Ineffective Secondary

i think its the safeties more than anything they always look lost and out of position

 

I think it's a little bit of everything.

Cecil's scheme seems to be pretty basic, there's not many exotic looks and blitzes, and there seems to be a big belief that rushing four will generate pressure this season. It doesn't.

The secondary had it's fair share of injuries in the first few weeks, but hasn't looked the same as the All-Pro unit it was last year.

With that being said, everything starts up front. Haynesworth dominated. Pure and simple. The scheme worked well because we could only rush four and Albert required so much attention that KVB constantly got 1-on-1 matchups. The double-teams also freed up the linebackers to make tackles without being mauled by offensive lineman, and probably most importantly: the pressure we got on the QB with #92 in the middle almost always forced the QB to make rushed and hurried throws and decisions, therefore the DBs don't need to hold their coverage as long and have a much better chance of picking off errant throws. I can't remember the last time we had a pure 'coverage sack'.

Losing #92 wasn't everything, but it certainly took arguably the most important piece out of the Titans defensive puzzle.

 

Two words

Nick Harper

 

i have seen many times this year that griff has bit on the play action and that opens up some space. I do like him however, and he will get better. He did an awesome job for us last year. Nick Harper..... blown coverage right there. I am tired of seeing this guy in a starting db role. Where is Rod Hood?

 

Pick a reason ! Cause there are several..

IMO..most dominant defenses start with a great front line. That to me sets the tone for the defense. Haynesworth is missed in this area. He garnered so much attention up the middle that it allowed one on ones for our DE's and for the most part we were able to get consistent pressure on QBs..which in turn made opposing qbs rush many throws. Now at times..the QB has had all day to throw..we get picked apart

Our scheme. Much like JF..I think Cecil was/is struggling with the lack of creativity. As someone else said..it seems to be a pretty basic..predictable scheme. I think initially Cecil figured he would be able to run a similar scheme to Schwartz (minus Haynesworth) and it hasnt worked out too well. I think we're struggling with our identity. You have to know the kind of personnel you have and design scheme's best suited to their abilities. Titans have always been the "rush four..drop everyone back"..and it isnt working.

Guys are older. Our defense is going through the same transition our offense needed to go through a couple years ago. But I think with a solid draft and an aggressive FA..that area should be good in no time.

Nick Harper..Michael Griffin. Griffin always seems to be out of place..and Nick Harper well.......

 

I stated this earlier in the season but our secondary is (was
0 way overrated. Now evryone knows they can throw on our back four. I consider Finnegan our one locked postion. Harper like everyone else has a ready stated time to retire bud. I am not convinced Hood is anything more than a nice backup. Griffin and Hope are very tradeable and would not turn up an offer if it had a 2nd rounder offered for either. Griffin since he is young has much more upside. Maybe if we could ta monster inside like Suh (no chance) we would be more effective against the pass.

 

Well...

I've said it a hundred times but I'll quickly repeat the problems...

First, our DE's relied on a Haynesworth to push the pocket back so the QB ould not step up. This gave our DE's better angles to get pressure on the QB. Without a push up the middle our DE's...most importantly KVB couldn't get any pressure on the QB's.

Second, our secondary was coached to be super aggressive and jump every break. When the QB can pump fake, eat a sandwich, take a nap, and then throw it to a guy open by 10 yds, that's BAD! Our scheme is basically the same as the Colts...rush 4 and play cover 2 zone behind it. With a dominant pass rush (with AH or the Colts bookend rushers) it works quite well. When you suddenly have no pass rush, it gets exploited.

Third, to Cecil's credit he started making adjustments but they were too easy to diagnose and too easy to take advantage of (playing cb's 10 yds off).

Fourth, a significant portion of the D were all making mistakes. The blitz against the Jets in the red zone was a key example. We blitzed 1 more defender than they could block and we had everyone covered. Sack, right? No. The free blitzer (Bulluck) jumped up to block the pass (which wasn't thrown) instead of continuing his rush and sacking Sanchez. KVB on the other side had been stymied on his outside rush all year and decided to try an inside rush leaving zero contain on the outside. Sanchez ran it for a TD. Great playcall by Cecil and it should have resulted in a sack. Instead, through various mistakes made by Bulluck, KVB and others (some players were dogging the pursuit) the Jets score. Just an example of even when the secondary does its job, other breakdowns were still occurring.

Fifth, the Titans...since Schwartz took over...have been committed to playing there cb's on sides. Harper is the LCB and Finnegan the RCB. This means that offenses can dictate coverage anytime they want. That's how you end up with Andre Johnson on Harper with no safety help and even I can throw that TD pass. If WR's can easily play both sides of the formation, DB's should too. You might notice that we do switch our S's no based on strength but don't match Finnegen up vs their best WR or match our CB's according to matchups WE want. This killed us vs the Ravens in the playoff game as they were consistently able to not only get Mason on Harper, but also got Hope on that side as well. Letting offenses dictate matchups is handing away a competitive advantage.

Sixth, Cecil has improved at his job and wasn't as bad as you'd think considering even when he dialed up the perfect playcall, we still found a way to mess it up. Things have been improving but this team won't go far until the D gets an infusion of talent. They need an impact player on the DL and a big time CB to play opposite Finnegan. If we could up grade Hope I'd be down with that. If not, they need to alter there coverage so Hope is an underneath zone defender. He's having problems as the deep half field S and that's VERY bad when you play a lot of 2 deep coveragelike we do.

Gut

 

I don't think Griff hope Finny are problem.I think the problem is that our DEs are to old and jacob and ball are just not a every down DE.
I think Fat alberts double team in every play was the key.
Now we need to draft a DE or DT who gets double team and moves the pocket.

 

i just think nick harper can't cover anymore, and teams exploit that. cause finnegan did an excellent job on RW. we need a new db for harper, bring in rod hood!!!!!