***SWAMPY TNF UGLY GAME SPECIAL***
I'm back from my mini-hiatus over the weekend traveling to the HOF and Detroit for a ballgame. It was spectacular to say the least. The Lions made it interesting as they rarely fail to do and it was a great game that I was into right 'till the end. I apologize about no post for the MNF game but I am glad that I didn't as I was kind of leaning Da Bears at home despite hating the game all together. Tonight is a similar situation regarding the battle of two NFL uglies and believe it or not, I like the uglier one in this matchup, here is why in a nutshell:
***TENNESSEE TITANS +4.5***
The last time the Titans won a game was against Jacksonville many many moons ago earlier in the season. They have been through the mill to say the least at Quarterback as it has been a revolving door all season and a complete mess of a situation. How is any team supposed to produce positively when their leader is a constant different face? It can be easy to lose hope, especially as you are getting your teeth kicked in week after week. Last week they lost QB Jake Locker to another injury in his first start back after he came in to relieve the previous injured backup Mettenberger. To no suprise, Locker got hurt once again in a brutal game versus a physical Jet defense...enter Charlie Whitehurst. Whitehurst actually did a decent job and refrained from turning the ball over. This is a positive sign while coming in off the bench. Now give him the short week of preparation and knowing that he is going to start, and I am willing to guess that he will do even better. The last game he started was actually the one where the Titans had their last win against the Jags. Whitehurst had a good day for himself throwing the rock around and was overall pretty solid managing the game. Tonight, I don't expect much from him but to be the reliable backup QB that he is and do a fairly good job against a poor Jacksonville defense whom just sold out last game trying to take down a playoff caliber team in the Ravens. Although the score doesn't show it, they played them well and gave Baltimore a pretty serious scare. However, as I talked about in my writeup Sunday, I think it was more of just a let down spot for the Ravens rather than the Jags playing all that well. Tonight, I would expect the Jags to be up for a Prime Time game at home against a division rival, but I can see them taking the sleeping Titans a bit lightly after feeling pretty good about themselves and the way they've competed these last few weeks. I like the Jag rookie QB Blake Bortles, I feel like he is going to pan out and be legit Pro Quarterback in time, but he is banged up and nursing a sprained foot and is the most sacked QB league. He is also quite turnover prone, understandably as he is trying to make things happen, I like that about him. However tonight, believe it or not, I see a high scoring game between two teams who have struggled finding the endzone all season, which will actually make for a pretty entertaining one. It is simply a game of two bad teams who are evenly matched going toe to toe for respect on the big stage. Neither team can stop the run, but neither team can run the ball. I see Bortles throwing it all over the field to his talented rookie stable of WRs and Wisenhunt and his staff holding nothing back to match them score for score and having success doing so. As the game goes on and the Titans can smell a win which they haven't tasted in so long I can see their motivation increasing and keeping competetive right to the end. FG game to decide this one either way, just like last time when the Titans blocked the Jag's game-winning FG to get the win. I smell something similar here, take the points.
