CB Jason McCourty (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception which he returned 30 yards) led the way for the Titans’ on D yesterday.  DE Derrick Morgan also had a solid game with 3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 2 QB hits.  CB Alterraun Verner (INT) and safety Jordan Babineuax (FR) also made big plays for the Titans.  The Ravens finished up with 45 yards rushing on 17 carries (2.6 ypc) and they also completed 15 of 32 passes (46.9%) for 184 yards.  The Titans are now 1-1 on the year.

The Tennessee Titans are in for a fight this weekend against the Ravens.  The Ravens kicked the crap out of the Steelers 35-7 in Baltimore last weekend.  They could be in for a let down in this game and the Titans need to take advantage of that.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans want to get back to running the ball against the Ravens.  It will be interesting to see Ray Lewis and Chris Johnson battle it out for 3 hours this Sunday.  The Titans are going to be more balanced than they were last week or they are going to likely be in big trouble against the Ravens.  WRs Kenny Britt and Nate Washington are likely going to give Ravens’ corners Lardarius Webb and Cary Williams fits as long as Matt Hasselbeck has time to throw the ball.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Titans are going to have to prove that they can stop a running game.  The Jaguars had 163 yards rushing on the Titans last weekend and the Ravens rushed for 170 yards against the Steelers.  The Titans must step up and slow down Ray Rice and Ricky Williams, or it’s going to be a very long day this Sunday.  Safeties Michael Griffin and Jordan Babineaux are going to have their hands full with TEs Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta.  WRs Anquan Boldin and Lee Evans are also going to give the Titans fits if Joe Flacco has time to throw the ball.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 21, TITANS 13