The Tennessee Titans will be in search of their first win of the season when they play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Fresh off a badly-needed bye week after their 0-6 start was punctuated with an embarrassing 59-0 defeat to the Patriots, the Titans will be looking to avenge an earlier 37-17 loss at the hands of the Jags.
In that contest, David Garrard torched the Titan secondary by throwing for 323 yards and 3 touchdown passes.
Up next: my preview of this week’s Titans/Jaguars matchup.
Jeff Fisher and Kerry Collins: On the hot seat
In case you missed it, there were some noteworthy off-the-field developments pertaining to the Tennessee Titans during their recent bye week.
First there was Jersey-gate, with Jeff Fisher doing his best Peyton Manning impression by donning #18’s Colts’ jersey at a local event. Then there was owner Bud Adams chiming in on the team’s quarterback conundrum by stating his support for, who else, fellow native Texan Vince Young.
Considering the team’s struggles, there should be no surprise that the fans were upset at Fisher’s antics. Speaking of the fans, there’s plenty of them who agree that it’s well past time to insert Vince Young as the Titans’ starting quarterback.
Last week’s events have undoubtedly put Fisher and current starting QB Kerry Collins on the proverbial hot seat. If the team gets off to a slow start against the Jags, expect a lot of disapproval (in the form of thunderous boos) to continue to be heaved in the direction of Fisher and Collins.
This looks familiar
It would be fitting if VY’s next start took place against the team he faced in his last game as the team’s starting QB.
Of course, we all remember the 2008 season-opening victory over the Jags, when a knee injury ended a horrendous performance by Young. His struggles were constant on that sunny September afternoon, which led to the fans aiming boos in VY’s direction.
With Bud Adams recently stating his support for starting Vince, there’s probably a good chance that we’re going to see him on the field this weekend.
If Vince does play this Sunday, hopefully, he’ll fare much better than he did during his last start against the Jaguars.
Stop David Garrard
As I mentioned in the opening of this post, David Garrard throttled Chuck Cecil’s defense a few weeks ago in Jacksonville. His success was mostly due to releasing the ball after dropping back a few steps in the pocket, a formula to success that was first executed by Texans’ signal-caller Matt Schaub in Houston’s victory over the Titans.
In order to prevent Garrard from having a repeat-performance this Sunday, the Titans have to find a way to generate a better pass-rush.
In addition to that, better play from the corners would help as well. During their first meeting, on far too many occasions, Garrard took advantage of a Titans’ secondary that was allowing way too many slants to be completed.
Hopefully, the return of Cortland Finnegan and Vincent Fuller will help in that department.
Prediction Time!
The Titans will find a way to win their first game of the season in a tightly-contested matchup against their bitter AFC South rival.
Titans 16 Jaguars 13
Your turn, guys…What are your thoughts/impressions/predictions for this week’s battle with the Jags?
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