blacksaint

Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Benjamin Hochman


FEAR THE TITAN: The Titans have won four consecutive road games since last season, but No. 5 will have to come in the hostile Superdome on Monday night. It will be their first Monday Night Football appearance since 2004.
Although the Titans lost last Sunday, they gained some respect from doubters because they played Indianapolis tough. Tennessee (1-1) fell behind by 13 points in the second half, clawed back, was down 22-20 and had the ball in Colts territory before the final drive stalled.

"You have to put winning and losing in perspective -- you can't just accept the fact that we played well and we didn't win," Tennessee Coach Jeff Fisher said. "We talked about moral victories. The one thing I am pleased with is that they are committed to improving. That's what we've done the last couple of weeks."

TITANS ON OFFENSE: The Titans are first in the NFL with 211 rushing yards per game, on the strength of a 282-yard outburst in Week 1 against Jacksonville. Their pass offense is ineffective, but their gritty offensive line and smart rushers have kept them in games during a late surge last season and in the two games this season.

Quarterback Vince Young, in his second season, rushed for 53 yards on five carries in last week's loss, and he passed for 184 yards and a touchdown, finishing with a 95.3 passer rating. Galloping Chris Brown and punishing LenDale White have proven to be an effective duo.

Former Tulane receiver Roydell Williams caught a team-high four passes for 72 yards and a touchdown in the loss to the Colts. Brandon Jones leads the team with six catches this season.

The Titans have averaged 120 passing yards in two games. The NFL average is 213.1.

TITANS ON DEFENSE: The Titans have done a good job stopping the run, which is disheartening for the Saints, who have had trouble finding run consistency. The Titans are seventh in the NFL with an average of 78 rushing yards allowed per game, though they played pass-happy Indianapolis last week. However, the Titans are 24th in pass defense (248.5), which could be encouraging to Saints quarterback Drew Brees, yearning for a breakout game. Cornerback Nick Harper, who won a ring with the Colts last season, leads the Titans with 14 tackles. The cornerbacks have been key, Fisher said, to slowing the run game: "Both corners recognize things well, they support well and they're sure tacklers, so that's helped us. That's helped us in our run defense. You have to account for them. Keep in mind, the system was different in the past with more of a man-to-man oriented type team, so we were asking them to support. Because of some scheme changes in our defense and the type of players we have now, they're supporting well."

Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck has been a force so far, notching 11 tackles, eight against the Colts.

TITANS ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Rob Bironas has been perfect this season, 4-of-4 on field goals, including three from 30-39 yards. And punter Craig Hentrich has punted six times, and put four inside the 20-yard line.

LAST TIME THEY MET: On Sept. 21, 2003, the Titans defeated the Saints 27-12 at Tennessee. Then-Titans quarterback Steve McNair passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns. Jerome Pathon caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Brooks in the fourth quarter.

WORTH REPEATING: "(The Colts) said, 'Vince, you need to throw the ball to beat us.' And he made a lot of nice plays down the field. They also spied him with their safety and pressured him and things like that. And I thought, considering the type of things they were doing defensively, the fact that he got out and made some big runs and made some first downs for us was a pretty impressive effort." -- Fisher

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