[DoctoBuntonTen]

Tennessee (2-4, 1-2 away) at Arizona (1-4, 1-2 home)

Why To Watch
Two of the league's youngest teams look to build some midseason momentum in this clash in the desert. There is more to like than you think about this matchup with two aggressive, young defenses and a Cardinals passing game that is starting to gel. Steve McNair is always worth the price of a ticket, but keep an eye on RB Chris Brown. He's been running well lately and staying relatively healthy and can have a monster game against a susceptible Cardinals' run defense. Coach Dennis Green will wait until the last minute to reveal his starting quarterback for this game, but whether it's Kurt Warner or Josh McCown, both will have to limit their mistakes. This is a maturation game for the Titans but a must-win game for the Cardinals.


When the Titans have the ball
Rushing: Tennessee could dominate the battle of the trenches in this matchup because its running style excels between the tackles with Brown and that's where this Arizona defense is vulnerable. DTs Darnell Dockett and Ross Kolodziej are one-gap penetrators who like to be on the move. To ask them to anchor at the point of attack vs. the run game is a real challenge. The Titans should be able to wear down the front seven of the Cards and force them to come out of their Cover 2 defense by bringing up their safeties in run support. That will open up the passing game for Steve McNair, especially up the middle to flush him out of the pocket.

Though they might look like pass-rush blitzes, the Cardinals could use some effective run blitzes that would confuse the Titans blocking schemes. If the Cardinals blitz inside on run downs, they at least force Brown to break it outside -- not his strong suit.

Passing: This is not your father's Tennessee vertical passing offense. Offensive coordinator Norm Chow now runs a lot of underneath and crossing routes with their big receivers and physical tight ends. Tight ends Ben Troupe and Erron Kinney are nightmare matchups for Arizona because if its safeties and linebackers have to think pass, it will pull them out of the box in coverage, making Chris Brown's runs even more dangerous. When you watch the Titans on film, you realize how badly they miss WR Derrick Mason. He was the go-to guy they don't have now and could beat any type of coverage. Now at receiver there are only complementary guys.

The Cardinals are so thin at corner that they must line up in the Cover 2 and protect the guys they have. The Cardinals are in big trouble if they are stretched into nickel and dime packages and even if they have to play man coverage on the perimeter. The receivers may go after the Cardinals on deep routes, opening up the tight ends underneath. While this is not a good matchup for Arizona, its iffy if the Titans have enough weapons to exploit it.

When the Cardinals have the ball
Rushing: What run offense? Green expected a balanced offense heading into the season, but his offensive line is so bad that it almost doesn't matter who's running the ball. Defenses routinely play nickel personnel on all downs because of the lack of the Arizona run game, which makes it tough to get things going in the passing game on first and second down because they don't have to substitute. We keep looking for Marcel Shipp to break out as the power back, but when he gets to the line of scrimmage, there's nowhere to run. Shipp is not a guy who can create on his own, which negates the inside game. Rookie J.J. Arrington's style is totally different -- he wants to bounce everything outside. Because of his lack of experience, he is just learning to read defenses and pick his spots. The Cardinals will try to establish the run, but they are now a pass-first team. It's easy to assume that Arizona will use a lot of four-receiver sets to get the Titans in nickel schemes, but that's already likely to happen because of the Titans' lack of respect for the run.

Passing: Green will likely wait until game day to name his starting quarterback in order to get Fisher to prepare for both options. While Warner is more experienced, McCown might be the better fit because he is more mobile. This is not a strong Cardinals' offensive line in pass protection. While Warner might make better decisions with the ball, he is immobile and more prone to getting sacked and fumbling than McCown. The Cardinals have some great matchups in this game no matter who the quarterback is, but Jeff Fisher is really smart and knows his players' limitations. WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin are too big and physical for Tennessee corners Pacman Jones and Andre Woolfolk. While they might not take them deep, this passing game is starting to click.

Fitzgerald and Boldin are great at making yards after the catch and also out-jumping corners. Tennessee will probably rush McCown or Warner with only four and with limited blitzing to leave seven defenders in coverage with a lot of zone and combo schemes. If McCown or Warner has time to throw, the Titans might have to rethink their philosophy. As much as we are learning to like McCown, he always seems to have at least two negative plays per game that put the Cardinals in a bind. Against the scrappy Tennessee defense, they need to avoid those mistakes.