The Tennessee Titans made sweeping organizational changes last offseason, including at head coach, and everyone knew there would be some trial and error along the way. Despite a lackluster 1-3 record start to the season, the overall reviews for Brian Callahan have been fine.
Of course he hasn't been perfect, that was expected, but the Titans’ explosive play rate so far this season is a great sign for him. Especially when you consider that the quarterback play has been poor and that the offensive line is ineffective and unfinished right now, Callahan’s play calling has actually been delivering desired results when the players execute.
The biggest issues on the Titans is on-field execution, but one potential area of criticism for coach Callahan is the usage of two key players. Tyjae Spears and DeAndre Hopkins are supposedly two of the more important weapons on offense, and through the first four games, they have not been nearly as involved as they should be.
Tennessee Titans would benefit from Spears and Hopkins receiving more playing time
When the Titans signed Tony Pollard in the offseason, it was puzzling to some because of the promise that Spears showed last year. Even then, everything we heard and saw even from Titans coaches made us believe that it was going to be a near 50-50 split between Pollard and Spears, and that has not happened.
Pollard has clearly been the leader of the Titans backfield, out-carrying Spears 61-27, and out-producing him in rushing yards 246-87. The two have actually been very similar in the receiving game, but absolutely lopsided on the ground. Even quarterback Will Levis has four more rushing yards than Spears, which is a problem.
Now Pollard has played quite well this year, including the victory over the Dolphins, while Spears has been not nearly as efficient. It is hard to blame coaches for favoring the guy who has performed the best, but in Spears' defense, it is hard to get going when you are sparingly used.
More encouragingly on that front, Spears did just see his most action of the season with his second-highest snap count, as well as by far the most carries he has had in a single game this season. Callahan has also been on record saying that he wants Spears to be more involved in the offense, so hopefully that happens when the Titans return to the field this Sunday.
As far as Hopkins situation is concerned, everyone knew why he was limited initially, as a knee injury kept him out for a sizable chunk of training camp. But Hopkins has supposedly been a full go for a few weeks now, and he has still been super limited in usage.
Hopkins' snap shares per game have been in the 50-percent range at best, and he played even less in Miami last Monday, which was puzzling after he was outstanding in Week 3. Even more baffling is that lots of the snaps that you would expect Hopkins to get have been going to Treylon Burks, who has continued to be a colossal disappointment.
Now, Callahan did offer some insight into why Hopkins played so little in Miami, and it was mainly because the Titans ran the ball so much, where Burks helps as a blocker. Callahan also mentioned situations where Hopkins excels such as overall passing, third downs, and the red zone, and that if they were in more of those, he likely would have seen a lot more time.
All of that is understandable, especially since subpar quarterbacking and pass blocking have forced them to run the ball a lot this year. But the bottom line is that Hopkins gives the Titans a much better chance to win games than Burks does, so they need to simply play Hopkins more, or get into situations where they can do so.
Especially if they plan to use Hopkins as trade bait around the upcoming deadline, they may want to feature him more in order to increase the price other teams will have to pay.
Regardless of the plan there, the Titans need to get both Hopkins and Spears involved. That was the expectation. Callahan indicates they want to do that, so he will have to find a way to act on his words starting against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.