Titans keep playing with fire at key position and it's burning them
The Tennessee Titans have had to navigate through a frustrating situation at receiver over the last few weeks. Injuries have been a big cause for the frustration, as the bug has bitten two of the Titans' young receivers this year — Treylon Burks and Kyle Phillips — and has prevented a receiver the Titans had […]
The Tennessee Titans have had to navigate through a frustrating situation at receiver over the last few weeks.
Injuries have been a big cause for the frustration, as the bug has bitten two of the Titans' young receivers this year — Treylon Burks and Kyle Phillips — and has prevented a receiver the Titans had high hopes for — Racey McMath — from playing a single snap so far this season.
Injuries are a factor you can barely control, if even.
They're unforeseen variables that you can't predict with full accuracy and have to deal with on the fly if/when they negatively impact you and your team.
But there is variable that has led to some irritation surrounding the receiver group. And it's a variable that the Titans have full control over and have had full control of for a very long time now.
It's the ability to consistently instill NFL-level talent in an offense.
They've been able to do that the last few years with the likes of A.J. Brown — now departed — Julio Jones — on paper of course — and other depth receivers that have found ways to contribute when they were called upon to do so.
But this year, the Titans just haven't placed good depth within the offense and as a result, the unit has suffered in a major way. Not only on the stat sheet, but potentially their ability to threaten defenses down the line, as well.
Take today's game for example, a game in which the Titans' leading receiver didn't crack 60-yards. Now the game-plan for this opponent specifically has been the same and would remain the same unless something unexpected occurred.
Which is to pound the rock with Derrick Henry and work to find any other potential avenues of success — play-action, better down and distance situations — to take advantage of.
But this game was especially different considering the available talent at receiver the Titans had at their disposal.
Robert Woods, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Cody Hollister, and Mason Kinsey were the four lucky selections the Titans made to take snaps at receiver today. And as expected, the output wasn't consistent, nor was it impactful enough to force the Colts to second-guess their own initial defensive approach.
The Titans didn't seem to care, as Derrick Henry continued his recent hot streak, running for over 125 yards on 30 carries.
But they need to care a lot more in the near and long term future, if they want to get away from the stagnation the offense tends to take on.
Much like the stagnation this offense took on during the better part of a half and some change.
Now if we're being fair, today's game wasn't the best possible example to push a specific narrative like this one. Since the Titans' offensive line is dealing with multiple injuries and other controllable factors continue to plague this unit to no ends.
But the blueprint that was leaned upon — one that tried to work around the lack of talent at receiver — isn't one that can be worked around and fine tuned for much longer.
That isn't to say that this offense is going to completely fall apart if this method of winning football is consistently relied on, because that simply isn't the case here. Not with the talent that exists within this offense and not with the attitude this unit possesses as well.
Instead, it's to say that this method of offensive philosophy isn't one that'll breed long term success, something the Titans still don't seem to understand at this point in time.
It isn't fair to completely say "this receiver situation is the result of the Titans' faults" or "the Titans are blatantly trying to force their brand of football to yield meaningful results".
Anyone who does push those statements are either being too harsh or don't want to face the strides this franchise has tried to make at the receiver spot.
It is fair to say though, that this method of trying to work around bad talent at an extremely important position, will result in nothing but painful trials and tribulations.
And that isn't a pleasant outlook for a team that seriously thinks they can win and compete with the best.
The Titans balked at the idea of adding as much talent as possible at the receiver spot this spring and summer. They've tried to work around it and the results haven't been too pretty so far.
Only time will tell if that's going to hurt this team long term. For now, keen observation will be the only possible tool that be used to make logical conclusions and judgements when it's all set and done.
Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
