Cameron Wake: Four-Man Pass Rush is a "Little Notch in the Hat" for the Titans Defense
The Tennessee Titans' defense showed an ability in the season opener last week to create consistent pressure with a four-man pass rush, something that the team rarely did in 2018. Last year, off-the-ball linebacker Jayon Brown led the Titans in sacks with 6. Most of those sacks came off of blitzes when, due to a […]
The Tennessee Titans' defense showed an ability in the season opener last week to create consistent pressure with a four-man pass rush, something that the team rarely did in 2018.
Last year, off-the-ball linebacker Jayon Brown led the Titans in sacks with 6. Most of those sacks came off of blitzes when, due to a lack of pressure from their four guys up front, the Titans were forced to send extra guys to rush the quarterback.
Continuing to have a quality four-man pass rush will be crucial for the Titans defense as the 2019 season continues. With the addition of veteran Cameron Wake and the progression of younger players like Sharif Finch and Harold Landry, they look to be heading in that direction.
"It’s obviously very important," said Wake, whose 2.5 sacks in Week 1 earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors. "When you can get to the quarterback with just four guys, it frees you up to do a lot of other things, especially when you’ve got guys on the backend that can do their job really well. Getting there with four is like a little notch in the hat for the coordinator to free him up to do other things."
Linebacker Rashaan Evans, who also feels that the Titans have put a bigger emphasis this season on getting consistent pressure, likes what he's seen so far from Landry and Finch in year two.
"They feel comfortable out there," Evans said. "Nobody’s out there thinking, everyone’s really out there just playing. It makes you a dangerous defense when you’re like that."
The Titans' four-man pass rush was so effective against the Browns in Week 1 that defensive coordinator Dean Pees only blitzed on a handful of plays. Even when he sent non-conventional rushers like corner Logan Ryan, who recorded 1.5 sacks, Pees typically dropped one of the Titans' on-the-ball players into coverage.
"I thought we were fairly effective," said Pees, who attributed the pass rush's success on Sunday to simply beating the guys that were in front of them. "Cam did a good job. It was good."
It certainly was good. The Titans sacked Browns QB Baker Mayfield five times, and they only sent four rushers on each of those plays.
The success was a stark contrast from last year when the since-retired Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan, the Titans' 2018 starting outside linebackers, totaled just 2 sacks all season long.
"I think any time you can have your rush guys rush and your cover guys cover, it's beneficial to you," said Shane Bowen, the Titans' outside linebackers coach. "But, also, I think with what we do here, being able to bring everybody at any time and having some guys in my room that can drop, I think that definitely adds a different view to the quarterback where the picture changes on him post-snap.
"I think there's value to both, but if you've got four guys that can go get after the quarterback while your cover guys cover, you can do a lot of different things."
The Titans' rushers have a big test coming up this week as they'll face a talented Indianapolis Colts offensive line.
They may not succeed quite to the level that they did against Cleveland, but early indications are that this year's group is far improved and more reliable than last year's.
Cover image: Ken Blaze/USA Today
