Titans Present and Future: Offense

Ever since the opening day blowout of Tampa Bay, this season has been difficult for Tennessee Titans fans. After two straight weeks blowing double digit leads, the Titans were thoroughly beaten by Miami last Sunday, falling to 1-4 on the season. Despite the rough start, this is still a team filled with young talent, and I’m excited to see what they do the rest of the season. There are still 4 games left against the Texans and Jags, who are struggling worse than the Titans, and if this team improves and works on finishing they can play with anybody on the schedule. I’m going to take this opportunity to talk about why we should be excited about the Titans offense and how

Can the Titans keep Mariota upright?

they can improve, this year and into the future.

Despite his struggles the last two games (and current injury) Marcus Mariota has shown flashes of brilliance, and you can see how he can be a good Quarterback moving forward. When the Titan’s offense is humming, like in the first half against the Bucs and the 1^st three quarters against the Colts, it has largely been due to his good play. However he still needs to work on his downfield passing and NEEDS to limit the turnovers after the 2 pick, 2 fumble game against Miami. I’d also love to see the Titans coaching staff let him off the leash and utilize his running ability. When he’s taken off it’s been successful, they need to work it into the offense more. Even if this just means getting him out of the pocket on rollouts, allowing Mariota to use his legs will force defenses to come up with a way to defend him rather than dropping more men in coverage.

As for the receivers, I believe this group has talent but isn’t being utilized well. Nobody has stepped up yet, as the leading pass catcher. Currently Delanie Walker, who is 58^th in the NFL in that category, is our best target. Dorial Green-Beckham is a great talent who was taken with an early second round pick, but hasn’t seen much action yet. With his size and athletic ability, I believe we will see him blossom into a star if given the opportunity to build a rapport with Mariota. I also like Kendall Wright a lot, as he is so dangerous with the ball in his hands. The Titans coaching staff needs to figure out how to get him the ball space more often. These two, along with Delanie Walker, could form a strong receiving core for years to come. I hope we see them used more as the season goes along.

Running back has been a problem, as nobody averages over 32 yards per game. The lack of a credible run game has hurt the Titans in 3^rd and short and goal line situations this year.

Can David Cobb be the answer to the Titans' rushing woes?

The main issue is that the “Running Back by Committee” (RBBC) approach doesn’t allow anybody to get into the rhythm of the game. The Titans need to find a back that they feel comfortable giving 20 touches a game, and let him do his thing. Dexter McCluster has been great in the 3rd down/scatback role, but isn’t built to be the main guy. Antonio Andrews wants to be a starting running back, but is averaging less than three yards per carry. Bishop Sankey looks tentative whenever he touches the ball, and Terrance West is currently in the witness protection program since fumbling in each of the first two games. With David Cobb coming back, I hope he can be the guy. In any event, the Titans need to figure out if they have a credible starting running back on the team this year, and if they don’t they need to take one in the draft. If they can get this position figured out, it will do wonders for Mariota’s development.

That brings me to the Offensive Line. This has been the worst group on the team, and needs to step up in a big way for the Titans to make a run this season. Mariota has been sacked on the second highest percent of drop backs this season, behind Russell Wilson. Add this to the numerous penalties that put the offense in rough positions, and the line needs to step up. The Titans need to protect Mariota and let him develop, and this can’t happen if he’s on his back. This is the area with the biggest need for improvement, and I expect we will see even more focus put into the O-Line next offseason. Which is crazy considering we have invested top picks and millions of dollars on this unit. Possibly indicating Webster and the front office our struggling in terms of talent per dollar.

Make sure to come back next week for our analysis of the Titan defense, and tune in to our broadcast as the Titans take on the Falcons at 12:00 PM CDT this Sunday.

- Brett Field

@RealBrettField

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Real Titans Blog Rant! Come on man....

Well the Titans dropped another winnable game (gave it away) and it really frustrates me.

I am sure Titan Nation is on my side. Now that being said I see some great potential but I have been saying that for awhile. Today’s blog post is going to focus on the frustrations I have and what I think we need to do better. Let me know if I am way off base.

3^rd and 20:

I never thought this would be a problem for an NFL team. Twice on 3^rd and 20 we let the Colts convert virtually costing us a game and allowing them to score 21 pts in the fourth quarter. Fast forward to the bills game we have them dead to rights and on 3^rd and 23 we allow Tyrod Taylor to run for 26 yards….ugh!

(Insert profanities here)

Well this is the single thing I would point my finger to as reasons we lost both games. I mean come on Dick LeBeau knows better. Where was the QB spy on a 3^rd down play when Taylor had done very little through the air? A basic keep the ball in front of you mentality is all we needed.

In the colts game we allow a TD pass on 3^rd and 20 that should have been a FG attempt. These huge mistakes are what keep the titans at the bottom of the league.

Deep Passing:

I don’t know if it is Whiz’s lack of confidence in Mariota or a problem with arm strength but the Titans rarely take shots down field. As this continues to happen defenses will watch tape and play us much the way teams attack Alex Smith. Mariota was 1-7 with an INT on passes over 10 yds. That needs to change.

Now there is some blame that falls on our pass catchers but Mariota needs to fix this soon.

The Titans had a real chance to be 3-1 at this point. The Colts game is just another reason I hate them so much. How can they always pull it out when needed?

Titans need to step up. We need individual players to make a catch, force a fumble, throw a great pass in key moments of games. As I watch football all weekend I see these teams, across the league, make spectacular plays. We just don’t do it. We have Talent, Walker, Hunter, DGB, Wright I mean these guys are good but it just never seems to come together.

My challenge to the Titans is to go win a game by out playing the other team rather than stingily clutching to an evaporating lead hoping the time runs out before we lose.

Make no mistake the Dolphins game is a must win.

Rant over...

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