To help get a better eye on the Texans before this week's game, I once again turned to Steph Stradley. Steph was voted the ultimate Texans fan in 2006 and when not practicing law in Houston writes the Texans Chick blog on the Houston Chronicle's website. You can also follow her on Twitter @StephStradley, where she says smart things about the Texans and mean things about Bud Adams. In addition to answering questions from me, she also sent me questions I answered over at Texans Chick.

In an effort to keep things fresh and interesting, I tried not to duplicate things I asked her in our first  exchange, so check that out for more information on the Texans. On with the new Q&A.

Total Titans: 458 yards and 37 points against the Jaguars. 525 yards and 31 points against the Lions. What the heck is going on with the Texans defense, especially a pass defense that's allowed 791 yards the past two games, that wasn't happening earlier in the season?

One of the things I've looked at here over the past couple years from time to time is what effect starting field position has had on how effective the Titans have been at scoring or conceding points. I think the first time I did it was when I tried to compare how the offense fared in 2009 under Kerry Collins to how it fared under Vince Young, and I've kept it up since. I actually planned this post as one of my bye week updates, but didn't get the chance to write it then. Offensive coordinator Chris Palmer's firing makes now a great time to look at it, though, because when I got the chance to run the numbers, the comparison to 2011 was striking.

The methodology is basically the same it's been in the past. Touchdowns are worth 7 points. Made field goals are worth 3 points. Missed field goals are worth 2 points. All other drives are worth 0 points. End of half/game drives ending in kneeldowns are excluded, as are desperation drives that don't end in points (e.g., the final drive against Jacksonville last week). I'm not trying to cheat the numbers in any way, and frankly the results surprised me.

So, let's see those results. Chart? Chart.

With the Titans facing off against the Houston Texans once again this week, this time in the hopefully friendlier confines of LP Field, I'll once again be doing a Q&A with Texans blogger Steph Stradley.

If you have any questions for Steph about how the Texans have changed since late September or what the rest of the year looks like for them, post them in the comments section.

The Tennessee Titans this evening announced that they fired offensive coordinator Chris Palmer and named quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains as the new offensive coordinator. In the statement announcing the change, Mike Munchak declared, "As an offense, I didn't feel like we were progressing the way that I had hoped. I believe we needed a change in direction and I hope to see that progress in our remaining games."

The Titans are coming off a 24-19 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in which they attempted five field goals against DVOA's 27th-ranked defense. If I were a cynic, I would note the Titans started 8 of their 12 offensive possessions inside their own 20 yard line. Their first five possessions ended with incomplete passes on third-and-2, third-and-3, third-and-3, third-and-3, and third-and-4. The Titans' overall success rate against the Jaguars was 48%, their third-best of the season, and came after their best offensive performance of the season before the bye against the Dolphins and a game against the Bears where they moved the ball somewhat consistently except when they kept fumbling the ball away every fifth play.

When the Titans hired Palmer following the 2010 season, I expected Palmer to last two years before Loggains assumed the offensive coordinator position. I find the timing of this move a bit questionable, given the Titans' offense is operating much more consistently than it was early in the season and especially the marked improvement in the run game. Still, given how good the Titans are this year, it's no surprise to see a coaching change during the season. I'm just surprised which coordinator they fired, or at least fired first.

The NFL this year is keeping track of player snap counts on a weeklly basis and releasing that information to the media. Here's how often which Titans played in Week 12's loss to the Jaguars.

Offense (71 total)
QB: Jake Locker 71
RB/FB: Chris Johnson 53, Quinn Johnson 17, Darius Reynaud 16
TE: Jared Cook 46, Craig Stevens 37, Taylor Thompson 11
WR: Nate Washington 57, Kenny Britt 57, Kendall Wright 39, Damian Williams 25
OL: Steve Hutchinson 71, Deuce Lutui 71, Michael Roos 71, David Stewart 71, Fernando Velasco 71

Defense (64 total)
DE: Kamerion Wimbley 61, Derrick Morgan 60, Scott Solomon 4, Jarius Wynn 3
DT: Jurrell Casey 60, Sen'Derrick Marks 60, Mike Martin 5, Karl Klug 3
LB: Colin McCarthy 64, Zach Brown 57, Akeem Ayers 34
CB: Jason McCourty 64, Alterraun Verner 62, Coty Sensabaugh 33, Ryan Mouton 5
S: Michael Griffin 64, Jordan Babineaux 40, Robert Johnson 25

Patrick Bailey, Beau Brinkley, Tommie Campbell, Darren Evans, Kevin Matthews, Tim Shaw, Tracy Wilson, and Will Witherspoon each only appeared on special teams. Matt Hasselbeck was active but did not appear in the game.

Overall, those numbers are pretty much what I've come to expect. The biggest surprise was Taylor Thompson playing as little as he did. Two weeks ago against the Dolphins, he played 40% of the snaps, more than Jared Cook. The Titans ran the full house formation a few times, but it seemed like it was more often with Quinn Johnson and Craig Stevens and not as much with Stevens and Thompson. And, yes, Jordan Babineaux got kind of benched again in the second half. I want to say it happened not long after Cecil Shorts' long touchdown, but will have to confirm that.

I don't know what to say about this game. I opened Enemy Intelligence by describing the game as a "Pillowfight!" Having experienced the game, it kind of was, it kind of wasn't. In the end, how to describe it doesn't matter as much as the final result: Jacksonville Jaguars 24 - Tennessee Titans 19.

The Titans offensively looked like how I thought they'd look this year. Chris Johnson ran very hard at times, but ultimately without finding a lot of production against one of the league's worst defenses. Jake Locker made some good throws, like the corner route to Kenny Britt that made it 21-19 in the fourth quarter, and some I thought were more inaccurate. Offensively, their biggest problem was lack of execution in or at the edge of the red zone, as they attempted six field goals (Rob Bironas missed one).

Defensively, the Titans had a pass rush they haven't had the rest of this season, finishing with 7 sacks. At the same time, though, Chad Henne found open receivers in the middle of the field when he wasn't going down. Cecil Shorts ran through would-be tacklers for a 59-yard score. Justin Blackmon ran through defenders for a touchdown that made it 21-12 in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars didn't do that much on the ground, but they did enough.

At the end, it's just a loss, an uninspiring loss against a bad team in a winnable game. At 4-7, the very slim playoff hopes are basically dead even in a weak AFC. Then again, that's almost a small mercy in my eyes-the game against Miami looks even more like the mirage I thought it likely was, the rare very good performance by a team that is very bad.

The inactives are out for today's matchup in Jacksonville between the Jaguars and the Titans, and here they are:

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: S Chris Harris, FB Greg Jones, RB Maurice Jones-Drew, CB William Middleton, DT Jeris Pendleton, DT D'Anthony Smith, OL Steve Vallos

TENNESSEE TITANS: LB Xavier Adibi, S Al Afalava, RB Jamie Harper, DT DaJohn Harris, WR Lavelle Hawkins, QB Rusty Smith, OT Byron Stingily

For the Jaguars, S Dwight Lowery and CB Rashean Mathis, whom I highlighted in Enemy Intelligence as important players, are both active. For the Titans, Craig Stevens, who was also questionable with his hamstring injury, is active. After he participated fully in practice Friday, that's what I was expecting. With Harper going down, Darren Evans will make his Titans debut after being elevated from the practice squad yesterday.

Feel free to leave your comments here during today's game or follow me on Twitter, where I'll be chiming in from time to time.