The Bills play the Titans and we got some solid info from Tom Gower who runs Bloguin’s Tennessee Titans blog, Total Titans. He is also a staff writer for Football Outsiders and a contributor to NBC Sports. If you wanna read my answers to his questions, check out their site.
1)If you were the opposing team, how would you attack the Titans offense and defense?
Attacking the Titans’ offense:
1. Don’t give Marcus Mariota easy reads. Tampa Bay sat back in Cover-2, giving Mariota straightforward looks and allowing him to execute passes into open spaces.
2. Flood the middle of the field. The Titans’ most dangerous receivers are tight end Delanie Walker and receiver Kendall Wright, both of whom are primarily middle of the field players. The outside receivers, whether Wright or Harry Douglas when they line up there, or Justin Hunter (primarily, since rookie second-round pick Dorial Green-Beckham has mostly been a red zone player so far) don’t pose the same threat.
3. Get pressure on Mariota. Two ways to do this. First, the Titans’ line has not been good. The weakest link is rookie Jeremiah Poutasi, selected in the third round this year. He can be a force in the run game, but has issues in the pass game getting off balance and adjusting to outside rushers. If you told me Mario Williams gave him an outside rush look to get him off balance, then drove him back into Mariota, and finished with 3.5 sacks this week, I wouldn’t bat an eye. Pettine’s multiple pressures in Cleveland were also very effective, including particularly delayed outside rushes.
Attacking the Titans’ defense depends more on what you want to do offensively and the strengths of your team. Cleveland was inconsistently effective in the run game, but Johnny Manziel didn’t do anything at all outside of a couple deep plays so the Titans were able to stack the box and limit the run game. They might have a similar defensive gameplan for this week, depending on what they think of Taylor, the backs, and the line. I don’t trust the Titans’ corners against good outside receivers, even though their best one, Jason McCourty, is back from a groin injury this week. The inside linebackers have not stood out against either the run or the pass, so a team like New England would get them confused and running ragged.
2) How has Mariota looked for you guys thus far?
Opinions on Mariota range from the idea he’s had a nice start to his career to that he’s a franchise savior and the team’s quarterback for the next 12+ years. Ball placement is a strength. As a fan, this is a lot of fun to watch and a very pleasant change from the recent past, and a good fit for a player like Wright who can be a YAC machine.
The worry a lot of people had about him coming out of Oregon was that he was a system quarterback. He hasn’t looked like a product of the spread offense at all. Instead, he now looks like he’s a Ken Whisenhunt system quarterback. Not so much in the sense that he’s a classic dropback intermediate and vertical passer but that he’s proficiently running the plays head coach Ken Whisenhunt, who’s also the offensive play-caller, has asked him to run.
A couple nits: If you had concerns about pocket pressure coming out, as I did, he’s taken a ton of sacks thus far. Cleveland got to him seven times, but he’s been sacked multiple times every game. The offensive line issues contribute to that, but he’s taken a few sacks I haven’t been happy about as well. Ball security has also been an issue for him, and that’s carried over from Oregon. He also hasn’t been good on deep pass so far; there don’t seem to be any huge issues here, but the timing is just off. The bye week could have helped, or maybe not.
3) I noticed you guys are using the duo of McCluster and Sankey at running back. How has the running back committee been for you guys?
Whisenhunt loves his running back committee. Dexter McCluster had his first good game in Tennessee against the Browns in Week 2, getting the edge and looking faster than he has; not so against the Colts in Week 3. Bishop Sankey is kind of blah; I didn’t like him coming out, and while he’s running with better power this year, I don’t see him as a quality back. Terrance West or, more likely, Antonio Andrews also have a role as more of a between the tackles power back. The biggest issue is none of these guys is really that good, so Whisenhunt can play matchups and go with the hot hand or, I don’t know, examine the entrails of dead animals on the sideline to see who gets the ball next. A similar-looking committee was incoherent and unproductive last year, and early returns aren’t that much better.
4) Former Bill Da’Norris Searcy is with the Titans. How has he looked for you guys thus far?
He hasn’t been a high impact player. I really thought I’d see more of him than I have. The team seems to be satisfied with what he’s done, but I expected him to be more of a downhill box player than he’s been. I should note I need to do an intensive study of the safeties to really fix in my mind what they’re doing and doing well; he could be playing much better than I’ve noticed.
5) Ray Horton has been a guy who has been on HC radar dating back to his time in Arizona, yet, your defense gave up the 29th most points last year. Why hasn’t the transition worked so far?
Not enough good players playing in an unfamiliar scheme. The 2014 Titans had a ton of defensive problems. Youth and almost no depth at cornerback, so the season didn’t start or end well. Little edge rush, so they had to scheme almost all the pressure they got. A defensive line that couldn’t stop the run regularly. Lack of premium players, with six of the last seven first-round picks (now 7 of 8 with Mariota) used on offense. Add in a scheme change and an underachieving offense that didn’t take any pressure off them, and they were comprehensively bad.
Though Horton is still the coordinator, Dick LeBeau is now in charge of the defense. He tends to play more zones, two-gap, and rely more on safe rather than aggressive pressures compared to Horton, though they have a long history of working successfully together and share many similarities.
6) Are there any under the radar players Bills fans should be on the lookout for?
The Titans’ two best defensive players are Jurrell Casey, who is still primarily a penetrator even as a 3-4 end rather than a 4-3 defensive tackle, and very disruptive against the run and the pass. The most important free agency acquisition has been Brian Orakpo, healthy after being banged up and missing most of last season in Washington. He plays right outside linebacker and is a very solid player against the run and an good pass rusher who relies mostly on power but has enough speed to complement it.
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