Titans vs. Dolphins preview

Tomorrow at LP Field, the Tennessee Titans (6-7) play host to the Miami Dolphins (7-6) in an AFC wildcard race survival matchup. In addition to outside assistance, the Titans must win their last three games of the season if they are to have any chance of making an improbable trip to the postseason. As for the 7-6 Fins, they are in the hunt for a wildcard spot as well as only being a game behind New England for AFC East supremacy. A preview of this week’s crucial Titans/Dolphins battle…up next. The VY health watch Trying to rebound from last week’s hamstring injury, Vince Young’s playing status for this weekend’s matchup with Miami is up in the air. While he has been able to practice as of late, his ability to play this week will be game-time decision. With VY in the lineup, you should expect extra running room for Chris Johnson and the presence of a QB in the huddle who despite a bum hammy, is more than capable of beating the opposition with his legs as well as his throwing arm. Without VY in the lineup, Kerry Collins will have to conjure up his game-managing talents that were evident in last year’s 13-3 season and absent during the team’s 0-6 ’09 start. If VY is unable to go, here’s to hoping that Collins is more than up to the task of “managing” the team to victory this week. Beware of Ted Ginn Jr. Although a bit inconsistent at catching the football, Miami’s explosive Ted Ginn Jr. is a force when he’s toting the pigskin on kick returns. One of the game’s best returners, Ginn is the type of player who can break a tightly-contested game wide-open with his ability to take it the distance on special teams. Despite his alleged “fear” of racing the Titans’ own speed demon, Chris Johnson, Ginn is still a pretty fast guy in his own right. This weekend’s Titans/Fins clash has close game written all over it, so the ability of one of the teams to make a big play on ST may factor huge in the outcome of the contest. Hopefully, the Titans will do a good job of containing Ginn on kick returns tomorrow. Can the Titans fluster another young QB? Last weekend, the Titans opportunistic defense made life miserable for Rams’ rookie QB Keith Null. Keith’s ability to attain success against Chuck Cecil’s troops was null and void, as he was undone by the turnover bug to the tune of five interceptions in his forgettable NFL debut. Although he’s more experienced than Null, Miami’s Chad Henne is a young QB who has performed adequately since he replaced veteran Chad Pennington in the starting lineup. For the Titans to emerge victorious this weekend, they must once again wreak havoc on a young signal-caller. Prediction Time With any hope of playoff aspirations on the line for both teams, I expect an all-out war between two physical ballclubs. At the end of the day, a big play on special teams will win the game. However, instead of Ted Ginn Jr. breaking the hearts of the Titan faithful, it will be “Mr. Reliable” Rob Bironas inserting the dagger into the Dolphins’ playoff chances with yet another game-winning FG. Titans 20 Dolphins 17 Any thoughts/predictions about this week’s Titans/Dolphins battle? Feel free to post them here.