The Tennessee Titans have had a very fun and interesting offseason so far. New GM Jon Robinson has brought in big names that fit this team and he made a blockbuster trade to grab an extra first round pick in 2017.
More from Titans News
- Tennessee Titans suspiciously quiet about major draft need
- Tennessee Titans agree to new deal with star Jeffery Simmons
- Caesars Promo Code Expires Soon – Claim $1,250 Today
- 3 needs that are being overblown by Tennessee Titans fans
- Tennessee Titans have potential dilemmas in 2023 NFL Draft
However, it is easy to forget that the reason Jon Robinson’s had the tools to make these moves is because the Tennessee Titans had the worst record in the NFL last year. That allowed them to make a splash in the offseason and set them up to have several new starters.
So, while there is a lot of room for optimism, fans need to be sure that they know what did and didn’t work last year and what Mike Mularkey might be looking at in terms of making changes.
I thought a good exercise would be to go back week by week and take a look at exactly what made each game. The good and the bad all coming together in one post where you get a snapshot of what this team should have done and who should have been replaced this offseason.
So, with that out of the way let’s take a look at the game film.
FanSided
Week 2 @ Cleveland Browns
The Good
-Dorial Green-Beckham showed his first real flash of being able to go up and get a pass where only he could catch it. Marcus Mariota throws him a beautiful pass in the endzone that really sparked Tennessee Titans fans and it is something they should point to today when asked why they are so excited to watch DGB in year 2.
-As always Mariota made chicken salad out of chicken…scraps. Despite terrible protection and the inability of the offensive line to correctly identify blitzers, he still finished with over 250 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
-Justin Hunter actually had a really good game coming of the bench catching both passes thrown to him for nice yardage.
-Anthony Fasano did a nice job as a #2 tight end including going down low to the ground for the first Tennessee Titans touchdown.
-Derrick Morgan was a force. He won with technique and with power and it shows why having him healthy this year is a huge plus.
-Al Woods also did better than I remember which is important considering they will lean on him heavily again this year.
The Bad
-Michael Griffin just didn’t make the big plays he should have. He was playing strong safety for the first time in his career so he deserves a slight pass, but the missed play at the end of the game really sealed the deal against the Titans.
-The Titans special teams unit looked absolutely terrible. They are lucky that the Cleveland Browns didn’t score twice instead of just the once.
-From center to right tackle, the offensive line was just overwhelmed. Against one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL, the Titans allowed 7 sacks. That would ultimately end up being nearly 25% of their sack production FOR THE YEAR.
-The running game struggled to find anyone who commanded extra carries. No one took advantage of the holes the offensive line opened up (when they did) and only Dexter McCluster had a big gain, which is a sentence that no fan wants to hear/read.
More from Titan Sized
- Tennessee Titans suspiciously quiet about major draft need
- Tennessee Titans agree to new deal with star Jeffery Simmons
- Caesars Promo Code Expires Soon – Claim $1,250 Today
- 3 needs that are being overblown by Tennessee Titans fans
- Tennessee Titans have potential dilemmas in 2023 NFL Draft
Summary
This game was won and lost on big plays. The Tennessee Titans had to chip their way down the field and struggle to put up points against a defense that had their number. On the other hand, a punt return for a touchdown and some fluke plays by Johnny Manziel ended up gashing the Titans and costing them a loss.
However, it wasn’t just those things that beat the Titans. They lost because they lacked a voice on the offensive line and a head coach who could settle the team and counter punch the Browns. Instead, no one took charge on the offensive line and took care of protections, and they just kept getting pounded relentlessly on the right side of the offensive line.
While the defense didn’t kill them consistently, they also didn’t help. Their needs to be more of a sense of urgency next year about taking the ball away and making them earn every inch. It was that lack of consistency that got them beat on those big gainers.