Tennessee Titans face the Packers banged up, but healthier than Week 10
By Will Lomas
If the Tennessee Titans were at full strength, their domination of the depressing Denver Broncos wouldn’t be noteworthy.
What makes it infinitely more impressive is that they ran roughshod over the Broncos’ offensive line while missing both starting EDGEs and their All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
Not only that, but they were also missing 40% of their starting backfield (60% by the end of the game) including Kristian Fulton, their best cornerback.
Even though the Tennessee Titans weren’t able to get back to full strength, they are going to be the rare team that travels on a Thursday night and arrives healthier than they were the week before.
Who is out and who is in for the Tennessee Titans?
Getting the bad news out of the way first, Bud Dupree and Amani Hooker will both miss this game against the Packers.
Joining them is Ben Jones with a concussion that popped up on Monday. Even though he has been doing well, there was never a doubt that he was going to miss this game based on Mike Vrabel’s history.
The happier news is that Kristian Fulton is back, which should go a long way in limiting the impact of rookie receiver Christian Watson who had a better game on Sunday than every other game in his short career combined.
Joining him in the secondary is Elijah Molden who had an injury scare against the Denver Broncos. Luckily that is all it was and that means that the Titans should FINALLY have all three starting cornerbacks for the first time all season.
Every player that the Tennessee Titans can get back will help, but getting Jeffery Simmons back is different. The defense had six sacks against the Broncos which was a career-high for Mike Vrabel as a head coach, and you can bet that Simmons took that personally.
Right now the Titans have a defense with five pass rushers all chasing double-digit sacks, but Simmons is the straw that stirs the drink. You can bet that Aaron Rodgers will be warry of Simmons in the cold weather, especially after struggling with a hurt thumb.
All in all, the Tennessee Titans are still missing one of their starting EDGEs and the soul of the offense, but they are gaining a game-changing defensive tackle and their best cornerback. If Corey Levin can continue to be a solid replacement-level center then the Tennessee Titans should be a much better team on Thursday than the one that beat the Denver Broncos on Sunday.