Tennessee Titans vs. New England Patriots Offensive Recap

Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE

The Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots squared off in Nashville on Sunday and it was offensive. I guess what I’m trying to say is that the Tennessee Titans offense was offensive. All of the hype surrounding Jake Locker making his first start never really materialized. Let’s take a look at how the offense did.

QB- Jake Locker was facing an uphill battle no matter what coming into this game. Facing the defending AFC Champs is quite a test, but Locker held his own and showed some flashes. Unfortunately the Pats defense forced two turnovers and almost picked off another INT. For the game, Locker completed 23-32 passes for 229 yards with 1 TD and one INT. Locker also had a costly fumble in the 2nd quarter that was returned 6 yards for a TD. Locker ended up hurting his left shoulder when trying to tackle Pats S Patrick Chung on a fumble return in the 4th quarter. The play was eventually called back but it should have been whistled dead from the beginning.

RB- Well this should be easy, Chris Johnson ran for 4 yards. Our leading ball carrier was Jake Locker who had 2 carries for 11 yards on the day. That’s right, 4 yards for Chris Johnson. A career low. It was hard to watch. The running game troubles do not lie with CJ. When half of the time you get the ball and you’re hit behind the line you are in trouble. The lack of any creativity in the run game may become quite troublesome as well as the season goes on. Let’s hope CJ can get rolling this weekend against the Chargers.

TEs/WRs- Jared Cook caught 4 of 6 passes that were thrown his way and will consistently beat any coverage a defense has to offer. Nate Washington caught a beautiful TD pass from a scrambling Locker in the 3rd that showcased the QBs ability to make plays on the run. Nate Washington also got knocked out of the game in the 4th while trying to catch an overthrown ball by Locker. Kendall Wright continues to show why the Titans took him in the 1st round this year by catching 5 passes for 37 yards and bringing much needed energy to a lethargic offense.

O-line–The pass protection is great! The run blocking is horrendous. This needs to get fixed in a hurry. There is no continuity while run blocking. Maybe they came out flat. Maybe it just wasn’t there day as unit. Maybe they are just simply not as good as we would like to think. Maybe we overpaid and over valued Steve Hutchinson. Truth be told, I think Leroy Harris looked the best out there on Sunday and he’s probably the most scrutinized as a starter. One thing is for sure for this O-line, they must find a way to be successful in the run game or this will be a very long year.

What I find most amazing about the offensive line on Sunday was that there was no creativity in the run game. It was never really given a chance to succeed. There were no stretch plays called, no sweeps, no runs out of the Shotgun. Of course it’s hard to run when you go down 21-3, but the run game can also be very effective in those times because the defense is expecting the pass.

Kenny Britt comes back this week from injury and suspension and may only play 10-15 plays so here comes another round of hope for an offensive outburst. If healthy, he will help the offense out tremendously, let’s hope he’s healthy.

What say you?

Shawn Eagle

You can follow me on twitter @RS1Eagle