Jake Locker Returns For Titans Against Rested Browns
By Charles Jay
In the football betting lines that have been posted on this game at VietBet, the Titans are the slight favorites at home:
Tennessee Titans -1.5, Cleveland Browns +1.5
Over 44 Points -110, Under 44 Points -110
The Tennessee Titans began the season in such promising fashion, and it looked like it was going to be a successful first season at the helm for new head coach Ken Whisenhunt. But this team has gotten off the track in a hurry, so they really need a big effort in Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, who are coming off a bye week and seem to have a new attitude under head coach Mike Pettine. Sunday football betting action gets underway at 1 PM ET at LP field in Nashville, and will be televised regionally on CBS.
Tennessee took advantage of turnovers on the part of the Kansas City Chiefs and registered a 26-10 victory in the season’s opening week. But since then, they have been outscored by a 100-34 margin. VietBet patrons saw that the last two road games have been humiliating, and in the process quarterback Jake Locker had to sit down with a wrist injury. Last week Charlie Whitehurst took over at quarterback for a 41-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Locker appears to be healthy enough to make this start, but the Titans have problems beyond that.
The Browns have been in three games that have gone down to the wire – literally. They came all the way back from a 27-3 deficit to tie the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, only to lose on a field-goal at the gun. Then they scored a home win over the New Orleans Saints on another field goal in the final seconds. Two weeks ago, they lost a thriller to the Baltimore Ravens, again on a field-goal as time ran out. After all that excitement, this team took last week off, and presumably they have gathered themselves to get ready for a game that is very winnable.
It will probably be a while until Johnny Manziel is inserted at the quarterback position, and that’s assuming he’ll get any starts at all in the 2014 season. Brian Hoyer is doing just fine, with 64% completions and 7.5 yards per attempt. Perhaps the most important thing is that he has not thrown an interception yet. The Browns have had to suffer through the absence of Josh Gordon, their best wide receiver, who is on a ten-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drug policy, not to mention an injury to running back Ben Tate, who is on his way back.
But they have compensated to an extent, getting some good work out of the backfield from Terrence West and Isaiah Crowell, to the point where they actually rank in the top ten in the NFL in rushing. VietBet customers have noticed that this is a team intent on establishing a running game, as they are very close to a 50-50 split on runs and passes.
Football bettors are not sold on Locker as a starting quarterback in this league, and that’s because he is not healthy much of the time, and when he is, he isn’t overly effective. He has thrown 101 passes this season, completing only 56%, and he’s been sacked eight times already. Indecision is a problem for him, and even though he can pull down the football and run with it, that’s not how Whisenhunt wants to win games. To Tennessee’s credit, they may be able to run the football (with Shonn Greene and Bishop Sankey) and gain some traction against Cleveland’s defense, which has yielded 5.2 yards per carry. However, the Browns may be able to overplay the run in an attempt to force Locker to beat them with his arm. Tennessee tight end Delanie Walker has done a great job thus far (22 catches, 317 yards), but Cleveland can probably handle everyone else in the Tennessee receiving corps rather well. The Browns also won’t find many surprises in the Titans’ defensive scheme, because coordinator Ray Horton was with them last year.
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