1. How big is Landry’s loss? Obviously it could be huge. The Redskins will need to at times use eight in the box to stop Chris Johnson and to lose speed when facing speed? Not great. Reed Doughty is better in the box than he is deep, but even he would admit he’s not Landry. The problem is, Landry’s speed enables the Redskins to present different disguises that will be more difficult with Doughty. Also, the Titans will test Washington deep, though Landry struggled in that area, too, so I’m not sure that’s a huge change.
2. How about Carlos Rogers? Losing two players from the secondary is never good. It helps that Kenny Britt will not be active and that Randy Moss is still learning this offense. But Rogers has covered pretty well this season and the Titans still have weapons remaining. He was also cover man in the slot and now that role will fall to someone more inexperienced. I’m not sure who will cover in the slot, but it sounds as if Kevin Barnes will get a chance to play. They say he’s improved; we’ll find out. Phillip Buchanon has been OK as a third corner and he is experienced. But whoever comes in as the third corner – Barnes or Byron Westbrook – will be tested.
3. What other problems does this present? Because the Redskins typically have not pressured out of their base 3-4 defense, quarterbacks have received too much time to throw. When you lose two starting defenders – good ones, too – then you’re asking, in some cases, lesser cover men to guard their area or their man for even longer. Not good.
4. How big is Artis Hicks’ absence? Again, pretty big because there’s a steep dropoff between he and Will Montgomery. Hicks hasn’t been great; but he is much better than anyone else at RG. Couple that with already weak play at LG and unsteady play at center and that’s not a good interior. Hicks was pretty good on stunts and has had some games where he’s fared rather well. Montgomery is probably better as a center. You now have two guards that can get overpowered; that will disrupt the stretch runs way too often.
5. Can the Redskins do anything to give Donovan McNabb more time? They already roll him out and use him on bootlegs. Against the Eagles they started using more shotgun out of the base offense. Will that be a strategy today? They’ll have to do something because the Titans do rush the passer well; they don’t have an elite rusher, but they rotate eight players and keep guys fresh to pressure. It helps.
6. How much will they use Clinton Portis? They’ll have no choice but to use him a lot. He MUST play on third downs for protection purposes; if not, then McNabb will have to cross his fingers and hope that Keiland Williams has gotten more savvy this week. For Williams, it’s mostly about experience. Anyway, if this is the case then Portis must be given breathers on early downs. Will that happen? We’ll see, but after missing five games it’s hard to imagine Portis being ready for more than 14-15 carries.
7. How good is Tennessee’s defense? The Titans are a funny defense; they rank ninth in points allowed, but 20th overall. So they will give up yards. However, they’re excellent in the red zone and on third downs – two problem spots for Washington. They also are one of the best defenses when it comes to forcing turnovers (one fewer than the Redskins).
8. How dangerous is Vince Young? Well, he’s not Michael Vick if that’s what you’re asking. But Young is mobile; he won’t run as much as Vick does, but he will still take off on occasion and he can keep plays alive with his legs. His accuracy has greatly improved and he takes good care of the ball, with only three interceptions. Brian Orakpo must have a good game vs. LT Michael Roos, who is a good player. Orakpo needs to get consistent pressure.
9. Will Randy Moss hurt the Redskins? He didn’t do much in his first game with the Titans and came out on a lot of third downs. But the Titans won’t have Britt and that’s a key loss, so they’ll have to look more for someone such as Moss. Nate Washington is a good receiver who averages 15.7 yards per catch. If the Redskins have to devote eight in the box to stop Chris Johnson, then Washington and Moss will test Kareem Moore downfield.
10. Can they stop Chris Johnson? He hasn’t had the same explosive season that he had a year ago, but Johnson is still on pace to rush for nearly 1,500 yards. ILB Rocky McIntosh has to do a better job with his tackles and the gaps he fills; he can’t overpursue a hole as he’s done against certain backs. Maake Kemoeatu has a tough battle against center Eugene Amano. But the secondary has struggled with taking good angles vs. some backs – Moore in particular – and now you’re forced to use two backups. It will be difficult. They also have to be very aware of Johnson’s cutbacks; they seemed to forget that with Vick last week and it hurt them. I worry about the fast nickel sets; will the Titans just let Albert Haynesworth penetrate to a side and let Johnson cut back through a big hole?
11. Who will win? Character teams respond well to bad games and the Redskins had an ugly one. I would expect a good effort today and I would expect them to play as if they will win. However, the injuries are too much. They were nothing more than a .500 team when healthy and now you’re missing three starters, two good ones on a struggling defense, too. Just don’t see it. Titans 24, Redskins 14.
