schwartz throws a hissy

We gave up 400 yards because they had the ball for 45 minutes. They had the ball for 45 minutes because our offense did nothing and because our defense had 3 TD returns.

 

It depends on how you look it. As I recall, to start the 2nd half, Pac had a great return and with the 15 yard penalty the Titans were in excellent position. They tied the game with a field. No on the defenses first series in the second half, the Jags marched down the field. They were in position to score. I believe Finnegan's return was 92 yards? As I recall, the defense was in position to stop the Jags on atleast one 3rd down and did not. They could have made the stop and gotten off the field but didn't. In my opinion, you can't blame the Titans offense.

 

There fixed it for ya. And before you start saying the D was tired, remember that the Jax 3nd and 4th drives were for 10 and 9 plays and both resulted in scores, the D should NOT be tired after only 8 plays (Jax's 1st and 2nd drive).

 

The D was tired...

And it's not just the individual drives. It's the cumulative effect.

 

But the half just started. They had not played yet.

 

I'm talking about the game as a whole, not those drives. 10 play drives are not that unusual. And those 2 drives went 67 yards and 42 yards, so it's not as if we're talking about going the length of the field twice.

But if you want to talk about the drives after the half, let's do. First, I'll point out that the Jags ran 41 plays in the 1st half, so players were already slightly worn by then.

The Jags' first possession was 13 plays (54 yards), and ended on Finnegan's fumble return. The next drive, which started immediately afterwards, went 6 plays (21 yards). Following that was a 15 play drive (71 yards) that ended on a goal line stand. That means that, aside from 2 PATs, the Titans D was on the field for 34 straight downs (plus another play called back for holding).

So yes, the D was tired...

 

When you see KVB coming off the field to catch his breath, you know the defense is tired.

 

After Pac's return, we went 3 and out. The Jags took the field with 13:15 remaining in the 3rd quarter. What we really needed was to take over at the 20, and have a nice, long 80 yard drive. As some have posted, the D had already been on the field a LONG time in the first half, and you don't rest up that fast. We were 0-8 on 3rd downs in the first half, so you do have to put some blame on the offense for not helping with TOP. Then it just got crazy with taking two TO's back for TD's and having to put the D right back on the field.

 

Even in the first half, the defense had opportunities (3rd and longer than 5 yards) to get off the field and did not. You can't blame that on the offense. I do realize that the defense was tired. I give them the utmost credit for the goal line stand. That played great even though they were tired. But I think a halftime time intermission is long enough to rest to stop a 3rd a long. Even if the Jags got the ball on to start the half the defense has to take partial blame for the letting the Jags drive the field on the first possession of the half. Could the offense have held the ball longer, yes. But the defense has to understand that you can't give someone >50% 3rd down completion.

 

Couple things...

This is not the first time a team caught us with a draw on 3rd and long.

If I remember correctly, Bulluck played inside position and faced his man (facing outside) which we can presume is the design of the defense (for him to play inside). This makes it impossible for him to look in the backfield and take away a quick slant (for example) by his man. Even still, having a 3 man line with the ends spread so far out is ridiculous in preventing a draw play for good yardage. Plus, what is the purpose of positioning the DE's SO far outside. If it's a 3 man rush, that won't help us (and weaken us against the run). If it's a blitz, it's better to have the 3 DL take up interior blockers and have our fastest blitzers come from the corners (since they'll get there quicker).

Perhaps this was a misalignment by Laboy? Does anyone remember if KVB was similarly split that wide on the other side (meaning it was the design of that D)?

Gut