Game Overview ::
By mike johnson >>
- Tennessee enters this game fresh off a huge comeback in Arizona for their first victory of the Cam Ward era.
- The Titans schedule to start the season has been brutal and this week presents by far their easiest matchup of the season to date.
- Tennessee’s top wide receiver, Calvin Ridley, appears to finally be healthy and is coming off his best game of the season.
- The status of star Raiders tight end Brock Bowers is once again in question due to a knee injury, although the team expects Michael Mayer back for this game.
- Las Vegas has shown some glimpses of functionality on offense this season when they are able to keep the game script from getting away from them.
JM’S JOURNAL ::
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How TENNESSEE Will Try To Win ::
The Titans were the beneficiaries of a litany of self-inflicted errors by the Cardinals in Week 5, which led to their first victory of the season and removed the metaphorical monkey of a winless season from their back as things had previously looked extremely hopeless. The Cardinals literally dropped the ball at the one-yard line just prior to a touchdown that would have put them ahead 28-3, and later intercepted Cam Ward near their own goal line before dropping the ball and allowing the Titans to simply fall on it for a touchdown that sparked their comeback in a 22-21 victory. Tennessee can’t rely on those types of breaks being handed to them on a silver platter weekly, although if there was an opponent that would be most likely to duplicate silly mistakes like that, the Raiders would be near the top of that list.
Tennessee has continued to coddle rookie quarterback Cam Ward throughout his rookie season, until and unless they are absolutely forced to turn things up. The positive things for their outlook are that they have now seen Ward get it done in crunch time and make some big time throws, their top wide receiver, Calvin Ridley, appears to be healthy now, and the Raiders are by far the softest opponent they have faced to date. The reality is that Tennessee started the season against a very tough schedule of defenses in the Broncos, Rams, Colts, and Texans. Even last week’s matchup against Arizona was a somewhat tough one schematically, and particularly for a talent-deficient offense with a young quarterback still looking to gain his confidence. This week the Titans face a Raiders defense that ranks bottom-12 in the NFL in both pass defense and run defense DVOA and 19th in the league in yards per play allowed.
Tennessee has tried to protect Ward to date during their difficult schedule, ranking 25th in neutral situation pass rate despite their running game’s struggles. When they do let Ward throw the ball, he has actually been fairly aggressive and ranks 10th in the NFL in average intended air yards per pass attempt. Las Vegas plays the third highest rate of zone coverage in the NFL and Calvin Ridley has historically been very matchup sensitive and much stronger against zone coverage, while struggling against man coverage – particularly when the opposing cornerbacks are high quality. Rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor seems to be the clear second option in the passing game and has also performed better against zone coverage so far this season. The Raiders have a middling blitz rate and a bottom-10 QB pressure rate this season, while the Titans may also be getting tackle J.C. Latham back from injury, so Ward should have time to make his reads and find the openings in the Raiders leaky zone coverage. The Titans welcomed the return of running back Tyjae Spears in Week 5 and his role should continue to grow. His presence should improve the efficiency of their running game as Spears and Pollard can complement each other and keep each other fresh. Expect Tennessee to open things up a bit this week as they look to build on last week’s strong fourth quarter momentum and take advantage of a strong matchup through the air, while likely having the most offensive success they have had yet this season.
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