Titans coaches finally give answers for second half failures
The narrative surrounding the Tennessee Titans and their failures in the second half of games may be getting old by now, but it won't be going away until they score more points at the end of games. To date, the Titans have just 14 second half points in the first five games combined, and are […]
The narrative surrounding the Tennessee Titans and their failures in the second half of games may be getting old by now, but it won't be going away until they score more points at the end of games.
To date, the Titans have just 14 second half points in the first five games combined, and are yet to score in the 4th quarter. That's not a sustainable winning recipe.
What's even more frustrating is that any time Titans coaches have been asked for the causes of this trend, they've either dodged the question completely or pointed to generic excuses like "execution" for their failure.
"We've got to do a better job of getting into our drives," has been a popular answer, without really diving into the X's and O's of how that switch can be flipped.
After diving into the film for some self scouting during the bye week, Titans coaches have finally provided a few answers for the team's struggles on offense in the second half.
On Monday, head coach Mike Vrabel told the media that he felt the offense has had trouble "getting everyone on the same page" later in games. On Thursday afternoon, offensive coordinator Todd Downing detailed exactly what it is that's been out of sync.
"Maybe it's the second time we run a scheme, and we want to make a little tweak to how we're fitting the combination block or a certain track we're taking. Maybe it's a motion landmark that we want to try to create," Downing said.
"Just getting those guys on the same page with some halftime adjustments or maybe some things that we didn't execute well in the first half we try to come back and run again in the second half," Downing continued.
That football lingo may sound like a foreign language to some of you, but Downing summed in up best when he put the responsibility on the coaching staff and the subtleties of their game plan.
"We certainly need to be more detailed in the second half and I look forward to turning that page and kicking that door down in the second half of the season."
The Titans coaching staff has not been thorough enough with their second half preparation. If you watch the games from home, and it feels like the Titans aren't making any adjustments in the second half, that's because the adjustments are not being communicated and detailed well enough to all 11 players on the field.
Blocking schemes, timing, things of that nature require everyone to be on the same page, and making small tweaks doesn't work if you don't have synchronization within your personnel. Everybody needs to have an understanding of what the you are trying to do as an offense.
The good news? At least they recognize it.
This is the first time all season we have heard Downing or Vrabel really identify a cause for why things aren't operating as smoothly coming out of halftime, and it's clear they are going to be intentional about getting everybody on the same page moving forward.
Now it's time to see what they do with this information and how things change against Indianapolis.
Image via Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
