The Colts better expect the unexpected tonight.
Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher has a penchant for pulling out the tricks against his archrivals, especially when his team is overmatched. That certainly seems the case now, with the 4-0 Colts and the 0-4 Titans.
Fisher downplayed the idea that his team is desperate. Hard to believe the Titans aren’t, coming off a season in which they went an AFC-best 13-3 and ended the Colts’ string of AFC South titles at five.
“You’ve got to keep things in perspective, and … eliminate any playoff expectations and those kind of things, because that kind of thing becomes crippling, and it becomes a one-week-at-a-time thing,” Fisher said. “What you do is dwell on improvement as a football team and having fun and getting back to the same point where we were last year with the same players.”
Fisher has found creative ways to try and keep Colts quarterback Peyton Manning off the field in previous games. That would seem particularly important this season, as Manning leads the NFL in passing yards (1,336) and touchdowns (nine).
In 2004, the Titans had three onside kicks in the first quarter, recovering two of them in building a 17-10 lead. But the Colts ended up winning 51-24. In 2006, with Vince Young at quarterback, the Titans ran the option and split the season series. Tennessee has won three of the last five games against Indianapolis, relying largely on running the ball.
Fisher will likely look at film of the Colts’ 27-23 victory over Miami in Week 2, during which the Dolphins held the ball for 45:07 and decide to run the wildcat offense. With running back Chris Johnson, who leads the NFL with 434 rushing yards, and Young, the Titans have the personnel to pull it off.
It seems just the sort of thing that Fisher, known for pulling a fake punt or two, would use to bewilder the Colts.
“We missed a lot of tackles in that (Miami) ballgame,” said Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell, whose run defense has improved since then and ranks 16th giving up 106.5 yards a game. “The other thing is we weren’t gap sound. We didn’t take care of our gap responsibility. It is a tough scheme to handle anyway. It gives you enough problems with misdirection that you have situations that a play or two might get out on you. As long as we are sound as far as our approach and take care of our gap responsibilities, we’ll be fine.”
Fisher said he has a huge amount of respect for the Colts. He must, otherwise he wouldn’t stray from convention.
“You play one team one way, and you have to come back the next week and play another team the other way,” Fisher said. “There are different philosophies, different methods, to trying the win the football game based on the opponent you’re playing.”
