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Titans vs. Steelers: 5 Questions with Music City Miracles

Music City Miracles editor Jimmy Morris answers five questions about the Titans in wake of the regular season opener between Tennessee and Pittsburgh at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.

By Neal Coolong
Justin K. Aller

Jimmy Morris, the editor of SB Nation's Tennessee Titans site Music City Miracles met with BTSC editor Neal Coolong recently, and answered a few questions about the Titans, the upcoming game and the odds of a repeat performance of the Stomp of the Terrible Towel.

1. How much should the Steelers worry about the Titans running a zone-read offense? Is that something fans should expect from Tennessee in this game?

It should be on their radar. The Titans didn't show a whole lot of that in the preseason, but that doesn't mean much. Dowell Loggains, the new offensive coordinator, has said that he is going to tailor this offense to Jake Locker's strengths. That would seemingly be one of his strengths. You also might want to look out for the pistol.

2. There have been scores of former Steelers who have gone to Tennessee after leaving Pittsburgh - from Yancey Thigpen to The Quarterback Who Shall Not Be Named to Chris Hope to, most recently, Nate Washington. Do you feel there's a connection between these franchises?

Are you talking about Neil O'Donnell? Neil O'Donnell was a really big asset to this franchise for quite a few years. Neil O'Donnell did a fantastic job backing up Steve McNair. Neil O'Donnell also did TV here for a while. Neil O'Donnell wasn't very good at that.

(editor's note: Jimmy will pay for this)

Anyway, back when Jeff Fisher and Bill Cowher were the coaches of these two teams, they played a really similar style of football. That made it a natural fit for a guy to go from there to here.

3. What kind of beating will Kenny Britt put on Ike Taylor in this game? Assuming Britt remains non-suspended, injured or arrested before the game, can we expect the same kind of outside-the-numbers assault on the Steelers' secondary like last year?

Those are pretty big assumptions when it comes to Britt. We will be keeping our fingers crossed that he is still eligible to play at noon on Sunday. As for on the field, he has all of the physical ability to out a beat down on Taylor. The only question is whether or not he will catch the football when it is thrown to him. If he does, look for a big day.

4. The Titans came from Houston, and the Ravens came from Cleveland. The Titans adopted all of the Oilers' franchise records, but the Ravens were treated as an expansion franchise (the new Browns franchise held the former regime's records). Do Titans fans feel associated with the Oilers' side of the franchise? Do they want that connection to be present?

It really depends on who you ask. I don't feel associated with the Oilers at all, but there are a lot of people in the fanbase that followed the team here. As long as Bud Adams owns the team you will have that connection, but most of the people in Nashville don't feel any association.

5. In the event of a Titans win Sunday, do you feel a Titans player will stomp on a Terrible Towel? If so, which one?

No. That wouldn't have happened in Pittsburgh even with those guys.

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