By Terry McCormick

sports@timesfreepress.com

NASHVILLE — Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher said his club’s playoff memories — good and bad — against the Baltimore Ravens are just that. Memories.

Saturday’s meeting in the AFC divisional playoffs will mark the third time Tennessee and Baltimore have faced off in the postseason, with each side winning once. The setup for Saturday’s game, of course, is similar to the 2000 playoffs when the Ravens came to town and stunned the No. 1-seeded Titans, 24-10, on their way to Super Bowl XXXV.

Three years later, in a wild-card game, the Titans won at Baltimore, 20-17, on Gary Anderson’s 46-yard field goal.

“Maybe you need to talk to the Eddie Georges, the Frank Wychecks, the Steve McNairs and the Trent Dilfers and Jamal Lewises and Jonathan Odgens, because that’s when we were playing them twice a year and battling for the playoffs,” Fisher said.

“These are two completely different teams. Obviously, both teams have a lot to lose. This is sudden death. Both teams are hoping to go out and play as best as they possibly can to win and move on.”

John Harbaugh is in his first year as coach of the rebuilt Ravens and really can’t look back at the past playoff meetings.

“Will I draw on that? I don’t think so. The guys who were part of that can draw on that,” Harbaugh said. “Rex (Ryan, the defensive coordinator) has talked about that with me, and I’ve talked to Ray (Lewis, star linebacker) about that. I know they talk to different guys about it. It’s neat. I think it’s something that’s positive.

“But this is a new year. That’s a long time ago. This is two new football teams. We’re different football teams from the first time we played them, so I don’t think that’ll have any relevance in this game.”

It might not be relevant, but even Fisher admitted there are similarities with both clubs as to the style they played years ago.

“Both these teams are pretty much built the same way as those teams were back in 2000,” Fisher said. “They play good defense, they run the football and they have exceptional special teams, and they’re very physical teams. That’s the kind of matchup you expect to see in this round of the playoffs.”

The Titans have just three players — Jevon Kearse, Craig Hentrich and Keith Bulluck — who were part of the 2000 playoff game, and three more in Albert Haynesworth, Donnie Nickey and Ken Amato, who were around for the 2003 playoffs.

The Ravens still have Lewis, kicker Matt Stover and injured cornerback Chris McAlister from the 2000 playoff game. They also have ex-Titans Samari Rolle, Derrick Mason and Lorenzo Neal, who were on the losing end that day. A handful of other Ravens, including key players such as Ed Reed and Todd Heap, were on Baltimore’s roster for the ’03 playoff game.

“There’s been some great matchups. It’s been a great rivalry, but those things that took place in the past are really not going to have any impact on what’s going to happen,” Fisher said. “There were some great games, and I guess I’m very fortunate to stand up here and answer questions about those games, because some of them were years ago.

“We just have a few players that were involved. Specifically in the 2000 game, they’ve got more players than we do, and they happen to be our former players that were involved in that game.”

One Titans-Ravens game might actually have some bearing on Saturday’s contest. It is the one played between the two teams in Baltimore on Oct. 5. Tennessee escaped with a 13-10 victory that day at M&T Bank Stadium, thanks to a touchdown pass from Kerry Collins to Alge Crumpler with 1:56 to play.

“It was a good win for us against a good team that basically mirrored us — that ran the football and that made some plays with the play-action pass and then played good defense,” Fisher said. “It was a good win for us on the road in a tough place to play, but I think both teams are much better now than they were when we played the first time.”

Vickerson is back

Defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson, who was suspended for the final four games of the regular season for a violation of the NFL’s banned substances policy, was officially added back to the Titans’ 53-man roster Monday.

The team waived defensive tackle Amon Gordon, who cannot be re-signed and added to the practice squad because of league rules.

“It was very difficult. He understands,” Fisher said of Gordon. “We’re very grateful for what he gave us, not only as a practice squad player, but also as an active roster player and having played in week 17.

“When you release a player at this point in the playoffs, you have to wait until after the Super Bowl to clear waivers. We would not have the ability to bring him back. It was a difficult decision, but he understands the rules and we had to make the decision.”

Gordon’s agent, Angelo Wright, was not happy with the decision.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do. That’s a bitter pill to swallow. That’s the reason you stay around is to be able to be a part of all the playoffs and everything,” Wright said. “So I don’t know what we’ll do. We’ve already had a call from another playoff team (in the NFC) wanting to add him to their practice squad if they can.”

Injury updates

Fisher said defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) and defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth (knee) should return to the practice field this week and be ready to play against the Ravens.

“We said we expect them to practice this week, and I haven’t changed or moved off that that course,” the coach said. “I fully expect both of them to be on the practice field. They’re doing well.”

Center Kevin Mawae (elbow) could be a much bigger question mark. He injured his elbow against Pittsburgh, and the Titans could have to go with Leroy Harris instead.

“He’ll be day-to-day,” Fisher said. “Leroy is equipped to play and play well if Kevin can’t play.”

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