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Giants (1-1) vs Titans
(1-1)
Last week the Titans put themselves in a hole
right away by allowing the Ben Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers to score
on an 89 yard kickoff return. The rest of the Steeler's scoring was just four
fieldgoals but their defense was a killer. After three turnovers, coach Jeff Fisher
pulled Vince Young and threw in Kerry Collins to start the fourth quarter, but
he could only carry a 19-3 score to a 19-11 loss.
Later
that day, the Giants were taken apart by the Colts, 38-14. The only bright spots
were Matt Dodge and some improved special teams play. There is also the fact that
their loss came against one of the best teams in the league. Tennessee
Titans.
The Titans got off to a miserable
start last year, losing their first six games, including a 59-0 performance against
New England in game 5. Their owner, Bud Adams, pushed coach Jeff Fisher to make
a quarterback change and Kerry Collins, who had taken them to a 13-3 Division
title the year prior, was benched. With Vince Young the Titans finished up at
8-8, and despite the fact that Young was pulled last week, Fisher says he remains
the starting quarterback, and Young did guide them to become the first NFL team
to reach .500 after an 0-6 start. The Titans are in a tough division to win since
it also includes the Indianapolis Colts. Titans
Offense.
Running back Chris Johnson ran
for 2,006 yards on 358 carries last season. Only five others have done that before,
Eric Dickerson, Jamal Lewis, Terrell Davis, Barry Sanders, and O.J. Simpson. Johnson
says he wants to be the first to do it twice. He was
held to just 34 rushing yards last week against the Steelers to end his streak
of 12 straight games with at least 100. Quarterback Vince Young was overwhelmed
by the Pittsburgh defense so he can expect the Giants to go after him like they
did, if they can. Titans
Defense.
They ranked 31st in the league
last year defending against the pass and 11th against the run. Over their first
two games this year, they are top ranked 1st in total yards allowed so far. Some
of that was helped by going up against a Pittsburgh team fielding quarterbacks
Charlie Batch (25 yards) and Dennis Dixon (18 yards). Eli Manning will be tougher
to handle with his group of receivers, and Ahmad Bradshaw is a running back with
good hands who they have to watch out for. Giants
Offense.
With poor pass protection from
the offensive line, they managed only two first downs in the first quarter and
only five in the first half against the Colts. It didn't help that Kevin Boss
was out for that game, but he looks to be back against the Titans. Unfortunately
center Shaun O'Hara is still missing practice with his ankle/Achilles injury.
Brandon Jacobs style of running depends on good blocking which hasn't happened
much. He doesn't endear himself to Tom Coughlin when he tries to imitate Ahmad
Bradshaw and comes up short. Bradshaw has been more effective making his own way. Giants
Defense.
They allowed Indianapolis to gain
160 yards on the ground last week after they stacked their deck with a pass oriented
defense. Unfortunately their cards were held face up as Peyton Manning admitted
that he saw Coughlin had dressed only two defensive tackles. Helped by some miscues
by the Giants offense, the defense folded and they were down 24-0 by halftime.
Even stacked against the pass, Peyton was still able to throw for 255 yards and
3 touchdowns against a Giants defense that had already shown in preseason an inability
to handle a no-huddle style offense. Former Titan Keith Bulluck will try to rally
this group, which needs to stop the run like they did against Carolina and let
the safeties and corners earn their keep. The
Good.
The Giants, with a new defensive
coordinator in 2007, got off to a slow start but went on to win the Super Bowl.
They should have their starting tight end back for this game. The
Bad.
Their offensive line is getting old
and injuries are creeping in very early in the season. Justin Tuck’s right shoulder
injury that bothered him last season flared up again on Friday. The
Ugly.
Seeing veteran players behaving like
idiots with their actions on the sidelines and with some clamoring for a need
for leadership. 
Check
out.
The Team
Giants Store, and see some of the really unique items we put together.
There are some items you certainly haven't seen elsewhere, and each sale helps
out our site. Notes.
Tom
Coughlin has fielded teams against Jeff Fisher 17 times, the most among active
coaches.
Jeff Fisher holds the lead 10-7. Titans
q uarterback Vince Young engineered a 24-point 4th quarter comeback in 2006 that
gave the Titans a three-point win over the Giants. The
Titans have won nine straight against NFC opponents. Keith
Bulluck played his entire 10-year career with the Titans, starting 127 straight
games and had 18 sacks and 19 interceptions. Kerry
Collins has taken both these teams to the playoffs.
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