OILERMAN Blog: Week One

[OILERMAN]

The Titans put a beat down on the Steelers to open the season with a dominating defensive performance and a ball controlled offense with little resistance from the Steelers.Of course there is so much more inside this game to talk about.

When the game started it looked like a disaster, the Titans give up a safety on the opening kickoff(I've never seen that) and the Steelers drive down with ease on their opening drive before they fumble going in for what looked like an easy TD. After this the Steelers never were able to mount anything while the game was within reach.

As I watched the game a few things occurred to me, first of all the Steelers offense was never going to do anything after they lost Pouncey. I really don't think they had much of a chance before that injury in hindsight. They had too many injuries on their OL, RB and TE positions.

The second thing that occurred to me is it's time to be really worried about Jake Locker. It's one thing to struggle against a Steelers defense on the road but this was more than struggling. He's embarrassingly off target and lacks pocket presence on known passing situations. He ran out of the pocket too early and just looked shaky way too often.

Regardless of what I think of Locker it's crystal clear what the Titans staff thought. They took the game as far out of his hands as they could. On an early 3rd and long they ran a give up draw and they constantly ran the ball, especially on 1st and 10. At one point they ran the ball 14 straight times over multiple possessions. He made some nice 3rd down throws late but overall is play was scary bad. He finished with a passer rating of 74 and completed 55% of his passes.

Another concern was the pass protection. The Steelers were getting way too much pressure when the Titans were throwing the ball. Stewart and Warmack were not holding up well at all.

Looking at the scores around the league it's clear more than ever every game is tough. NE barely beat the Bills and every game was close. There is something to be said for simply winning, especially on the road in Pittsburg. But as I watched this game I did not feel good about the long term prospects of this team for this season. The defense looked great but it's impossible to know how much of that is real.

Chris Johnson watch:

I've been critical since the Titans signed Chris Johnson and every season since then. I thought the Titans should have cut him before this season and actually thought it was an easy decision. I was planning on charting his production every week in this blog and either eating crow or serving crow weekly. I won't be eating crow after week one. Chris Johnson ran just like he has the last two years, timid and indecisive. I'm not interested in the defense he faced since that had nothing to do with the way he ran. Greene looked way better when he was in on his carries.

Munchak/Webster watch:

Munchak did nothing but help himself after this win. He won a tough road game and honestly the way Locker has looked it appears he has the best offensive system in place to give the team the best chance to win.

Webster looks like an idiot for keeping Chris Johnson after week one, gee it looks like the problem isn't the blocking after all. But the young draft picks were outstanding, especially the defensive players. Zack Brown and Casey look like probowlers. Verner proved he deserved the starting spot over Campbell and Sensebaugh looked very good.

Overall I'm happy with the win but have serious doubt on Locker. But it's better than a loss!

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[Pragidealist]

Well written.  Keep it up. I disagree with just about everything. 

[Guest]

Well written.  Keep it up. I disagree with just about everything. 

 

I agree with nearly every word. But you knew I would didn't you? lol.

[Mercalius]

Oilerman, I don't want to overly get into it but I don't see how you can fairly rail on Locker to that extent while also immediately citing the pass protection woes and how "big" of an opening road game that was to walk away from.

I've cited young QBs stats against that D twice now, while Troy P was out, (whom Locker outperformed) and apparently there's a huge line in the sand in what we see on Locker being horribly off target on several throws versus recievers being held in their routes several times and Walker looking like he was lost out there due to having no offseason.

Not every throw was good, and some were downright bad, but that's true for all 32 quarterbacks in the NFL. It wasn't his best game, and ideally he plays a lot better in the coming weeks, but it wasn't nearly the clown-show so many are trying to paint it as either.

He led us to a win (well maybe handed the ball off) against the Steelers on their field in an extremely hostile evironment. He didn't turn the ball over. He converted pivotal third downs, and he did this while the entire offensive plan was to run, run, and run some more. Is that an indictment on him as a QB? Maybe, but nothing in that game is supportive enough evidence to be so negative regarding his long term potential. Most people see his performance as "ok". Some see it as decent. Some see it as pretty bad. Regardless, not enough happened Sunday to draw any strong conclusions either way. The verdict on Locker will be decided in the next several weeks - and anyone with a definitive view on him as a player, as of today, is jumping the gun.

And for what it's worth - most national media I've read have the same mindset regarding his performance that I do - decent, did what he needed to and was asked to do, which helped us earn a win, but still definitely room for improvement.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Mercalius

[TitansAB]

[Guest]

Merc, I think the issue some of us are pointing out with Locker is that he looked lost just dropping back into a clean pocket and even left the pocket prematurely at times. This is basic stuff for NFL QBs and it's frustrating that he is still so inconsistent with some of his mechanics. I'm not calling Locker a bust are anything like that. But his play was very concerning.

[Legaltitan]

I agree with nearly every word.

 

I agree with about 50%

[reo]

Oilerman, I don't want to overly get into it but I don't see how you can fairly rail on Locker to that extent while also immediately citing the pass protection woes and how "big" of an opening road game that was to walk away from.

I've cited young QBs stats against that D twice now, while Troy P was out, (whom Locker outperformed) and apparently there's a huge line in the sand in what we see on Locker being horribly off target on several throws versus recievers being held in their routes several times and Walker looking like he was lost out there due to having no offseason.

Not every throw was good, and some were downright bad, but that's true for all 32 quarterbacks in the NFL. It wasn't his best game, and ideally he plays a lot better in the coming weeks, but it wasn't nearly the clown-show so many are trying to paint it as either.

He led us to a win (well maybe handed the ball off) against the Steelers on their field in an extremely hostile evironment. He didn't turn the ball over. He converted pivotal third downs, and he did this while the entire offensive plan was to run, run, and run some more. Is that an indictment on him as a QB? Maybe, but nothing in that game is supportive enough evidence to be so negative regarding his long term potential. Most people see his performance as "ok". Some see it as decent. Some see it as pretty bad. Regardless, not enough happened Sunday to draw any strong conclusions either way. The verdict on Locker will be decided in the next several weeks - and anyone with a definitive view on him as a player, as of today, is jumping the gun.

And for what it's worth - most national media I've read have the same mindset regarding his performance that I do - decent, did what he needed to and was asked to do, which helped us earn a win, but still definitely room for improvement.

 

Oman is the "Jump to conclusions" King

[Pragidealist]

Merc, I think the issue some of us are pointing out with Locker is that he looked lost just dropping back into a clean pocket and even left the pocket prematurely at times. This is basic stuff for NFL QBs and it's frustrating that he is still so inconsistent with some of his mechanics. I'm not calling Locker a bust are anything like that. But his play was very concerning.

He didnt though. The only times he had probs were under pressure or when he went through his reads and saw nothing available. He then looked to run. Whenever that happened -he looked shakey. It was a direct response of him hanging on too long last year. He is focused on making a quicker decisions- including running.

That is new and needs to improve.

When he has time he does well. Hence the long 3rd down conversions and doing well in preseason.

He and the team needs to do better with pressure. Overall he was fine and they won.

Read any post game quotes and they say the same. Nothing really happened to lead to any change of opinion.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Pragidealist

[Mercalius]

Merc, I think the issue some of us are pointing out with Locker is that he looked lost just dropping back into a clean pocket and even left the pocket prematurely at times. This is basic stuff for NFL QBs and it's frustrating that he is still so inconsistent with some of his mechanics. I'm not calling Locker a bust are anything like that. But his play was very concerning.

I'd have to go back to rewatch the entire game to be sure but I remember one specific play he got blasted in the chat for moving out of the pocket due to "phantom pressure"....when there was a d-lineman that had just beat his block within 3 yards of him. That didn't happen every time, but it stood out to me because it looked like that was a point people were going to rail on, regardless of how the play actually happened. After the game, Munch even admitted the pass blocking was shoddy. Like I said, I'd have to go back to rewatch specific plays, but I don't think it was nearly the big deal some are making it out to be, and like seeing what you want on the poor throws/receiver interference no calls, I think the truth may lie somewhere more in the middle.

[Cyrus]

Merc, I think the issue some of us are pointing out with Locker is that he looked lost just dropping back into a clean pocket and even left the pocket prematurely at times. This is basic stuff for NFL QBs and it's frustrating that he is still so inconsistent with some of his mechanics. I'm not calling Locker a bust are anything like that. But his play was very concerning.

 

This week? I don't think there was a clean pocket very often. A clean pocket is Kaepernick standing there holding the ball for 3-4 seconds while his offensive line stonewalls the Packers. A clean pocket is not having to climb or manipulate the pocket as soon as your backfoot hits the last step on the drop.

 

I totally get it. The statistics for Locker were below average. There's not a lot of confidence in Locker because he's proven nothing yet and is anything but established. I don't think that we should stick to the established narrative however just because we're totally results driven. Even if we're not entirely sure why that result happened.

 

I've watched just about every snaps of Jake Locker since his Junior season in college. He misses high - that's his issue. That's where he's inaccurate. He will sometimes be late throwing on crossers because he holds the ball while waiting on passing windows. He does not however, have an issue missing left or right especially on boundary throws or vertical passes. It's not a problem that he has. If he misses it's likely because he got hit in the pocket. That's a function of pass protection, plain and simple.

[Guest]

Here they come. Locker was clean most of the 2nd half. I'm willing to have an honest debate about locker but I'm not wasting my time if posters can't be honest about his play.

Edited September 10, 2013 by oldschool

[Pragidealist]

Here they come. Locker was clean most of the 2nd half. I'm willing to have an honest debate about locker but I'm not wasting my time if posters can't be honest about his play.

Name a bad throw where he was clean - I call bulk shit

[Jamalisms]

 

Name a bad throw where he was clean - I call bulk shit

Shit so big it's bulky?

[Pragidealist]

Shit so big it's bulky?

Exactly - even my iPhone knows