Titans-Bills inactives, pregame notes

The inactives are out for today’s game at Nissan Stadium between the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills, and here they are

BUFFALO BILLS: DT Alex Carrington, C Gabe Ikard, RB LeSean McCoy, DB Bacarri Rambo, LB Tony Steward, WR Sammy Watkins, RB Karlos Williams

TENNESSEE TITANS: TE Chase Coffman, NT Sammie Hill, DE Mike Martin, CB Cody Riggs, G Chance Warmack, RB Terrance West, QB Charlie Whitehurst

The only semi-surprise for the Bills is Watkins, who was questionable. Joe noted his status in our Q&A. My impression is that he’s not yet the sort of difference-maker you’d expect from the draft slot and trade Buffalo made to get him last year. Percy Harvin is the receiver to watch, of course. I also like Robert Woods, though I think I’d like him more with better quarterback play.

For the Titans, Hill was not expected to play. When Warmack went down, I mentioned this game as an aggressive but reasonable return date. He was close enough to be listed as questionable, but Mike Keith mentioned in a Friday morning radio appearance he didn’t expect Warmack to play, so I did not expect him to. Riggs also sits with a questionable designation, fulfilling my “will play if good” heuristic; I wonder if he would have suited up if Jason McCourty was not back in the lineup.

The news that wasn’t was when Kyle Williams calf healed up enough that he went from looking unlikely to play earlier in the week (I swear I read reports that indicated this) to being listed just as probable. I’d say this could be a game where both teams really look to get the ball out quickly because they don’t trust their line to block the opposing defensive front, but of course that’s not often Ken Whisenhunt’s preference and Buffalo will probably look to respond by running the ball. Anthony Dixon doesn’t really concern me as a back, and Boom Herron even less so. As far as hypothetical gameplanning goes, the response by both defensive coordinators would likely be to attempt to deny the inexperienced starting quarterback clear reads and to force them to hold the ball and potential make mistakes.

This could easily be another Life on the Margins game, where both teams struggle to execute consistently and the team is the one that gets the most and/or biggest breaks. The current line on the game is Bills by just 1 point. That feels too favorable to the Titans to me by a couple points, but this is a game that could go either way.

Recap up after the game, snap report Monday, and maybe I’ll actually get ahead enough to finally go ahead and write something on this stupid team for a change.