Why Titans fans shouldn't expect the offense to look any different in 2022
There are a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Some fans want to move on from Tannehill after his poor performance in the Titans' playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this year. Other fans understand that Tennessee's emergence as a Super Bowl contender coincides with Tannehill taking […]
There are a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Some fans want to move on from Tannehill after his poor performance in the Titans' playoff loss to the Cincinnati Bengals earlier this year.
Other fans understand that Tennessee's emergence as a Super Bowl contender coincides with Tannehill taking over as the Titans' starting quarterback in 2019.
One thing, however, that fans seem to agree on is that Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing hurt Tannehill more than he helped him in 2021.
Downing, who replaced Arthur Smith as Tennessee's offensive coordinator after the 2020 season, doesn't have a great reputation as a play-caller. He was fired by the Oakland Raiders in 2017 after one lackluster season as the offensive coordinator. Downing hasn't changed much since his Raiders days, which is why plenty of fans/media were calling for his job in Nashville after this past season.
Instead of firing Downing, the Titans brought in former Houston Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly to serve as Tennessee's passing game coordinator. Kelly will essentially be Downing's right-hand man.
But don't expect Kelly to bring his own "agenda" to the offensive room.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel made it clear on Wednesday that Tennessee will run the same offense they ran in 2021. Kelly is just there to "enhance" the offense and offer input to Downing.
The Titans' offense regressed in 2021
The Titans' offense wasn't nearly as good in 2021 as it was in 2020 under Smith.
Now, a lot of that is because of the inordinate amount of injuries that Tennessee dealt with in 2021. They didn't have stud running back Derrick Henry for a large chunk of the season. And Julio Jones was off the field more than he was on the field.
But beyond those challenges, there were still some concerning stats — specifically when it comes to Tannehill — that could be viewed as Downing's fault.
Tannehill had 14 interceptions in 2021 — which is more than he had in 2019 and 2020 combined. The former Miami Dolphins quarterback also saw his yards per completion average drop significantly. Last season, Tannehill averaged only 10.3 yards per completion. In 2020 that number was 12.1 yards per completion. In 2019, it was 13.6 yards per completion (which led the NFL). Tannehill's quarterback rating in 2021 was the lowest of his career since his 2015 season in Miami (his rating was 117.5 in 2019, 106.5 in 2020, and 89.6 this past season).
The Titans' offense should be better in 2022 just by virtue of having everyone healthy.
But I think it's clear from Tannehill's numbers that the scheme was partially responsible for his regression. Even with everyone healthy, it's extremely unlikely that Tannehill will return to his 2019 or 2020 while playing under Downing.
With Vrabel openly admitting that Tennessee's offense will mostly look the same as it did last season, it's reasonable to expect Tannehill to look more like the quarterback he did in Miami than the quarterback he looked like his first two years in Nashville.
That's likely a frustrating realization for Titans fans. But that's the team's reality right now.
Featured image via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports
