It’s no secret that the Titans got off to about the worst start imaginable against the Arizona Cardinals last week. Everything looked stagnant, and blame is being thrown around like ridiculous words at a spelling bee. Earlier this week, A former fan favorite gave his opinion on why the running game never got off the ground.
My 2¢ on @Titans Run Game. The problem and a solution. Read below and check out the photos! ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/G02vSJ9myq
— Marc Mariani (@marcmariani80) September 15, 2021
Mariani’s points are justified, too. They’re some of what has been discussed all week since the disappointing performance.
Play Calling & Adjustments
We, as well as opposing teams, know what Tennessee wants to do on offense. They prefer to get the downhill running game going early to open up downfield throws for Ryan Tannehill and his receivers. It has worked a lot over the past few years.
That being said, if teams are prepared for that and talented enough to give the running game trouble early, they must adapt. Arizona did exactly that last week. The Titans did not adjust to any degree. Keeping it vanilla clearly did not work.
Whether you want to blame OC Todd Downing or the offensive line, they put themselves behind the eight-ball by not making the in-game adjustments. Chandler Jones and J.J. Watt continued to feast. The athletic linebacker unit for Arizona played a role, too. If that continues, other defenses will have success in the future as well.
Going to drop some clips of the offense! Some are very painful, others give you hope!!
First play of the game. Lewan and Davis just get beat too bad for Henry to even have a chance. #Titans pic.twitter.com/gTw0t3qnux
— TicTacTitans (@TicTacTitans) September 15, 2021
Looking Ahead
No one is saying that the Titans’ offense should turn into something it hasn’t been over the past couple of years. They have more offensive talent than they have in previous seasons. That being said, they have to get their best playmakers early often. Not only that, they have to set them up for success.
Moving forward, it will be interesting to see what the offense looks like. They only struggled to the degree they did last Sunday a couple of times last season. Could it have just been rust? A bad day at work?
This #Titans offense sure looks like one that has a new OC and its star players didn’t practice or play in preseason for the majority of the last month.
— Ryan Porth (@PorthGame) September 12, 2021
That’s possible, but the Titans and their fans had hopes of a division crown and deep playoff run entering the season. Tennessee will need a lot more from their offense to reach anywhere near those expectations.
Featured Image via USA TODAY-Sports
