Saints vs. Titans: Five Questions with Music City Miracles

1. Canal Street Chronicles: The Titans started the 2015 NFL season with a bang, routing the Bucs 42-14 on the road. Things have obviously gone downhill since then but: what worked so well in Tampa Bay? And what caused the abrupt decline?

Jimmy Morris: The fact that Ken Whisenhunt didn't have 8 months to prepare for the rest of the games??  But for real, the Buccaneers are not a very good team, and the Titans did a lot of things in that game that they hadn't shown before.  There hasn't been much innovation since.

They have also suffered injuries to Marcus Mariota and the offensive line since that game.  The line is relatively healthy at this point, and Mariota is going to start.  That should help some of the things that have ailed them- especially the last couple of weeks.

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2. CSC: With Ken Whisenhunt getting fired earlier this week and Mike Mularkey taking over as the interim head coach, what changes do you expect to see in the Titans play both offensively and defensively?

JM: I don't expect any changes defensively.  They have been pretty good on that side of the ball. As for offense, I think you will see them run the football more.  Whiz loved to rotate guys in and out.  Mike Mularkey said this week that Antonio Andrews is going to be the workhorse for this team now.  They are going to try and establish the run more than they did with Whiz and work the play action off of that.

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3. CSC: Could you tell us about one player for the Titans on each side of the ball that we may not have heard about and yet who is likely to have an impact on the game in the Superdome on Sunday?

JM: I mentioned Andrews above.  He was an undrafted free agent that spent most of last year on the practice squad.  Andrews is a power back that will get stronger as the game goes along.  Look for him to get 20-25 carries....assuming the Titans can keep the game close.

Defensively, Jurrell Casey is probably a guy you have heard of, but most people that don't play the Titans very often don't know just how good he is.  Casey is a one-man wrecking crew from the defensive line.

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4. CSC: If you could add one Saints offensive player and one Saints defensive player to the Titans' roster this season, who would it be and why?

JM: This season, I would take Drew Brees give me Mariota for the long-term, but Brees would obviously be an upgrade right now and would be a really valuable guy for Mariota to learn from.  As you know, it all starts and ends with the quarterback.

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5. CSC: Prediction time for you Jimmy: How do you see this game unfolding?

JM: I think the Titans are able to keep it close for a while.  The Titans defense is playing better than most people realize and the offense should be able to score a little bit.  The Saints pull away in the 4th quarter for a 34-20 win.

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Many thanks for Jimmy for taking the time to talk to us. For more Saints-Titans coverage with a Nashville point of view, check out Music City Miracles.