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Time to give Dick LeBeau some credit

By Will Lomas

Sep 25, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo (98) takes the field prior to the game against the Oakland Raiders at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans linebacker Brian Orakpo (98) takes the field prior to the game against the Oakland Raiders at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Fine, I will admit it. For the first two games of the season I had some serious concerns on whether Dick LeBeau was going to be able to take this defense to a higher level than they were last year.

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People forget just how great the Titans defense was pre-Derrick Morgan injury, but they were very good in early 2015. I thought getting rid of Ray Horton was the right move, but I honestly thought that I would be writing about a new DC in a few months during the middle of the Detroit Lions game where the Titans were getting gashed.

Boy, I was wrong and I am sorry if you read any of my tweets criticizing LeBeau or his decisions. Let’s look at this team.

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    • Pass rush

    Despite not having a sack in the first game, the Titans are now tied for 8th in the league with 12 sacks. They got there by getting:

    Week 1: 0 sacks

    Week 2: 4 sacks (Brian Orakpo-2, Karl Klug-1, Kevin Dodd-1)

    Week 3: 1 sack (Brian Orakpo-1)

    Week 4: 1 sack (Brian Orakpo-1)

    Week 5: 6 sacks (Brian Orakpo-2, Jurrell Casey-2, Derrick Morgan-2)

    Two things of note there. First, if Dick LeBeau can find a week point in an offense he will attack there and force them to take protection from another player, or they will just lose there.

    This is why Brian Orakpo has just been great, he either dictates coverage or he exploits the one on ones. Which brings me to my next point, Orakpo may have a historic season for the Titans. Dick LeBeau is on pace to get Orakpo to 20 sacks in the season which is 3 more than Elvin Bethea who is the franchise leader in both career sacks and single season sacks.

    Having a double digit sack artist is rare, getting past 15 usually puts you in the top 3-4 of the league so since Jevon Kearse the Titans may have a chance at actually having a contender in the sack race.

    Scoring

    The second big category, and really the only one that matters is scoring. If you allow 400 yards, but 0 points, your team will win.

    Right now, the Titans have only allowed 6 touchdowns all year. That is just over one per game, which is insane. If not for a pick six, a fumble for a touchdown, and two punts returned for a touchdown, the Titans would only have allowed 74 points this season.

    That breaks down to only 14.8 points per game a mark that would put them in a tie with New England for the 4th best in the NFL.

    Those are huge stats that can’t be ignored. If this offense can keep the miscues from special teams and the offense to a minimum then all the Titans really need is two touchdowns and a field goal to win on a week to week basis.

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    That should be an easy task with this quarterback, offensive line, running game, and Delanie Walker. So hats off to Dick LeBeau for showing that he can not only keep up with last year’s team, but he could make this an elite defense.

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