Tennessee offense vs. Baltimore defense

	TITANS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	20
	Pass	18
	Tot. Yds.	19
	Scoring	11
	Int's allowed	9
	Sacks allowed	14
	RAVENS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	2
	vs. Pass	6
	Total yds. allowed	4
	# of Ints.	11
	# of Sacks	27
	Turnover differential	-2

The ground game in this matchup features strength against strength. The Titans are rushing the ball for over 102 yards per game, while the Ravens allow just 82.2-yards per contest on the ground. RB Eddie George is as fresh as he has ever been in his NFL career this late in the season, and a lot of that can be attributed to the play of FB Lorenzo Neal. Neal has been taking the initial beating as a lead blocker, allowing George far fewer head-on collisions at the line of scrimmage.

The Titans love to run inside the tackles, but the task is a steep one this week against a stout Ravens interior defense. DT's Larry Webster and Tony Siragusa do an excellent job of clogging the middle, allowing MLB Ray Lewis to roam free in the middle of the field. Lewis leads the team in tackles, and has been a force against the inside run.

The key to this matchup is going to be the ability of Neal to get through the line of scrimmage and reach Lewis on his isolation block. George is a powerful runner who continues to do a better job of reading his blocks and making proper cuts to get into the secondary. With Neal in the game as the lead blocker, it frees up OC Kevin Long to help on the double team inside against Baltimore's physical defensive tackles.

If the interior line can create a crease inside for Neal to clear in pursuit of his block, the Titans are going to have greater success than most teams running the ball against the Ravens.

The Titans passing game has become more dynamic with the emergence of RB's Neal and George as receivers out of the backfield, but the biggest key for Tennessee is going to be their ability to throw the ball down field.

Baltimore will test the Titans early by playing a lot of man-to-man coverage on the Titan wide receivers, walking SS Kim Herring up closer to the line of scrimmage in order to give help against the run as well as to generate more of a pass rush. The Ravens have been successful defending against the pass because of their ability to get to the quarterback, notching 28 sacks in twelve games.

The Titans will look to get McNair outside the pocket more in Sunday's game for a couple of reasons. First, McNair is a gifted athlete and has shown the ability to force defenses to defend against the run/pass option when he turns the corner. Also, McNair is finally getting back to form and it seems that his arm strength is where it was when the season started.

The passing scheme has called for a lot of deep out routes and comebacks that require great timing between McNair and his receivers. If the Titans can roll McNair out, it makes his reads easier, he becomes less of a target against the pass rush and finally, he has shown a better ability to connect with his receiver on the timing routes on the intermediate throws when he is rolled out to the same side of the field.

RT Everett Lindsay is having trouble with his footwork, handling the speed and quickness of opposing defensive ends. Reserve right tackle Spencer Folau will get more playing time at that position now that he is almost fully recovered from a knee sprain that has hampered his play the last six weeks. Lindsay, a starting left guard, was moved to right tackle two weeks after Harry Swayne was put on injured reserve with a foot injury.

With Folau recovering, Billick will insert Folau back at tackle and Lindsay to guard. Folau is the more physical of the two, and guard/center are more of Lindsay's natural positions where he can also draw help on the inside.

Errict Rhett's production has dropped off significantly because of the poor play up front and his inability to create running room on his own.

The Ravens passing game continues to be inconsistent, as does the play of QB Tony Banks. Banks has all the physical tools, but his performance is never dependable. The biggest knock on Banks is his lack of pocket awareness. He takes too many sacks and is the all-time fumble leader at the quarterback position.

On a team where the offense needs to be more of a clock-chewing machine that wins the field position battle for the defense, the Ravens have turned the ball over 21 times this season. Tennessee is going to feed on Baltimore's breakdowns up front by playing their usual aggressive style of defense.

Tennessee has been gambling frequently on defense, and will do much of the same on Sunday against a Browns offense that is almost incapable of making them pay. Defensive coordinator Greg Williams has been running a lot of sets that feature six-men on the line, and two linebackers close to seven yards off the line of scrimmage.

The corners, Samari Rolle and Denard Walker, are playing a lot of press, single-man coverage, with FS Marcus Robertson sitting over the top to give help in the deep third. This "62" look does not necessarily mean that the Titans are rushing six men, but they are all up at the line of scrimmage and are creating a big wall up front. Teams are obviously having trouble running the ball against this scheme, and are forced to try picking on the cornerbacks in man-to-man coverage, something that the Ravens are not equipped to do with such a mediocre receiving corps that has offered little production down field this season.

Matt Stover is having a disappointing season thus far, hitting on just 18-of-23 field goal attempts. Kyle Richardson has handled the punting duties well for the Ravens, averaging 42.9 yards per punt and landing 31-of-73 attempts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Corey Harris has been sufficient as the teams kickoff return specialist, averaging 23.8 yards per return with a long of 68 yards.