[VowJoyday]

Tennessee (1-3, 0-2 away) at Houston (0-3, 0-1 home)

Why To Watch
The Titans return to their former home in Texas for a critical matchup in the AFC South, with two teams in desperate need of a win. Titans head coach Jeff Fisher must continue to come up with ways to motivate his young team, while the Texans have underachieved and have an 0-3 record for the first time in franchise history. The Texans remain the only team in the NFL without a takeaway, and that will need to change against a Titans team prone to mistakes. Offensively, they'll need to protect QB David Carr better against another pressure defense.
Titans Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz must design ways to stop teams in the Red Area. Have the Titans lost too many key players over the last few years to stay competitive in the tough AFC South? Norm Chow must utilize QB Steve McNair in more ways as far as his distribution of passes in the passing game, while Texans defensive coordinator Vic Fangio still needs to come up with ways to pressure the quarterback.

A critical element in this game will be time of possession and the kicking game. The hidden yardage will be critical in the outcome of this game.


When the Titans have the ball
Rushing: The Titans are facing another 3-4 team with a similar philosophy to their Week 1 opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Titans run offense is 20th in the NFL, averaging 97.5 yards per game. The Texans run defense is 27th in the league and allows 128.3 yards per game. RB Chris Brown has averaged 13 carries per game and should continue to get more chances with the suspension of Travis Henry.

Look for offensive coordinator Norm Chow to get more balance this week against a defense that has given up a lot of yards against both the run and pass. The Titans will continue to try and move the chains with a steady diet of Brown, and they'll offset the Texans with their multiple formations and personnel packages. Also, look for the Titans to use Jarrett Payton as a change-of-pace back opposite Chris Brown.

The Texans will utilize their 3-4 against the Titans' experienced offensive line that averages 315 pounds. The Titans will attack behind LT Brad Hopkins and LG Zach Piller, who will be matched up against former Titans RDE Robaire Smith and ROLB Antwan Peek. The key for the Texans will be setting the outside edge and forcing Brown back inside to both inside linebackers Morlon Greenwood and Kailee Wong.

Look for Fangio to utilize SS C.C. Brown, who is second on the team with 21 tackles. Brown is a sixth-round pick who was impressive in the preseason with his physical and reckless style. The key for the Texans will be the ability of the linebackers to stay clean and play their gap responsibilities within their scheme.

Passing: The Colts provided teams preparing for the Titans a pretty solid recipe for defensive success: get them into third down, swarm them to limit yards after the catch, blanket receivers on the outside and force shorter stuff underneath to the tight ends. The Titans lack a true number one receiver, and the Texans did a solid job of taking away WR Chad Johnson last week in their unique match-up zones.

Last week, QB Steve Mcnair completed 28-of-37 passes for 220 yards, but only found wide receivers five times and completed nothing longer than 20 yards in the loss. TE Erron Kinney leads the Titans in receptions with 21 for 177 yards. LT Brad Hopkins played at a high level last week against RDE Dwight Freeney, who didn't have a sack and was credited with just two tackles. Look for the Titans to take more chances down the field against a pass defense ranked 25th in the NFL, allowing 230 yards per game.

The Texans have forced three fumbles, but not recovered any of them. They have also dropped three interceptions. The Texans made three lineup changes last week and started the game vs. the Bengals spread offense with their 245 (2 DL, 4 LB, 5 DB) package.

QB Steve McNair is not as mobile as in years past, so look for Fangio to commit an extra defender in coverage and run some overload blitzes at RT Michael Roos. Fangio is a conservative play caller and hasn't called a lot of all-out pressure blitzes. The Titans have the height and size advantage on the perimeter, so look for the Texans to back off and run a lot of match-up zones, in an effort not to give up he big, downfield play in the passing game.

When the Texans have the ball
Rushing: Houston was competitive for the first time all year against the Bengals, but its major area of weakness remains. The offense cannot find the end zone and continues to struggle in the fourth quarter at finishing drives. Look for Pendry to continue this week to have good balance within the offensive gameplan.

Dominack Davis finished with 81yards and the offensive line did a better job of maintaining and sustaining blocks in the run game last week. Look for the Texans to continue to attack behind the right side of their offensive line. However, the Texans still need to maintain their blocks on the backside when sealing off, and must continuing to eliminate free hitters to the ball when in pursuit.

The Titans did an effective job last week against Edgerrin James of staying disciplined and playing their gap responsibilities.That must continue this week against Dominack Davis. They are ranked 17th against the run and are allowing 105.3 yards per game. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is one of the brightest young coaches in the NFL and has his hands full repairing a secondary that lost both starting corners last year and has struggled to defend the pass, making it hard for him to commit an eighth man in the box vs. the run.

The Titans are undersized at defensive end with both LDE Kyle Vanden Bosch and RDE Antwan Odom as one-gap players. They must to do a good job of setting and protecting the edge, and forcing RB Dominack Davis back inside to MLB Robert Kassell and ROLB Keith Bulluck. Also, look for the Titians to play some big nickel (4 DL, 3 LB, 3 DS and 1 DC) with an extra safety in the box on early downs vs. the Texans' run packages.

Passing: New offensive coordinator, same result. Even with Joe Pendry calling the shots, the Texans scored only one touchdown and couldn't keep quarterback David Carr on his feet. Carr has been sacked 20 times in three games, well on his way to breaking his own NFL record of 76 sacks in one season.

The offense hasn't scored more than two touchdowns in eight consecutive games and 13 of the last 14, dating back to the fifth game of last season. However, David Carr's passer rating against Cincinnati last week was 97.3, his highest since October of last year. Despite assurances last week that he would be more involved in the offense, WR Andre Johnson had just three receptions and now has just 10 for the season.

Also hindering the Texans passing offense is the lack of the vertical threat at the tight end position, thus slowing the production of WR Andre Johnson. So look for Pendry to run the ball to set up the pass and to continue to run the short, quick passing attack, something that helps the rhythm and timing within the passing game.

Jim Schwartz knows the Texans and must respect and defend wide receivers Andre Johnson, Jabar Gaffney and RB Domanick Davis, with a pass defense ranked 24th in the NFL, allowing 227.3 per game. The Titans run a lot of different combinations with their personnel groupings within their sub packages, depending on the offensive personnel.

Look for the Titans to pressure with a combination of zone fires and overloads to the Texans left side against LT Victor Riley. Look for LDE Kyle Vanden Bosch, who leads the NFL in sacks, in his matchup with RT Todd Wade in passing situations. They will roll the coverage toward Andre Johnson and bracket him with either a safety or linebackers. The key for the Texans will be the ability of Jabar Gaffney or Corey Bradford to win their one-on-one matchups.