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Tale of the tape

Week 14: Tennessee Titans At Indianapolis Colts

Titans

Colts

Jake Locker struggles to hit open receivers. His biggest issue is a lack of accuracy. He was intercepted three times in the 24-10 Week 13 loss to the Houston Texans and he has been picked off five times in the last two games. Locker has size, strength and a big arm, but he seems to lose his concentration when he is under pressure.	Quarterback	Of all the qualities that Andrew Luck has, the best may be his competitiveness and ability to make plays at the end of the game. The Colts appeared to have little chance in the late stages of their Week 13 game against the Lions, but he rallied them with a pair of touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to give Indianapolis another improbable win.
Running back Chris Johnson is clearly having a very good year after suffering through an awful start. He has run for 993 yards and he is averaging 4.9 yards per carry. He has seven runs of 20 yards or greater. Wide receiver Nate Washington is probably Locker’s best receiver. He is averaging 16.7 yards per catch and has 12 plays of 20 yards or more.	Offense	The Colts have a credible ground game. Neither Vick Ballard nor Donald Brown are stars, but both have exceeded 400 yards rushing and that takes pressure off of Luck. Reggie Wayne has had a brilliant season and has caught 88 passes for 1,156 yards. Donnie Avery is also a frequent target who can complement Wayne.
The Titans have been awful this season, giving up huge chunks of yardage on the ground and through the air. The Titans don’t always show a willingness to tackle and that’s a big reason opponents can move the ball so easily on them. Linebacker Akeem Ayers has 83 tackles and 4.0 sacks this year and he has given a consistent effort.	Defense	The Colts are not a forceful defensive team, but they hustle and make up their mistakes with speed and quickness. Defensive end Robert Mathis can still come around the corner and put pressure on an opposing quarterback. He has 7.0 sacks this year. Inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman is a good tackler with a team-leading 107 stops.
The Titans have struggled with their coverage teams, but Darius Reynaud has speed and explosiveness as a return specialist. Rob Bironas is one of the best kickers in the game, but he has struggled a bit this year. While he has made 21-of-25 FG attempts, he is just 3-of-7 on attempts from 40-to-49 yards.	Special Teams	Adam Vinatieri is no longer the sure thing he once was earlier in his career. Vinatieri has made 21-of-28 FG attempts this year and he has only made 3-of-6 attempts between 30 and 39 yards. Pat McAfee is averaging 48.4 yards per punt.

The winner is

Colts

4 out of 4

The Colts have found a way to finish off games and come away with victories when little was expected. Andrew Luck is a gutsy, riverboat gambler who will not take the easy completion. Instead, he will throw the ball downfield and go for the big play. That makes him a future star. The Titans have no identity and have been quite inconsistent.

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