3 things we learned from the Tennessee Titans win over the Jacksonville Jaguars
By Will Lomas
2. Nothing will be easy with the Tennessee Titans’ offense without stars
On Sunday there was one play on offense that stuck out more than any other. The Titans brought everyone tight to the line of scrimmage except for Julio Jones which put nearly every defender in the box except for a cornerback covering Jones on the outside.
Ryan Tannehill took the snap and threw a bullet to Jones before the defense could react. All Jones had to do was beat one man and it would have been a footrace to the endzone between him and the deep safety.
Instead, he failed to beat the cornerback and just fell forward for a one-yard gain.
While Julio Jones makes a lot of sense in this offense as a big possession receiver who still has the speed and body control to make some plays down the field, he isn’t a YAC guy anymore.
The guys who can make one man miss and take a play to the house are sitting on I.R. right now in Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown. Until they are back (which could be within a month), this offense is going to be a grind and it is going to take methodical quarterback play and fewer mental errors from the offensive line (missed blocks) and receivers (drops) if they are going to score on long drives.
Maybe someone like Anthony Firkser or Racey McMath can emerge as the YAC guys they have the potential to be or maybe Todd Downing can get creative with the way he uses guys like Jeremy McNichols and Dontrell Hilliard. Other than that, it is going to have to be based on taking what the defense gives you.