The Tennessee Titans (7-8) are disappointed they are missing the playoffs this year after going 13-3 last year, but after an 0-6 start they should be proud of the way they fought their way back into contention.  An 8-8 season looks much better than 7-9, so the Titans should come out and try and crush the Seattle Seahawks (5-10) on Sunday.  There is a lot the Titans can be proud about, including Chris Johnson’s monster season of1,872 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.  Vince Young’s resurgence gives Titans’ fans a lot of hope for next season, but he still has not solidified his spot for next season.  Another strong game this season would go a long way for his season next year.

The Seahawks are not particularly good at stopping the run, so the Titans should give the ball to Chris Johnson as much as they can and let him run into the record books.  Young can provide some support in the passing game, as well as with his own legs.  Johnson is the key to the Titans success though, so he should get a ton of carries.  Seattle gives up 110 rushing yards per game, but I expect the Titans to run up a lot more yardage than that.  If the Titans come out ready to play, they should get a convincing win.

PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 28, Seattle Seahawks 20

This is a tough match-up for the Titans but they must win it if they want to have a chance of making the playoffs.  It will not be easy.  The Titans must control the clock to protect their defense which means that Chris Johnson will likely have a heavy workload on Christmas Night.  The Titans should have success on the ground as the Chargers are allowing 116.9 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry this year.  The Titans will also probably use a lot of ball control passing to the TEs and RBs in an effort to keep the clock running and the Chargers’ offense off the field.

The Titans’ defense is crippled right now due to injury as linebackers Keith Bulluck and David Thornton have been lost for the year.  The Titans must blitz more than usual because if Philip Rivers has time to throw the football the Titans will be in big trouble.  The Chargers have a lot of big, physical receivers in Vincent Jackson, Malcolm Floyd and Antonio Gates who will all tower over the Titans’ DBs.  The Titans must also keep an eye on the slowing LaDainian Tomlinson and the speedy Darren Sproles because of the weakness they now have in the front seven.

PREDICTION:  CHARGERS 31, TITANS 23

This should be a great game tomorrow between two of the NFL’s hottest teams.  With Vince Young being a little gimpy the Titans will likely feed the rock to Chris Johnson even more than usual.  The Dolphins are allowing 106.1  yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry this season so Johnson should have a good game once again.  Vince Young will probably have to stay in the pocket due to his hamstring so the O-Line will have to keep him clean against a Fins’ D that has 38 sacks already this season.  The O-Line could be up to the challenge however as they have only allowed 12 sacks this year.  The Dolphins are giving up 233.6 yards passing per game and they are starting two rookie corners so there are plays to be made down the field.

The Titans will have to tighten the chinstraps on D because Ricky Williams will likely be coming at them quite a bit.  But, I look for the Dolphins to be about 50/50 run/pass as they will want to challenge the Titans’ secondary as they are allowing 258.2 yards passing per game.  Still, the Titans are lucking out as the Dolphins have one of the worst WR corps in the NFL.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 28, DOLPHINS 27

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

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

The Tennessee Titans (4-6) have been a completely different team ever since Vince Young took over as the starting quarterback, and they will be looking for their fifth straight win this week against the Arizona Cardinals.  I’m expecting Young and the Titans’ running game to continue their success, but the defense is what concerns me for the Titans.  The Cardinals’ offense, led by Kurt Warner, have the ability to put a lot of points on the board.  Warner suffered a concussion last week though, but he will play.  The Cardinals are not a very good running team (only 94 rushing yards per game), so if the Titans can keep Warner from having a big game they should win.  They can’t let Warner and receiver Larry Fitzgerald connect too often, or they will be in trouble.

The Titans offense has been causing problems for every team they have faced ever since Young took over at quarterback.  They have an amazing running attack, which at times looks more like a college style offense than an NFL one.  Young and Chris Johnson should be able to get a lot of yards on the ground, as the Cardinals give up over 100 rushing yards per contest.  Young’s athleticism brings so many options to the Titans offense and defenses are struggling to adjust.  Since the Cardinals don’t have a particularly good defense, especially against the run, I like the Titans in a close game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 24, Arizona Cardinals 21

The Tennessee Titans (3-6) have had their season rejuvenated ever since Vince Young became the starter, and they are looking to continue that success this week in Texas against the Houston Texans (5-4).  Young’s passing numbers are not going to blow you away, but he has been doing a very good job managing the game and taking care of the ball.  Chris Johnson has been the main reason for the Titans success, as Young’s athleticism at quarterback seems to have open things up for the running game.  In the Titans past three games (all wins) Johnson has rushed for at least 132 yards and 2 touchdowns in each game, including a 228 yard effort against the Jaguars.  If the Titans offense can continue this type of play against the Texans, they will have a great shot at winning their fourth straight game.

The Titans defense needs to be ready to slow down Matt Schaub and the Texans’ passing game.  Schaub and the passing game are averaging 284 passing yards per game, and the Titans give up 270 passing yards per game, so it could be a big day for Schaub.  Schaub has thrown 4 interceptions in his past two games though, so the Titans may get some turnovers.  The Titans best defense is their offense though, as their run-first offense can eat up the clock and keep the ball out of Schaub’s hands.  That is why I think the Titans will pull out a close win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 34, Houston Texans 28

Both of these teams are playing better as of late.  The Bills have won two of their last three games while the Titans have won their last two games after starting the season 0-6.  The Bills will turn back to QB Trent Edwards for this season as he returns from a concussion.  Edwards’ return will allow the Bills to possibly attack the Titans’ weakness on defense which is the secondary.  The Titans are allowing 278.4 yards passing per game this season and opposing QBs have a 102.8 rating against them.  But the Bills won’t forget about running the ball with Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson against a Titans’ D that is allowing 111.9 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry. 

This is a perfect match up for Vince Young and the Titans.  The Bills are allowing 173.6 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry so far this season.  With that in mind look for Charles Johnson (959 yards rushing, 6.7 ypc, 6TDs), LenDale White and Vince Young to have a lot of room to run the ball.  The Titans must control this game on the ground as Vince Young will likely want to steer clear of passing against the Bills too much as they already have 15 interceptions this season including 7 by rookie safety Jairus Byrd.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 27, BILLS 20

The Tennessee Titans (1-6) finally decided to start Vince Young and they got their first win of the season last week.  Young and the Titans are on the road this week against the San Francisco 49ers (3-4), who have also made a quarterback change recently.  If Young can manage the game and play like he did last weekend, the Titans will have a good shot at winning this one.  Chris Johnson had a huge game last week rushing for 228 yards, and if he is able to repeat anything near that performance the Titans will be in great shape.

The 49ers offense has had a little bit of a resurgence with Alex Smith as their quarterback, but he has thrown two picks in two games.  The Titans are giving up 282 passing yards per game, so Smith may have a big day.  They also give up way too many rushing yards (112 per game) so they need to make sure 49ers’ Frank Gore doesn’t get any big runs.  I think the Titans have a fresh take on the season with Vince Young under center and I think they will get their second win in a row.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Tennessee Titans 28, San Francisco 49ers 24

The Tennessee Titans (0-6) have finally benched Kerry Collins and Vince Young will be starting his first game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3).  The Jaguars are coming off a close OT win over the weak St. Louis Rams, so this could be the Titans chance to get their first win of the year.  The Jaguars beat them 37-17 earlier this month, but Young gives the Titans offense a much different look.  His athleticism and running ability will add to the Titans solid running attack led by Chris Johnson.  He had a great game last week, getting 128 yards on 17 carries.

Although in my opinion Young should have been the starter long ago, I don’t think he will make a big enough difference for the Titans to win.  He will be rusty and he still doesn’t have an accurate arm so he may turn the ball over.  Young is a good football player with the physical gifts, so if he can get himself ready mentally then the Titans may have chance. Its a fresh look for the Titans though, so they may be sloppy.  I think they will battle the Jaguars better than they did last game, but the Jags running game led by Maurice Jones Drew will be too much for the Titans to handle, and the Jags should win again.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Jacksonville Jaguars 28, Tennessee Titans 21