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Game 4...The Tacks...Tennessee Titans!

Corrosion said:
Well .... Center is the only position that's solid for the Texans with both Mancz and Martin .... The rest of that line is awful.
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Mancz's knee injuries seem to be an ongoing issue. It is to be seen how much his availability may be affected this season. If his problem is an extension of his past meniscus damage, and his recent "cleanup" procedure has not proven to be "corrective," a more definitive surgery may be in his future.
 
Protecting Mariota: The Titans have allowed Marcus Mariota to be sacked just twice through three games.

The Seattle Seahawks didn't even manage to record a hit on the quarterback in the passing game, and their only chances of tackling Mariota came when he took off running. The Titans are tied for first in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed.


Slip and slide: All of Watson's scrambling has raised the question of how he learned to slide and what he's doing to avoid taking big hits when he gets out of the pocket.

The former Clemson standout said he never slid until he got to college. It was there that they brought out a slip-and-slide at a few practices to let them work on their sliding skills, which he acknowledged was a rather fun way to work on the skill.

When he was in lower levels of football, sliding at the end of a play was against his nature, but things have changed now that he's in the NFL.

"Not now. I'm trying to live another day," he said. "I'm not trying to get hit at this level."
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LINK
 
Matchup 1: WR DeAndre Hopkins vs. CB Logan Ryan
The new look Tennessee Titans secondary was built in the 2017 offseason with GM Jon Robinson spending quite a bit of cap space and draft resources to shore up a secondary that was a major liability last season. The crown jewel of this rebuild was CB Logan Ryan, who was signed from the New England Patriots to one of the largest deals of free agency. This weekend, Ryan will be tasked with covering one of the most talented young receivers in the NFL in DeAndre Hopkins. Hopkins had a down year last season since he never really meshed well with Brock Osweiler, but fresh off of a huge contract extension, Hopkins has had seven receptions in each of his three games this season, with a touchdown in one, and has proven a security blanket for his rookie quarterback.

Watson will likely target Hopkins ad nauseam this weekend, as has been the trend in the last two weeks due to the loss of many skill position players and a running game that has not been carrying its weight. When Ryan and Hopkins met in coverage last year on two separate occasions, Hopkins was limited to only 121 yards and no scores. Furthermore, Watson has shown a predication for staring down his primary receiver (first Mike Williams in college, now Hopkins), which may give Ryan an opportunity to force a game changing turnover. If Ryan succeeds in shutting down or limiting the production of Hopkins, the rest of the Texans’ hamstrung offense will struggle to pick up the slack. Link
 
Matchup 2: OLB Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo vs. QB Deshaun Watson
Although Deshaun Watson has exhibited some flaws in his passing game during his first two starts with some accuracy issues, holding the ball too long and staring down his receivers, one area that Watson has excelled in is using his legs to make plays. In only 10 quarters of football, Watson has managed to rack up 124 yards on only 15 carries. Watson’s playmaking ability outside of the pocket has even drawn comparisons to Michael Vick (albeit this comparison came from one of his own teammates). Watson’s mobility adds another dimension to a Texans offense that badly needs it, and it also helps Watson avoid pressure that is bound to reach him behind a somewhat porous offensive line.

Outside linebackers Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo must prevent Watson from getting big gains on scramble plays by containing the rookie and keeping him in the pocket. In doing so, they will force Watson to throw the ball, which has already led to three interceptions in 2.5 games. Luckily, Morgan and Orakpo are one of the better outside linebacker tandems in the league and have the advantage of practicing against the Tennessee Titans’ own mobile quarterback each and every day. At this point in his career, Watson has been most effective when keeping the defense on its heels with the threat of his rushing ability. The Titans must contain him at all costs and put the pressure on him to make plays in the passing game and avoid costly turnovers.link
 
Matchup 3: MLB Benardrick McKinney vs. RB DeMarco Murray
After two subpar weeks, many were quick to say that DeMarco Murray was over the hill and that the Tennessee Titans needed to make the move to Derrick Henry immediately. Murray quashed those doubts in Week 3 against Seattle with 14 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown. Murray also had the longest run of the Pete Carroll era with a 75-yard touchdown, daring his doubters to say that he was done. In Week 1, the Houston Texans proved vulnerable to the ground and pound strategy of the Jacksonville Jaguars, which resulted in the Jaguars posting 29 points on Houston en route to a win. The Titans have a better stable of running backs and a top five offensive line in the league, which they should lean heavily on in Sunday’s game.

With starting MLB Brian Cushing suspended, it will be up to Benardrick McKinney to fill gaps and make tackles all over the field against a Titans rushing attack that attacks in a variety of different ways with Murray, Henry, QB Marcus Mariota, and WR Taywan Taylor. McKinney has the advantage of two premier run defending DEs in J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney helping him out, but the Titans will likely make a concerted effort to run right at McKinney and force him to make tackles. If the Texans want to win, McKinney must hold up against one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks and prevent the Titans from controlling the pace of the game.link
 
I like Watson. I want him to succeed & put an end to our QB dilemma. However, as a rookie I expect him to struggle this game & unless our run game takes a huge jump in production (including scoring) I expect the Texans to struggle at home against a division opponent.

Rookie QBs will have ups & downs throughout the season, coming off a good game on the road, I'm expecting a down game today.
 
Murrayquashed those doubts in Week 3 against Seattle with 14 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown. Murray also had the longest run of the Pete Carroll era with a 75-yard touchdown, daring his doubters to say that he was done.
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Ok, all the yards count but realistically that is one great run and 3 ypc otherwise. That is not pound the door down, make it easy for your QB football.
 
dwight pugoy said:
Ughhh the fact that the Titans have a better O-line than ours is so........... Gross!!
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Mariota has a great O-Line. Just ran untouched into the end zone for a Touchdown. But Deshaun is doing it with a bad O-Line and is more impressive, IMO.

Imagine if Deshaun had the Titans O-Line?
We'd be up 28-0 now instead of 21-7?
 
Tell me Duane Brown isn't enjoying this sensational performance by Deshaun Watson today despite a piss poor offensive line? I expect Duane Brown to end his hold out very soon. We need him back at left tackle. A former All Pro.
 
thunderkyss said:
I like Watson. I want him to succeed & put an end to our QB dilemma. However, as a rookie I expect him to struggle this game & unless our run game takes a huge jump in production (including scoring) I expect the Texans to struggle at home against a division opponent.

Rookie QBs will have ups & downs throughout the season, coming off a good game on the road, I'm expecting a down game today.
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Ok... maybe I was wrong.
 
Bulls on Parade said:
Mariota has a great O-Line. Just ran untouched into the end zone for a Touchdown. But Deshaun is doing it with a bad O-Line and is more impressive, IMO.

Imagine if Deshaun had the Titans O-Line?
We'd be up 28-0 now instead of 21-7?
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I think we need to revise the "bad OL" mantra. There were several occasions Watson had several seconds to work.

After burning their defense again & again, our OL didn't have to deal with berserker blitzes every down.
 
thunderkyss said:
I think we need to revise the "bad OL" mantra. There were several occasions Watson had several seconds to work.

After burning their defense again & again, our OL didn't have to deal with berserker blitzes every down.
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Yep. They were rushing just with 3 a lot in the second half. I'm having to caution myself from getting too excited knowing that and the fact the Titans secondary isn't good.
 
banned1976 said:
Yep. They were rushing just with 3 a lot in the second half. I'm having to caution myself from getting too excited knowing that and the fact the Titans secondary isn't good.
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They almost never only rushed 3. They played a lot of zine blitz games to disguise additional rushers.
 
thunderkyss said:
I think we need to revise the "bad OL" mantra. There were several occasions Watson had several seconds to work.

After burning their defense again & again, our OL didn't have to deal with berserker blitzes every down.
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The OL wasn't good , Watson made them look good.
The Tits defense played on their heels the entire game because of Watson , it affected them against the run just as much as the passing game.
They never came with consistent pressure because they were afraid of Watson breaking the pocket and making big plays.

They're still bad .... Watson is just that good.
 
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