Tennessee offense vs. Cincinnati defense

	TITANS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	26
	Pass	9
	Tot. Yds.	17
	Scoring	13
	Int's allowed	8
	Sacks allowed	13
	BENGALS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	21
	vs. Pass	20
	Total yds. allowed	23
	# of Ints.	5
	# of Sacks	17
	Turnover differential	-15

Tennessee had a major setback last week on offense as QB Steve McNair threw three interceptions and RB Eddie George could only muster 65 yards on the ground. This week, however, the Titan's offense will get back on track as they face a Cincinnati defense that is allowing 111.3 yards per game on the ground and 231.2 yards in the air.

Tennessee is going to be able to run the ball off-tackle against Cincinnati's "34" defensive set with great success. The Bengals linebackers are active, but are having a difficult time stacking up at the line of scrimmage. OTs Jon Runyan and Brad Hopkins will be able to handle their run-blocking assignments against DEs Jevon Langford and John Copeland, leaving an offensive guard and FB Lorenzo Neal to handle the kick-out block on ILB's Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons.

Because of the Bengals trouble in coverage, they will get minimal help from the safeties in run-support, because they will be forced to play off the line of scrimmage to give help in the deep third against play action on first and second downs. This will give the Titans numbers in the run game where they already have a significant size advantage on the Bengals front seven.

Eddie George should gain over one hundred yards on Sunday, with most of his production coming on downhill runs where the Titans will be able to isolate the linebackers and create generous running lanes for George to cut upfield.

This mismatch gets even more apparent when analyzing the Bengals pass defense. Cincinnati is playing with a depleted secondary, having been left with just three cornerbacks in last Sunday's game versus the Seahawks. They have been getting scorched early in the game because of taking false steps and trying to do too much in run support. Cincinnati has been outscored by 136 points in the first half of games this season.

The Bengals secondary has gotten a face-lift, and it is not a pretty one. Rico Clark and Ty Howard (originally slated as practice squad players) are the starting corners, and Rodney Heath (a reserve cornerback who could not handle coverage responsibility) has been relegated to the starting strong safety duties. Needless to say, this is a little different look for McNair & Co. after last week's game versus Dolphin cornerbacks Terrell Buckley and Sam Madison.

Tennessee's "46" defense is going to be too much for the Bengals to handle up front. The pressure that the scheme puts on blocking assignments is unparalleled and the Bengals are incapable of working together as a unit on the offensive line.

The Titans scheme is an aggressive one that features a heavy blitz concentrated to one side of the line. This defense is a risk against receivers like Darnay Scott and Carl Pickens because it relies on the corners to play on an island, but the Titans are confident that they will get to the quarterback before he can do any damage up top in the passing game.

The key to the "46" defense is to get to the quarterback before his receivers get out of their routes, disrupting the timing and rhythm of the passing game. Tennessee will load up its linebackers and even safeties to one side, blitzing two of the players to one side in order to split the offensive tackle an tight end. The interesting thing about the "46" defense is that the Titans will drop the defensive end into coverage on occasion to diversify the quarterback's read and cover the flat.

QB Jeff Blake gives this offense a spark as a downfield passer, but the bottom line is that he is a backup quarterback in this league because of his inability to beat the blitz with any consistency. Blake throws off his back foot too often and forces the ball into coverage. Blake will have a horrible time on Sunday handling this pressure and is sure to make some key mistakes and costly turnovers.

Doug Pelfrey has not had much to work with this season, but he is 11-of-16 with a long of 51 yards. P Will Brice has been extremely inconsistent, often outkicking his coverage or shanking the ball off the side of his foot. Brice needs to get more air under his kicks and allow his coverage units to get into position. The one bright spot on special teams has been the return of Tremain Mack, who is averaging 23.1 yards per kickoff return and has seemingly sparked the return units.