Don\u2019t turn over the ball.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nSomehow it worked. The Titans dominated on defense, providing decent field position. Rookie Chris Johnson became a horse at running back, Collins found the end zone just enough and the Colts, who had dominated the AFC South since Peyton Manning arrived on the scene, started slow. Tennessee took control early and coasted to a 13-3 record.![\"\"](\"http:\/\/banners.affcorner.com\/aspx\/affiliateGetImage.aspx?ID_SC=761&ID_I=476\")
<\/p>\n
But that was then and this is now, and the Titans will have their hands full Thursday night against the NFL\u2019s best team. The line opened at Steelers -5 and was quickly bet up to 5.5, where it now stands in most Vegas books. The offshores are offering 6, and 5Dimes even pumped it to 7. The O\/U fluctuates between 34.5 and 35.<\/p>\n
Fisher wouldn\u2019t know what to do if he wasn\u2019t putting out one locker room brushfire or another, and this week\u2019s has to do with, of all things, towels. Pittsburgh terrible towels, in particular, the kind that fans wave. LenDale White, who ate himself out of a starting job last season, decided to stomp on one of the towels last season when the Titans hung a 31-14 loss on the Steelers in Nashville.<\/p>\n
White, in better shape this season, says he\u2019ll have no trouble doing the same thing again on Thursday, in Pittsburgh. Sort of.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do whatever I want to do at your house or my house,\u201d White said earlier this week. \u201cBecause I can buy the house I\u2019m usually at. See what I\u2019m saying?\u201d<\/p>\n
Uh, no. But that\u2019s OK. We get the message.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh is most concerned with rings than towels, and the Steelers figure to be ready for this one.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh nailed opposing quarterbacks 51 times last season, but getting to Collins only once in Tennessee allowed him to throw for 215 yards and a TD. Pittsburgh will bring more heat Thursday night. The Steelers have won six straight season openers, and they have pretty much the same defense that dominated in 2008.<\/p>\n
One concern in Western Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh\u2019s Ben Roethlisberger hits the ground way too much, and Fisher must be working on some pressure defensive packages, even without Haynesworth to collapse pockets this season.<\/p>\n
Comment on this game below, hit us with your pregame NFL picks and predictions…<\/strong><\/p>\nGrab yourself a 100% FREE PLAY bonus today at BetPhoenix.com Sportsbook! (deposit of $100 and applies up to $200) – CLICK HERE NOW!<\/h3>\n
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\nLawrence Paul is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog, and is a free-lance gambling and travel writer from Massachusetts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Point spread, ATS odds, and moneyline betting and preview article for the 2009 Week 1 NFL clash between the Tennessee Titans and the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[17013,89,2209,2643,17009,504,713,66502,2149,17008,17010,17012,17011,17015,17016,17014],"class_list":["post-12875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl","tag-2009-nfl-previews","tag-ats","tag-bet-on-steelers","tag-bet-on-titans","tag-bet-on-week-1","tag-gambling-odds","tag-moneylines","tag-nfl","tag-tennessee-titans","tag-tennessee-titans-vs-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-titans-steelers-lines","tag-titans-steelers-odds","tag-titans-steelers-spread","tag-titans-vs-steelers","tag-titans-vs-steelers-preview","tag-week-1-gambling-lines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12875"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109289,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12875\/revisions\/109289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}