2011 Pittsburgh Steelers Season Preview – Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh

The Tennessee Titans franchise and the Men of Steel have been playing games against each other since 1970, when the Titans played in Houston and were known as the Oilers.

Before that, the Oilers were playing in the AFL since 1960, so this franchise has a little bit of history, and for most of that history, they have been a very good team.

In 1997, the franchise moved to Tennessee where they were known as the Tennessee Oilers for two years before changing their name to the Titans.

Recent History

The Titans/Oilers have been a tough out for the Steelers over the years, much like the Colts and Jaguars. What is it about these AFC South teams?

In their last ten meetings, the teams have even 5-5 records. This includes a close loss the Titans gave the Steelers in the divisional round of the 2003 playoffs.

The Men of Steel are riding a two-game winning streak over the Titans, but those two games have come during the last two seasons when the Titans were just this side of terrible. Their combined record over their last two seasons is 14-18. They have finished 3rd and 4th in their division over the last two seasons.

2009 had to be especially disappointing when, coming off winning their division in 2008, they started 0-6.

In 2010, they started a respectable 5-2, but would win a single game the remainder of the season. This led to Jeff Fisher, at the time the longest tenured head coach in the NFL, being fired after 17 seasons.

Tennessee’s Offense vs. Pittsburgh’s Defense

The Titans are in a state of flux right now. They have let their long-time coach go and they aren’t sure who their quarterback is going to be.

Owner Bud Adams seemed to have chosen the inconsistent and unpredictable Vince Young over his head coach’s wishes, but they drafted Jake Locker out of the University of Washington.

The Titan’s offense was middling at best. Their primary weapon is Chris Johnson, who was the sixth man in league history to go over 2000 rushing yards in a season in 2009. He also broke Marshall Faulk’s record of total yards from scrimmage, gaining 2509 combined yards.

Johnson finished 2010 with 1364 rushing yards, good for fourth in the league, but his 4.3 yards/carry average was ranked sixth worst among the 17 backs who rushed for more than 1000 yards. In other words, he was hoofing it for every yard he got.

If we look at their DVOA (according to footballoutsiders.com), the Titan’s offense was actually better passing the ball than running. Most likely, this is because teams were prepared to stop Chris Johnson and force Vince Young to beat them.

The Titans ranked 18th in passing DVOA, but 27th in rushing DVOA.

As we have already learned, the Steeler’s defense was great against the run, but had their struggles against the pass. That being said, most of the time the struggles of the Black and Gold have come when playing elite quarterbacks who can spread the field and get the ball out quickly with rhythm.

Vince Young is not elite and the Titans will have trouble spreading the field the way the Patriots, Colts, and Packers can. When you consider that the Titans’ leading receiver was also their leading rusher, you begin to get a glimpse of the issues they will face in the upcoming year.

Tennessee’s Defense vs. Pittsburgh’s Offense

The Titans have played very good defense under Jeff Fisher. One has to think that newly-minted head coach Mike Munchak (who should be recognizable to Penn State fans) will not make major changes to the defense considering he is an offensive-minded guy.

There is an interesting contrast in the Titans’ defense when you look at the numbers.

They are ranked 8th overall in DVOA, but were 15th in the league in scoring defense. Despite that nice DVOA ranking, they were 20th in rushing yards allowed and a miserable 29th in passing yards allowed. It can’t possibly be helping that they are playing one of the best quarterbacks in the game twice a year (Peyton Manning), but there are plays to be made by the Steelers’ against this defense.

Even though they clearly had a need for defensive backs, the Titans didn’t draft one until the 7th round. I think they found themselves in a similar boat to the Black and Gold. The Titans clearly had to take Locker in the first round because of the behavior of Young, but then would have had to trade a lot of picks to move up to the lower part of the first round or high in the second round to get a defensive back who may or may not have made an impact right away.

Rather than throw a bunch of picks at a single player who might not make a major difference, they went the way the Steelers have gone: They drafted several linebackers and defensive linemen clearly with the intent to pressure quarterbacks into mistakes.

What the Packers proved, however, is that pressuring Big Ben isn’t enough. If it were, the Ravens would be able to beat the Steelers when it matters. You still have to be able to cover the Steelers’ excellent receiving corps. This is not nearly as easy as the Packers made it look.

Location, Location, Location

The Titans’ last win in Pittsburgh came eight years ago. They have only played four games in Pittsburgh since 2001, but they have lost three of them.

The Titans went 3-5 on the road last year, but all three wins came before the season was half over.

The Steelers, on the other hand, were 5-3 at home with one of those losses coming when Ben Roethlisberger was serving his four game suspension.

The Steelers will be playing their third of four games in a row against the AFC South, and will be home for only the second time in the season. The Titans will be playing their second road game in a row having just played Cleveland the week before.

My Take

If they could get Young to play like he is capable of playing, and if Fisher were still on the sideline, I would say the Titans have a realistic chance of winning this game. The Steelers seem to play worse at Heinz Field and the Titans play them very tough.

Clearly, Young is athletic enough to cause problems with his feet as well as his arm.

The problem is that you just don’t know which Vince Young will show up. They won’t be able to rely on Locker to provide too much of a spark. Rookie quarterbacks do not fare well against the Steelers.

The Titans’ defense is very good and the infusion of young blood along the d-line should help them find more sacks and turnovers, but the Steelers know all about playing against tough defenses. They play against one of the best twice a year, every year.

When you add in the fact that the Titans will be breaking in a new head coach in what promises to be a lockout-shortened off-season, you have to favor the Steelers.

I will take the Steelers by a touchdown.