Tennessee Titans: Mike Vrabel, Derrick Henry talk lack of 1st half carries

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and running back Derrick Henry both spoke about the lack of touches the running back received in the first half of Week 9.

One of the most glaring mistakes we saw from the Tennessee Titans’ offense in Week 9 was their lack of rushing attempts in the first half, particularly for Derrick Henry.

Titans running backs had five total carries in the first two quarters, and Henry saw just two of those totes. On the other hand, Dion Lewis saw three, turning one of them into a lost fumble.

What makes the lack of total carries so egregious is that the Carolina Panthers owned the 27th-ranked run defense coming into Sunday. Instead of attacking the Panthers in the best way possible, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith went pass-heavy, which was made even worse by a slew of penalties committed by the offense.

And, adding insult to injury, the few carries the Titans did attempt ended up with Lewis getting the majority of them. You simply can’t make up how bad this offense is being run right now.

When asked about Henry’s lack of touches after the game, Vrabel said the team had a game plan for both Henry and Lewis, but did acknowledge the team got away from the former. Vrabel also seemed to blame bad game script as a result of penalties for not utilizing Henry more in the early going.

Tennessee definitely put themselves in a position to have to throw the ball with so many pre-snap penalties early on, but it still doesn’t excuse Lewis getting more carries than Henry. Hell, he shouldn’t be getting any carries at this point.

As far as Henry is concerned, he didn’t make a fuss about the obviously horrible game plan to give Lewis more carries than him. Instead, Henry took the diplomatic route and simply said he would do whatever his coaches asked.

The poor game plan is just another microcosm of how bad Smith has been this season. There is no hope for this offense if he remains as the offensive coordinator.