Whisenhunt - Which Whiz is the real Whiz, and which is the aberration?

[Tex in a Can]

Two of the best offensive game plans I've ever seen. Last Sunday against the Bucs and last year's opener against the Chiefs. 

I really want to see how our offense does against the Browns defense. If, with a week of film study, their defense knows what we're doing, that would be a huge negative. 

I guess I want to hold back my enthusiasm until we are 2-0, then katy  bar the door.

Tex

 

[ctm]

FWIW from KC Joyner:

 Tennessee head coach Ken Whisenhunt is one of the most creative play-calling minds in the league and therefore can find a lot of ways to incorporate elements of Kelly's system into the Titans offense that can lessen this learning curve.

http://espn.go.com/fantasy/football/story/_/page/leapmomentsmariota/tennessee-titans-marcus-mariota-fantasy-value-historic-rookie-performance

[Legaltitan]

Yeah a couple of folks have brought it up that know more about defensive schemes, and it sounds like the Cleveland game will be a perfect "next step" test for this young QB and our team in general.  From what I understand a very different defense and a more talented defense than the Bucs.  Mariota will undoubtedly have a half step back (it would be impossible for him not to from the Bucs performance) and I wouldn't mind him facing a little adversity and seeing what the kid is made of.  Not like we are going against the 86 Bears, but sounds like this Cleveland game will be a nice and revealing challenge for us.

[Guest]

I couldn't help watching the Eagles yesterday and thinking this is the offence we should be running.  No huddle, Fast pace. We saw aspects of that offence on Sunday but we also saw a lot of power sets too and huddling. Hopefully that was just because we were in control and it made sense to run clock and minimize the likelihood of turnovers. 

 

I would love to see Marcus in hurry up pretty much full time. He can put so much pressure on the defense. Its' really easy to see why Chip Kelly covets Marcus so much. He's pretty much the perfect specimen to run his offence. 

[Legaltitan]

I couldn't help watching the Eagles yesterday and thinking this is the offence we should be running.  No huddle, Fast pace. We saw aspects of that offence on Sunday but we also saw a lot of power sets too and huddling. Hopefully that was just because we were in control and it made sense to run clock and minimize the likelihood of turnovers. 

 

I would love to see Marcus in hurry up pretty much full time. He can put so much pressure on the defense. Its' really easy to see why Chip Kelly covets Marcus so much. He's pretty much the perfect specimen to run his offence. 

I wonder how much this was a function of the opponent and the defense they run.  And the fact that it was our QB's first ever start.

Not sure if we will see much hurry up or not but if so it will probably be eased in and be dictated by game situations.

[MIKE75]

Whiz tanked last year.  Starting Locker was idiotic for any other reason.

I absolutely believe this now. After the past few days of looking back through old interviews i started seeing where the team was interested in Mariota as early as before the 2014 season. So they are actually quoted in one article saying they were looking closely at Mariota during the 2014 preseason a full year earlier.  After all Whiz wasn't dumb he knew Locker sucked and i honestly don't think they expected Mett to come out blazing like he did during that same preseason though.

I do think both Whisenhunt and Webster huddled with ownership and told them the plan was to tank 2014 let Whiz find out what players he likes and doesn't get the players used to new playbooks and the defense a new scheme and last but not least get a good franchise caliber QB out of the next draft. I've heard Whiz lie plenty of times like recently when he said Levitre had a place on the team and minutes later he was traded. So in 2014 when Whiz was saying he expected a winning season and playoffs it was basically all bullshit to throw everyone off the scent which was the plan to tank.

In interviews they are quoted as saying they had been infatuated with Mariota for quite a while. So they start Locker and it worked like a charm and they kept Locker starting until he got injured i think. They knew Mett could be good which was why after Locker they then started Whitehurst. Then somewhere down the line Mett started but Whiz made it hard as he could like putting a crappy line out there. Another reason i believe they tanked is doing stuff like not making adjustments during games especially the NY Giants game to better protect Mett.

They basically fed Mett to the wolves after all they weren't gonna let anything get in the way of the plan. During the Jets game notice during the end we almost beat the Jets but Delanie who probably could've easily scored at the end ran out of bounds. I think he knew the team and the fans were sucking for the duck and that TD could've hurt TN as far as the draft. By the Jets game everyone even the players were well aware of the draft talk that was going on. Also in the last game of the season you'll notice Tampa was winning at the half but in the second half pulled all the good players early and it was very obvious that day what Tampa's plan was and that was to lose so they didn't hurt their draft status.

The plan all along was to draft Mariota in 2015 which is why i believe they waited in the 2014 draft until near the end to pick a QB because they already had their eyes on Mariota and the plan was to tank 2014 and let Whiz learn during the year what players he did and did not like,get everyone used to new schemes especially the defense,get everything adjusted,etc. since Webster/Whisenhunt had already huddled with ownership and got the okay on the long term plan.

[Guest]

If the decision to tank was ever made (it wasn't), it was when they pulled Locker out of the lineup. 

 

Whatever you thought of Jake Locker you all should have known he represented a better chance to win with than Zavck mwerttenberger or Charlie Whitehurst did. 

 

We went winless with Zack mettenberger at QB, We won 1 game with Charlie against the Jags. 

 

Jake beat KC in Arrowhead.

 

Just try and put it together. 

[rhonderoo]

Whiz made his best challenge hitting them on the 4th and 1. He stepped on the field and dropped the red flag like a boss. He seems different. 

This.  And I was holding my breath the whole time...  He made some dumb, DUMB challenges last year.   I thought the sun had crashed into the moon when the CBS official specialist said he was right.  But I think we had exceptional referees Sunday, not the clown show we've had in games past.

[pat]

If the decision to tank was ever made (it wasn't), it was when they pulled Locker out of the lineup. 

 

Whatever you thought of Jake Locker you all should have known he represented a better chance to win with than Zavck mwerttenberger or Charlie Whitehurst did. 

 

We went winless with Zack mettenberger at QB, We won 1 game with Charlie against the Jags. 

 

Jake beat KC in Arrowhead.

 

Just try and put it together. 

Locker didn't win in KC.  KC lost that game.  KC loses their defensive MVP and their offensive MVP throws 3 INT.

Locker represented no chance to win and no future.  None.  Kaput.  Dead on arrival.

[Titans279]

There's no way they had a plan to tank the year from the offset.

[IsntLifeFunny]

How that is tough to see can only involve psychosis or lots of drugs. I'm guessing the latter. 

Locker didn't win in KC.  KC lost that game.  KC loses their defensive MVP and their offensive MVP throws 3 INT.
Locker represented no chance to win and no future.  None.  Kaput.  Dead on arrival.

[rhonderoo]

So my husband, who is a Colts fan, watched Ken at the halftime interview and said, "Right now, Colts fan would die for Pagano to hold the team as accountable."  I thought Ken might have been a little too negative with the "too many mistakes".  Especially right after his rookie QB just set a record.

[Alcibiades]

What would you do if Locker were your QB? Serious question. You couldn't tailor your offense to Locker running, because he ran like a FB , not a QB. You'd get him killed. Mariota runs smart. Locker came from a pro-style offense in college, but he wasn't a pro-style passer. So what do you do? You try to make him comfortable by giving him concepts he knows, but he can't execute them. So, maybe you try to take advantage of his athleticism, but then you are running an offense he doesn't know as well and you risk getting him killed.

I think Whiz got too much heat for how he handled Locker. He had a bad team, in a transition year (especially on defense) and despite everyone saying that we need to give him time to turn this team around, no one actually gave him that grace period.

[Mercalius]

What would you do if Locker were your QB? Serious question. You couldn't tailor your offense to Locker running, because he ran like a FB , not a QB. You'd get him killed. Mariota runs smart. Locker came from a pro-style offense in college, but he wasn't a pro-style passer. So what do you do? You try to make him comfortable by giving him concepts he knows, but he can't execute them. So, maybe you try to take advantage of his athleticism, but then you are running an offense he doesn't know as well and you risk getting him killed.

I think Whiz got too much heat for how he handled Locker. He had a bad team, in a transition year (especially on defense) and despite everyone saying that we need to give him time to turn this team around, no one actually gave him that grace period.

This is very accurate.  Whis may not get it done here, but 95% of the board was in full agreement that the first year should be a wash, regardless of how it played out.  Until it happened.  Then the patience disappeared, which I get.  Also, I understand bad results can happen without immediately calling into question a coaches validity -which Whis didn't help himself with.  The gameplans, play challenges, etc were definitely points to question his ability, but again....year one SHOULD have meant very little if people were being honest.  Moving forward though, he's certainly accountable for the results, even if there is a bit of a crutch due to having a rookie QB and poor depth.  

[TitanDuckFan]

I absolutely believe this now. After the past few days of looking back through old interviews i started seeing where the team was interested in Mariota as early as before the 2014 season. So they are actually quoted in one article saying they were looking closely at Mariota during the 2014 preseason a full year earlier.  After all Whiz wasn't dumb he knew Locker sucked and i honestly don't think they expected Mett to come out blazing like he did during that same preseason though.

I do think both Whisenhunt and Webster huddled with ownership and told them the plan was to tank 2014 let Whiz find out what players he likes and doesn't get the players used to new playbooks and the defense a new scheme and last but not least get a good franchise caliber QB out of the next draft. I've heard Whiz lie plenty of times like recently when he said Levitre had a place on the team and minutes later he was traded. So in 2014 when Whiz was saying he expected a winning season and playoffs it was basically all bullshit to throw everyone off the scent which was the plan to tank.

In interviews they are quoted as saying they had been infatuated with Mariota for quite a while. So they start Locker and it worked like a charm and they kept Locker starting until he got injured i think. They knew Mett could be good which was why after Locker they then started Whitehurst. Then somewhere down the line Mett started but Whiz made it hard as he could like putting a crappy line out there. Another reason i believe they tanked is doing stuff like not making adjustments during games especially the NY Giants game to better protect Mett.

They basically fed Mett to the wolves after all they weren't gonna let anything get in the way of the plan. During the Jets game notice during the end we almost beat the Jets but Delanie who probably could've easily scored at the end ran out of bounds. I think he knew the team and the fans were sucking for the duck and that TD could've hurt TN as far as the draft. By the Jets game everyone even the players were well aware of the draft talk that was going on. Also in the last game of the season you'll notice Tampa was winning at the half but in the second half pulled all the good players early and it was very obvious that day what Tampa's plan was and that was to lose so they didn't hurt their draft status.

The plan all along was to draft Mariota in 2015 which is why i believe they waited in the 2014 draft until near the end to pick a QB because they already had their eyes on Mariota and the plan was to tank 2014 and let Whiz learn during the year what players he did and did not like,get everyone used to new schemes especially the defense,get everything adjusted,etc. since Webster/Whisenhunt had already huddled with ownership and got the okay on the long term plan.

If even most of this is true, then Whis and Webster had to be sweating bullets when Tampa was on the clock with the opening pick.

I'm sure they were anyway to some extent, but throwing away a season (only to come up 2nd on draft night) is a gamble only a fool would make.