Titans will test improved defense against undefeated Colts
And it just made Manning mad.
“I think we hit him nine or 10 times, and he didn’t really like that,” Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth said Wednesday. “He was really pissed. We plan on doing the same thing again.”
The still undefeated Colts will be very happy if they do because Manning dissected Tennessee’s defense, going 20-of-27 for 264 yards and a season-high four touchdowns in that 31-10 victory on Oct. 2.
“We had real pressure on him the first time we played him,” defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said. “We had some hits on him. He’s got that good clock in his head, and he can feel pressure and he knows how to avoid the rush and when to get rid of the ball.”
It might not help Sunday when the Titans (3-8) visit their AFC South rival, but the Titans are much improved on defense. Vanden Bosch, who ranks second in the NFL with a career-high 10 1/2 sacks, believes they played their most complete game last week in beating San Francisco 33-22.
“I think we’re at our best right now,” Vanden Bosch said.
Statistically, the Titans rank 15th in total defense, allowing 315.3 yards per game, and they’ve held opponents under 300 yards in four of the last seven games. That includes Jacksonville on Nov. 20 when the Jaguars managed no offensive yards in the opening quarter.
“The group’s playing pretty well together,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said.
“That’ll give us an emotional lift going into the ballgame. We feel like when the week’s said and done, it’s a good plan and it’s just a matter of going up there and making plays.”
The Titans didn’t do much of that in the first game. Indianapolis converted seven of 10 third downs and had four drives of at least 69 yards or longer.
That was rookie cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones’ first game at starter after missing most of training camp. He said he feels much more prepared now because he knows where to expect help.
“It should be pretty interesting man,” Jones said.
Haynesworth missed that game with a knee injury, which Colts coach Tony Dungy called a big blow to the Titans.
“He is a very, very big part of what they do. He is a tremendously big body and active player inside. You have to account for him when he is in the game. I know they have to feel better knowing that he is going to be playing,” Dungy said.
Fisher agrees and thinks Haynesworth can help most against the run. Edgerrin James rushed for 90 yards in October.
“Somebody’s going to have to do double duty, and Albert’s pretty good at that,” Fisher said.
The biggest improvement has come in the secondary where the Titans start rookie cornerbacks. Credit the emergence of rookie Reynaldo Hill as a starter the last four games opposite Jones. Hill, a seventh-round pick out of Florida, has a team-high three interceptions.
Hill and Jones have been tested in recent weeks by the likes of Chad Johnson of Cincinnati, Jerry Porter of Oakland, Jimmy Smith and Matt Jones of Jacksonville.
Veteran Andre Woolfolk, who lost that job with a hamstring injury, is back at the nickelback slot in passing situations where he spent the past two seasons. Safeties Tank Williams and Lamont Thompson aren’t spending as much time helping line up the rookie cornerbacks.
Dungy sees a much more confident secondary.
“The guys know their assignments a little bit better. They are playing a little bit more man coverage and playing more aggressively and blitzing a little more,” he said.