AFC conference
championship game |
Titans at Jaguars
ALLTEL Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.
Sunday, Jan. 23
AT A GLANCE: These teams are very familiar with each other, as they
compete twice annually in the AFC Central. The Jaguars will be looking to avenge a
regular-season sweep at the hands of the Titans.
|
| OVERVIEW: It seems fitting that the one team standing
between the Jaguars and the goal they have been pointing toward all season, the Super
Bowl, is the Titans — the only team to beat Jacksonville in the regular season. The
Titans swept the series against their AFC Central rivals and challenged for the division
crown right up until the final week of the season.
Tennessee, which defeated the Bills with a miraculous trick play in the wild-card round
and then beat the Colts in Indianapolis last week, is still talking about being
destiny’s team. To fulfill that destiny, though, it will have to beat a Jacksonville
team that is full of confidence after humiliating the Dolphins 62-7 in a divisional
playoff matchup last week.
The Jaguars now must resist the notion that they are invincible after being on the
winning end of the most dominant AFC postseason game in history.
In the first meeting, the Titans held on to win a 20-19 decision when Mark
Brunell’s ill-advised pass in the waning minutes was intercepted in the endzone.
The second meeting of the season was much more lopsided, with the Titans rolling up 476
offensive yards against one of the NFL’s best defenses, winning easily, 41-14. It
should be noted, though, that Brunell left the game early after suffering a knee injury.
That knee injury kept Brunell out of the season finale and had him listed as probable for
last week’s win over the Dolphins. Because of the early Jaguar domination, Brunell
was pulled in the second quarter — but he performed well while playing.
Dating back to their days as the Oilers, the Titans have historically performed well at
ALLTEL Stadium, posting a 4-1 record.
WHEN THE TITANS HAVE THE BALL:
While it may not always look pretty, the Titans’ offense usually gets the job
done. This team often looks to run the ball first, but it is striving to feature more of a
balanced attack.
Last week vs. the Colts, the Titans looked to emphasize the passing game a little more
by taking more chances downfield to WRs Yancey Thigpen, Kevin Dyson and Chris Sanders.
Tennessee would like to continue that trend in order to keep the smothering Jaguars’
defense guessing, but Jacksonville could make that difficult because of the presence of
outstanding CBs Fernando Bryant and Aaron Beasley. |
|
|
Profile |
| ALLTEL Stadium |
| Jacksonville, Fla. |
| Date: Sunday, January 23, 2000 |
| 12:25 p.m. Eastern Time |
| Type Of Turf: Natural |
| Meeting Of The Year: Third |
| Season Record: |
| Tennessee |
15-3-0 |
| Jacksonville |
15-2-0 |
| Season Record Vs. Spread: |
| Tennessee |
12-5-1 |
| Jacksonville |
9-7-1 |
| Home/Road Record: |
| Tennessee (R) |
6-3-0 |
| Jacksonville (H) |
8-1-0 |
| Home/Road Record Vs. Spread: |
| Tennessee (R) |
5-3-1 |
| Jacksonville (H) |
5-4-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf: |
| Tennessee |
11-3-0 |
| Jacksonville |
11-2-0 |
| Record On Natural Turf Vs. Spread: |
| Tennessee |
9-5-0 |
| Jacksonville |
5-7-1 |
|
|
| RB Eddie George is a powerful runner who can help the Titans control the time of
possession, but he hasn’t always been successful vs. the Jaguars. In eight games
against Jacksonville, George averaged just 64.8 rushing yards per outing. George
isn’t the only threat to run. QB Steve McNair has outstanding mobility. He can elude
rushers behind the line of scrimmage or avoid tacklers when running in the open field.
The Jaguars have a fearsome pass rush, finishing the regular season ranked No. 1 in QB
sack percentage. Not only do they get a good push from their ends and tackles, defensive
coordinator Dom Capers loves to send blitzers. However, they recorded just two sacks in
two games vs. Tennessee this season. The Titans feature one of the better tackle tandems
with Jon Runyan and Brad Hopkins manning the outside OL positions.
WHEN THE JAGUARS HAVE THE BALL:
First and foremost, it is RB Fred Taylor who makes this offense so productive. Taylor
is capable of ripping off a long gainer — like his 90-yard TD run against the
Dolphins — every time he touches the ball. Defenses have to respect that threat,
which opens things up for Brunell and the passing game.
Brunell has outstanding targets in Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell. Titans defensive
coordinator Gregg Williams has confidence in CB Denard Walker and expects him to stick to
Smith for most of the game. However, Smith burned the Titans for 14 catches for 233 yards
in the two meetings this year. The other corner, Samari Rolle, had three interceptions in
the second meeting of the season.
The Titans employ the "46" defense, which features a lot of blitzing. That
often leaves their cornerbacks one-on-one, which also could be a problem vs. Smith and
McCardell.
The Jaguars' offensive line is pretty solid on the outside, despite the loss of OLT
Tony Boselli with a knee injury. Ben Coleman is starting in Boselli’s place and will
face speedy DRE Kenny Holmes.
A marquee matchup on the other side of the line pits veteran ORT Leon Searcy, a real
brawler, vs. DLE Jevon Kearse, who has stellar speed and has been a force during his
rookie year.
Game preview and depth charts were compiled as of Jan. 16, 2000 |
|
Titans depth
chart |
OFFENSE |
| WR |
87 DYSON, 81 Sanders, 85 Mason |
| OLT |
72 HOPKINS, 76 Mathews |
| OLG |
74 MATTHEWS, 71 Piller* |
| C |
60 LONG, 74 Matthews, 62 Page |
| ORG |
75 OLSON, 66 Layman |
| ORT |
69 RUNYAN, 76 Mathews |
| TE |
89 WYCHECK, 88 Harris, 84 Brown |
| WR |
82 THIGPEN, 83 Byrd, 86 Kent |
| QB |
9 McNAIR, 14 O'Donnell, 13 Daft* |
| FB |
41 NEAL, 80 Roan |
| RB |
27 E. GEORGE, 20 Thomas, 26 S. George |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
90 KEARSE*, 94 Frederick |
| DLT |
91 EVANS, 96 Jones, 78 Thornton* |
| DRT |
97 FISK, 95 Salave'a |
| DRE |
99 HOLMES, 92 Ford |
| LLB |
55 ROBINSON, 54 Glover* |
| MLB |
52 WORTHAM, 59 Colman |
| RLB |
58 BOWDEN, 50 Killens, 51 Favors |
| LCB |
25 WALKER, 37 Sidney |
| RCB |
21 ROLLE, 30 Mitchell*, 38 McCullough |
| SS |
23 BISHOP, 35 Phenix |
| FS |
31 ROBERTSON, 33 Dorsett, 24 Jackson |
SPECIALISTS |
| P |
15 HENTRICH |
| PK |
3 DEL GRECO |
| H |
15 HENTRICH |
| PR |
85 MASON, 83 Byrd, 26 S. George |
| KR |
85 MASON, 20 Thomas, 26 S. George, 33 Dorsett |
| KC |
74 MATTHEWS, 60 Long |
* Rookie |
|
|
Jaguars depth
chart |
OFFENSE |
| WR |
82 J. SMITH, 84 Barlow, 86 Whitted |
| OLT |
62 COLEMAN, 68 Patton, 67 Ingram |
| OLG |
76 TYLSKI, 62 Coleman, 79 Cesario* |
| C |
66 WADE, 65 Neujahr |
| ORG |
77 WIEGERT, 76 Tylski, 65 Neujahr |
| ORT |
72 SEARCY, 67 Ingram, 77 Wiegert |
| TE |
88 JONES, 80 Brady, 85 Griffith |
| WR |
87 McCARDELL, 83 Jackson* |
| QB |
8 BRUNELL, 11 Fiedler, 12 Quinn |
| RB |
28 TAYLOR, 33 Stewart, 24 Howard |
| FB |
31 SHELTON, 34 Mack* |
DEFENSE |
| DLE |
97 WYNN, 99 Smeenge, 74 White |
| DLT |
96 WALKER, 94 L. Smith* |
| DRT |
91 PAYNE, 61 Leroy*, 93 Landolt* |
| DRE |
90 BRACKENS, 99 Smeenge, 98 Upshaw |
| SLB |
95 PAUP, 56 Marts, 57 Terry* |
| MLB |
56 MARTS, 54 Burnett |
| WLB |
51 HARDY, 52 Boyer |
| LCB |
25 BRYANT*, 21 Beasley, 29 Craft* |
| RCB |
21 BEASLEY, 41 Thomas, 23 Chamblin* |
| SS |
20 DARIUS, 26 Stewart |
| FS |
37 LAKE, 38 McElmurry |
SPECIALISTS |
| P |
4 BARKER, 2 Lindsey |
| PK |
1 HOLLIS, 2 Lindsey |
| H |
4 BARKER |
| PR |
84 BARLOW, 87 McCardell, 83 Jackson* |
| KR |
84 BARLOW, 86 Whitted, 83 Jackson* |
| KC |
65 NEUJAHR, 66 Wade |
* Rookie |
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