Rusty Smith or Kerry Collins? Just Stop Chris Johnson

As of today it is unknown whether or not Kerry Collins will make his return to the starting lineup for the Titans following a strained left calf that caused him to miss the last two weeks. Jeff Fisher has said that Collins will be evaluated "day to day" this week before the Titans face the Jaguars. Common thought is that Collins will get the start as he was deemed healthy enough to be activated in the Titans loss to the Texans, although he wasn't healthy enough to take a snap.

After Rusty Smith struggled heavily in his NFL debut, the Titans are likely eager to have their veteran QB back in action to finish the season and help them bounce back from a four game losing streak. Regardless of who starts for the Titans, the key to the Jaguars' success on Sunday will be their ability to stop running back Chris Johnson.

The Texans did so. While some would argue that Johnson only had 7 carries so it's unfair to judge their defensive performance, on those 7 carries they were tremendous. He finished with 5 yards. Of the 7 carries, 4 of them were stopped for a loss. With Rusty Smith leading the Titans, the Texans were able to focus on stopping Johnson and making Smith beat them with their arm and it worked wonders. The defense finished with 4 interceptions and a shutout. That's a shutout for a team that hadn't held a team under 24 points prior.

Unfortunately, the Jaguars probably wont have the luxury of picking on Rusty Smith all game as common sense says Kerry Collins should be good to go. That said, Chris Johnson's success in 2010 has been key to many of their victories. In the 5 wins, Johnson has accumulated 575 yards and 7 touchdowns. In the 6 losses, he has 398 yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Jaguars did moderately well against Johnson holding him to just under his season average of 90 yards until a 35 yard touchdown in garbage time of the game raised his rushing total to 111 yards on the night. If the Jaguars hope to hold the Titans offensively and control the ball, they'll need to have a performance more like the one they had against Peyton Hillis and the Browns.