Three Takeaways From Week 10

Nov 13, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Tajae Sharpe (19) runs for a touchdown after a reception during the second half against the Green Bay Packers at Nissan Stadium. The Titans won 47-25. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans wide receiver Tajae Sharpe (19) runs for a touchdown after a reception during the second half against the Green Bay Packers at Nissan Stadium. The Titans won 47-25. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mike Mularkey and Terry Robiskie called a great game

I’ve been the poster child of Mularkey and Robiskie skepticism, calling them out when they call bad games. While I still have doubts about their future here, they have completely turned around this offense since the first four weeks. Their “exotic smashmouth” is starting to show its true form, and it’s resulted in the Titans now ranking 7th in the league in total offense and scoring at least 20 points in seven straight games, the first time that’s happened since 2006. They scored 47 points on Sunday. FORTY SEVEN POINTS. I still think this offense is at its best when it’s running uptempo, no huddle, shotgun plays. But there’s no denying that the offensive gameplans the coaches are putting out there are working to perfection. Kudos to Mularkey and Robiskie for that.

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Marcus Mariota praise will never end

The rebounding of the offense has as much to do with Mariota coming along very strong as anything else. He has been nothing short of brilliant during this six week stretch of games. The turnovers in the Chargers game were a blip on the radar, as he leads the league in touchdown passes during this span and has accumulated a 17:3 touchdown to interception ratio. In his NFL career, he has a 30:0 (yes, ZERO) touchdown to interception ratio in the red zone, which is THE most important part of the field. The Titans have, probably, the best young quarterback in the entire NFL, one that outplayed Aaron Rodgers on Sunday. It feels good to be a Titans fan right now.

The defense is still bad

What doesn’t feel good, though, is watching this defense play. While 25 points given up to the Packers doesn’t seem like a lot, the Titans were once again shredded by an opposing team’s passing game. That’s now five straight weeks where this has happened. The front seven is getting a good amount of pressure, but linebackers and the secondary have been atrocious in coverage.Perrish Cox and Brice McCain are really bad, and even Jason McCourty hasn’t been his old self this season. Avery Williamson, and any of our linebackers for that matter, can’t cover tight ends or running backs out of the backfield.

The defensive line and outside linebackers are putting our coverage guys in good positions, but they still can’t cover their guys for more than a couple of seconds or create turnovers. The offense is so high-scoring right now that the defense hasn’t had to win us games, but they’ll need to eventually. Regardless, a lot of emphasis will be placed on the defensive side of the ball going into next season.

Next: Marcus Mariota vs. Young Quarterbacks