Tennessee Titans vs Washington Redskins: Week 7 Preview

To say that both the Tennessee Titans and the Washington Redskins have struggled this year, doesn’t really do justice to the word struggle.

If you could boil their struggles down to the quarterback position as the lowest common denominator, that would be one thing, but the struggles for these teams go well past simply asking who’s been at the helm, and how well they’ve performed.

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The Washington Redskins will take on the Titans with hopes of somehow putting an end to their current four game skid, and the Titans will hope to somehow replicate the ugly success they had last week in a win (barely) against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Titans ended their own four game skid with that pitiful win, but hey – a win is a win, and the Titans will certainly take what they can get!

As I alluded to earlier, you cannot boil  down the problems of these two teams simply to quarterback struggles.

I’ve heard to many opine that Washington would be much better if they didn’t have to rely on Kirk Cousins, and while it’s certainly fair to say Cousins hasn’t performed well, it’s important to note that the Washington defense has been equally as bad.

I’ve also heard many talk about how bad Jake Locker has been for the Titans, and how pitiful Charlie Whitehurst has been in replacing an injured Locker. All that is true – both have been horrible, but the problems for the Titans cannot be boiled down to problems at quarterback either.

Keys For Washington

Cousins needs to be better, but the truth is that Kirk is pretty good when he gets good protection! When Cousins has ample time to throw and make decisions, his quarterback rating, believe it or not, is almost 98! The problem is that when he is pressured, as the Redskins O-Line too often allows, his rating drops down to a miserable 56.2!

Washington’s offensive line then, will need to work hard to protect Kirk Cousins, and give him time to find receivers, roll out, and make decisions.

The second key is akin to the first – Trent Williams is one of the best offensive tackles in the game, and he’ll need to play with the same kind of efficiency in protecting Cousins as he always does, and work hard to set a tone for the rest of Washington’s offensive line.

Offensively, the Redskins need to get RB Alfred Morris going! He hasn’t been very effective for the Redskins this season, but is a factor if he finds room to run.

Finally, wideout DeSean Jackson is averaging 20.8 yards per catch this season, but the Redskins have had issues finding him often enough. This is again where the O-Line needs to be more effective in giving Cousins time to throw.

If they protect Cousins well, then Washington wins this game.

Keys For Tennessee

The reverse of important keys to Washington’ success (protecting Cousins) will be the Titan’s ability to pressure the Washington quarterback and make him hurry! If they can do that well, then the next issue and key to the Titan’s success today will come in their secondary defense.

Both Blidi Wreh-Wilson and Jason McCourty need to play better, period! McCourty’s coverage in the secondary has been good in the past, but not so good this season. Having already given up 543 in opponent passing, that puts Jason at the rear of the pack among secondary defense.

Wreh-Wilson is exceedingly penalty prone. He’s good, but needs to play today with much more discipline! Assuming the Titans can pressure Cousin and make him hurry, the combination of bad decisions and errant throws for a pressured Cousins, together with improved secondary performance for the Titans, will help a great deal.

Delanie Walker is a difference maker for the Titans. He blocks well to give the Titan’s ground game a good chance, and already has over 400 yards receiving. He will need to be utilized today by the Titans for Tennessee to be effective.

In addition to Walker, Tennessee needs to find ways to hit Justin Hunter in the open field. Hunter is averaging 20.9 yards per catch, and could be a huge difference for a well-protected Titans quarterback.

If the Titans can pressure Cousins, play better in the secondary, and successfully use Walker and Hunter often, the Titans win this game.

Final Truth

This one could be close, especially if both teams struggle again to find balance.

One of the tougher ones to predict for me, I have the Titans winning here, 24-14.