How Tennessee Titans are adapting to having no fans in September
By Will Lomas
The first look at what the Titans might change this season.
It is hard to separate the hype from the substance in training camp, but we all just got our first glimpse of some things the Tennessee Titans might change for the early portion of the 2020 NFL season.
While it wasn’t decided on whether the Titans would use pumped in crowd noise, they showed today that not only would they use it, but that they are going to test the limits that the NFL will allow.
They may even use it some when the offense is on the field, just because the eerie quiet may be offputting for the players.
Listen to how Emily Proud described the change when the piped-in crowd noise was on versus when it wasn’t.
The #Titans used some pumped in crowd noise at practice today, but it was very subtle and not super noticeable... until they turned it off and you could’ve heard a pin drop in there.
— Emily Proud (@emily_proud) August 21, 2020
After testing it out, it looks like Vrabel is going full tilt with the volume and use that competitive advantage that is being offered to them, which makes all the sense in the world. If you have a chance to get sustained noise when you are on defense, do you really think that the guy who won’t disclose injuries beyond what he is forced to be the League’s rules is going to turn that down?
Vrabel on the crowd noise: It was OK. Whatever the levels are allowed, that's what we'll play with @Titans
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) August 21, 2020
What about the actual team?
The big question that needs to be addressed is which coach is actually going to call plays for the Titans on defense this year. It is pretty much accepted that Mike Vrabel is going to be in control of the scheme and design of the defense, but will he call it?
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Over zoom today, Vrabel said that it was actually Shane Bowen wearing the headset today and making play calls during the unscripted team portion of practice.
Based off of what we saw last year, losing Dean Pees hurts the team off the field more than on the field. The playcalling wasn’t great, but the designs and the “tip sheet” that he designed for players showed up at different points throughout the season.
So, Bowen isn’t going to be compared to the playcalling of last year (by me at least) because there was a lot of conservative play in critical moments that I think can be improved upon. Where the tandem of Mike Vrabel’s designs and Bowen’s playcalling have to do better, is attacking offenses and not allowing so many teams to get double-digit leads on them despite having a top-5 scoring offense in the NFL.