The most concerning part of the Tennessee Titans loss to the New York Giants
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans (0-1) dropped their season opener to the New York Giants (1-0) on Sunday in dramatic fashion. No singular reason caused a team leading by 13 points at the half to tailspin out in a 21-20 loss. Tennessee's most glaring issue in Week 1, however, can be pinpointed with relative ease. While […]
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans (0-1) dropped their season opener to the New York Giants (1-0) on Sunday in dramatic fashion. No singular reason caused a team leading by 13 points at the half to tailspin out in a 21-20 loss.
Tennessee's most glaring issue in Week 1, however, can be pinpointed with relative ease.
While the Titans may have gotten railroaded by New York's running game to the tune of 238 yards, they could easily have survived it. Even kicker Randy Bullock's missed game-winning opportunity as time expired from 47 yards out is not the root cause of Tennessee's epic fail. What should bring the most concern about the way the Giants beat the Titans leads primarily to third-down decisions on offense.
Cue the criticisms for offensive coordinator Todd Downing.
Titans killed their own offensive momentum
The job of any NFL coaching staff is to have a menu of play options prepared for any standard game situation.
First down, short yardage, third-and-long and red zone are among the many areas on the field that coordinators and assistants will work all week long game-planning for and repping with the players in practice. So, when coach Mike Vrabel was asked about a curious fourth-quarter play that saw rookie tight end Chig Okonkwo lose four yards on 3rd-and-1 with an end-around play, it was for the obvious reason.
Why get too cute in a one-score game when the far more difficult task for New York would have been to try and stop a 6-foot-4, 260-lbs Derrick Henry?
"We go in with a gameplan and there's a short-yardage plan," said Vrabel. "Some of the stuff that we had prepared for, that was one of the plays. We gave it out to Derrick (Henry) on the Wildcat and that one didn't work either. We just all have to come back, be better, prepare and get ready to go to face Buffalo."
New York would force Tennessee to punt on that drive, only to turn around and drive 73 yards in 12 plays for the game-winning score and subsequent two-point conversion.
Third-and-short plagued Tennessee
After avoiding a single third down on their opening drive that ended in the first of two receiving scores by running back Dontrell Hilliard, the Titans went 3-of-11 on third-down conversions for the day.
Six of the final eight third downs were four yards to the line to gain or less. The Okonkwo end-around that New York snuffed out was Tennessee's last failed third-down attempt. Given the sheer stature of Henry and how prone Downing is to running his star back on first down, why not do the same when the real estate is far easier to acquire? Henry did get a third-and-one wildcat snap that the Titans also failed to convert on their opening drive of the second half.
Lining Henry up conventionally in the backfield and letting his size and momentum carry him through the line of scrimmage is obvious, yes. That does not mean it is the wrong play.
"That is something that we've been really good at and that we're going to continue to be really good at," said Vrabel on Monday of short yardage conversions. "That was disappointing. We had done well enough on first and second down to eliminate some of those third-and-extra longs that are hard to pick up, protect and all those different things. We'll have to make sure that we're giving these guys a great plan, we're giving the quarterback plenty of options for the looks that we're thinking that we may see or not see and be better.
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"I thought we did a fantastic job with the man coverage early in the game. The play with Bobby (Robert Woods) in the backfield and Ryan (Tannehill) progressed through and they kind of dropped Dontrell (Hilliard) and then we started seeing some more zone probably because of that. We just have to make sure that we're adjusting to some of those things that happen through the course of the game."
What has always been most impressive about Henry in Tennessee's offense is everyone in the world knows its coming, and still rarely stop it.
Results-in-hand criticism is always the easiest thing in the world, but rare is the time when the general consensus is simply that the Titans clearly got in their own way.
Featured Image: USA TODAY Sports.
