Falcons vs. Titans: What's the Game Plan for Tennessee?

It would be hard to find a team in the NFL right now that's more desperate than the Tennessee Titans are for a win, much less a win at home.

The Titans haven't won a home game in more than a year and have just one home win since the season finale of 2013. To get win No. 2 in nearly two years, they'll have to pull off an upset over the Atlanta Falcons.

Finally getting over the hump to bring a win to the home crowd would be a major relief for Ken Whisenhunt and the rest of his coaching staff.

If the Titans are going to finally break through with a win at Nissan Stadium, they'll have to do it with backup quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

They also have to figure out a way to stop a very balanced Falcons offensive attack.

The Titans will need to game-plan for four key areas in order to give themselves the best chance at getting a surprise win and maybe pull this season off life support.

Contain Julio Jones

The key word here is "contain," because Jones is too physically talented not to get his fair share of yardage. That's especially true when an underrated Matt Ryan is throwing him the football.

The Titans have played well at times at stopping the pass but have also had some major collapses that have played a role in their four-game losing streak.

Jason McCourty will likely get the assignment of keeping Jones from taking over the game. He'll have the daunting task of preventing the Falcons from running up the score by halftime. You may remember that Jones looked unstoppable in these two teams' preseason meeting in early August.

The Titans will have to deal with some notable injuries, and Perrish Cox being ruled out against the Falcons is the most concerning one, via Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com:

"

.@Titans Injury Report: OUT: Mariota, Cox, Douglas. QUEST: Griffin, Hill PROBABLE: McCluster, Williamson

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) October 23, 2015 "

This will probably force Coty Sensabaugh out of the nickel position where he's more comfortable in order to cover Leonard Hankerson.

Lack of depth may end up being the one thing that dooms this otherwise revamped defense.

Protecting Zach Mettenberger

The Titans cannot run complex passing routes. They're just not protecting the quarterback long enough to make these deep completions on crossing routes and post patterns. That's even truer now that the immobile Mettenberger will be starting for the injured Marcus Mariota.

Mariota is nursing an MCL sprain that will force him to miss his first start of his young career, per Jason Wolf of the Tennessean: 

"

Marcus Mariota (knee) will not play for #Titans on Sunday vs #Falcons https://t.co/d4lA1FROe9 via @Tennessean

— Jason Wolf (@JasonWolf) October 23, 2015 "

You had to foresee this day was coming after witnessing all of the hits that Mariota had been taking over the past three games.

Mettenberger has virtually no ability to move around much in the pocket, which makes it even more critical for him to get the ball out quickly to Kendall Wright, Justin Hunter and Delanie Walker.

Walker is mentioned as one of the key matchups that the Titans can use against the Falcons, per John Glennon of the Tennessean. The Titans could use a dominating performance from one of their tight ends in this matchup, and Walker is a decent possibility against a Falcons secondary that has plenty of holes in it.

Unfortunately for Tennessee, Mariota isn't the only key offensive player who will miss the game. Harry Douglas has been ruled out as well, via Jason Wolf: 

"

#Titans CB Perrish Cox (hamstring) & WR Harry Douglas (ribs) also ruled out vs #Falcons.

— Jason Wolf (@JasonWolf) October 23, 2015 "

Douglas' absence removes a key weapon that the Titans could have used on underneath routes to keep Mettenberger from holding onto the ball too long.

This means that Dorial Green-Beckham will get more targets, and he'll really have to make the most out of them. The Titans need to see what kind of progress he's making and look his way regularly. 

The minor silver lining in all of this is that the Titans are going up against a Falcons pass rush that has managed just seven sacks through six games. Perhaps the offensive line can finally put together a strong showing and protect the quarterback.

A Running Back Has to Take Charge

The running back by committee was a nice idea going into the regular season thanks to the Titans having so many differently skilled players to throw into a game plan.

It's fair to say that the strategy has run its course, though. None of the Tennessee running backs has managed to stand out, and it's anyone's guess from week to week who is going to lead the team in carries. There is no rhythm because the backs are only playing a couple of plays per drive at the most. 

Bishop Sankey hasn't led the team in carries for a while, so maybe it's his turn this week.

This team needs to stick with one guy throughout the game and only occasionally use another guy in certain offensive packages.

Antonio Andrews deserves to get this opportunity for a few games, so the Titans can see what they have in him. Only allowing him to get a carry or two and then yanking him out for the next two drives isn't smart football. There's no chemistry being built at running back right now.

Dexter McCluster led the team in carries last week against the Miami Dolphins. This isn't a knock on McCluster, but he's not a guy who is going to become this team's featured back. It makes no sense that he's nearly leading the team in rushing attempts. 

Someone else needs to take charge of the running game against the Falcons, and the dynamic skill set that Andrews brings makes him the best option.

Pressure, Pressure and More Pressure on Matt Ryan

There is no way the Titans defense will be able to keep this score below 30 points if it can't put adequate pressure on Matt Ryan in the backfield.

He is far too talented to be afforded ample amounts of time to pick and choose who he wants to throw to. This receiving corps goes beyond Jones. 

Player	Sacks
Derrick Morgan	4.5
Jurrell Casey	3.5
Brian Orakpo	2
Wesley Woodyard	2
Avery Williamson	1

Hankerson is a solid No. 2 receiver, and Roddy White still has all the talent in the world to take over a game on any given Sunday. 

In other words, Ryan will have plenty of viable options if the Titans choose to take the conservative approach and sit back in zone coverage.

The small sliver of hope for the Titans is that Jurrell Casey and Derrick Morgan continue their impressive seasons by putting constant pressure on Ryan to make throws he's not ready to make. Forcing him into turnovers, especially in his own territory, will give the Titans a chance to score on a short field. 

Playing the aggressive approach may leave the Titans vulnerable to getting burned deep, but what other choice do they have? They have to stay aggressive and hope Ryan adds to his season total of four interceptions.

Prediction

It's difficult to find creative ways that the Titans will able to stay in this game. Their best chance to do that will likely be to win in shootout fashion, because the Falcons are too loaded not to get their fair amount of points.

The timing is awful for Mettenberger as he walks into a game where the fans are once again restless after watching their team drop three straight at home. He came into a similar situation last season as a rookie.

Perhaps he's learned a thing or two since last season when he went winless as a starter. He looked sharp in preseason and will face a pass defense that is fourth-worst in the NFL. He'll have to put together the game of his life to keep pace with the Falcons on the scoreboard.

The Titans may keep this interesting at halftime, but the offensive talent of the Falcons will eventually overtake the Titans. Atlanta will make it a two-possession game late, and the Titans won't have the juice to make a comeback.

Mettenberger increases his trade value here with some decent numbers but ends up staying winless as a NFL starter. The Titans will fall to 1-5 after losing to the Falcons 31-20.