Tennessee Notes

Quarterbacks: It has only taken Steve McNair a short nine years to turn into an NFL version of what he was in college. A premier long baller. Now that the Titan rushing game is buried beside Elvis, the Titans have not only come out throwing, they are not even using the popular dink-n-dunk west coast offense. McNair threw for 421 yards last Sunday against the Texans and gained over 15 yards per pass ATTEMPT. He had over 23 yards per completion. He has 821 yards passing in the last two games. It would take players like Kyle Boller two years to accomplish that many yards.

Running backs: According to game programs, the Titans do have some on the roster. Eddie George plugged along last week for 60 yards on 19 carries, eclipsing the elusive three yards per carry mark only because he accidentally gained 17 yards on one run. At the rate McNair is going, George should see better numbers from the entire defense playing 15 yards off the line of scrimmage.

Chris Brown (4-15) had his hamstring tighten up again and had less work than intended.

Wide Receivers: Last week Derrick Mason had a career game, gaining 177 yards and three touchdowns on only six passes. Mason scored on passes of 32, 46 and 50 yards. That's a far cry from the one catch for four yards he had two weeks before against the Steelers.

Tyrone Calico had four catches for 92 yards while Justin McCareins had two catches for "only" 68 yards. While Calico has seven catches the past two weeks, he had seventeen passes. McCareins only had five passes.

Tight Ends: The loss of Frank Wycheck coupled with the poor running game has led to this explosion of passing. The Titans normally like a two tight end set but without Wycheck and having Shad Meier miss the Texan game with a concussion, Tennessee had little choice but to pursue the passing game with the wideouts.

Meier may be back this week but the Titans are starting to shift away from their tight ends. Erron Kinney only had three catches for 38 yards during the two week hail storm.

Match against the defense: The Panthers are slightly better than average against the run but the Titans do not have a decent rushing game anyway. Expect the same results here.

The Panthers weak link is against the pass. This is not a good thing for them this week. While they have scratched out a 5-0 mark, they have allowed quarterbacks to shine - Brunell (272 yards, 2 TDs), Brad Johnson (349 yards, 1 TD) and Manning (293 yards, 1 TD). Their numbers appear stronger than they are thanks to Atlanta and New Orleans.

Carolina knew Marvin Harrison was coming and still allowed him 119 yards. Where they were worse was against the Buccaneers who have a diverse passing attack (read - no great receivers) and Tennessee is able to mix Mason, Calico and McCareins in ways Carolina has not yet faced. The Titans can and must succeed through the air and the Panthers have been susceptible to that.

Carolina Notes

Quarterbacks: The Panthers come off their best passing effort of the year but that only meant that Jake Delhomme threw for 181 yards with one touchdown. Other than week one against the Jaguars, Delhomme has played the role of a game manager, handing off the ball and minimizing mistakes. That probably will not be enough this week.

Running backs: After gaining 76 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown, Stephen Davis was forced from the game last week with a bruised forearm. HC John Fox literally had to have someone hide his helmet to keep him out of the game. Davis had an MRI on his arm which was negative and he is expected to play this week.

In his place, De'Shaun Foster was no drop-off, gaining 85 yards on 16 carries and showing a nice speed to the outside on several runs. While Davis will return this week, Fox has stated the Foster will continue his role as relief for Davis which previously has meant around eight to ten carries for the run-happy team.

Wide Receivers: After five games, the Panthers finally produced a 100 yard receiver when Steve Smith ran in a 52 yard touchdown and finished with 103 yards on six catches. Muhsin Muhammad only managed two catches for ten yards and for both receivers, no incompletions were thrown to them.

Tight Ends: Kris Mangum had one catch last week but that was all the tight end work doled out.

Match against the defense: The Titans have allowed Edgerrin James to gain 120 yards this season though it took him 30 carries to get there during a blowout. The Titans also allowed the Patriots to combine Antowain Smith and Mike Cloud for 153 yards on only 23 carries in their other loss this season. The Titans can be ran on and that is about all the Panthers do anyway though Deuce McAllister was held to only 8 yards on 11 carries.

The Panthers must establish the ground game and be successful with it in order to win. They know it, the Titans know it, and so far no one has been able to do much against it. The Titans will be stacking the line and daring the Panthers to throw.

Tennessee has given up 300 yard games to both Maddox and Carr this season, but Carolina has nothing even close to the passing weapons of those teams. If Carolina is forced to throw, they will likely lose.

Game Prediction: The Panthers have also only really been behind in one game when Delhomme saved the day in week one. Otherwise, they have controlled the scoreboard and not been forced to come from behind and make up any significant deficit. They simply do not have the means to do that.

Tennessee is red hot right now with McNair passing, but Carolina at home presents a good challenge and the only two Titan losses have been on the road this year.

The key to the game is if McNair can get a lead - via the pass - and force the Panthers out of their game plan. He should be able to do this considering the different style of passing the Titans present lately and the effect on the opposing defenses. Look for McNair to buy more time running this week and gain some yards on the ground as well. Played in Carolina should make this a closer game, but the Titans are playing great everywhere but rushing while the Panthers are playing great everywhere but passing.

If Tennessee can get past the Panthers, they are setting themselves up for a definite playoff run since their week nine bye neatly separates the season into two halves. The first eight weeks have five road games but the second half has five home games.

* Fantasy point rankings calculated using standard Huddle fantasy points