How Important Is It for Tennessee Titans to Improve Time of Possession?
Dec. 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets running back Shonn Greene (23) during the first half against the New York Jets at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
How important is it for an NFL offense to control the football for the majority of the game? For the last three seasons, the Tennessee Titans have finished either 31st or 32nd on offensive time of possession (NFL.com). Head coach Mike Munchak has pinpointed it as one of the issues that this offense must address for upcoming seasons.
Some fans who subscribe to this theory will use the Houston Texans as an example. For each of the last two seasons, the back-to-back AFC South champions have led the NFL in that category: 2011 (32:40) and 2012 (33:46). That 33:46 number was 1:35 higher than anyone else.
Check out the Titans’ regular-season records and their overall time-of-possession rankings for each season since 2006-07:
Tennessee Titans: Season Records and Time of Possession Stats (2006-12)
2012: 6-10, 27:41 (32nd)
2011: 9-7, 27:54 (31st)
2010: 6-10, 26:02 (32nd)
2009: 8-8, 28:42 (25th)
2008: 13-3, 29:19 (22nd)
2007: 10-6, 31:53 (4th)
2006: 8-8, 27:23 (32nd)
An interesting observation comes with the 2008-09 season. Despite a 13-3 record and a No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs, the Titans finished 22nd in time of possession. During the 2011-12 season, the Titans barely missed the postseason despite finishing ahead of only the 2-14 Indianapolis Colts.
On May 11, former Titan Sized assistant editor and lead columnist Josh Gunnels published an article, “Tennessee Titans: Time Of Possession…Can The Offense Really Fix The Defense?” Gunnels argued against those who believed that the offense’s inability to sustain drives had indirectly affected the defense’s effectiveness. He used a reverse argument:
"Couldn’t we use the reverse argument? That if the defense was good, they would get off the field and give the offense more reps. More plays and more chances to score. Not to mention getting down early only eliminates plays you would like to run and turns the team one-dimensional. Why do we not fault the defense for not helping the offense enough?"
Good points. A bad offense indirectly affects a defense. A bad defense indirectly affects an offense. Combine a bad offense that can’t stay on the field and a bad defense that’s often plagued with a bend-but-don’t-break mentality? That bend-but-don’t-break defense will break against the Tom Brady’s and Aaron Rodgers’. Even when it doesn’t break for more than three points, they’re surrendering time-consuming drives that eliminate offensive scoring opportunities.
Last season, the Baltimore Ravens finished 29th in offensive time of possession (28:40). That didn’t keep them out of the postseason nor did it prevent them from winning four consecutive playoffs games en route to a Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers (32:11) and Detroit Lions (32:05) each finished second and third, respectively. Neither team clinched postseason berths.
Offensive time of possession is an important factor—it’s just not a key factor. It’s not as much about how long you control the football as it is about what you do when you have it.
Converting third downs, touchdowns over field goals (finishing drives), winning turnover battles and playing intelligent football. Offensively, 27 minutes of those things will net more victories than 33 minutes without those qualities.