Post-Game Thread Titans 17-Colts 19

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by titanfanatic, Sep 15, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Tuckfro42

    Tuckfro42 Frozen Donkey Wheel

    5,222
    1,705
    709
    D was solid. 2 of those long 3rd down conversions were a terrible PI call and a bad spot. Vrabel should have challenged those. Brissett had time to throw, but coverage was above average and that time didn’t translate to big plays. Anyway, the D played really well and well enough to win.

    Smith was bad this game. I really hope he watches Baltimore’s offense, and even Alabama’s. Design plays to make Mariota look off defenders. Also, give Henry the ball 20+ times a game. He will take over.

    Mariota was bad. Technically, you could blame drops on receivers, but Mariota never led a receiver. Ever. Every throw depended upon the receiver making an adjustment to catch the ball. Watch the TD pass to the lineman. He has to stop, reach back and up, to catch it. He was wide open and he’s a lineman.

    This will sound ridiculous, but the line played fine. Coach Mac agrees with me. I know I sound like every other “hater” on here, but Mariota walked into 3 of the 4 sacks. He did. Watch the tape.
     
    • High Five High Five x 1
    • Hit the Target Hit the Target x 1
  2. MrBean

    MrBean Master of Not Much

    1,456
    679
    519
    I think at this point Mariota is “David Carr’ed”. Watch as he comes off the field. He never holds his head up.

    The nerve injury last year was really bad, to the point where a specialist advised him not to even play in the final game.

    You don’t think he has that running through his mind all the time? Every hit he takes, it just adds to it. He’s been sacked 11 times already, but has been hit a ton more. I think he has no faith in the line to keep him upright and in his mind a sack is better than a turnover, hence why he doesn’t try to fight out of them anymore. Just cover the ball and go down.

    I’ve been a longtime supporter, but even I am thinking he’s done. I’m not sure if he will even opt to sign elsewhere, may just be like Locker and be out of the NFL after Rookie contract.
     
    • High Five High Five x 1
  3. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

    8,052
    2,249
    669
    The D played really well in spurts...but like the rest of the team, was inconsistent. There were a ton of missed tackles that led to short gains turning into big gains, sacks turned into positive gains, and a game changing 55 yard run by a backup rb. On top of that they converted at least one 3rd and 15 without help or a bad spot, a TD pass to Campbell where he was wide open the whole play, and another 3rd and 10 that was a o yd screen pass but missed tackles turned it into a 1st down. Brown's inability to take on blockers is an issue.

    Mariota made a lot of mistakes in this game no doubt. He was also inconsistent in decision making (I counted 2 sacks on him, the other 2 on the OL, the deep ball to Delanie on 3rd and 5, throw the ball away when nothing is there and he can't run, don't leap when you're running, don't throw a 5 yard pass to DW inside during a two min drill with no TO's unless it's 4th down). The wr's also dropped some easy passes. Against zone defenses you can't always lead the wr. I was just watching a clip of an analyst complimenting Mahomes on 'back shouldering' a slant because the S was coming down. That's not to excuse him when he's inaccurate, but not every throw should lead the wr. And he did make some nice throws,,,the two sideline throws to the left, the post to Davis, the crosser to Sharpe or was it Jennings off the top of my head.

    Special teams missed a 45yd FG which cost us 3 points. Inconsistent.

    The coaching staff's were inconsistent too. Pees had the best day of them all but his players didn't always execute well. Vrabel made several mistakes...especially letting the playclock run down the previous possession when we were losing. And not overriding Smith (or worse if Vrabel's decision) when they wanted to rest Henry for the 4th QTR. He should have told him to ride Henry when we had the lead and mix in some easy pa throws or screens to get Mariota back in rhythm. And then on 1st down you take a shot down the field...not on 3rd and 5 when you haven't been converting.

    To be fair, some of Smith's playcalling was good. But at a few critical times he made some major mistakes. Hopefully this is one of his growing pains as a new OC and he'll learn from this and get better.

    Plenty of blame to go around the entire team. very few players who were good from beginning to end and either didn't make a mistake or didn't make a big play when given the chance. We had about 12-15 players who had an opportunity to make a big play...whether it be make a fg, sack Brisket, intercept the ball, not give up a big run, not give up a TD pass, make a big tackle to stop a 3rd down conversion 1v1, not take a scak, not drop the ball, not make a bad decision, make a better throw, not give up a pressure that gets your qb crushed, etc. The good thing is we didn't play well in this game overall, but still had about a dozen chances to make that ONE more play we needed.

    This team will be great when we make 90% of those missed plays, good when we make 50% of them, and a team that snatches defeat from the jaws of victory when we don't make any!
     
  4. Aqutis30

    Aqutis30 Do you mind - NOT being a Motaur?

    11,035
    3,137
    909
    Gut, this not a call out of any kind but could you go into some detail about Arthur and the big mistakes. Just interested to read about what you saw.
     
  5. Daqueef

    Daqueef Special Teams Standout

    281
    90
    59
    I personally did not get the timeout the Titans called at 2:14 left in game. That timeout saved just 14 seconds. They could have used the timeout on the first play after the 2 min warning and minimized a 45 sec rundown by the Colts.
     
  6. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

    8,052
    2,249
    669
    So if a wr doesn't play well, we should blame someone else? QB yardage has nothing to do with how one wr plays. If they are the primary wr in most plays they do...but it's also a function of how many times you throw the ball and the game plan. You like to look at these things in your own little vacuum. Football doesn't work that way. When a wr drops a ball they should catch...it's a drop! I don't blame the OL or the DL or a coach or you in the stands...that's on the wr to catch the ball.

    On that sack of Mariota in which Davis opens up late down the field, it appears Sharpe ran the wrong route and ran into the path of Humphries who looks like the primary read...that costs us a possible TD. Were there issues and opportunities missed on the rest of the play? Yes. But you don't absolve the WR for messing up a big play/TD. Running the correct routes and catching the ball is their primary job in the passing game. When they mess up, they should be held accountable. Just like everybody else.
     
    • High Five High Five x 1
  7. 520

    520 2020 GOAT CHAMP from 3-7 to champ

    36,183
    7,272
    1,109
    Mariota ain’t even top 5 most hit qb last few years and plenty of qbs get hit way more and produce way more

    #blockofcheese
     
  8. DanPastorini

    DanPastorini Starter

    135
    13
    324
    and that brings the total up to a whopping
    34-16 lifetime advantage for the Colts.
     
  9. RTH

    RTH Meh...

    18,039
    4,788
    939
    Colts are in the Titans' head.

    Very rarely does this team execute against the Colts, nor does it ever resemble the team that plays against other teams.
     
    #219 RTH, Sep 18, 2019
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2019
    • High Five High Five x 1
  10. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

    8,052
    2,249
    669
    Run game...
    So I'd say there were several different things. First, on one of the first 2 plays of the game we try to run Henry over RT but Jones, who got help at the beginning of the play from Douglas, gets shoved 3 yards back and into henry's path. Clearly, Jones can't handle that defender one v one. The outside TE also gets pushed back which trapped Henry. No cutback, Jones is getting driven into where Henry is trying to go and the outside contain defender has pushed the TE back too. Single back, heavy run formation.

    Later we come back with a lead blocker and pitch the ball to Henry and he starts wracking up the yards. We ran this play a few times out of base and 11 personnel very well. Even better out of 11 personnel since fewer defenders to block. So we mix in some playaction...but all is good.

    Later in the 2nd quarter, we take out Henry for Lewis who is quicker but doesn't break too many arm tackles and our run game stalls again. Stick with what is working until they adjust and take it away...and then you hit them with what they are giving up to stop that play. instead, Smith took it away but changing what was working and taking Henry off the field. Lewis needs to be a change of pace back...not a 50/50 carries rb.

    In fairness, we did switch to the zone read and that worked as well and led to henry's TD. that was well done.

    Fast forward to quarter 3 and we are back to running Henry well...and then get out of what was working. Tried the same run play that Jones got lit up on in q1 and guess what...Jones got lit up again! Then Lewis comes back and our run game stalls.

    4th quarter is where the pain happens. Im not even sure Henry had a carry in the quarter...but they faked it to him a couple of times. This is where you need to win the game. You saved Henry up for the 4th quarter...now we needed to use him. We didn't. At about the 8min mark, we go into throw only mode. Mariota isn't looking sharp and the Colts are getting a good pass rush on us and covering well for the most part. We punt. Then we get the ball back...a few more passes with about 4mins left. plenty of time to pound the rock with henry on running plays they never stopped. No, throw some new pass plays with Mariota not looking his best...and then a bomb downfield into double coverage? Smith needed to call better plays and make sure Mariota knows when it's 3rd and 5...get the first any way possible. Not riding Henry in the 4th is inexcusable...especially given how Mariota and the receivers were playing.

    2min drill. Terrible play calls and no plan. The general rule of thumb when you're in 2min with no timeouts is the clocks stops on out of bounds plays and incompletions. You only want to throw the ball in the field of play (when you can't get out of bounds) when you pick up 10-20 yards since most D's play the sidelines, you get into fg range and have enough time, or have enough time and downs to clock it. The Titans first play was to run the receivers on the inside and DW to leak out late. Mariota hits him for a 4 yard gain and we lose 17+ seconds. Terrible! We ran a flood zone play earlier in the game they should have run with the RB flaring out to the sideline, a crosser at about 10 yards running to the sideline and a wr on a GO drawing the S deep. Whichever guy is open gets you yards and a stoppage of the clock. Nope. Every play was to the inside and for short gains. Mariota at least ran for like 15 yards up the middle and then we spike it. Then we run another inside crossing play with no hope of getting out of bounds...this is the 2nd and 10 play. From snap to spike (on 3rd and 2) took 17 seconds. Now there is only 16 seconds left. The only real chance to win is to throw a sideline out or go or deep comeback that takes 8-12 seconds but the wr can step right out of bounds to put us into a makeable FG with time on a stopped clock. With the slants? Even if Brown catches that ball...most likely we don't get the spike off and never get a chance at like a 57yd kick.

    Additionally, when we were in 11 personnel and ran the read option. marcus actually kept it once on a bad read. On the other side of the field, the cb 'covering' Humphries was 10 yards off him and dropping back. When you see things like that, you come back to them to take advantage. We had another pass play on a post to humph in which he would have been open except Sharpe ran the wrong route and ran towards where Humph was going. On the same play, Davis was backside and had one on one on an inside pivot route. Why not come back to that play after running Henry a few times and call Davis' number? Davis was also open on another play when we went trips right and he was the inside slot. he got matched up with a LB. They blitzed a CB who Lewis tried to pickup...forced him to step up...right into another defender who beat Saffold - again! Another .25 seconds and Mariota finds him or DW dragging under neath for a TD or a nice gain and we are in scoring position. We didn't come back to that play either.

    One of the things Smith will learn is that our division opponents know us really well so you have to get them in a chess game. Several times we had 6 blockers and Henry vs a 6 man front...but we didn't always run the ball. Are you kidding? That should be just about automatic. When we have as many blockers as they have defenders...Henry will run wild. Feed him! But when they drop a guy in the box to get an extra defender, he needs an answer for that...a few actually!

    We also didn't really go back to the zone read which got CD his biggest catch of the day. We have to pound people with a lead back (since our interior OL is shaky) and zone read with 3 wr's. make nickel defenses tackle Henry. And when they change personnel or bring an extra player down, RPO them to death!!!

    I was impressed with our 2nd half adjustments last week. While he made some good adjustments this week, he made some bad ones as well and took arguably our best offensive player off the field too much.

    Sorry if this is long!

    Henry needs 25+ touches in this game. We gave that game to the Colts and can't take any chances Thursday!
     
    • High Five High Five x 1
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