How the Tennessee media is covering the Patriots-Titans matchup
What are the scribes and pundits in Tennessee saying about the Titans chances in Foxborough?
The Boston media, along with most of the national outlets, have all but guaranteed a Patriots victory this Saturday and moved on to talking about the AFC Championship and beyond. But what are the scribes and pundits in Tennessee saying about the Titans’ chances in Foxborough?
At The Tennessean, the daily newspaper in Nashville, the forecasters are predicting a closer game than their counterparts in Boston, but they’re expecting the same result. Over on the Music City Miracles and Titans Sized blogs, Tennessee fans found reason for hope heading into Saturday night as well as an order: Don’t stop believing!
Here’s what the Tennessee media has to say about Patriots-Titans:
Can the Titans actually upset the Patriots?
Titans beat Patriots? With this Marcus Mariota, it’s possible
In this Rexrode column, he dismisses the notion that this season has seen a regression for Mariota and notes “his talent, his athleticism, his courage in pressure moments.” He writes that the Titans quarterback will be a threat to the Patriots on Saturday (while introducing the Tennessee players to the ever-friendly Boston media). Rexrode believes that Mariota answered the critics with his play on Sunday as well as in the Titans must-win game against the Jaguars in the final week of the regular season.
He might never be an elite quarterback in the Tom Brady/Aaron Rodgers mold, but he is every bit a franchise quarterback. And a threat to ruin Brady’s Saturday night.
Read more at tennessean.com
Patriots are great, sure, but they’re also confirmed cheaters
, this one less about the matchup Saturday and more about the Patriots-Titans game back in 2004. Rexrode opens by writing that while Bill Belicheck and Tom Brady are among the greatest ever at their respective positions, they’re also cheaters. He lists Spygate and Deflategate as evidence for the label, and says that Patriots fans need to accept that the proof that Patriots illegally taped Jets coaches’ signals is not invalidated just because Belicheck is good at what he does. He goes on to write that the allegations cast a shadow over the Patriots playoff win in ’04.
Which brings me to a funny conversation I had recently on 102.5-FM with Willy Daunic, “3D” host and Nashville Predators TV play-by-play announcer. We were talking about the Titans’ 17-14 playoff loss at New England in 2004.
One thing Daunic remembered about that game is being impressed with the way Brady threw the ball around despite temperatures as low as minus-5.
Hmmmmmmm.
Read more at tennessean.com
Titans-Patriots: Plus Matchups for Tennessee
Justin Graver of SB Nation’s Music City Miracles looked at the matchups the Titans can exploit against the Patriots. He sees an opportunity for Tennessee to establish the run game and let Derrick Henry attack a New England run defense that ranked 30th in the NFL in DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average). Graver also wrote that the Patriots don’t have the athleticism on the front-seven to contain Marcus Mariota and the read option. However, he also noted that Rob Gronkowski, a mismatch for anyone, will ‘get his’ against the Titans secondary.
The Patriots will make plays throughout this game. Brady will step up and deliver a pass at the last second. Dion Lewis will make plays out of the backfield. Rob Gronkowski will rumble downfield, seemingly unstoppable. These things happen even when the Patriots lose. The Titans will have to withstand the Patriots attack and counter it.
The Patriots will make plays. The Titans just have to make more.
Read more at musiccitymiracles.com
The Titans can win in New England
Jimmy Morris offered up some avenues to victory for the Titans, as well as something that’s been in short supply for Tennessee fans this week: hope. Writing for Music City Miracles, Morris said that there are similarites between this matchup and last week’s upset victory over the Chiefs. In that game, the Titans took advantage of a soft run defense, made the most of their lucky breaks, and walked out of Kansas City with tickets to Foxborough in hand. Morris reminded fans that the Patriots have been dealing with the fallout from Seth Wickersham’s story and added that some members of the New England coaching staff had their minds elsewhere last week. His subhead was simple: Don’t stop believing!
Both of their coordinators, OC Josh McDaniels and DC Matt Patricia, spent last week interviewing for head coaching jobs. There are reports out this morning that Patricia is likely to be the next head coach of the New York Giants. McDaniels has interviewed at multiple places. This is not the first time Bill Belichick has had his assistants interviewing, but we do know those guys weren’t working on the Titans last week. That’s a good thing.
Read more at musiccitymiracles.com
Tennessee Titans mentality must emulate 2010 Jets heading into Foxborough
Brandon Morales, writing for FanSided, compared this game to the 2010 season, when a heavily-favored 14-2 Patriots team were upset by the Jets in the divisional round. New England, who’d already beaten the Jets 45-3 in the regular season, couldn’t handle the Jets pass rush and gave up five sacks on their way to an early exit from the playoffs. Morales wrote that the Titans will draw inspiration from New York proving that there’s no such thing as no chance.
The Titans know what stands ahead of them. Tennessee has nothing to lose and everything to gain. The most dangerous thing you can tell a man is “he can’t”. In the Titans’ case, the national media is doing just that.
Read more at titansized.com
On a Limb? Analyst Predicting a Titans Win Over Patriots
Maurice Jones-Drew isn’t a member of the Titans media, but Tennessee fans will happily claim him after his comments this week. The former Jacksonville Jaguars running back, now an analyst on the NFL Network, picked the Titans over the Patriots on Saturday because of Derrick Henry. He called Tennessee a ‘dangerous team’ and predicted that they could beat Tom Brady by keeping him off the field with their running game.
The reason being is Derrick Henry. (He’s) 6-3, 245-250 pounds, and they run the ball. The Patriots, in the month of December, are 20th in the league, averaging 115 (rushing) yards per game on defense. So they are giving up a 100-yard rusher.
I have the Titans actually going in there and handling business.
Read more at titansonline.com
Tennessee Titans Need to Get Creative to Stop Rob Gronkowski
Nick Lombardi tries to talk himself into backing the Titans to win Saturday but knows the terrifying task at hand in trying to stop Rob Gronkowski. He writes that the Titans probably would have lost against the Chiefs if Kansas City’s tight end Travis Kelce wasn’t forced to leave the game with a concussion. Gronkowski is an even bigger test for the Tennessee defense. Lombardi says their best chance of containing him lies in assigning safety Kevin Byard to cover Gronk wherever he goes and using diverse defensive looks to disrupt the tight end’s rhythm.
The Brady-Gronkowski connection is what makes the New England offense tick; if the Titans can manage to slow him down, they may have a shot of winning this game. Of course, as every team who has ever played Gronk can attest, that is easier said than done.
Read more at titansized.com
