rozomaldini Saturday Night Football, Week 18

In and win for Jags and Titans tonight

By David McDonnell 

It’s been a very strange week in the NFL on the back of Damar Hamlin’s injury and most everyone who was watching on Monday Night Football would have been in some way affected by how the events surrounding his cardiac arrest played out. 

It is wonderful that he is alive with all his faculties intact and also to hear that he talked with his Bills teammates over the last 24 hours.

There has been a lot to reflect and learn from this near death experience and in my opinion, the most important is that every sporting organisation and club in every sport has immediate access to a defibrillator and have people trained and ready to put CPR into practice in an emergency.  

Such foresight saved Damar Hamlin’s life this week.  

It also brought home on Monday Night just how little importance football can seem when someone’s life hangs in the balance and I am glad that the NFL decided not to refix this game.

But let’s get back to talking football because it certainly has its place. Football is a game we love to watch, discuss and over-analyse and offers escapism from the pressures and obstacles that can be everyday life for many people.  It adds meaning to our passions and colour to our dreams. 

Titans @ Jaguars 

This is an in-and-win game for both sides tonight (kick-off: 1.15am) with the winner hosting a playoff game in seven days’ time. 

Let’s start with the Titans who had a four game lead in the division in November with a record of 7-3, before losing six games on the bounce. 

Six weeks ago, they boasted one of the most physical defensive lines in football and on offence had the best running back in football in Derek Henry and a play action specialist quarterback in Ryan Tannehill, who would throw some deep shots down the field with relative success. 

So what has happened?

Ultimately, a one-dimensional team picked up a few injuries and they have not been able to adjust. 

The injury to Tannehill has been significant as his replacement Malik Willis has not been accurate throwing the ball. The rookie Willis is a threat running with the ball and on option plays, but without the consistent threat of hurting teams with his arm, teams can pack the box more to better curb the influence of Henry. 

The Titans recruited QB Joshua Dobbs from the waiver wire three weeks ago after he was let go from the Browns once Deshaun Watson returned from suspension. Dobbs will start tonight but he is also without a top receiving talent on the roster and the general manager Jon Robinson lost his job for deciding to trade AJ Brown to the Eagles, a move that confounded most analysts during the draft last April. That AJ Brown has become everything to Philly that is missing in Tennessee, Robinson can have little complaints. 

The Titans defence has been laid low with a lot of injuries with the loss of Zach Cummingham, David Long Jr, Harold Landry and Bud Dupree all at linebacker has been significant to what had been a very tough defence to play against. 

It has left Tennessee with a banged up defence and a one dimensional offence and their hopes tonight will rest on the shoulders of Derek Henry. If he can be a dominant influence on this game, then the Titans have a chance.

The Jaguars have had an almost opposite route to get to this must-win contest. 

They were very inconsistent for most of the season but the turning point for me was in Week 12 when they beat the Ravens. In that game Trevor Laurence came of age and led an impressive two minute drill which finished with a Marvin Jones touchdown and he then found Zay Jones for the win with the two-point conversion. 

After that game winning drive, Laurence’s confidence at the QB position has been tangible and he is leading his team in much the same way he did at Clemson. Just as significant is that his teammates have rowed in behind him and this looks like the start of some memorable years to come in Jacksonville. 

Laurence isn’t short of passing options either. He has the safety blanket of his Clemson running back in Travis Eteinne on passing downs and has struck up a great relationship with Evan Engram at tight end. Earlier in the season he would routinely find Christian Kirk but most recently his favourite target has become Zay Jones. 

They have a strong offensive line, especially on the right side with Jawaan Taylor and Brandon Scherff and an excellent running back in Etienne. 

The Jaguars defence is also playing well. Josh Allen and Trevon Walker give them pass rushing options from the edge and there is a terrific partnership at safety between Andre Cisco and Rayshawn Jenkins, while Tysom Campbell has done well in pass defence.

Against the Titans I expect Jenkins and Cisco will drop down to the box, especially if Dobbs can’t get the Jags to respect the passing game. 

With the prime time audience, this is the most important game in Duval County since the Jags lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game in January 2018 and I am expecting Laurnece to deliver a win for the home side.

The Titans certainly have a puncher’s chance with Derek Henry but outside of that, I can’t see how they will win this contest.  

In the other Saturday Night game (9.30pm GMT), we have the Chiefs playing a divisional matchup against the Raiders. 

If the Chiefs win they will get a bye from playing wildcard weekend but it’s likely that any appearance in an AFC championship game will be played at a neutral venue after a vote by the NFL owners yesterday. 

From the Raiders point of view,  Jared Stidham has the chance to further his case to be the starting QB in Las Vegas next season, but my intuition tells me that Josh McDaniels will be bringing in a new player under centre in the off-season.  

And that player could be Tom Brady. 

rozomaldini NFL Column, Week 12

NFL Week 11 Preview

By David McDonnell 

Sorry it’s only a short preview this week. 

Bengals v Titans 

The most interesting match-up for me is the Bengals visiting the Titans and these are two teams that have been in great form over the last few weeks. 

Tennessee were very impressive on Thursday Night Football in Week 11 against a resurgent looking Packers in Lambeau Field, where again they leaned on Derek Henry and the threat of Derek Henry to do the damage. 

I am not the biggest fan of Ryan Tannehill but very like Kirk Cousins he is a play-action specialist and he can throw down the field accurately when he gets time and space in the pocket. Having first-round pick Treylon Burks back after injury will help in this regard and the rookie wide-out had over 100 yards receiving last time out. 

The best way to stop play action is to stop the run but that is easier said than done when you have to come up against a behemoth that is Henry. With his power, speed and acceleration, and also a hand-off akin to being hit by a baseball bat, he is an unstoppable force and as long as he stays healthy then the Titans can beat any team on their day. 

They come up against a Cincinnati defence who are clever and well-coached with excellent players across their line-up. Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson are the standouts on the line but Logan Wilson as the ‘will’ linebacker has impressed me all season. 

It will be interesting to see how the Bengals defensive plays against Tannehill and the Titans. Will they pack the box to stop Henry as we have seen many teams do and leave themselves vulnerable to play action from Tannehill? Or will they mix it up and try something different? If it was me,  I would try and make Tannehill beat me from the pocket even if he is coming off an excellent display against Green Bay.  

The Bengals offence has been on fire all season led by Joe Burrow at quarterback. 

They die and ride with his performances and decision making and they haven’t skipped a beat since their superstar receiver Ja’Marr Chase was out over the last few weeks with a rib injury. 

Instead Burrow has learned more from Tee Higgens, who is coming off his best performance of the season with 148 receiving yards with an average of over 16 yards per catch against the Steelers defence. In the last two games, their running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine have also combined for eight touchdowns.

With Chase listed as questionable for this game, he could be back on the field sooner than expected and the Bengals will need him as they are facing a tough schedule of games with the Chiefs, Browns, Bucs, Pats, Bills and Ravens rounding out their schedule after this game against Tennessee.

The Titans have won seven of their last eight games and have the league’s top run defence according to the metrics.  The Titans have a particularly aggressive defence that takes their lead from their head coach Mike Vrabel and the best way to stop this high-powered Bengals offence is to get to Joe Burrow. 

The Titans are averaging two and a half sacks a game and will need to improve this in my opinion to stop Joey Cool, or whatever they are calling him these days.

I’m going for a road Bengals win.

Packers v Eagles 

Another interesting game in Week 12 is the Packers visiting the Eagles in the late kickoff on Sunday night. 

We all know Aaron Rodgers loves it when the lights shine brightest and I think the Packers are a team trending in the right direction with two good performances in a row. 

They will find it tough against an excellent set of defensive backs in Philly and it will be interesting if rookie receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs can get much change out of a pair of elite corner-backs in Darius Slay and James Bradberry.  

Still I think this game will be won in the trenches and coming off a loss, I expect the Eagles to go back to basics and let their O-line lead them to another victory. For this reason I suspect the Eagles will be the team singing Christmas songs in the locker room afterwards.

It is still November right? 

Just checking.  


rozomaldini Thursday Night Football, Week 11

King Henry cans Packers on TNF

By David McDonnell 

The Titans are fast becoming one of the dark horses in the race for the Superbowl after their seventh win in their last eight games came after a highly entertaining contest in a snowy and cold Lambeau Field.

The key to their success is being very physical on their offensive and defensive lines and the rushing talent that is Derek Henry. He is without doubt one of teh best running backs inNFl history and when he gets motoring, it opens up the play action game for a specialist like Ryan Tannehill.

The Titans QB back for the second week after missing time through injury was excellent and on the night completed 22 of 27 passes attempted for 333 yards and two touchdowns. On the first drive of the contest he gave us a hint of what lay in store when he found Dontrell Hilliard for a touchdown. 

Just as time was about to tick to zero at the end of the first quarter, in classic Aaron Rodgers fashion, the Packers quarterback took an unexpected snap, which drew a defensive flag and knowing he had a shot to nothing, threw up a contestable ball and rookie Christian Watson mossed his marker to reply with a six-pointer for the home side. A blocked PAT marked the end of the first quarter. 

The contest was hotting up and a great throw by Tannehill on third and 10 down found Austin Hooper to extend the drive. Matt LeFleur challenged the call and Tennessee had to make it from fourth and inches to pick up the first down, which they did with an interesting play call. I’m not sure Tannehill will be picking up an Oscar after this play as I don’t think anyone expected someone other than Derek Henry to get the ball.

However, in the drive on another fourth and one, the Titans gave it again to King Henry but time the Packers got the stop to cause a turnover in the football. Green Bay didn’t make the turnover pay on the scoreboard and There was no stopping Tennessee on their next drive where they leaned more in Henry and the big man smashed his way over the line to extend the lead.

Tennessee had an eight point lead after having the football for double the amount of the home side in the first half. 

In the third quarter, the Titans went 91 yards in only six plays as Henry broke through on a long run to bring the play into the redzone. The big running back then faked a run and threw a jump-shot to Hooper on a delayed run for a touchdown.

This time it was the Titans kicker to miss the added point.

Green Bay hit back with Rodgers in excellent form.  On second and goal, he found Watson again in the endzone for the rookie’s fifth touchdown in five days. Aaron Jones then converted a two-point play to leave just three points between the sides.

Two minutes later on the first play of the fourth quarter, Tannehill on play action found his tight end Hooper with a dart into the endzone to make it 27-17.

For the rest of the game, both defences started to dominate and there were no more scores.

It was a good performance by the Green Bay Packers against one of the toughest teams in the NFL. The Titans who look already destined for play-off football in January. If they can keep Henry healthy and in his current form, they will be a match for anyone going forward.

rozomaldini Thursday Night Football, Week 11

TNF: Titans v Packers 

By Conor Perrett 

With the Green Bay Packers coming off an overtime win to America’s team; Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, they now host another top team when the Tennessee Titans come to Lambeau Field for Thursday Night Football. 

Both sides are still in the playoff hunt, and both need to keep stacking up wins so read on and I’ll tell you who I think will win this exciting match-up tonight. 

Green Bay Packers (4-6)

Power Rankings: 18th

DVOA Rankings: Offence – 9th, Defence – 17th, ST – 30th: Overall – 14th

Thanks to a five-game losing streak that buried them deep in the NFC standings, it has been a difficult season for the Packers.

Aaron Rodgers has looked like a fraction of his former self and the offence has just been stuck in gear following the off-season trade of wide receiver Davante Adams. That was until last Sunday when we got our first bit of spark from them this season, when they came from behind to beat a fancied Cowboys team.

The man at centre of this renaissance was rookie second-round pick Christian Watson, who caught four passes on the day for 104 yards and three touchdowns. He is one of the new young receivers that was brought in to replace Adams, and he has had a rough start to life in the NFL being on concussion protocol and also dropping a number of catchable passes. It has left an unhappy Rodgers throwing to him, and numerous times this year the quarterback has shown his frustration on the field and on the sideline.

It’s clear Rodgers is not happy with the current situation or where the team is heading towards. Despite winning last week, his demeanor really wasn’t much different until the last drive. He tends to take his frustration out on head-coach Matt LaFleur despite a winning relationship with him over the last two years.

Having a group of young receivers isn’t ideal, but he also has Randell Cobb returning for this game. The defence hasn’t been living up to its potential. With a good second half of the season, Green Bay could find themselves in the playoffs, but that still might not cement Rodgers’ future with this team.

Tennessee Titans (6-3)

Power Rankings: 12th

DVOA Rankings: Offence – 21st, Defence – 9th, ST – 11th: Overall – 13th

The Titans are in the driving seat for the AFC South title and now that starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill is back, they have a resemblance of a passing game once again. On Sunday he threw for a pair of touchdowns on his return to the lineup in the Titans’ win over the Denver Broncos.

The King, Derrick Henry, has got himself back on track in the past month, having topped the 100 rushing yard mark in five of his last six games. He looks just as scary as he did back when he won Offensive Player of the Year in 2020, and tonight he gets to take on statistically the league’s worst run-defence this week in Green Bay.

On the other side of the ball, the Titan defence has been hotting up as well, and in their last six games they have not given up more than 20 points in four quarters. That six games stretch includes the Kansas City Chiefs who have the No. 1 scoring offence in the league and are first in offensive DVOA. They will be missing their top pass rusher Bud Dupree for this clash, but a strong and gritty Mike Vrabel team won’t let that set them back.

Prediction

This matchup will be closer than the records suggest and feels like a coin toss in my opinion. 

With the Packers being at home, they enter the game as three-point favourites in the bookies and have had the better fortune with injuries. They looked good on Sunday night and I think Rodgers will get this offence motoring again. How soon in the game will this happen is the question, as this Titans defence has been playing up near the league’s best in recent weeks.

Despite the arrows pointing towards Green Bay in some situations, I like the matchup for Tennessee. I don’t think they will be able to run the ball as effectively as people might think, with the Packers run-defence often showing up when it matters most. 

But Tennessee is a real tough outfit and won’t be fearing the cold reception when they will get at Lambeau Field. They nearly went into Kansas City two weeks ago and beat them without a serviceable passing attack and I think this time round, in another difficult place to perform, they walk out with the win.

Titans 20, Packers 17