The Tennessee Titans may have walked away with a win over the San Francisco 49ers, but there wasn't much to be excited about. Both sides of the bal still looked unrefined, despite fielding starters against the 49ers' backups.
Tennessee's secondary was a particularly glaring weakness. San Francisco's undrafted rookie quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, carved the unit up in the first half. Head coach Robert Saleh couldn't ignore the issue. After the game, he stressed to the media how important it is for his secondary to improve before the start of the regular season.
"I'd love to tell you 'No concern' but definitely there is a sense of urgency with regards to making sure we get fixed and we continue to put our guys in those situations in practice so we can continue getting that work. But, we'll never panic, but urgency will always be high."
Robert Saleh has his work cut out for him with Titans secondary
Rourke played for most of the first half, surrounded by San Francisco's backup offense. He finshed his day completing 12 of his 14 pass attempts for 101 yards, earning a passer rating of 96.7. Against Tennessee's starting defense, Rourke looked like a capable NFL quarterback, taking the gains that the coverage allowed.
Saleh's bend-don't-break style of defense is going to lead to some unfavorable statlines. He typically has his defensive backs play over the top in coverage, allowing short passes before coming down to make tackles. It can be an effective strategy if the defensive backs can be sound in coverage and consistent tacklers. They were not on Thursday night.
The Titans have poured resources into their secondary over the last few offseasons, desperately trying to fix the issue. They signed Cor'Dale Flott and Alontae Taylor to take over their two outside cornerback spots this offseason, handing out a total of $103 million to the two veterans.
Still, the unit was as porous as ever against the 49ers. Flott and second-year cornerback Marcus Harris were especially disappointing, allowing multiple big plays in coverage. 49ers rookie De'Zhaun Stribling looked like a Pro Bowl receiver against the Titans. Flott and Harris struggled to keep up with him and missed tackles after the catch.
If this problem doesn't get fixed before the regular season, it could tank the defense's hopes of competence. The Titans have already invested in the position. Now, it's on Saleh and his players to put together a capable unit.
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