Mosher's scouting report: Eagles-Titans

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Scouting the Eagles' Week 12 matchup with the 2-8 Titans at Lincoln Financial Field:

When the Eagles have the ball
If you’re gonna have a clunker on the road, as the Eagles did Sunday in Green Bay, it sure helps to bounce back with a cupcake at home.

The Titans are an improving team, now with rookie Zach Mettenberger under center, but they’ve won only two games, a two-point edging of the equally bad (if not worse) Jaguars and their season-opening win over the Chiefs.

Everyone knows it’s written in Andy Reid’s contract that he’s not allowed to beat the Titans, so take that win with a grain of salt.

If the Eagles can’t spring LeSean McCoy for at least 100 yards then their running games issues are more serious than we thought. The Titans rank 31st against the run, allowing almost 144 yards per game. They stacked the box Monday night against the Steelers as much as possible and still watched Le'Veon Bell pile up 204 yards on 33 carries.

Then again, the Packers ranked 30th against the run and the Panthers ranked 26th and the Eagles still had their issues creating lanes for McCoy on their trademark outside and inside zones.

Right guard Matt Tobin suffered a concussion against the Packers and might not play even though he passed all of his tests by Thursday. Andrew Gardner took all the first-team reps at practice this week and looks ready to make his first career start at guard.

I’m not so sure Tobin would have started anyway. He’s had some struggles since moving over from left guard to replace Todd Herremans on the right side. The Eagles really like Tobin’s mobility and athleticism, and he was playing better before the Herremans injury, but an abrupt move from left guard to right guard might have been too much for a first-year player to handle.

Center Jason Kelce struggled a bit with his snaps and pass protection against the Packers. He said he feels good despite not being 100 percent from the sports hernia surgery but he can see on tape that he doesn’t have his usual mobility.

Kelce needs to be on his game against an ultra-aggressive Titans defensive front that promises to come after Mark Sanchez from all angles and all personnel. Titans defensive coordinator Ray Horton is as aggressive as they come. He’s no stranger to six- and seven-man pressures along with the occasional zero blitz.

Titans DT Jurrell Casey (6-1, 305) isn’t a household name but he will be soon. He had 10½ sacks last year and has four this season. He’s fast to the ball and sheds blocks quickly. Gardner (or Tobin) will have his hands full with Casey.

When the Titans have the ball
The Titans are on their third starting quarterback but coach Ken Whisenhunt may have found his long-term starter.

The rookie Mettenberger, a former LSU standout, fell into the sixth round of the draft mainly because of questions about his health and off-field maturity. He tore his ACL in LSU’s regular-season finale and produced a diluted urine sample at the NFL Scouting Combine.

While the latter might still be an issue, there’s no question about the kid’s physical makeup. At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds and with a cannon right arm, he compares favorably to Joe Flacco. He also moves around the pocket fairly well for a guy his size, a la Ben Roethlisberger. He throws the deep ball with tremendous accuracy and came from Cam Cameron’s pro-style offense at LSU.

Some scouts believed Mettenberger had better pro potential than first-rounders Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel. They just worried if he’d keep his head on straight.

In three-plus appearances so far he’s completed 62 percent of his passes, thrown five touchdowns to four interceptions and has a passer rating of 86.2. In his last start, Monday night against the Steelers, Mettenberger completed 15 of 24 passes for 263 yards and threw two touchdowns to one interception for a 110.2 rating. His very first pass was a pick-six, but he rebounded to toss an 80-yard TD pass to Nate Washington just before halftime.

Not surprisingly, the Titans had their highest two passing totals of their season in Mettenberger’s first and third starts, respectively. The Titans function mostly out of three-wide formations with WRs Washington, Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter.

After an absolute dud against Green Bay’s Jordy Nelson, Eagles left cornerback Bradley Fletcher will see plenty of the 6-foot-4 Hunter. He probably won’t be as fearful of jamming Hunter as he was Nelson given the lack of established symmetry between Mettenberger and his wideouts.

The Titans also lean heavily on rookie running back Bishop Sankey, a 5-foot-10, 209-pound halfback who’s built similarly to Brian Westbrook. Sankey isn’t a threat out of the backfield but he’s a slippery runner, although he’s averaging only 3.9 yards per carry.

The Eagles have fared well against the run this year, mainly because of their front three of DEs Fletcher Cox and Cedric Thornton and NT Bennie Logan. The right side of the Titans' offensive line has struggled in pass protection, which bodes well for DE Vinny Curry and OLB Connor Barwin to add more sacks to their total.

Special teams
Josh Huff’s nightmarish rookie season continued against the Packers when he ran past Micah Hyde on the punt returner’s 75-yard touchdown return. Huff just hasn’t made an impact on special teams and Chris Polk is back to returning kicks. Polk averaged 22.3 yards on four returns against Green Bay.

The Titans aren’t very threatening in the return game, ranking 26th on punts and 22nd on kickoffs. Titans kicker Ryan Succop is 4 of 6 on attempts between 40 and 49 yards and hasn’t attempted one beyond 50.

Intangibles
Remember when the Linc was a house of horrors? From the end of 2011 season to the start of last season, the Eagles went nine straight games at the Linc without winning.

Now, they’ve won 10 in a row at home, the NFL’s second-longest active streak. (The Patriots have won 14 straight.) The Eagles have outscored opponents by 77 points at home, tied with Baltimore for the third-highest margin of victory at home, and their average home score is 34-20.

Prediction
I haven’t had a great feeling about this game all week. Something about the way the Eagles left Lambeau with their tails between their legs makes me think the loss won’t just easily be dismissed and moved on from.

Regardless of what they’ve said all week, deep down the Eagles have to think they were exposed by the Packers. That tends to have a carry-over effect, even against an afterthought team like the Titans.

Eagles 30, Titans 24

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