Head to Head

Notes, Quotes

By The Numbers:  

100%—Titans red zone scoring percentage in 18 trips into the red zone this year. Tennessee has scored 13 touchdowns and five field goals from inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

Quote To Note:  

“This team doesn’t get put on a national stage a lot, so any time you get that opportunity, you’ve got to make the most of it.” —LB Keith Bulluck, on the Titans only Monday Night Football appearance of the season.

Bulluck described himself last year as “Mr. Monday Night” before getting three interceptions against the Saints in prime time.

Strategy And Personnel

For years, the Colts have lined up their receivers on each side, Reggie Wayne left and Marvin Harrison right with very little movement or switching.

The Titans are certainly fine with that arrangement, allowing them to put up-and-comer Cortland Finnegan on Wayne, who is more dynamic at this stage of his career than Harrison. That leaves the Titans with ex-Colt Nick Harper on Harrison, in a matchup of savvy veterans.

In some instances, however, the Colts appear to be sticking Wayne in the slot in three-receiver sets. The Titans would probably rather have Finnegan on Wayne as much as possible, but they remain confident in nickel back Vincent Fuller to cover anyone who comes his way, even if the Colts decide to throw them a curve with Wayne inside.

PLAYER NOTES

• WR Lavelle Hawkins continues to get extensive work, as the Titans try to get the shifty rookie incorporated more into their offense. Hawkins has the look of a potential playmaker down the line, but still has issues running routes and being in the right spots at times.

• RB LenDale White, fresh off an 80-yard run at Kansas City, has been losing weight since the season started, though neither he nor Jeff Fisher would reveal how much White has lost. White is listed at 235 pounds, and has been involved in added conditioning drills on a frequent basis.

• LB Colin Allred, a valuable special teams member, missed practice with a groin strain Wednesday. He suffered the injury in Sunday’s 34-10 win over the Chiefs.

• QB Kerry Collins has been at his best protecting the football, as he has thrown just three interceptions and has been sacked just once in 134 dropbacks thus far.

• “Guys have really taken this team for granted, winning like we have in past seasons. But this is the NFL. Games are hard. Every Sunday, you can throw the records out the window, no matter if the team is 1-5 or 3-3. They’re still coming in with the capabilities of embarrassing you if you’re not on your game.”—LB Gary Brackett, on Indianapolis’ inconsistent play this year.

• “We just need to play better. I need to play better and we need to try and find a way to get into the end zone.”—Manning, on the sluggish play of the Colts offense through the first six games of the regular season.

• DE Dwight Freeney has recorded 10 career sacks and four forced fumbles in 11 games against the Titans.

• “What we have to do is really concentrate on being sharp in everything we do—preparation, meetings, drill work, practice time. That’s what happens. I think, in terms of going out there wanting to play hard, wanting to do all that knowing what’s on the line, we’ll have that. But, you can go out there and play hard and if you get penalties on third down that create automatic first downs, if you get kicks blocked, if you throw interceptions for touchdowns, all the hard work and all the effort doesn’t overcome those fundamental problems and detail problems. That’s where we are right now.”—Dungy, on getting a sense of urgency across to the Colts

Quote To Note:  

Colts coach Tony Dungy, on whether his team will be ready when Indianapolis travels to play the Titans on Monday night.—“We’ll find out. I thought that we had real good concentration two weeks ago (against Baltimore) and we’re going to need that. I think our players will watch the tape and they will see how well Tennessee is playing. I think we’ll know that if we don’t win this game, we really won’t have a chance to win the division, I don’t think. We should have ourselves ready to play our best game of the year, for sure.”

Strategy And Personnel

Since the Tennessee game isn’t until Monday night, the Colts had both Tuesday and Wednesday off.

“We’re going to give the players off (Tuesday) and Wednesday, come in on Thursday and we’ll look at the tape of Tennessee, try to figure out the best way to attack them but really look at ourselves and try to get ourselves doing things better and more sound,” said Colts coach Tony Dungy.

“The first six weeks (of the season) have been (inconsistent), and that is a little unusual for us. We could always count on a certain type of performance. We weren’t necessarily always going to win, but you always felt good about how we were going to play. I’ve been as surprised as anyone at the penalties and some of the inconsistencies. Again, it’s just technique and doing things right all the time.”

PLAYER NOTES

• Rookie WR Pierre Garcon, who has been handling kickoff returns for the Colts, will now take over as the team’s primary punt returner as well.

• OT Tony Ugoh might see more playing time this week. Ugoh has been recovering from a groin injury that he suffered against Minnesota in Week 2. He has seen limited work in the last three games.

• CB Keiwan Ratliff was waived by the Colts. Ratliff had been Indianapolis’ primary punt returner the last two weeks.

• CB Nick Graham, who had been released by Indianapolis last week, has been re-signed by the Colts.

Matchups To Watch:   Colts LG Jamey Richard vs. Titans RDT Albert Haynesworth. Richard is a rookie who has played for the most part this season. Haynesworth has become as dominant a defensive tackle as there is in the NFL. He is an early candidate for league Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Titans LT Michael Roos vs. Colts RDE Dwight Freeney. Freeney has just three sacks so far this season, but the franchise’s career sack leader has always turned it up a notch or two against Tennessee. He has 12 quarterback pressures, which lead the Colts, and two forced fumbles. Roos has had some success against Freeney in the past.

Colts QB Peyton Manning vs. Titans CB Nick Harper. A pair of former teammates with Indianapolis who know each other very well. Manning loves going back to the state where he went to college and is still a fan favorite. Harper has a thing or two to prove to the Colts after he was allowed to test the free-agent market a couple of years ago.

Injury Impact:  

• TE Gijon Robinson (ankle) returned to practice on Thursday. Robinson missed the Green Bay game after he was hurt against Baltimore two weeks ago.

• CB Marlin Jackson (shoulder) did not practice on Thursday. Jackson, though, is expected to start Monday night at Tennessee.

• DT Daniel Muir (illness) was held out of Thursday’s practice. Muir should be okay to play Monday night at Tennessee.

• RB Joseph Addai (hamstring) did not practice Thursday and is not expected to play Monday night at Tennessee. Addai, who was hurt against Baltimore two weeks ago, did not practice Thursday.

• CB Kelvin Hayden (knee) did not practice Thursday and will not play at Tennessee on Monday night. Hayden recently underwent surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee. He was injured at Houston earlier this month.

• WR Roy Hall (knee) did not practice Thursday. He will not play against the Titans this week. Hall has been sidelined since the second week of the regular season. He initially suffered a hamstring injury but also underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee during the recovery period.

• S Bob Sanders (knee) did not practice Thursday and will not play at Tennessee on Monday night. Sanders, who may return to the starting lineup next week against New England, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee as he was recovering from a high right ankle sprain.

• DE Robert Mathis (rest) did not practice Thursday but is expected to start Monday night at Tennessee.

• DE Dwight Freeney (rest) did not practice on Thursday. He is expected to start at Tennessee on Monday night.