I had a chance to exchange with our Fansided counterpart in this week’s match up – the Tennessee Titans – and Jake Thompson over at Titan Sized was good enough to field a few of my questions:
"Q: The Titans played a good first game, but struggled the second. Where does your team stand right now? I think the Titans stand pretty well right now. I know the Titans got beat up pretty bad by the Steelers, but by the same token, the Titans also had a really bad day. You could tell from the opening kickoff that it was going to be a bad day, and really nothing went right for the TitansQ. The common criticism of the Titans is that the team is one dimensional. Do you agree or disagree with that notion?Well yes, yet at the same time no. We are one dimensional in that our greatest asset is Christ Johnson, and take him away, and things start to go south for us. But we aren’t one dimensional in a run only way. Chris Johnson can really catch the ball too.Q. Most teams like to stack the box against the Giants with as many as 8 defenders protecting against the run, did the Pittsburgh Steelers expose the same strategy to work against the Titans?It’s a potential problem for the Titans, but if the Titans are not shooting themselves in the foot, then Chris Johnson has the potential to even against 8 man fronts, break a long run. The problem ends up being that if Chris Johnson does end up getting past the first level, then he’s gone. Also with 8 in the box, you put a lot of pressure on your DE’s to contain Vince Young.Q. How should the Giants react to Vince Young getting swapped out at QB for former Giant Kerry Collins? Can we expect a similar situation this Sunday?No, it was just a bad day for him. I think as much as he was getting abused, and as bad as he was playing. Jeff Fisher didn’t want to risk Vince either getting hurt or just completely losing his confidence.Q. Nate Washington and Justin Gage lead the Titans receivers, but the passing game has seemed to struggle thus far. What can we expect to see this week from them that might keep the Giants off balance?Most likely you will see short, quick throws, a lot of curls, slants, and out’s. I know down the field is the way to go these days, but frankly after last week, the Titans will be very careful about what passes they allow Vince Young to throw.Q: Defensively, what do you see from the Giants offensive line this season. What weaknesses are the Titans looking to exploit? The Titans this year have done a masterful of keeping up a relentless fresh pressure from the D-line by essentially having two separate units called Alpha unit and Bravo unit that they rotate out every 4-5 plays. That keeps everyone fresh, and for the Giants Offensive Line, that could spell trouble. You may not know the names of the D-linemen from the Titans, but they are a great bunch.Q. What type of performance is expected of former Titan LB Keith Bulluck from your perspective? Are you nervous about seeing him in NY Blue? Oh he’ll be ready to play. Trust me the man was a great LB for the Titans for many years. The thing with him though, is that he won’t deliver a bone-crushing hit or a huge INT, but he will just chew up tackles. You’ll see him around the ball every play.Q. What is the X-factor this week for the Titans? Can Vince Young do enough passing to allow Chris Johnson to resume his running greatness.Q. What do you see as the X-factor this week for the Giants?Bottle up Chris Johnson, and make Vince Young stay in the pocket, don’t let him run around, and make him beat you throwing the ball. You will win if you do that."
