COLUMN: Slow Starts on Offense, the Titans' Achilles Heel, Won't Cut It During Playoffs
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ⏤ Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel understands that as the NFL playoffs begin and the quality of competition increases, a team's margin for error goes way down. "I think just how critical each and every play is," Vrabel said. "Just how critical each penalty is, each decision that we make, each punt […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ⏤ Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel understands that as the NFL playoffs begin and the quality of competition increases, a team's margin for error goes way down.
"I think just how critical each and every play is," Vrabel said.
"Just how critical each penalty is, each decision that we make, each punt that we go to catch and everything. Just the focus we have to have on each and every play."
That's why it will be vital for Tennessee to buck its most concerning trend as it enters the postseason: slow starts on offense.
"WE HAVEN'T BEEN EFFICIENT ENOUGH"
In each of the Titans' previous three games, albeit games the team won, the offense took multiple drives to find any kind of discernable rhythm.
Tennessee failed to score until the second half of their Week 16 tilt with San Francisco. In Week 17, Miami held them scoreless until the 1:24 mark of the first quarter. Then, against Houston in the regular-season finale, the Titans didn't put points on the board until the second quarter.
"We certainly need to be more intentional coming out of the gate," offensive coordinator Todd Downing said following the Dolphins game.
"We haven’t been efficient enough early in games over the course of the year. We’ve had some games where we’ve come out and we kind of fired off the ball early and gotten into some drives, and then we’ve had far too many early rives that just have not resulted in the way we expect around here."
Downing is right: slow starts haven't just been a problem for the Titans over the last month, but all season long.
Just three of the Titans' 17 opening drives during the regular season resulted in points. A measly two ended in a touchdown.
Some of those opening drives were flat-out disastrous and, in many games, their second drive wasn't much better.
And while the Titans got away with those pedestrian starts in many cases⏤after all, they went 12-5 in the regular season⏤the uber-tight and competitive playoffs, where you just can't get away with as much, may not afford them the same grace.
"MAINLY SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS"
So, what exactly is causing the Titans' opening drives to be so lackluster?
"To be honest with you, they’re mainly self-inflicted wounds, little stubs of the toe here and there that are costing us, maybe putting us behind the sticks, whether it be a penalty, a missed assignment," Downing said.
And how are the Titans planning to solve that problem?
"Just execute early in games," QB Ryan Tannehill said. "In a couple of situations, we put ourselves behind the chains with penalties. Got to clean those up. Just play good clean football. When the opportunities are there, make them, and don’t kill yourselves."
Scoring points faster may be as simple as executing better, in theory, but the enduring nature of this issue for the Titans likely requires a "go back to the drawing board" approach.
Downing must re-evaluate how he plans for and scripts opening drives. Tannehill must figure out what he can do better. The offensive line needs to look in the mirror, too, as do Tennessee's skill players.
Because, if the Titans plan on rolling out the "same old, same old" approach against Cincinnati in their divisional-round matchup on Saturday and expect a different result than what it's gotten in 14 out of 17 games, they're in for a rude awakening.
It's hard to imagine a path to the Super Bowl, much less to winning one postseason game, for a team that starts up offensively similarly to an old truck with dents in the side that hasn't been serviced since the 1980s.
The Titans simply must find it within themselves to start quickly on Saturday and in every game they play during these playoffs.
"In a game like this, in the playoffs, you want to start fast, you want to finish strong," RB D'Onta Foreman said.
It's certainly possible, but some changes will be necessary.
Cover image: Troy Taormina/USA Today
