Game 5: Titans @ Ravens

by Rexx on Jul 2, 2008 9:23 AM EDT Comment 8 comments

In 2006, the Tennessee Titans took the Ravens to the brink before falling on a missed chip shot field goal, 27-26. In that game, Titans QB Vince Young played like an All-Pro and had the Titans comfortably in the lead deep into the second half. Unfortunately for Tennessee fans, Young returned to rookie form and the Ravens remembered that they were a contender. It was a great comeback and a great win for the Ravens, but that was two seasons ago.

Last year, the Titans made the playoffs as a Wild Card team due to their surprisng 10-6 regular season. Young showed that he not only has the pure physical talent but also is learning to be a decent QB as well. However, defenses would prefer to keep him in the pocket and make him beat them with his arm rather than let him scramble and beat them with his legs. The Ravens defense is well suited to keep him off course all day long. Young will be facing one of, if not the fastest defense, sideline to sideline, in the league. This won't totally prevent him from getting his yards by scrambling, but he will pay the price for his efforts. By the end of the game, he will be forced to use his arm and that is where and when the Ravens defense will take over.

Baltimore will pound the ball between the tackles by double teaming their big men (Haynesworth and Vanden Bosch), along with crisp, short passes and the occasional long one to keep the secondary honest. This will be a war, as the Titans defense is significantly improved and no longer has to worry about the distraction of Adam "Pacman" Jones (I'll continue to use his nickname even though he wants us all to call him just "Adam"). The game should be filled with field goals and may just come down to two things. Who makes the most mistakes on offense, turning the ball over to these two offenses which are both their teams' weak links, and which kicker deals with the pressure of making the game winner. Both placekickers have great accuracy, although Tennessee's Rob Bironas has the stronger leg for the distance kicks. However, since the Ravens are at home, I'm going with the steady veteran, Matt "It's not over til it's" Stover to hit the game winner at the final whistle.

Ravens: 16 Titans: 13

Season Record: 3-2

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Raven's Interior OL

I’m excited to see our OL in action this season (especially against big DTs like Haynesworth). I know that they are young, but our interior O-lineman are beasts. I don’t think we will be seeing other teams bullrushing the pocket anymore. We may have problems with edge rushers, but I think that all the strength in the center is going to be a difference maker.

by BAL_Hawk on Jul 2, 2008 10:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

Our interior OL will be great. Grubbs and Brown are going yo dominate. There true test will be when they face casey hampton and also haynesworth. If they can keep them contain in the running game and also out of the pocket, Troy Smith( yes, i said it) wont have to worry about anything!

FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Benji5203 on Jul 2, 2008 11:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Seconded

Jason Brown will not be pushed into the backfield like Mike Flynn was time and time again. Grubbs moving to LG will not hurt us either, even though Brown was solid there. Marshall Yanda is better suited as a RG anyhow, and our tackles will just have to learn on the job (Gaither and Terry), as their size will help them succeed. It’s beginning to look like we can have an o-line that is young, strong and hopefully consistent and injury-free!

Rexx

by Rexx on Jul 2, 2008 11:39 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The only thing that scares me about our oline is Gaither. I tried looking him up on google and i didnt get alot of info on him. One thing i read said that he would have been i 1st round pick if he would have stayed in college all 4 years. People question is work ethic and worry if he is playing his best some games. Hopfully, he can become a great LT for us, maybe the next marcus McNeil.

FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Benji5203 on Jul 3, 2008 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I read that too...

He has the size and strength to succeed. I hope to see him in the Pro Bowl one day.

Rotoworld stated:

“The Ravens say they feel good about their tackles, with Marshal Yanda, Adam Terry, and Jared Gaither on the roster. Gaither may have been a first-round pick had he stayed at Maryland in 2007 instead of entering the supplemental draft.”

Here’s the link: http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=2213

by BAL_Hawk on Jul 3, 2008 4:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

FEAR THE NEVERMORE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Benji5203 on Jul 3, 2008 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Gaither

He certainly has the size (6’9”, 350#). However, the reason he went into the Supplemental Draft was that his work ethic and grades left little to be desired. Hopefully, under the mentor-ship of the other vets, he will realize what an incredible opportunity he lucked into, especially with Ogden’s retirement.

Rexx

by Rexx on Jul 3, 2008 8:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It'll be interesting to watch you try to double-team boh KVB and Jevon Kearse.

Can’t wait to see how that works out for you. And folks, when Ladanian Tomlinson can’t run on the Titans, I fail to see where Willis McGahee is gonna get it done. And your QB, though probably an excellent choice for the long term, isn’t CLOSE to having the kind opf game Rivers had in that last Titans’ game from last season.

Look, I’m not trying to be a troll. Certainly VY needs to step it up this year. But with that said, NO ONE beats the Titans by pounding the rock, nor have they in at least a full season. I’m not saying that it’s impossible to beat TN, but planning to do it on the ground is probably a recipe for frustration.

DannoE

Go read FRIDAY MAD SCIENCE at www.paperbackreader.com
Go Titans!

by DannoE on Jul 8, 2008 2:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs