Shut Down Chris Johnson
We need to have 8 men in the box nearly every play to shut him down. We need to watch out for the long ball, because if we pursue too much we could get scored on deep. Screen plays typically always kill the Texan defense, and Johnson is probably the best in the league at it besides RB Arian Foster. The Titans offense also loves to run sweeps with CJ. Shutting down the outside will be a very important part of winning Sunday, stopping CJ for big gains is a large part of keeping him out of his rhythm. OLB Connor Barwin and OLB Brooks Reed need to have a big game, and the rest of the defensive line needs to lock down on their offensive line.
Stop Hasselback Early
The Tennessee offense is not built to come from behind. If they win they will beat you early and keep the ball out of your hands so you can’t come back. QB Matt Hasselback is a streaky QB, and has lost his best receiver in WR Kenny Britt. Their best receiver is WR Nate Washington as of the moment, who isn’t that great, but we all know he will get a couple of deep balls past CB Jason Allen or CB Kareem Jackson. Another passing threat they have is TE Jared Cook, he is a freak athlete and has made a couple of home runs this year. A big part of shutting down the run game will be the pass rush. We had some great pass rushing moments against Baltimore last week even without OLB Mario Williams. DT Tim Jamison got 2 sacks in the first quarter last week. Our defense really has show some great moments and we are 13th in the pass and rush on defense. This is for sure a beatable offense. If ILB Brian Cushing and ILB Demeco Ryans bring some heart and swagger to this rivalry away game Saturday, I think our defense could have one our best games of the year.
Texans Offense Needs To Get Going
I don’t know what has happened this year. Our offense has slightly slacked this year, but to be fair, two of our best players haven’t played at the same time. With WR Andre Johnson out for his thired week, the Texans pass game can’t honestly get better than it is. RB Arian Foster has only ran well for the Steelers game since he has come back from his injury. TE Owen Daniels, WR Kevin Walter, and WR Jacoby Jones have each had their shining moments since AJ has left. Arian has also been one of QB Matt Schaub’s favorite targets. Foster needs to be able to run and catch the ball like he did against the Steelers. The matchup of WR Derrick Mason and CB Cortland Finnegan, should be quite a show. Mason used to play in Tennessee and well, we all know what happened to Finnegan against the Texans last year. The Texans offense hasn’t been in their usual groove lately, and I haven’t liked Kubiak’s pass heavy offense without AJ. I think Schaub has been playing quite well contrary to most. He had one bad moment, but other than that he has really stepped up as a leader in Houston. This is his team, and he needs to prove he can take over the AFC South without his safety blanket in Andre Johnson. If Schaub has a great game and so does Arian I guarantee a win for the Texans Sunday.