Getting To Know The Enemy: Tennessee Titans

The Washington Redskins(1-5) will host the Tennessee Titans(2-4) this Sunday. Both teams are having a disappointing season under new head coaches.  Both teams are looking for a win this week to have something positive to talk about.  Both teams could be without their starting QBs this week.  I admittedly don't watch many Titans games, so I reached out to Jimmy Morris from Music City Miracles to ask them a few questions about the 2014 version of the team.  Thanks to Jimmy for taking the time to answer my questions, and look for his answers to my questions soon.

1)Do Titans fans feel the team can win with Jake Locker, or are they ready to move on? Charlie Whitehurst, Yay or Nay? Is Zach Mettenberger an option in the future or just a backup?

The fanbase is pretty split on Jake Locker.  Most agree that he gives the team the best chance to win right now, but it is also clear that the Titans will be moving on from Locker after the season.  He had this year to prove he could be an NFL QB.  He has continued to be inconsistent and not healthy this season.  They can't afford to count on him going forward.

Charlie Whitehurst is a back-up.  He is a pretty good back-up, but you aren't going to win a lot of games with him under center.

The Zach Mettenberger question might be the most important one for this season.  Mett showed flashes in the preseason.  There is no doubt he has the arm to be good at this level, but we just don't know if he can do everything else.  He is definitely an option for the future.  Hopefully we will find out before the season is over how good of an option he is.

2)How has the departure of Hall of Fame linemen Mike Munchak as head coach affected the mentality of the offensive line, and even the team as a whole?

The departure of Mike Munchak hasn't had much of an affect on the offensive line.  While he did get more involved with the offensive line coaching last season, he wasn't doing as much with that group after becoming head coach.

As for team as a whole, it is really hard to tell.  Most Titans fans were ready for a change.  The Munchak era seemed like an extension of the Jeff Fisher era in a lot of ways.  We thought this team would be a lot different with a new staff, but unfortunately they have looked pretty much the same- but it is early yet.

3)How's Taylor Lewan looked since he's been with the team? Also how has Michael Oher performed at RT this season?

Lewan got his first start last week and was really good.  He only allowed one sack, and it was also the only pressure he allowed on the day.  There is a chance that he could be an upgrade from Michael Roos before the season is over.  He just needs to keep his head on straight.

Michael Oher has been up and down much like he was in Baltimore.  He has been a serviceable right tackle.

4)What has DaQuan Jones shown so far?  There were a lot of discussions about him on Hogs Haven before the draft.

DaQuan Jones hasn't done anything so far.  He has been inactive for 4 of the Titans 6 games.  He didn't play at all in the one of the games he was active, and only played 19 snaps in the other.  They had some good things to say about him in camp, but it hasn't translated to playing time so far.

5)What are the teams strengths and weaknesses?  What areas should the Titans have an advantage in and what areas should the Redskins have an advantage in?

To be honest, they haven't had a lot of strengths.  Jurrell Casey is one of the best defensive lineman in the league.  He is the strength of a team that really hasn't done anything particularly well.

I don't know all that much about the Redskins, but I am not sure there is a place where the Titans would have a distinct advantage.  Again, this is a team that hasn't done anything particularly well to this point in the season.  They have some good pieces, but there isn't a dominant unit on this team.

6)How would you gameplan for the Titans if you were the Redskins?

On offense I would come out and try to establish the run.  This Titans defense has been pretty vulnerable to the run early this season.  If I can get the run established, I can do things off of play action, and the Titans safeties, especially Michael Griffin, LOVE to bite on play action.  The Titans are also vulnerable on the outside because their corners outside of Jason McCourty aren't very good.

On defense, I would apply pressure to whichever quarterback starts for the Titans.  If it is Whitehurst, just load up and go after him- make him make quick decisions.  You have to be a little bit more careful if it is Locker because he has the ability to escape the rush and make a play with his legs, but both guys struggle when they have to make quick decisions.