{"id":3684,"date":"2015-12-17T06:29:01","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T11:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/?p=3684"},"modified":"2015-12-17T06:29:01","modified_gmt":"2015-12-17T11:29:01","slug":"patriots-titans-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patsfans.com\/patriots\/blog\/2015\/12\/17\/patriots-titans-key-matchups-who-has-the-razors-edge\/","title":{"rendered":"Patriots – Titans Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor’s Edge?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New England Patriots<\/strong><\/a> return home for their last regular season game at Foxboro on Sunday afternoon against the Tennessee Titans.\u00a0 Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The team will finish the last two games on the road as the stadium is being readied for the NHL Classic on New Year\u2019s Day as a hockey rink is being constructed inside Gillette Stadium for the game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n

The Pats game will be televised by CBS with the announcing crew of Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts on the call. The game will also be on the Patriots flagship radio station 98.5 The SportsHub with Bob Socci and Scott Zolak on the call.<\/p>\n

The Patriots (11-2) beat the Houston Texans 27-6 on Sunday Night Football. The defense was outstanding allowing only 189 total yards and just 102 of them thru the air. The defense sacked Texans\u2019 quarterbacks six times. Tom Brady threw for two touchdowns, to Keshawn Martin and Rob Gronkowski in the game.<\/p>\n

The Titans (3-10) lost to the New York Jets 30-8. The offense struggled and the only score was on a half-back option pass from running back Antonio Andrews to quarterback Marcus Mariota.<\/p>\n

We here at\u00a0PatsFans.com<\/a>\u00a0are continuing our \u00a0\u201cRazor\u2019s Edge\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 column in 2015 to give a quick break down on some of the key matchups of the game and what you can look for in how the game plays out.<\/p>\n

Series History:<\/strong>
\nThe Patriots and Titans history goes back to the earliest days of the AFL when they were known as the Houston Oilers. The teams have met 40 times with the Patriots holding a 23-16-1 overall edge. At home the Patriots have a 16-6-1 advantage over the Titans.<\/p>\n

In recent years the Patriots have dominated winning the last five matchups including an early September 2012 matchup 34-13 the last time the teams met.<\/p>\n

Here is a look at some of the key matchups and who holds the Razor\u2019s Edge.<\/p>\n

First up is the Patriots offense:<\/p>\n

Patriots RBs vs Titans Front Seven – <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge Tennessee
\n<\/em>The Patriots running game suffered another big loss with the injury and subsequent placement on IR of LaGarrette Blount. Now the team only has two healthy RBs Brandon Bolden and James White. The Pats signed former Broncos RB Montee Ball to the practice squad and are rumored to have former Ram\/Falcon Steven Jackson in for a visit. If signed, he\u2019d be an intriguing addition.<\/p>\n

The Titans are much improved this season against the run. New DC Dick LeBeau has instilled his 3-4 attacking defense this year and ILB Avery Williamson is enjoying a solid season. Overall the Titans\u2019 defense has improved to being nearly a top-10 unit. Although they\u2019ll great miss OLB Derrick Morgan who needs shoulder surgery.<\/p>\n

Look for the Patriots to use both Bolden and White this week in the running game but with the inconsistencies of the offensive line as well as injuries, they won\u2019t be running the ball much this week. But if Bolden can get into any kind of rhythm he should get the majority of the reps as they\u2019ll look to run more inside.<\/p>\n

Patriots WRs vs Titans Secondary – <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>The Patriots passing game has been beset by injuries but last week they got a shot in the arm with the return of tight end Rob Gronkowski. His presence could be felt immediately as not only QB Tom Brady but the rest of the unit elevated their game. He and Danny Amendola will be Brady\u2019s go-to guys but he\u2019ll also have Brandon LaFell, Keshawn Martin and James White out of the backfield.<\/p>\n

The Titans defense has been in the middle of the pack yardage wise in the passing game and has been good at getting after the QB with 35 sacks led by Orakpo with seven. LeBeau has perfected the zone blitz from his time in Pittsburgh and they bring pressure with their LBs both inside and out. While the Titans have a pair of good corners in Perrish Cox and Coty Sensabaugh they miss their best corner in Jason McCourty. The loss of Derrick Morgan to IR is a particularly tough one.<\/p>\n

Look for Brady to work the middle of the field here, especially with Gronkowski and Amendola. That is the area to watch and the Titans most vulnerable. Although their defense has been disruptive against the pass, their giving up 8.1 yards per pass play which is too much. The X-Factor this week in the passing game is White; he\u2019s been coming into his own in recent weeks in replacing Dion Lewis and against a team that likes to blitz, look for Josh McDaniels to move him out in motion out wide and force the Titans to cover him with one of their linebackers.<\/p>\n

Next up the Tennessee offense:<\/p>\n

Titans RBs vs NE Front Seven –\u00a0<\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>The Titans running game is led by Antonio Andrews who gets the lion\u2019s share of reps and yards. The 5\u201910, 225 pound running back in his second year from Western Kentucky is their workhorse although putting up only so-so numbers with 127 carries for 424 yards, (3.7 avg) with three touchdowns.<\/p>\n

They lost Dexter McCluster to IR this week so they\u2019ll turn more to last year\u2019s top running back drafted Bishop Sankey who can run as well as catch out of the backfield. Marcus Mariota is also a threat to run from the quarterback position, something the Patriots will have to be aware of this week.<\/p>\n

Even without Dont\u2019a Hightower, the Patriots run defense is one of the better ones in the NFL. The big bodies on the defensive line Alan Branch, Malcom Brown and Akiem Hicks have been disruptive inside and stout at the point of attack. Players on the edge, Rob Ninkovich, Jabaal Sheard and Chandler Jones will have to be aware of Mariota taking off and contain him in the pocket. Jamie Collins will be looked to as well as Jerod Mayo who\u2019s been looking like his old self again to stuff the run inside.<\/p>\n

Titans WRs vs NE Secondary- <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>Marcus Mariota has put up pretty impressive numbers in his rookie season. He\u2019s completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 2786 yards, 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions for a 91.9 passer rating. He has had a good rookie season for the Titans and his future looks bright.<\/p>\n

Mariota\u2019s favorite target has been TE Delanie Walker who leads all NFL tight ends with 74 catches. Rookie wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham is coming on a bit under Mike Mularkey and the big, 6\u20195, 237 pound from Missouri is a big target who doubles as the team\u2019s deep threat. He\u2019s averaging 17.3 yards per reception. But the team really needs Kendall Wright back this week. He\u2019s their possession receiver; a move the chains guy who is very reliable.<\/p>\n

The Patriots pass defense the past two weeks has been very stingy, after allowing only 120 yards against the Eagles, they followed that up with an impressive game against the Texans allowing only 102 net passing yards while notching six sacks. They\u2019ll be missing their best deep cover player Devin McCourty who suffered a high ankle sprain against the Texans but should be ready come playoff time.<\/p>\n

Look for the Patriots to be aggressive again, containment of Mariota will be key here but Titans quarterbacks have been sacked 44 times this season and they\u2019ll be looking to jam receivers at the line to disrupt their timing. One key factor will be the play of slot corner Leonard Johnson. After being on the team less than a week, he started and had a couple of impressive passes defensed. He\u2019ll be looked again to provide solid coverage on the hot routes underneath.<\/p>\n

Special Teams- <\/strong>Razor\u2019s Edge New England
\n<\/em>The Patriots special teams will look to have a much better game at home than the last time the team played in Foxboro. The Pats have two outstanding kickers in Stephen Gostkowski and Ryan Allen. Allen had a quietly very impressive night in Houston, pinning the Texans inside the ten-yard line just prior to the half which set up the Patriots second touchdown. Gostkowski remains the gold standard for NFL kickers and is having an outstanding season.<\/p>\n

The Titans counter with kicker Ryan Succop and punter Brett Kern. Succop has been reliable inside of 50 yards and Kerns boasts a nice 46.7-yard average. But the team will miss its leading returner in both kickoffs and punts in McCluster who is gone for the year. One area to watch this week is the punt coverage for the Titans. They allowing an average of 14.7 yards per punt return and either Danny Amendola or Martin could be in line for a big return which can flip field position.<\/p>\n

Next up, who wins and why\u2026<\/p>\n

Prediction:
\n<\/strong>This game on paper should be an easy one for the Patriots. But only two weeks ago a last place team came into Foxboro and shocked the Patriots, rolling to 35 unanswered points on the way to an upset win. The stakes are higher now, after falling to the #3 seed, the Patriots are back to the top seed courtesy of the Broncos and Bengals losing last week and the Patriots thumping of Houston.<\/p>\n

A win coupled with a Denver loss in Pittsburgh will clinch the Patriots an all-important bye in the first round of the playoffs, the first step in securing home-field advantage for the road to Super Bowl L.<\/p>\n

There will be no let-down this week. Look for the Patriots to come out and try to start quickly. In playing a 3-10 team that is already looking to next season, the best recipe for success is to get them down early and put the hammer down.<\/p>\n

Brady should go find success in the short passing game to keep the sticks moving and finding Gronkowski with seam routes to attack the Tennessee defense. The defense will look to pressure Mariota and mix up some coverages to confuse him and maybe force a mistake or two.<\/p>\n

There shouldn\u2019t be any drama this week as Brady and Pats get up early and put this one away early in the second half. Patriots 34-13<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow me on Twitter\u00a0<\/em>@SteveB7SFG<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or email me at\u00a0<\/em>stevebpatsfans@gmail.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to our\u00a0<\/em>Patriots 4th<\/sup>\u00a0and 2<\/em><\/a>\u00a0podcast on blog talk radio as the writers Russ Goldman, Derek Havens and I from\u00a0<\/em>PatsFans.com<\/em><\/a>\u00a0discuss the latest Patriots news Wednesdays at 12 noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The X-Factor this week in the passing game is White; he\u2019s been coming into his own in recent weeks in replacing Dion Lewis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[185,464,694,691,34,695,132,689,37,704,18,688,686,702,16,78,17,687,24,15,685,684,44,70,8,38,703,248,117,36,326,13],"class_list":["post-3684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patriots-commentary","category-patriots-news","tag-2015-nfl-season","tag-2015-patriots-season","tag-antonio-andrews","tag-avery-williamson","tag-bill-belichick","tag-bishop-sankey","tag-brandon-lafell","tag-brian-orakpo","tag-chandler-jones","tag-coty-sensabaugh","tag-danny-amendola","tag-delanie-walker","tag-dick-lebeau","tag-dorial-green-beckham","tag-jabaal-sheard","tag-james-white","tag-julian-edelman","tag-kendall-wright","tag-lagarrette-blount","tag-malcolm-butler","tag-marcus-mariota","tag-mike-mularkey","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-patriots","tag-patriots-edge-rushers","tag-perrish-cox","tag-predictions","tag-rob-gronkowski","tag-rob-ninkovich","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-tom-brady"],"yoast_head":"\nPatriots - 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