Preview: Tennessee @ Baltimore - Sun. Oct. 5, 2008

By Razor Sharp Sports

Wow, I guess it is try what they say, “Any Given Sunday!”  Last week we saw 2 huge upsets with 0-3 KC knocking off 3-0 Denver and the 3-0 Cowboys getting beat at home by rival Washington.  All season long we will continue to see upsets as we do every year.  It the match-up that we are going to talk about this week, I don’t think anyone would truly call it an upset if either team came up with the victory.  Both the Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens are pretty good football teams.  As a matter of fact, I expect both of these teams to be right in the playoff hunt in the AFC all season long.  This may be the most up in the air season that we have seen in a long time.  Right now there is no real #1 in either conference.  So lets take a look at both of these teams a bit.

First we will start with the 4-0 Titans.  Tennessee is one of only 3 teams remaining undefeated.  How have they done it?  Their defense unit is one of the best in football and their offense is one of the most underrated.  Defensively, the group up front is one of the best!  Albert Hayneworth (5 sacks) , Jevon Kearse (1.5 sacks) , Kyle Vanden Bosch (3 sacks), and Tony Brown (3.5 sacks) can do it against the run or the pass.  Plus behind them, LB Keith Bullock is everywhere and DB Cortland Finnegan (4 ints.) and S Michael Griffin (3 ints) are patrolling the defensive backfield.  This unit is allowing just 11.5 points per game (leading the league), 263 yards per game (3rd in the AFC), had 16 turnovers (1st in the league) & 15 sacks (2nd overall).  On offense, Kerry Collins stepped in for an injured Steve McNair in week one and had the offense clicking.  The offense is scoring 25.5 points per game.  The running back tandem of Chris Johnson and LenDale White make up the perfect Thunder & Lightning combination.  Johnson has 337 rushing yards and 2 scores and White has 161 yards and 5 TDs.  Through the air, Collins has plenty to throw to.  Collins spreads things around to plenty of weapons.   They have 6 different recievers that have caught the ball at least 5 times this year.  No one has more than 13 catches and no one has more than 1 receiving TD.  Special teams has also been solid.  Kicker Rob Bironas is 6 for 6 in FGs and 11 for 11 in extra points. Punter Craig Hentrich is averaging 44.7 yards per punt with 8 punts inside the 20.  Returnman Chris Carr has done a good job on both kickoffs (27.1 yd/return) and punts (10.6).

On the other side of the field, we have the 2-1 Baltimore Ravens.  When you talk about the Ravens you have to talk about the defense first.  The names are all still there (Ray Lewis (22 tackles) , Ed Reed (1 int. for TD), Chris McAlister (2 ints), & Terell Suggs (3 sacks).  This unit ranks 1st in the NFL in yards allowed at 186.7.  They are 2nd behind Tennessee in points allowed at 14.3 and they are 1st versus the pass and 2nd against the run!  The offense has a few questions, but they are quickly being answered.  Question #1 is at QB.  Rookie Joe Flacco has taken over the starting job and has done a pretty nice job so far.  He hasn’t been flashy, but with a defense like the Ravens have, he just needs to be solid and not turn the ball over.  RB Willis McGahee has been banged up all year.  Bowling Ball LeRon McClain (215 yards & 3 TDs) has filled in for McGahee and shown some good power.  Veteran WR Derrick Mason looks to be Flacco’s favorite target. He has 16 catches for 223 yards including 8 catches for 137 yards last week against Pittsburgh.

So you put all the numbers together and you have to look for a defensive struggle, right?  Well the total is only 35 and if you look at what has happened so far, I expect this one to get over that total.  The Ravens are scoring 21.7 points per game and their games average 36.  The Titans as we mentioned before score over 25 points per game and their games are averaging 37 points per game.  Both teams have defenses and special teams that can and will score even if the offenses struggle.  As your free winner take the Tennessee/Baltimore game OVER the total of 35.  Last week Illinois and Penn St cruised over the total for us to improve our record here to 4-1. Lets keep things going this week.   Don’t forget you can always get a free winner each and everyday from us by going to www.feeplays.com and clicking on Razor Sharp Sports or you can alwasy call the Razor Sharp Free Pick Phone at 1-800-549-7111.