(SportsNetwork.com) - As bad a time as the Tennessee Titans defense might be in for this weekend during a visit to Houston, the offense might even enjoy the road trip a little bit less. The Titans sit 28th in a 32-team league when it comes to running the football. Their premier rookie ball-carrier - second-round pick Bishop Sankey - is averaging less than four yards per carry and hasnt bettered 61 yards in any one game, and newbie quarterback Zach Mettenberger has got issues, too. The sixth-round pick from LSU is winless in four games as a starter, though he did throw for 345 yards and a pair of scores in a loss last week against Philadelphia. Hes averaged 271.5 aerial yards per game in the four starts and has seven touchdowns, and still has support from his coach, Ken Whisenhunt. I remember Peyton Manning being 3-13 his first year, Whisenhunt said. Not that Im saying that its OK not to win games. We need to win a game as a football team, and that would certainly help with Zach, but hes making progress in areas that you like to see from a young quarterback. The youngsters first start also came against the Texans and resulted in a memorable moment when Houstons J.J. Watt registered a pair of sacks and mocked Mettenberger with a fake selfie after the quarterback had posted pictures of himself on social media prior to the game. Mettenberger completed 27-of-41 passes for 299 yards and two TDs in a 30-16 loss. Its just kind of a reminder, this is the National Football League, not high school, Watt said. Welcome to the show. The October loss to the Texans was the second in a stretch thats since reached five in a row and is the teams longest since a six-game slide four years ago. Tennessee, in fact, has dropped nine of 10 games since an impressive 26-10 defeat of Kansas City in Week 1. Its not a lot of fun, Whisenhunt said. I enjoy working with these guys. I enjoy being here. The fans have been good with me, but its not fun. I love doing this job, but you still feel sick when you dont do what youre supposed to do. As for Houston, any playoff run made will be with a QB who was passed over just two weeks back. Veteran journeyman Ryan Fitzpatrick has been penciled in as the starter for the rest of the season after the man who replaced him last week - Ryan Mallett - suffered a torn right pectoral muscle last week against Cincinnati, in his second start since Texans coach Bill OBrien had made the switch. Houston trails Indianapolis by two games in the AFC South with five remaining, but one of the final quintet is against the Colts and two are against last- place Jacksonville. Fitzpatrick was a winner in two starts to begin the season, but then went 2-5 in the next seven while throwing eight interceptions and being sacked 20 times. Mallett defeated Cleveland in his initial outing in Week 11, then was hurt against the Bengals. Still, the starter-turned-backup-turned-starter doesnt anticipate issues with a return to No. 1 status. I dont think so, Fitzpatrick said. Its like riding a bike. Thats what being a quarterback is. Thats what kind of my whole career has been. He was indeed a winner in the aforementioned first meeting with Tennessee, completing 19-of-35 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown, while not committing a turnover for the only time in his last seven games. And that game, too, was a return for Harvard University product, who made nine starts while playing for the Titans last season. Fitzpatrick has a pair of high-end receivers in Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins, but the Texans are languishing in 28th place in the league in passing yardage, averaging just 207.5 per game. Instead, running backs Arian Foster and Alfred Blue have been carrying the load, literally, in recent weeks. Foster is averaging 102.8 yards per game and better than five yards per carry, but hes missed the last two games with a groin injury and remains questionable for Sunday. Blue has run the ball 52 times for 202 yards in the last two games in Fosters absence. Overall, Houston leads the AFC with 137.3 rushing yards per game and is up against a Tennessee defense thats allowed better than 150 yards on the ground in four straight. There is a potential that (Foster) could play, OBrien said. Hopefully thats something that hell be able to help us on game day. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Making a Run at Defense The Titans, to be kind, were not terribly effective in stopping the run when the teams meet in Nashville in October. Houston crossed the 200-yard barrier and wound up with 212 in that game - including 151 from Foster - and theyve subsequently allowed at least 150 to Baltimore (151), Pittsburgh (206) and Philadelphia (164). The Eagles game featured 19 missed tackles, which simply cannot occur again. Fitz of Unpredictability Just how much influence the inconsistent Fitzpatrick has on the game will be determined by how well the Texans can run the ball. But if Foster and/or Blue are bottled up, itll be incumbent on the returning starter to limit the mistakes that have been the signature element of his career. He was error-free in that game, but has been picked off in five of nine games this season. Houston is 3-1 when hes pick-free. OVERALL ANALYSIS Fitzpatrick is inconsistent and Foster is dinged-up, but even with those qualifications this is a game Houston should win. The Texans are home, they have better players on offense and they have perhaps the leagues best player on defense in Watt, who could make an impact if he remains successful in getting to and disrupting Mettenberger. If they want to be contenders, this a no less than a must-win. Sports Network predicted outcome: Texans 27, Titans 17 Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . 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The four-time world champs lead at 79.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Hi Ref! Been a long time Sens fan and stuck with them through the ups and downs. Ive always liked the fact that theyve made no excuses for their wins and their losses but their game with the Habs has me a tad irate with the what appears to be inconsistent calls. For example, there were a couple goalie interference calls against the Sens, like it or not, they were called, yet there were at least two non-calls for Robin Lehner being bumped including the game-tying goal at the end of regulation. Im not even going to go on about the non-call on the dive that caused that power play. My question is this: In the replay of the game-winning OT goal, the play moved into Ottawas end, a shot was taken that was stopped by Lehner and the puck was in/on/around his pads. The overhead camera angle showed the puck on the ice, not covered for a few seconds and then it was jammed in. Unless the referee is 35 feet tall and looking straight down at that angle, there is no way he could have even seen the puck free as the goalie had his back to him and there was a scrum of players there. Yet there was no stoppage even with the puck out of his sight for over five seconds (according to the game clock) and he later told Spezza that he didnt blow the whistle because of the noise level in the building. I would like to know if theres any disciplinary action for a referee who blows a call like that and then makes a "its too noisy to hear the whistle" comment as an excuse? Roger Smallman,St. Catharines, ON --- Hello, I just wanted some clarification - I thought when the goalie has the puck covered, the ref has to blow the whistle. Its my understanding that if the goalie has the puck covered, then an opposing player cannot jam at the goalie to knock the puck loose! Is that true or not? Josh Knowles Roger and Josh, Thank you for your questions following a very emotionally charged come-from-behind overtime victory by the Montreal Canadiens over the visiting Ottawa Senators. I want to share a general philosophy and understanding as to when the referee should blow the whistle. There is a misconception by some fans that a puck must be frozen for three seconds before the referee should deem it unplayable and then blow his whistle. This stems from language in Rule 85.2 when a puck falls onto the back of the goal netting and the referee is specifically directed to allow three seconds for it to be played unless the goalkeeper uses his stick or glove to freeze the puck on the back of the net, in which case the whistle is immediate. This three second application is also generally applied to determine a "frozen" puck between opposing players along the boards; although we often see the refs encourage play to continue with a non-whistle and audible command to "play it". The philosophy employed to kill play in and around the goal crease is somewhat consistent with Rule 69 (Interference on the Goalkeeper.) This rule was formerly called "Protection of the Goalkeeper" for good reason by recognizing, in part, the vulnerability of a goalkeeper given his unique position and the obvious impairment to defend his goal that would result through player contact. As such, the referee must first determine that the goalkeeper has control and coverage of the puck prior to his intent to blow the play dead in order to avoid a quick whistle. Of equal importance, is for a ref to be aware that an attacking player(s) does not dislodge or expose a covered puck by contacting the goalkeeper with a stick or any part of the body! Rule 85.3 (puck out of sight) states that should a scramble take place or a player accidentally fall on the puck and the puck be out of sighht of the Referee, he shall immediately blow his whistle to stop the play.dddddddddddd Truth is, there are many times during a scramble that the referee loses sight of the puck but does not blow his whistle immediately while he moves in an attempt to visually locate the puck. Every referee has had the embarrassment of blowing his whistle too quickly, only to have the puck slip through the goalies equipment and into the net causing a legitimate goal to be disallowed. Previous embarrassments such as this are always in the back of the refs mind. To avoid the quick whistle, but also to be aware of the potential for players to dislodge a covered puck, the referee must attack the net quickly from the best angle and react quickly to potential contact of the goalkeeper. Lets apply the above philosophies to the reality of the eventual winning goal scored by Francis Bouillon. Max Pacioretty, who was being checked by Jared Cowen, threw the puck at the Ottawa net from the bottom middle point of the end zone face-off circle to the left of goalie Robin Lehner. The shot was gobbled up in the right pad of Lehner, protected and appeared to be covered by Lehners blocker. The referee began to drive toward the net from his initial position some 30 feet from the right post. The closest Montreal player to the net, David Desharnais, was at the bottom of the end zone face-off T some 20 feet away and positioned on the outside of Sens player Bobby Ryan. Cody Ceci approached the centre of the goal crease from 15 feet out. This distance of other players from the net creates time and space for the goalkeeper to control and cover the puck. With all these parts of the puzzle moving quickly toward Lehner, who remained in a stationary position tight to the post with his blocker and stick down in front of the right goal pad throughout, my radar as a ref would go on high alert! The very last thing I would want to have happen is for the goalkeeper to be contacted and the puck dislodged. From the sight line the referee had at the time (and the multiple camera angles shown), I find it hard to imagine the puck was visible to him or anyone else at this point. Desharnais stepped to the inside of Ryan and jammed at Lehner with his stick and body as his momentum took the Hab forward behind the net. Ceci then made contact with the right side of his goalkeeper causing Lehners blocker to elevate off the ice and rotate. The contact by both players altered the position of Lehner sufficiently to expose the puck in front of Lehners pad. At this point, the puck would be clearly visible to the referee from his position closer to the net and as detected on the overhead camera shot. Pacioretty then came in hard from the side and jammed the puck outside the crease for an easy layup for Bouillon. When players crash the crease and jam at the goalkeeper, bad things usually happen. Typically, the refs will exercise the philosophy I described above and blow the whistle in advance of any deliberate contact exerted by an attacking player. This play was allowed to continue too long without visible evidence of the puck being uncovered prior to the contact exerted by Desharnais and then Ceci. In my judgment Josh, the whistle should have blown prior to that contact. Roger, if Stephen Walkom, Sr. V.P. of Officiating assessed this play as I did, he will review and discuss the play with the referee and make suggestions as to how a similar situation should be ruled upon in the future. There is no disciplinary action in place for officials beyond the ongoing rating and ranking system that every official is subjected to for playoff assignments and ongoing employment. One call or one game does not greatly impact the overall season performance rating of any official. Great calls are made and some are unfortunately missed. Thats the human element of the job. ' ' '