A Titan Sized Showdown
By Nick Bishop
"“Now that we know our opponent, we have a tremendous challenge ahead of us,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said in a statement Sunday. “Baltimore has improved in all areas since we saw them earlier this season. They are built around a strong run game and a great defense, which reminds us of the classic matchups against them in the past.”"
With the Baltimore Ravens‘ 27-9 victory over the Miami Dolphins, we now know who’s coming into town next weekend. The Tennessee Titans will “welcome” a Ravens team that they beat 13-10, on the road, in week 5. I think we all know that that’s not where the history ends. We’ll stay pretty busy with this game over the course of the week, but here are a few links right off the bat to wet your whistles.
Gary Glenn of Titans Online writes about the upcoming playoff game giving the Titans a bit of déjà-vu:
"The fierce rivalry dates back to when both teams were aligned in the AFC Central and played each other twice each season. Over the years, fans of both teams have witnessed classic matchups between Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Titans greats Eddie George and Steve McNair. The rivalry took a strange twist when Derrick Mason, Samari Rolle and McNair signed with Baltimore during Tennessee’s salary cap upheaval a few years ago."
A quick breakdown from The Tennessean‘s Gary Estwick, with some reasons why the Titans should and shouldn’t like the matchup this week:
"Why Titans want to play Ravens: Stop former Titans receiver Derrick Mason (80 catches for 1,037 yards and five TDs) and you stop Baltimore’s passing game. Despite recent improvements, the rookie Flacco still can be rattled.Why Titans don’t want to play Ravens: The NFL’s second-best defense gave the Titans all they could handle earlier this season and held 11 opponents to less than 14 points. The bruising McClain has 531 yards and five TDs in his last six regular season games."
If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know that there is a bit of a traitor in the Titan Sized ranks, which makes Titans-Ravens games a little more fun. It also means that there will probably be a bit of variance in content over the course of the week, i.e.:
Week 5 Preview: Titans at Ravens (from a slightly different perspective)
Week 5 preview: Titans at Ravens (from a slightly I hate the Ravens so very, very much perspective)
Either way, the whole crew will be down at LP Field this Saturday to soak in all the hate in person. Until next time…