Opponent Profile: Steelers To Face Titans In Week 11
By Christina Rivers
The Pittsburgh Steelers face yet another road game in NFL regular season week 11; this time in Tennessee against a Titans team that has only been able to win two games in 2014. The Steelers have seen the type of setup – playing an unsuccessful team – several times this season and have faltered, playing to the level of their opponent instead of maintaining the tempo of their most successful outings against tough teams. The Titans will be looking to prove that they can take the game from the Steelers.
Tennessee is coming off of a loss at M&T Bank Stadium to the Baltimore Ravens. Rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger earned his first road start and was able to put together two nine-plus play drives, completing eight-of-11 passes to six different targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, the first quarter was the only time Tennessee was able to play at a high level. Mettenberger was sacked five times, hit eight times and threw an interception in the game. Baltimore was able to overpower the Titans offensive line consistently and Mettenberger suffered as a result. Unable to remain in the pocket, Mettenberger was forced to make risky plays despite a strong arm and good awareness.
Tennessee's offense is struggling in other areas as well. Shonn Greene had an opportunity to punch the ball into the end zone, but coughed it up at the goal line for a turnover. Bishop Sankey was able to rush 38 yards on nine carries. Tennessee had seven possessions without a first down and finished with a meager 210 yards in offense. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt didn't blame Mettenberger for the loss. "He did some good things today, made some good throws," Whisenhunt said. "I think he did a nice job of operating today in this environment, which is not easy. But obviously, we have to be more productive." Whisenhunt admitted frustration with the overall performance of his team. “Tough game for us, I thought we did a nice job starting out on the road in a tough place to play. I thought our team responded well in that standpoint,” said Whisenhunt. “Obviously, you can’t fumble the ball on the goal line. That hurts us because we have potentially a chance to be up two scores. It was unfortunate, we did it to ourselves some. They did it to us, field position in the second half. We missed some throws and couldn’t get anything going. So it’s very disappointing.”
The Titans are preparing to get into practice this week ahead of their Monday night game at LP Field by focusing on how they played in the first quarter against the Ravens. Their time of possession, rushing yards, turnovers and third-down efficiency were all poor against Baltimore. Nine penalties for a loss of 67 yards didn't help. Third downs have been a near-constant area the Titans have worked to improve, and in the first quarter on Sunday, they converted each of the four they faced. The Titans will also be looking at how to start drives in better field position. Against the Ravens, the Titans stalled in five second-half drives that started at, or were inside their own 15-yard line.
While the Titans only garnered one sack and two quarterback hits on Sunday, their pass rush and defensive secondary stepped up. Jason McCourty held Ravens receiver Steve Smith to just three catches for 17 yards on seven targets. Torrey Smith caught a single 32-yard touchdown pass. Tennessee's defense held Joe Flacco to 169 yards passing (16-of-27 passes completed). It is arguably the Titans defense that has been keeping Tennessee in games.
Pittsburgh has to make improvements immediately this week, addressing flat play and poor blocking by the offensive line in the face of a strong defensive front from the Jets. Whisenhunt is no stranger to Pittsburgh, and the Steelers will see plenty of blitz packages dialed up to disrupt Ben Roethlisberger. With the Titans shutting down the Ravens' rushing game, the Steelers will need the offensive line to perform at a much higher level. One thing that hurt Pittsburgh the most against New York was having their offense become so one-dimensional that Roethlisberger was forced to take unnecessary risks and make poor decisions, especially in the passing game.
The Steelers defense will need to pick out the appropriate personnel package. Against the Jets, the Steelers did little to contain Michael Vick. Even though Vick is a veteran and Mettenberger a rookie, Pittsburgh can't allow opposing quarterbacks to be comfortable. They will need to seal the interior of the defensive line and prevent rushing to the outside; something New York capitalized on. The linebackers will be counted on to slide down the line and move quickly to the ball, whether it is Greene, Leon Washington or Sankey are carrying the ball. Wide receivers Nate Washington and Justin Hunter can be elusive, so the defensive backs will need to communicate in order to prevent wide open plays. They struggled early against the Jets due to playing soft coverage.
Titans cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson made a statement after the game on Sunday that the Steelers should pay attention to. “We've seen throughout the weeks that we can get a little bit closer here and there,” Wreh-Wilson said of his team, “but in other situations, we seem to lose a little bit. We just have to rise to a point where everyone is doing their job in a high, efficient manner, so we can click and get momentum on our side.” Pittsburgh can't afford another game where they allow their opponent to dictate the pace or result of the game.
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Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a reporter and photographer for over a decade. Rivers studied exercise physiology and sports psychology at Brigham Young University as a student-athlete. Christina is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.