Thursday Night Football Preview
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By Lyle Fitzsimmons, Contributing NFL Editor
(Sports Network) - Another stadium. Another game plan. Another replacement quarterback.
But not just the same old Week 2 story for Kerry Collins and the Tennessee Titans.
Rather than the novice signal-calling specter faced by the Tom Brady-less New England Patriots with incoming No. 2 man Matt Cassel, the Titans bring in a former Super Bowl starter in Collins to replace the gimpy right knee of previous incumbent Vince Young.
What exactly they'll get back when Young recuperates, however, is another question.
The former national championship-winning college quarterback took the latest turn in a tumultuous pro career on Sunday afternoon, when he left a 17-10 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars with what was later diagnosed as a sprained medial collateral ligament.
The injury came shortly after an apparent sideline drama, during which Young appeared inconsolable following boos by home fans after he threw the second of his two interceptions, then had to be prodded to return to the game by Coach Jeff Fisher.
The soap opera continued Monday, when, according to reports, Young didn't go to the team's offices and postponed a scheduled MRI exam until Tuesday. He met with a psychologist at his home Monday along with Fisher and another team official.
Four hours of uncertainty followed that night when Young left his home without his phone, prompting someone to call Fisher, who called police to help find the quarterback and had a meeting late Monday night with Young and police crisis negotiators at the team's headquarters.
Young later drove home.
On Wednesday, his mother, Felicia, spoke up.
"What would you think, if you were tired of being ridiculed and persecuted and talked about and not being treated very well, what would you do? What kind of decision would you make?" she said. "He may not want to deal with it (all), but you have to get to that point before you make that decision first.
"But we're not talking about football right now. We're talking about what would make him happy, and that is the most important thing. It is hard, all he is going through right now. He's hurting inside and out, but he will be fine if people are prayerful and help my baby boy out. He is a young man. He just needs a lot of love and support."
Meanwhile, Tennessee's Week 2 foes - the host Cincinnati Bengals - have issues of their own.
The wide receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson - he of the No. 85 jersey - was barred by the league from wearing his new legally changed "Ocho Cinco" surname because of what commissioner Roger Goodell called "[an] administrative issue that has to be dealt with."
"There's a large inventory of jerseys that are out there with '85 Johnson,'" Goodell said.
"Any player that changes a number or changes his name has to address that so that our licensing is not stuck with a large inventory. That's just something we're dealing with. As far as we're concerned, if he changes his name legally, that's fine with us."
Oh, by the way, the Bengals lost their opener, 17-10, to rookie quarterback Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens.
"I ain't worried about the name, man," Johnson/Ocho Cinco said afterward. "We just lost the game. I ain't worried about that."
SERIES HISTORY
The Titans hold a 38-31-1 lead in their all-time series with the Bengals, but have dropped the last two head-to-head matchups, including a 35-6 throttling at Paul Brown Stadium in Week 12 of last season. Tennessee's most recent win in the series was a 27-20 home triumph in 2004, and the Titans' last win in the Queen City came in 2002. Tennessee was 5-0 in Cincinnati from 1998 through 2002.
In addition to the regular season series, Cincinnati won a 41-14 decision over the then-Houston Oilers in a 1990 AFC First-Round Playoff.
Fisher is 12-6 in his career against Cincinnati. The Bengals' Marvin Lewis is 2-1 against both Fisher and the Titans as a head coach.
WHEN THE TITANS HAVE THE BALL
Young, Collins and the Titans rumbled for 309 total yards against the Jaguars and might have posted more points were it not for the turnovers. Collins completed both the passes he threw in a relief role, covering 65 yards. He ranks third among active quarterbacks with 34,782 passing yards. Rookie running back Chris Johnson debuted with 127 yards from scrimmage, including 93 on the ground and 34 receiving. He was the 24th overall pick in the 2008 draft. Also, the Titans are 5-1 in games in which LenDale White reaches 90 yards rushing. In his last matchup with the Bengals, wideout Justin Gage had four catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, tight end Alge Crumpler averages 17.4 yards per catch against Cincinnati in his career, and position mate Bo Scaife had a team- and career-high 105 yards on six catches last week.
Ominously, the Bengals were gashed for 358 yards by the Ravens and failed to record either an interception or a sack. Since 2003, Cincinnati is 22-5 in games in which it posts two-or-more interceptions. Rookie linebacker Keith Rivers - the ninth pick in the 2008 draft - led the team with 10 tackles last week. Defensive end Antwan Odom spent four seasons with the Titans, recording 12 sacks from 2004-07. In the backfield, cornerback Johnathan Joseph goes for his second straight game against the Titans with at least one interception. Joseph had Cincinnati's only touchdown, off a fumble return, last week.
WHEN THE BENGALS HAVE THE BALL
Quarterback Carson Palmer will try to rebound from a sub-par outing in which he failed to reach 100 yards passing on just 10 completions in 25 attempts against the Ravens. He was intercepted once and posted a career-low passer rating of just 35.3. As a team, in fact, Cincinnati mustered just 154 total yards. Still, Palmer is 2-1 lifetime against the Titans and has completed 79 of 107 passes for 802 yards, five touchdowns and a 102.6 passer rating against them. Running back Chris Perry had career highs with nine receptions and 45 receiving yards against Tennessee on Oct. 16, 2005. Wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh has six touchdown catches in his last five September games, and the aforementioned No. 85 seeks a third straight game with 100-plus receiving yards against the Titans. He caught 12 passes and scored three times the last time he faced them.
The Titans were all over the ball defensively against Jacksonville, registering seven sacks and holding the Jaguars to just 189 yards - second- best in the conference. Defensive tackles Tony Brown and Albert Haynesworth had two sacks apiece, while cornerback Cortland Finnegan - who had a career- best two interceptions last week - aims for a third straight game with at least one interception. Punter Craig Hentrich averaged 42.9 yards per kick in Week 1.
FANTASY FOCUS
What a difference a few weeks, or a few seasons, make. Not too long ago, the Titans' Young and the Bengals' Palmer, Johnson and Houshmandzadeh were among the most prolific offensive producers in the league. Now, even when not injured, they're largely considered damaged goods. Positively, Tennessee's Johnson burst onto the scene in a variety of roles last week and could continue against the porous Bengals, while the Titans' defense proved itself as a big force last week and also could have another good week against a mistake-prone foe.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
If there's to be a last stand for Marvin Lewis and Co., it needs to begin here in the home opener against a backup quarterback. Problem is, it may already be out of reach. Look for Collins to provide the steady leadership that Young does not, and watch the defense force a rallying Palmer into a decisive mistake in the late going.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Titans 20, Bengals 17.
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