Jets - Titans Preview

On Sunday, the undefeated Titans (10-0) play host to the 7-3 New York Jets, who are in first place in the AFC East. This, to me, is the Game of the Year so far.
After a 1-2 start, the Jets have gone 6-1, with their only loss being to Oakland in overtime. The Jets come into this game off a crucial overtime win at New England last Thursday night and with three extra days of rest for the players and preparation time for the coaches. Those points should not be underestimated. At this time of year, extra rest will help all players, but especially the Jets, who have some older players like Brett Favre, Alan Faneca and Damien Woody, to name a few. It will also help the backs and receivers get "fresher" legs going into this game.

This will be the Titans' toughest game to date and, with the next three opponents being Detroit, Cleveland and Houston -- matchups Tennessee will be decidedly favored in -- this game probably is all that stands in the way of the Titans being 14-0 going into their Week 16 showdown at home with the Pittsburgh Stealers.

The best teams the Titans have played are probably Baltimore, with a rookie QB, and Indianapolis, with Peyton Manning still trying to find his grove. But take nothing away from the Titans: They won both of those games with strong fourth quarters. In fact, the common perception -- and I agreed with it -- was to stack your defense to stop the run and let Kerry Collins and the Titans wide receivers beat you. Guess what? In the past four games, that has been the strategy and Collins and the receivers have responded to help the Titans stay undefeated.

For the Jets, the season has been a growing process. The obvious issue was merging newcomer Favre with the offense. The coaches and players had to learn Favre and he had to learn the system and players. One area where the coaches have adjusted to Favre was putting in more empty-backfield formations. The empty backfield means there are no backs behind the quarterback.

This was a popular formation in Green Bay when Favre was there. It allows the QB to scan the field quickly and find an open receiver and get rid of the ball. This plays to one of Favre's strengths: scanning the field from sideline to sideline and making a quick decision where to throw the ball. It declares the coverage and blitz intention of the defense earlier, which makes a veteran quarterback like Favre especially dangerous.

The Jets have had to incorporate all the new starters they have on offense and defense. This takes time for the players to mesh and learn the system, as well as for the coaches to learn the players' strengths and weaknesses. The Jets added at times eight new starters to their team. It is only logical it would take some time for this group to come together and play well as a team.
Here are some of the keys to the game:

Titans offense vs. Jets defense

The Titans have one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL, and the Jets are one of the best teams defending the run. The key matchup in this battle will be Jets nose tackle Kris Jenkins vs. Titans center Kevin Mawae.
In a 3-4 defense, which is what the Jets play, the nose tackle must dominate the center in one-on-one battles and force a guard help the center. If that happens, it frees up one of the inside linebackers to run free to the ball. An unsung hero of the Jets defensive line is Shaun Ellis, who will move around and line up in different positions to get advantageous matchups.
Watch the play of the outside linebackers Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas as the Jets try to stop Tennessee's ground game. Both of these players were originally defensive ends. They are big and physical and should present problems for Titans tight ends.
If the Jets can stop the Titans' running game with only seven men in the box, then that will be an edge -- and I think they can do it. As I watch each play unfold, I want to see if Jenkins is winning his matchup with Mawae. I will then look at the side the Titans are running to and see if Pace and Thomas are winning their matchups.

The key for the Titans is staying patient with the run, because they have a home-run threat in rookie running back Chris Johnson. He can go along and be stopped a number of times and then, with one seam being opened because the Jets misplayed a gap, Johnson can make a big play. The Jets must play their gaps with discipline in this game.

The Jets have struggled vs. no-huddle teams. The Titans will be aware of this. The other area the Titans will try to exploit is the pass coverage of New York's outside linebackers. As I said before, there were originally defensive ends. The way to exploit this is to spread your formations out and make them play in space.
If the Titans try to stay tight in their formations, they will have trouble running the ball because I think Jenkins and the rest of the Jets' front seven will give them problems. But if Tennessee varies its formations and tempo with some hurry-up offense, it will move the ball on the ground.

The key for the Titans when throwing the ball is giving Collins time, which is something they do very well. The key for the Jets will be their pass rush; a strong inside pass rush does not allow a quarterback to step up into the pocket. The key man again will be Jenkins. The matchup inside that favors Jenkins the most will be against Titans guard Eugene Amano.

I think the Jets will force Collins to try to win it again by making plays to his wide receivers. I would look for the Titans to go after rookie corner Dwight Lowery. The interesting thing will be how much Ty Law plays. I think Law can help in nickel or short-area coverage, but I doubt he can be effective in off-man coverage.

Jets offense vs. Titans defense

The Titans defense starts with Albert Haynesworth. He can be a dominating player, which will make it a real treat to watch two of the year's best defensive lineman, Haynesworth and Jenkins, in action.

Haynesworth against Faneca will be a great matchup, with Haynesworth probably being prodded all week by his coaches about this showdown. Faneca, who has a lot of pride, will rise to the occasion and probably play his best game of the year. Where the Titans have a bigger edge is at the other DT-OG matchup: Tony Brown of the Titans vs. Brandon Moore of the Jets.

I think the Titans will make it hard for the Jets to run inside the tackles. The Jets have the backs to be effective running outside with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington, and I would look for them to try to do this. I believe they can be effective.

In fact, when you defend the Jets, you must stop Washington first. He is the big-play weapon. He not only is effective running the ball but he is also good on screens, draws and kick returns, and he has the versatility to line up in different positions. Since the Jets move him around a lot, I do not know if you can plan a specific defense for him, but one way to limit his effectiveness is to wear him down. Make sure you get a hit on him, whether he has the ball or not. If he has the ball, emphasize gang tackling and being extra physical in doing it.

That brings us to Favre. There are a couple of constants with Favre: No play is ever over and no receiver is ever out of a play. Both of these situations can work for you -- or against you. Brett has the field vision to see things most quarterbacks won't and he can still make a lot of big-time throws, but he will also take some chances. Will Favre play like he did in New England, error free, or will he make the one or two bad plays that haunted him in the weeks leading up to the Pats game?

We have not seen him make many throws down the field recently. Some might question his arm strength to throw the deep ball, but he is playing with two good receivers, Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery, who aren't big speed guys. That might explain some of the recent lack of big pass plays down the field. By the way, in the Cardinals game on Sept. 28, four of Favre's six touchdown passes came when Arizona either blew the coverage or had a defender fall down.

Favre is still an effective passer and inspires confidence in the Jets that their offense can score every time they get the ball and win every game. Because of him, the Jets will not be intimidated by going to Nashville to play the undefeated Titans and their top-flight defense.

Don't look for Jets receivers to have big games against the Titans secondary; the player to watch is rookie tight end Dustin Keller. He was a major weapon in the victory over the Pats. The Jets need a big game from him, and it seems Favre is in sync with him. What makes Keller effective is he is quick and fast and hard for linebackers or safeties to match up with.

I like the Jets to upset the Titans in this game. The 10 days off is an advantage for the Jets: They will be well rested, have an extra day to practice and a couple of extra days to prepare for this game. Also not to be taken lightly is their confidence gained in beating New England.

The negative for the Jets, besides playing a terrific, well-balanced team, is they are going to play in Tennessee, where the crowd noise will give the Titans' talented defensive line the split-second advantage that makes it tough to block them. This is the best defense the Titans have faced since Baltimore on Oct. 5. I think the Jets defense will contain the Titans running game and ask Collins to win it, which he has proven he can do. Let's not forget Collins has been to the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, so his clutch performances over the past month should not be a complete surprise. That being said, I do not think the Titans will score a lot of points.

I don't think the Jets will score a lot of points, either, but I think they will win because they will take the key matchups: Jenkins vs. Mawae, Jets outside linebackers vs. Titans tight ends, and the Jets' outside running game vs. Titans outside linebackers and defensive ends. I like Favre to outplay Collins, though the Jets will ask more of Favre in this game then the Titans will ask of Collins.

The aspect of the game that could tip it to the Titans is if Johnson makes more big plays then Washington does.