The inactives are out for today’s game at Gillette Stadium as the Tennessee Titans visit the New England Patriots, and here they are:
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: TE Scott Chandler, WR Julian Edelman, LB Jonathan Freeny, DL Ishmaily Kitchen, S Devin McCourty, C Bryan Stork, OT LaAdrian Waddle
TENNESSEE TITANS: WR Damaris Johnson, DE Mike Martin, T/G Jamon Meredith, DE Ropati Pitoitua, S Da’Norris Searcy, CB Blidi Wreh-Wilson, WR Kendall Wright
For the Titans, Martin, Searcy, and Wright were ruled out, while Dexter McCluster and Derrick Morgan were both placed on injured reserve this week. McCluster’s injury means Bishop Sankey gets another chance to dress. I’d expect Antonio Andrews to get most of the passing game work, unless they do like Sankey more in that area. With Searcy down, newly-added Josh Aubrey is up. Assume Daimion Stafford starts for Searcy, and we’ll see if Aubrey or Marqueston Huff gets to play in dime packages. Wreh-Wilson is again a healthy scratch. Phillip Supernaw plays after a questionable listing.
For the Patriots, the big actives are ILB Donta Hightower and G Josh Kline, while Chandler and their McCourty are down after being listed as questionable. I never thought Tom Brady was not playing, reports Saturday were that he would play, and he’s playing.
Not much to say about this game. It’s extremely difficult for me to see the Titans’ offense having much success. New England has been better than I expected on defense this year, and we’ve seen enough of the Titans without Wright. Bill Belichick and company will scheme to take away Delanie Walker, the run game probably won’t work at all, and my distrust in the outside receivers is even more matchup-proof than my distrust in the run game and the offensive line. Defensively, the Titans had been great at bringing down the opposing passer, which is the easiest it’s been against Brady for over a decade. But it’s really dropped off the last three games without Derrick Morgan, and successfully covering Rob Gronkowski is a major problem even for really good defenses. The Titans are 26th in DVOA against tight ends, so yeah, though not that they’re much better against WR1 (25th), WR2 (29th), or other WR (31st). Those numbers come as no significant surprise to anyone who’s watched the Titans play lately. Brandon LaFell cannot be relied on as your primary receiver, but with Gronk and Danny Amendola to abuse this week’s nickel slot corner (I’d like to see Cody Riggs there, just to show up what he’s up against), he can win against the Titans’ corners.
The current line for this game is about Patriots by 14, which is pretty much where it’s been all week (at least at the times I’ve checked). If New England really tries, they’ll cover it easily. If they treat it like a glorified scrimmage like the game against Washington where they went up 14-0 in the first quarter and took a nap for the rest of the game, the Titans could cover. I don’t see 59-0 happening, but given the Patriots, the cold, and a struggling Titans team, nobody should be surprised by 45-7. A Titans win likely involves the Patriots throwing up all over themselves, maybe literally in Brady’s case, and a couple non-offensive scores. At least it’s not bitterly cold or likely to turn into an unseasonable snowstorm.
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