Titans Vs Texans: A First Look at Week 8
By Les Bailey
After a historic four-game five week home stand where the Tennessee Titans were unable to notch a second win on the 2015 season, the team travels to Houston to take on a Texans team in a Sunday afternoon start at NRG Stadium.
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The Titans will take their 1-5 record back on the road where the five-game losing streak began in week two at the Dawg Pound in Cleveland.
Maybe a couple of games away from the friendly confines will take enough pressure off of this young team and allow them to snag a win against a team that is struggling for wins as well.
We all watched Hard Knocks and knew that Texans head coach Bill O’Brien was struggling with his starting quarterbacks. Most analysts will tell you that if a team has two starting quarterbacks, they really don’t have a starting quarterback.
Ryan Mallett took the coach and the team off the hook by missing his team flight to Miami last week and was released on Tuesday.
You could tell that Mallett was upset when he got the news on Hard Knocks that Brian Hoyer would get the starting nod, and the situation has spiraled into his dismissal from the team.
The Texans also will be without the services of their top running back, Arian Foster after he tore up a Knee in Miami and will be out for the remainder of the season.
Speculation has Alfred Blue toting the rock against the Titans on Sunday.
The Texans cut ties with long-time wide receiver Andre Johnson, but they now have the leading target in the NFL.
In his third year, DeAndre Hopkins leads the NFL with 776 passing yards and is second with 58 catches. The former first-round pick will cause some problems for the Titans secondary.
There are question marks around the Texans 2014 first-round draft pick, Jadeveon Clowney but the Titans offensive line will have to deal with J.J. Watt.
The two-time defensive player of the year has been quiet this year, but is tied for fourth place in the NFL with six sacks in 2015.
The Titans were still evaluating the status of their franchise quarterback for a start in Houston on Tuesday. Marcus Mariota suffered a second-degree MCL strain against the Miami Dolphins in week six and sat out in Sunday’s 10-7 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
The Houston Texans are struggling at this point in the season, but the Titans have proved to be a cure-all for struggling football teams this year.
This is an excellent opportunity for this team to get away from Nissan Stadium and concentrate on winning a football game.
It’s starting to get ugly for head coach Ken Whisenhunt as the losses start to pile up, and this new and exciting season is starting to slip away.
He continues to tell us that the team is better than the 2014 team, but they just can’t get over the hump and win a game.
This could be an interesting contest in South Texas, as I think both coaches are in trouble, and I am not sure the loser of this game will survive the season.
Next: Is Ken Whisenhunt delusional?