Week 11 Scouting Report: Tennessee Titans

[KDawg]

Washington Redskins (4-5) @ Tennessee Titans (5-4)

LP Field, Nashville, Tennessee

1 PM

FOX

Tennessee Titans Coaching Staff:

Head Coach: Jeff Fisher

Offensive Coordinator: Mike Heimerdinger

Defensive Coordinator: Chuck Cecil

Special Teams Coordinator: Alan Lowry

Team Stats:

Skins:

Offensive 3rd down Conversions: 21.6%

Defensive 3rd down Conversions: 35%

Yards Per Play: 5.5

Yards Per Rush: 4.3

Yards Per Pass: 7.3

Sacks Allowed: 25

Sacks by Team: 19

Field Goals: 15/20

ToP: 28:23

Turnover Ratio: +5

Titans:

Offensive 3rd down Conversions: 37.7%

Defensive 3rd down Conversions: 40.4%

Yards Per Play: 5.2

Yards Per Rush: 4.3

Yards Per Pass: 7

Sacks Allowed: 17

Sacks by Team: 27

Field Goals: 16/17

ToP: 26:54

Turnover Ratio: +4

Statistical Leaders:

Passing

Skins:

Donovan McNabb: 176/308, 2266 yards, 9 TD, 11 INT

Titans:

Vince Young: 81/140, 1090 yards, 10 TD, 3 INT

Rushing:

Skins:

Ryan Torain: 91 carries, 391 yards, 3 TD

Titans:

Chris Johnson: 195 carries, 838 yards, 9 TD

Receiving:

Skins:

Santana Moss: 51 receptions, 632 yards, 2 TD

Chris Cooley: 42 receptions, 463 yards, 2 TD

Anthony Armstrong: 20 receptions, 451 yards, 1 TD

Titans:

Bo Scaife: 26 receptions, 230 yards, 2 TD

Nate Washington: 24 receptions, 377 yards, 5 TD

Kenny Britt: 23 receptions, 434 yards, 7 TD

Tackles:

Skins:

LaRon Landry: 85 tackles (66 solo)

London Fletcher: 85tackles (55 solo)

DeAngelo Hall: 71 tackles (46 solo)

Titans:

Stephen Tolluch: 87 tackles (57 solo)

Michael Griffin: 60 tackles (48 solo)

Chris Hope: 52 tackles (46 solo)

Sacks:

Skins:

Brian Orakpo: 7.5 sacks

Titans:

Jason Babin: 7 sacks

Interceptions:

Skins:

DeAngelo Hall: 6 picks, 1 TD

Titans:

Michael Griffin: 4 picks

Tennessee Titans Key Players:

Jason Babin, DE: Babin has 7 sacks, when he comes from the defensive left that matches him up with none other than Stephon Heyer. Combine Babin’s ability with Heyer’s lack of ability and we’ll need to at the very least chip Babin with a back or a tight end.

Kenny Britt, WR: Britt isn’t actually starting for the Titans, he’s behind Nate Washington on the depth chart. But he is capable of having big games. He’s a bit of a head case, but he’s an extremely talented football player. If he gets going he’s tough to stop.

Cortland Finnegan, CB: One of the most underrated cornerbacks in the NFL. I watch this guy every time I see the Titans play and I’m extremely impressed. He can have his off games, though. He’s capable of taking a pick to the house.

Chris Johnson, RB: He will be a match up nightmare for us. Johnson, like Forte, Best and McCoy can catch the ball out of the backfield, but he’s also a much more talented runner. We need to stop him early. If he gains confidence against our rush defense we’ll need to slip kryptonite into the Titans Gatorade jugs.

Randy Moss, WR: He’s Randy Moss. Not much else needs to be said. He’ll draw some coverage away from Britt and Washington when they use him to stretch the field and he’s also extremely capable of going up top.

Stephen Tolluch, MLB: An extremely active football player who gets into running lanes pretty well. When I’ve seen him he seems to scrape off of blocks well. I don’t know much about him, though, but what I’ve seen of him I’ve been pretty impressed with.

Nate Washington, WR: I’m more worried about Kenny Britt and Randy Moss out there, as well as TE Bo Scaife and RB Chris Johnson, but Nate Washington can not be taken lightly. He’s a solid wide receiver and a guy that can tear you up if you leave him unchecked. Randy Moss will open things up for him a bit should they choose to go to him.

Vince Young, QB: A poor man’s Mike Vick, for sure, but a very similar football player either way. He can run and he can pass. He’s only thrown 3 interceptions this year. He’s not quite as dangerous as Vick, but one thing that Young has proven over his NFL career is that he wins football games. He’s also proven to be unreliable when the Titans seem to need him most.

Tennessee Titans Injury Report:

Per rotoworld.com:

Kerry Collins, QB (calf) – out indefinitely

Kenny Britt, WR (hamstring) – questionable

Vince Young, QB (ankle) - questionable

Jamie Winborn, LB (shoulder) {Out for Season}

Derrick Morgan, DL (knee) {Out for Season}

Roderick Hood, DB (knee) {Out for Season}

Analysis:

First and foremost, the Kenny Britt, Vince Young and Kerry Collins injuries are excellent for our chances. Vince Young’s work ethic has been questionable at best and this past Sunday he didn’t even test his injured ankle, seemingly happy with his backup role for the Titans. However, Kerry Collins is out for several weeks according to Jeff Fisher. That means that it’s either Vince Young (which is the likely scenario as he appears to be healthy according to the Titans) or Patrick Ramsey at quarterback. Kenny Britt hasn’t been officially ruled out by Jeff Fisher, but it looks like he won’t play, which means we’ll see Justin Gage in the slot. I’m more confident in our defenses ability to cover Gage out of the slot than I am Kenny Britt, so this is a major benefit to us. Gage was targeted nine times last week and only wound up with three receptions for eighteen yards.

As a fun little insert, the Titans worked on running back Larry Johnson on Tuesday, among others. The Titans hope, should they sign him is that he can replace LenDale White’s former role with the team. However, I think the signing has a bit more to do with strategy than his abilities.

Regardless, if Vince Young is lined up under center it doesn’t matter what his work ethic is. Young is a capable quarterback. We need to learn from the Eagles debacle and use press coverage whether we’re in man or zone. In zone, we need to deny the outside release and funnel the receiver inside. In man we need to throw off their timing with press coverage. We also need to stay away from the Tampa 2 type schemes and allow London Fletcher to play in the box and not dropping at the snap. That factor allowed running lanes for Vick last week, and although he didn’t take off a ton of times, when he did he was effective due to the backers not being anywhere in the region. Let London use his instincts. Clearly he’s not as athletic as Vince Young, but he may be able to out maneuver him.

Our pass rush absolutely needs to be more effective against the Titans offensive line. Brian Orakpo got handled pretty well last week, probably the best I’ve seen any team play him. It’s excusable as he hasn’t had many off games, but we’ll need him to get back on track this week and force Young to throw the football quickly or bring him to the ground. Young is a mental case and if we hit him enough we’ll either see Patrick Ramsey or a mentally beat up Vince Young. Albert Haynesworth needs to get some serious playing time this week, and he needs to play at nose. With Orakpo coming off the edge and Haynesworth bringing inside pressure that leaves one direction for the quarterback to scramble and hopefully our end/outside backer can contain him and make him throw the ball.

One other thing we need to do defensively is blitz. We have to pressure Vince Young much more than we did to Mike Vick. Rattle him. That’s the key. Make them one dimensional and Chris Johnson has to beat us alone, which he is capable of doing, but if we can stack the box on them his chances dwindle quite a bit. Look for the Titans to try to get Johnson involved in the passing game a bit, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see their game plan as a pass first, run second strategy.

Offensively, we need to get better on first and third downs. We’re not getting great yardage on first and it’s putting us in a rut. We should still, however, be converting the 3rd down opportunities we’ve had. We seem to struggle even if it’s 3rd and five or less. Right now we’re a league worst 21.6% on third down, and having looked over the stats through the 1991 season, we’re lower than any team has ever finished. The good news is, there are still seven football games to be played. The bad news is there are still seven football games to be played. Whoever plays at running back this week, whether its Ryan Torain, Clinton Portis or Keiland Williams, they will need to move the football. Torain is going to see a doctor this week about the hamstring and Clinton Portis is about a 50% chance to play, so we may rely on Keiland yet again. I’m not entirely bothered by that news. Keiland had 16 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown and added 4 receptions for 50 yards and a touchdown. He’s a dynamic back. We may see James Davis active, depending on the other guys’ status as well.

Joey Galloway, according to rotoworld (http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=260) per the Fredricksburg Free Lance-Star was benched in favor of Roydell Williams against Philadelphia. I’m hoping this means we see Terrance Austin active.

Jamaal Brown was diagnosed with a concussion during the Eagles game and he’ll have to pass tests in order to play against Tennessee. So, shockingly enough (that was sarcasm) we’ll probably see Stephon Heyer starting at right tackle, and even if Brown goes I’ve learned to expect Heyer to see significant playing time anyways. This means Babin becomes that much more dangerous to us. With Cooley/Davis having to help out on the edge to Heyer’s side, we need Anthony Armstrong to continue to step up.

Brandon Banks didn’t appear to have the same burst as usual last week, which is to be expected when you’re coming off of knee surgery. However, he still managed to have a pretty decent game returning kicks. With an even healthier Banks out there, he could very easily help us win the field position battle in this game. Believe it or not, I believe he is one of the main keys for the Washington Redskins in this game. If Banks gets going and gives us good field position we can win this football game. Tennessee is by no means a great football team, especially due to the turmoil regarding their quarterback position. They do, however, have many threats offensively, and defensively they are an extremely respectable unit against the run, but they are 25th against the pass. Donovan needs to get the ball in the air.

If we can get to Young and force Tennessee to be one dimensional, I like our chances in this football game. But in order to really disrupt timing, we need to jam the receivers off the line and not allow them to get a free release. If Young has time to throw and they can use a balanced attack, this one could get out of hand. Having reread this whole thing, I haven’t mentioned Chris Johnson enough. He is a weapon and needs to be contained. That hard hitting defense that we’ve seen from the Redskins needs to come back. We may not be great defensively, but the hard hits and hustle of the defense has created opportunities. We will need those this week.

[KDawg]

So, uhh, I hate doing this... But since this was almost on page 3

[Chris 44]

Once again KDAWG nice work, well researched. Better than any analysis the media will put out, I enjoyed the read.

[Homercles82]

I hope we play statuesque Ramsey. This may be a big week for Orakpo if so.

Good work as usual Kdawg.

[VA_Titans]

It's simple, if Tennessee didn't fix their problems heres the guys you look for off the Red Skins team to do very well. Cooley, McNabb and whoever is your slot WR. Tennessee has got killed in their last 2 games in the passing game by the tight end, and slot WR been having a field day to so thats my biggest concern for the Titans.

Britt is out for at least 3 more weeks...

I've not watch many off your games this year but adding Moss help huge in the run game, CJ was seeing 8 or 9 man fronts all year. But I look for CJ or Moss to have a big day. If Young is healthy our offense is very tough and we have a lot of young weapons.

Titans 34 - Red Skins 21 Not dogging you're team but Tennessee needs this game very badly. We're in a tight fight for the division and we're on a 2 game losing streak, this is our bounce back game

[KDawg]

Thanks all...

Titans,

Thanks for stopping by and reading.

[KDawg]

notes from rotoworld.com

Clinton Portis (groin) was limited again on Thursday.

Portis may be practicing, but he's still feeling pain and can't go full-speed. He's not going to start Sunday, and there's a good chance that he won't play at all.

Looks like CP won't be playing.

After practicing Thursday, Redskins SS LaRon Landry (Achilles) now says he believes he will play Sunday against the Titans.

Landry is taking it day by day, but it looks he's a go this week. He was apparently just blowing off steam from a long week when he told beat reports Thursday morning that his Achilles wouldn't allow him to play.

Uhh... I hope he plays... because if he doesn't... Yeah...

Ryan Torain (hamstring) was held out of practice again Thursday.

Torain appears highly unlikely to play this week. Clinton Portis (groin) conceded Thursday that he's still hurting and unable to go full speed without setbacks, so it looks like another full workload for Keiland Williams at Tennessee.

Well... Let's see what Keiland is made of. This is kind of an audition for next year.

Redskins WR/KR Brandon Banks said he's been getting more reps at receiver in practice and expects a bigger offensive role in games.

It couldn't hurt to give him a shot. Banks has proven to be a playmaker as a return man, and Roydell Williams and Joey Galloway don't represent significant roadblocks to him moving up the depth chart. Banks has just one reception this season. The Redskins could use an explosive option in the slot.

Would love him to fill the Roscoe Parrish role!

Redskins CB Carlos Rogers (hamstring) is looking doubtful to play in Week 11.

Mike Shanahan isn't one to divulge injury information, but The Washington Post is inferring based on a conversation with Rogers that the cornerback is unlikely to suit up. Phillip Buchanon is a downgrade, but it's hard for the Redskins' 31st-ranked pass defense to get much worse.

This is... not good. Landry and Rogers? Great

Titans stuff:

Kenny Britt (hamstring) clearly isn't close to playing in games, but indicated Wednesday that he's seeing signs of progress.

It sounds like Britt's barely moved since the Week 8 injury, which we're led to believe was at least a torn hamstring muscle. "This was really my first day where they had me moving around in the training room," he said. "They had me running on the treadmill and in the water. I don’t want to put too much pressure on my leg right now, but I’m looking a little more mobile."

VA Titan was on the money there. Good news for us.

Vince Young (ankle) has resumed practicing fully, taking all of the first-team reps in Wednesday's practice.

"It looks like the injury is behind him and he’s good to go," said Titans coach Jeff Fisher. Young may not be quite 100 percent, but the starting job is his again with Kerry Collins (calf) out indefinitely. Young's return to the first-team offense in practice should help his rapport with Randy Moss

[KDawg]

With Portis playing, if he can stay in the game, McNabb should look 100% better. He'll have better protection than he has the previous five weeks for sure.

[darrelgreenie]

o I hope Kyle's new found commitment to the running game continues

o I like how they started off McNabb and the passing game last week: WR screen, quick hitch,

i think its going to be very important here on out to start off with quick game and 3 step drops routes with easy reads (RB/FB flat passes, RB screens etc) to get a positve rhythm for the McNabb the OL and the passing game before they progress to the 5-7 step drops

o i hope Armstrong and Fred Davis are a bigger part of the offensive gameplan

o i hope we see more shotgun in obvious passing downs

o even though Tana is going to have a tough match-up with Finnegan i hope we can get him a touch (screen, hitch, reverse) early in the game hopefully on the 1st series

[terrifNick21]

Thanks for this KDawg. I read them all but never thank you. Much appreciated.