Titans vs Browns: An Early Look At Week Two
By Les Bailey
The Tennessee Titans travel to Cleveland to take on the Browns for a second road game to begin the 2015 NFL season on Sunday afternoon.
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Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt and his staff will need to prepare for two quarterback possibilities with Browns starter, Josh McCown in concussion protocol after their 31-10 loss to the New York Jets on opening Sunday.
According to ESPN Browns writer, Pat McManamon head coach Mike Pettine will need to prepare Johnny Manziel for a start against the Titans but may have Josh McCown by game time.
The Cleveland starter suffered a horrible goal-line hit on Sunday and was replaced by the former Texas A&M star for the remainder of the game.
McCown was at work on Monday and watching film in preparation for Tennessee Titans, but will need to be cleared before he can take the field in week two.
Predicting when a player recovers from a concussion is impossible. In the NFL’s protocols, a player must stay symptom free while progressing from light work to football work to full contact, then be cleared by an independent neurologist. If at any point a player’s symptoms return, the progression is stopped.
If McCown is cleared, it might not happen until later in the week.
Johnny Football had not played in the final two preseason games for the Browns and had not really practiced for the past couple of weeks before being pressed into duty on Sunday.
Against the Jets, Manziel had a touchdown pass in a good first half (rating: 149.3), but struggled in the second half, with one interception and two fumbles lost as the Browns gained 112 total yards. In that half, his rating dropped to 41.2.
Which ever quarterback that is under center on week two will need to prepare for a Dick LeBeau defense that looked pretty good in Tampa.
If Manziel takes the reigns, he can expect a relentless pass rush that will force him to make quick decisions at the line, and get rid of the ball quickly.
As the Titans get into the Dawg Pound, we know two things about the Browns. They have a defense much like the Titans that is designed to put pressure on the opposing quarterback, but has trouble stopping the run.
The trip to Cleveland should be good for Terrance West, as he returns only a couple of weeks removed from being cut by the team that drafted him in 2014.
West told Titans online reporter, Jim Wyatt that he harbors no grudges and will treat this game like any other on the schedule, but you have to think there will be a strong desire to show the Browns that they made a mistake when they cut him.
“I am going to treat this game the same as all of them,’’ West said. “And I’ll let the plays on the field speak for itself.”
“Of course it’s going to be special, because I still talk to guys on the team,’’ West said. “Cleveland is a great organization and I have nothing but respect for them. It’s going to be fun, playing against your friends. It’s like when you are playing Pop Warner, you are playing against your brother on a Pop Warner team. But I am just treating this game the same as every game.”
“Everything right now is about the Tennessee Titans, any way I can help contribute to a win with them, I’m in.”
Terrance West carried the ball 13 times in Tampa for 41 yards and no touchdowns.