Jim Schwart'z future

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by Ratt1118, Dec 15, 2005.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

    30,461
    11,489
    1,769
    It's always this way though. Fans look for a scapegoat as if firing Schwartz would make Sirmon and Tank faster or keep Woolfolk off the injury list.
     
  2. nendzone

    nendzone All Titans, All the Time

    2,610
    0
    0
    And I understand the human nature aspect of that.

    But you know....just last year, we were also having this conversation about Alan Lowry. Then they fixed some really glaring weaknesses on special teams, like getting a kicker with a strong leg on kickoffs (something missing for at least two years), getting returners who have really good instincts including Roby, and beefing up the coverage units with a lot of healthy LBs and DBs (something in short supply last year especially).

    It made a big difference.

    IMO, there are very few coaches in the NFL who can consistently excel no matter what kind of personnel they have available. I don't believe the Titans have those coaches on staff right now -- and I have to include Fisher in that, really -- but I also don't believe your chances of finding them walking the streets looking for jobs are very good.

    All things considered, I think the Titans have a very solid coaching staff. I think Fisher also creates a very good atmosphere with his staff.

    The one spot I'm not entirely sure about is the secondary coaches (Withers and Cecil), because there is no track record prior to '01, or any track record coaching previous NFL teams (I don't think) to compare against.

    Cecil certainly has a track record as a player with attitude, though. It's just a question of whether that translates into being able to coach it.
     
  3. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

    30,461
    11,489
    1,769
    Lowry has been a whipping boy for years. And some now probably feel the reason for the improved special teams play is due to adding Galbraith.

    IMO, they don't exist. This can turn into one of those players executing vs. scheme real easy but I can't think of an example of any NFL program which has been consistently successful with inferior personnel. I guess the Pats are about as close as it gets.
     
  4. Soxcat

    Soxcat Pro Bowler

    9,131
    1,117
    679
    Tank and Sirmon are coming off injuries but we are almost through the season and we still are using their injuries as an excuse. If these guys are still that crippled they cannot make a basic play they should be watching from the sideline. It isn't always Randy Moss making these guys look silly. These guys are getting beat consistently by average NFL players. When we play a quality RB we can't help but give up HUGE yardage.

    Common guys, think for a second. How much worse could we be if we had Randall or Nickey playing safety? Is Boiman really that bad he can't beat out Sirmon who runs about a 6.0 40 right now? Would they not let the WR score like LT did? The only time we have a prayer at stopping anyone is when we play the scum teams. If there was any part of these guys game that stood out I could see putting up with some inconsistencies. Is the reason we have Sirmon on the field because of his great run stuffing ability? Is LT out their because he is a great pass defender? No the bottom line is Tank, LT, Kassel and Sirmon all suck at both run stopping and pass defense.
    With that said why blame Schwartz? I still give Schwartz part of the blame because if he is such a genious why doesn't he put guys into position to have a better chance at making plays? Why is Sirmon one on one a TE who burned him like a piece of toast? Heck, give me enough talent and I could coach the defense. A good defensive coach finds a way to keep from being embarrassed week in and week out. Thankfully we played a wimpy schedule this year or we really could have given up some points. The Texans twice, the Jags twice, San Fran, Baltimore, Arizona and Cleveland are all offenses that don't exactly put fear into opposing defenses. Even Pittsburg is in the bottom half of the NFL in total offense and they went through us like a hot knife through butter. Miami is in the middle of the league. I bet they score 25 or more points on us as well.
     
  5. Brian

    Brian Big Fan

    4,023
    17
    0
    More football, less chess.

    On both sides of the ball.
     
  6. TitanJeff

    TitanJeff Kahuna Grande Staff

    30,461
    11,489
    1,769
    Most say it takes a full year to recover from an ACL and two before the player is the same as they were before the injury. Last night, Fisher said he felt that both Sirmon and Tank would be much more effective next season. Sirmon should be playing at a higher level now but he had the other injuries. Tank probably shouldn't have started the season as he was on the field well under that one-year mark.

    I fully agree. But Fisher must feel they give the team the best chance. Randall was playing QB a year ago. Nickey was cut last season. Boiman is a puzzle to me because he flashed so much when Sirmon went down in '03 but hasn't shown squat in a long time. Thompson hasn't gotten the job done either after looking like a ball hawk in the opener in Miami last season. I certainly don't understand why he's "tanked" it this year. It makes you begin to think the Bengals were smart for cutting their losses when they did.

    I think one of the reasons these guys are in the game is because they know how to get into position. They are just not executing often enough once there. I don't know what options Schwartz has in personnel right now. I share the frustration but don't think another DC is going to make much difference.
     
  7. MsTitan

    MsTitan Camp Fodder

    620
    3
    0
    Greg Williams is also developing those players. I am sure he teaches and coaches tackling 101. He also seems to coach that same hard hitting attitude. Maybe you shouldn't have to pump players up on the pro level but sure does help if you have a guy that does it every week.

    If Williams was DC maybe the only he would need to change is ATTITUDE. Maybe our record would still be below 0.500 but if our defense had an atttitude adjustment we would not be having this dicussion.
     
  8. nendzone

    nendzone All Titans, All the Time

    2,610
    0
    0
    Gregg Williams love veteran players. He signed a boatload of them in Buffalo for his defense and he signed a whole bunch his first season in Washington, too.

    He reminds me a little of Bill Parcells in that he is not inclined to trust, or want to play, younger guys if he has a choice. How else do you explain Sean Taylor not getting the start over Matt Bowen in the season opener last year, or Carlos Rogers still alternating with Walt Harris now (Rogers didn't start until Harris got hurt, and now it looks like Harris is still getting time in the base defense)?

    So while I totally agree that Williams has an unusual personality (I'd rank him up there with only a few other DCs in the league this way, but none of them are looking for a new DC job) who can get his guys to run through walls for him, I don't agree that he should get all the credit for being a great "fundamentals 101" coach.
     
  9. super_titan

    super_titan Camp Fodder

    259
    0
    0
    When Sirmon got burned by the TE Sunday, one of the announcers made the comment that Sirmon did not even try to jam the TE coming off the line, he goes on to say that is a coaching issue be it Schwartz or his postion coach. Well jamming the guy on the LOS is being physical, something we havent been and if thats a coaching issue then our guys arent being coached to be phsical right?

    Albert Haynesorths knock coming out of college was he is lazy and he still is to a degree, if Washburn didnt ride him in practice would he be as dominant as he has been? If coaches have nothing to do with the way there players play why are they fired across the league every year?
     
  10. nendzone

    nendzone All Titans, All the Time

    2,610
    0
    0
    My point is, if you are going to assume the coaches suck when guys don't make plays, then when guys like Bulluck or Kassell (who isn't real fast, but tends to be pretty physical once he gets to a guy) or Rob Reynolds, in goalline, or Waddell or Pacman or whomever come up and sticks a guy, then is that simply because of great coaching?

    Players have to be accountable for much of what happens on the field. ESPECIALLY when they have been put in position to make the play, and fail to make it.

    Obviously, from one play to the next, guys who are getting the exact same coaching will make some great plays and some really bad plays. So were some guys just not listening, and other guys benefitted from the coaching?

    I haven't watched the game back, but I know I don't tend to believe everything a TV announcer says. I heard them get on Jones earlier in the year for a "blown" coverage that I don't even think the Titans were using.

    Could it have been a coaching mistake/poor coverage call? Sure. Could it have been Sirmon's mistake for maybe misreading something and not executing the play correctly? Don't know since I haven't seen the play, but possible.

    Unless you are intimately familiar with the Titans playbook and what the individual assignments were on those plays, it's a little presumptuous to assume you know whose mistake it was. These FOX guys have spent, what....maybe a couple of hours all season long watching the Titans practice or talking to them in prep meetings (since the only two Titans games Fox had were SF and Seattle)?

    Reminds me of when I was watching "Six days to Sunday" earlier this year and, over a highlight of the Texans busting a coverage with the announcer accusing one of the Texans of not paying attention, it turned out that with the sideline mics, you could hear the player talking to his coach about the fact that whoever called out the coverage, called out the wrong one (changed one word, which completely changed this guy's assignment, so he ran the wrong assignment and left a TE wide open over the middle).
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  • Welcome to goTitans.com

    Established in 2000, goTitans.com is the place for Tennessee Titans fans to talk Titans. Our roots go back to the Tennessee Oilers Fan Page in 1997 and we currently have 4,000 diehard members with 1.5 million messages. To find out about advertising opportunities, contact TitanJeff.
  • The Tip Jar

    For those of you interested in helping the cause, we offer The Tip Jar. For $2 a month, you can become a subscriber and enjoy goTitans.com without ads.

    Hit the Tip Jar