The Titans need to get back on the right track and soon.  They have lost their last two games (both on the road) and they have been outscored 62-38.  The Redskins are reeling too as they have lost their last two games by a combined score of 96-53!  Something has to give this Sunday and here’s a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to come out running the ball with Chris Johnson and Vince Young against a Redskins’ D that is allowing 128.8 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry.  Don’t think for a minute that the Titans aren’t going to throw the ball as Vince Young is likely going to take some deep shots to WRs Randy Moss & Nate Washington against a Redskins’ D that is allowing 286.6 yards passing per game!

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Redskins probably want to run the ball with Keiland Williams against the Titans in a attempt to control the clock a little bit.  The Titans are giving up 247.7 yards passing per game so far this year so McNabb might be able to make some plays down the field if he has time to throw the ball.  The Titans already have 27 sacks and 14 interceptions so far this year.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 30, REDSKINS 17

This will be a battle of ancient QBs with Kerry Collins starting for the Titans and Chad Pennington for the Dolphins.  Both of these teams need this game badly.  The Titans are a good road team where they are 3-1, outscoring the opponents 118-73.  The Dolphins have been awful at home this year where they are 0-3 and have been outscored 95-59.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the football:  The Titans are going to be feeding the rock to Chris Johnson in this game against a Fins’ D that is allowing 107.1 yards rushing per game and 3.8 yards per carry.  The Dolphins are going to have to get after Kerry Collins because if he has time to throw the ball he could have a good game especially if Johnson gets off to a good start.  I can definitely see Collins having success off playaction passes down the field to Randy Moss & Nate Washington in this game.

When the Dolphins have the ball:  With Chad Pennington at QB the Titans can cheat up a little bit as he doesn’t have much arm strength.  But, he’s still very accurate on those short passes so Brandon Marshall, Davone Bess and Brian Hartline could give the Titans some problems.  The Dolphins will try to stay more balanced than they have been so they will be feeding the rock to Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 20, DOLPHINS 17

This will be a very interesting game this Sunday.  The Titans are a team on the rise while the Chargers are a talented team that is on life support.  The Titans are 3-0 on the road and they have outscored the opposition by a combined score of 93-40!  The Chargers are solid at home as they are 2-1 and they have outscored the opposing teams 99-46!  Something has to give this Sunday in San Diego.  Here’s a look at the matchups:

When the Titans have the ball:  It looks like Vince Young will be back at QB so look for the Titans to get back to the grind it out on the ground gameplan.  Chris Johnson will likely be taking on the Chargers’ D early and often in this game despite the fact that they are only giving up 85.7 yards rushing per game on 3.5 yards per carry.  The Chargers have 25 sacks and 7 interceptions already this year so Vince Young is going to have to make quick and smart decisions this Sunday when throwing the football.  WR Kenny Britt will likely be the go to man in the passing game again this weekend for the Titans.

When the Chargers have the ball:  The Chargers will likely be able to move the ball Sunday but the Titans will be trying to make them turn the ball over.  The Chargers have 18 turnovers already this year which is the big reason that they are 2-5.  Philip Rivers will likely come out throwing against the Titans this weekend.  Antonio Gates and Patrick Crayton will be the top targets in the passing game for Rivers if he has time to throw the ball as the Titans have 25 sacks and 12 interceptions already this year.  Look for Rivers to throw the ball a lot to Darren Sproles out of the backfield in an attempt to slow down the Titans pass rush.  Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert will try to land some ground support to Rivers on Sunday.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 26, CHARGERS 23

The Eagles are the road warriors of the NFL as they are 3-0 outscoring the opposition by a combined score of 90-59.  The Titans have had issues playing at home as they are only 1-2 on the year sleeping in their own beds.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Eagles have the ball:  I have little doubt that the Titans are going to get to Kevin Kolb often in this game.  Eagles’ QBs have been sacked 20 times this year while the Titans have a stunning 24 sacks already this year.  Pass protection problems have not stopped the Eagles from throwing the ball this year though as they are averaging 246.0 yards passing (103.3 QB Rating) so don’t expect them to change the game plan too much.  Without Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin will be the lone deep threat for the Eagles so whoever is guarding him will need help over the top.  Jason Avant, Brent Celek and Lesean McCoy will probably be targeted a lot on the underneath stuff so the Titans will need to cover them closely.  The Titans will likely try to defend Lesean McCoy on the way to the QB.

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to come out running the ball with Chris Johnson and Javon Ringer.  The Eagles are giving up 115.7 yards rushing and 4.2 yards per carry this year so the Titans should find a lot of running room.  Kerry Collins is likely to draw the start for the Titans this Sunday so the passing game will likely be more vertical.   The Eagles are a heavy blitzing team so the Titans better protect Collins who tends to make mistakes in the face of a wicked pass rush.

PREDICTION:  EAGLES 30, TITANS 23

These teams are both 3-2 on the year and they both like to run the ball so it could be one of the quickest Monday Night Football Games in quite some time.  The Titans travel well as they are 2-0 on the road, outscoring the Cowboys & Giants by a combined score of 63-37.  The Jaguars are 2-1 at home as they play better in Jacksonville.  Each team blew out the other at home last season but Kerry Collins started that game for the Titans last year and that will not be the case on Monday Night.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  Chris Johnson rushed for 325 yards on 40 carries (8.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs against the Jaguars last season.  He is going to be the focal point of the offense in this game against a Jags’ D that is allowing 102.8 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry.  The Jaguars will likely rush QB Vince Young hard from the corners to try to keep him in the pocket where he can’t do as much damage.  I look for the Titans to have some success whenever they decide to throw the ball as opposing QBs have a 108.4 Rating against the Jags and they have 12 TD passes already against the Jags.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  Maurice Jones-Drew will be the focal point of the offense for the Jags in this game as he carried the ball 14 times for 191 yards (13.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs against the Titans last year.  The Titans already have 22 sacks this year and David Garrard can be forced into making mistakes when the pass rush is in his face.  But whenever the Titans don’t get to the QB they are getting burned as they are giving up 242.6 yards passing per game.  Look for Garrard to target Mike Thomas, Mike Sims-Walker and Marcedes Lewis on the short stuff trying to get them to make plays after the catch.  Maurice Jones-Drew will also likely catch a lot of passes in the flat which would do a lot of damage to the Titans should they continue to blitz heavily.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 28, TITANS 27

The Titans have a good game then a bad game so far this year as they won big in Week #1 and #3 and they got beat in Week #2 and #4.  That would set them up for a big game in Dallas tomorrow.  But, the Cowboys destroyed the Texans a couple of weeks ago and they have had two weeks to get ready for the Titans.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are likley going to come out running the ball with Charles Johnson, Javon Ringer and Vince Young against a Cowboys’ D that is only allowing 83.7 yards rushing and 3.9 yards per carry.  With that in mind if would be smart to run a lot of play action passes with the idea of getting the ball down the field to Nate Washington & Kenny Britt.  Because if the Cowboys stack the box it’s going to be a long day for the Titans on offense.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Titans have 16 sacks and 4 interceptions this year so I look for them to send the dogs after Tony Romo from the first to the last play tomorrow.  With that in mind I look for Romo to throw shorter, crisper passes to Roy Williams, Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and Jason Witten tomorrow.  If the Cowboys get the lead look for them to run the ball to close out the game with Marion Barber and Felix Jones getting most of the work.

PREDICTION:  COWBOYS 23, TITANS 20

The Titans are looking to build off last week’s very impressive 29-10 win over the Giants in New York.  The Broncos don’t seem to be a team that travels well so look for the Titans to try to break their will early this Sunday.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Broncos seem improved against the running game this year as they have only allowed 94.3 yards rushing and 3.7 yards per carry so far this year.  That means nothing to the Titans who are averaging 137.3 yards rushing and 4.0 yards per carry as Chris Johnson & Vince Young are going to be toting the rock a lot this Sunday.  I also look for Vince Young to be very efficient throwing the ball as the Broncos only have 2 sacks this year so he should have a lot of time to throw the ball.

When the Broncos have the ball:  The Broncos will likely come off the team bus throwing the ball.  They have 4 WRs on the team with at least 10 catches, 140 yards and 1 TD reception.  The Titans must get to Kyle Orton to get him to rush the ball and possibly make some mistakes.  The Titans already have 10 sacks and 3 interceptions (to only 1 TD pass) this year so I expect them to step up on D.  The Broncos are only averaging 67.0 yards rushing and 2.5 yards per carry so I don’t see them running much this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 20, BRONCOS 17

This should be a good football games as these two teams match up well.  Both of them will be looking to rebound from tough defeats so they can get their seasons back on track.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to get back to what they do best this week and that is running the football.  Chris Johnson got stuffed last week by the Steelers and I expect him to be a man on a mission this week against a Giants’ D which is allowing 124.7 yards rushing per game but only 3.7 ypc.  The Giants will likely be bringing a lot of blitzes at Vince Young just like the Steelers did last week so he will need to be smarter with the football.  If Johnson & Young are successful running the ball look for Young to run some play action passes and throw the ball deep to Nate Washington or Justin Gage.

When the Giants have the ball:  The Giants will likely be balanced on offense this weekend.  I see them giving the ball to Ahmad Bradshaw at least 20 times on Sunday against a Titans’ D that is allowing 121.0 yards rushing and 4.1 ypc so far this year.  The Titans will be bringing the heat against Eli Manning in an attempt to force him into making mistakes.  The Titans already have 8 sacks so far this year.  The Titans better be ready for WRs Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham as they are all solid downfield threats for the Giants.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 21, GIANTS 20

The Titans owe the Steelers one after last season’s opening game in which the Titans lost 13-10 in OT at Heinz Field.  A lot has changed since then as Vince Young will be under center for the Titans instead of Kerry Collins.  Ben Roethlisberger, Casey Hampton and Santonio Holmes were all stars against the Titans in last year’s match-up but none of them will be on the field this time around.  Here is a look at the match-ups in this game:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans are going to attempt to do what they do best and that is to run the ball with Chris Johnson.  Johnson only had 57 yards on 15 carries in the last game against the Steelers.  Johnson rushed for 142 yards on 27 carries (5.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs last week while the Steelers only gave up 58 yards rushing on 25 carries (2.3 ypc) last week against the Falcons.  Something has to give here and the Steelers will miss Casey Hampton big time in this football game.  Vince Young will likely keep the passing game short to negate the Steelers’ pass rush.  But if the Titans get the running game going look for them to take some shots down the field on play action.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers might have the same exact gameplan as the Titans do.  They will likely try to keep the ball on the ground with Rashard Mendenhall against a Titans’ D that gave up 135 yards rushing on 25 carries (5.4 ypc) against the Raiders last week.  Dennis Dixon likes to go deep off of play action so the Titans are going to have to give help over the top on D with Hines Ward and Mike Wallace.  The Titans hope to rattle Dixon a bit with the pass rush as the Titans had 4 sacks last week.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 20, STEELERS 17

The Titans finished strongly last season going 8-2 after the bye week.  The Titans look to avoid another slow start this weekend in the season opener against the Raiders.  Here is a close look at the match-ups:

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans don’t change the gameplan for any team as they play to their strength which is running the football.  Charles Johnson is a freak of nature due to his blazing speed and willingness to lower a shoulder when need be.  He has goals of rushing for 2,500 yards this season and he will likely get off to a good start Sunday.  Vince Young will likely keep the passing game short rolling a lot off play action.  The Raiders are deep and talented at CB so the smartest move might be getting the ball a lot to Bo Scaife to challenge the safeties.

When the Raiders have the football:  The Titans will likely try to stop the Raiders’ running game only using the front seven.  That is because the Raiders are probably going to try to go deep to their fast fleet of receivers early and often in this game.  That means the Titans are going to have to put pressure on Raiders’ QB Jason Campbell with the blitz.  Titans’ safeties Michael Griffin and Chris Hope are going to be challenged quite a bit in his game also as TE Zach Miller is the Raiders’ best receiver.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 20, RAIDERS 17