Tennessee Titans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Turning Points

The Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars will fight it out this afternoon, but frankly if you’re looking for something else to do today, you might want to find some paint to watch dry.

To put it bluntly, these two teams are both pathetic, and the difference is that where the Jaguars were expected to be, the Titans and Titan fans (including yours truly) had tremendous hopes for at least a comfortable .500 rebuilding season. Both teams will be trying desperately to get a win and try and at least partially turn things around.

I have a hard time finding a reason to think the Jaguars could win this game, but then again they are playing the Titans, who despite a new approach led by coach Ken Whisenhunt, are just not finding the right gears to get this clunker moving.

If you’re looking for an interesting air game today, don’t tune in.

Notes on the Titans

The Titans are at best a team with an average passing game, and that’s true whoever it at the helm. Locker has performed miserably, and when given the chance, Charlie Whitehurst hasn’t done any better.

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Zach Mettenberger has been given little chance, and you have to wonder when he’s going to see more snaps to get a feel for how he is, live game-in-game-out.

From all reports, Charlie Whitehurst will get the start again today as the now definitely injury prone Jake Locker is suffering from another nagging, but not so serious injury.

It gets only a little better in the talent department at quarterback on the Jaguars side of the ball either.

Notes on the Jaguars

Blake Bortles is a competent and well-developing quarterback, but a captain who has a pitiful cast of characters surrounding him, and who is still making too many rookie mistakes. Bortes can be good though, and has shown it. He’s mobile, very confident and poised against constant pressure, and can pass the ball well. He just needs more help than he’s been getting.

If you’re looking for an interesting run game (Yes! Running games ARE interesting!), you might be disappointed as well, although less so. Again, the Titans are just average on the ground, and their rush-by-committee approach hasn’t blossomed as well as hoped. Bishop Sankey needs to get the majority of the handoffs in my opinion, but even at that this Titans run game has been lackluster.

The Jaguars ground game is even less impressive, and probably not even average. Poor might be a better word to describe it, and the Titans defense won’t have many worries.

So, if the Jaguars have no passing game or running game to speak of, can they possibly win this game? Well, you know the old saying…  on any given Sunday, any team in the NFL can beat another team. Probably not this Sunday, and not in this game!

If the Jaguars hope to pull out a win today, they will need to score of course, but there defense is really their only hope today, and the Jaguars defense is actually pretty good, with an excellent pass rush, and good red zone defense.

The Jaguars then will need to pressure Whitehurst often, but try and contain him in short yardage passing situations, and they will need to stop the Titans from scoring in red zone situations. If they can do that, and manage to score some, stranger things have happened.

Final Truth

The Titans will just need to be average to win this game, and they will. Their passing is average, run is average, and almost every other aspect average, but they won’t need to step it up today to beat this Jaguar team.

This game is interesting from an AFC South perspective, but otherwise, like I said, much akin to watching paint dry. For both teams, it will be an exercise in trying to get the win to improve on the season yes, but also to experiment and see what other formulas can be brought to bear to improve what for both teams has been a dismal season.

Titans win this one, but I don’t have a prediction. I’m too tired from watching them this year.