Preseason Notions - we know nothing

[code]

... more today than we knew two days ago about the Titans.   I typically call this 'thoughts'.  But that would be giving this too much credit. Notions. Here are a few notions.

 

#1. The offensive line remains a concern. Brewer and Radunz and NPF did nothing to make me feel confident that they will keep RT upright or open holes for DH.  Game one. Ravens D2 likely as good as any other teams D2.  

 

#2. Of the rookies, David Anenih, Jack Gibbens and Theo Jackson stood out in a positive way for me.

 

#3. Rashad Weaver, Naquan Jones and DeMarcus Walker all looked like solid depth to me. In general, defensive front has plenty to choose from for final roster.

 

#4. The ALL TOO FREQUENTLY FOCUSED ON Malik Willis. Clearly there is talent here. I wish I could remember Mac's first preseason game, let alone his first season. I absolutely know many thought he pulled it down and ran more then he should because he wasn't reading the field as well as needed. I don't remember accuracy issues on the move like those we have been hearing/seeing from Willis. But characterizing his play as 'bad' is just supporting a posters previous narrative. It was inconsistent. It was inconclusive.  He was what a third round QB pick should be. Flash good. Flash bad.  Move on.  RT is the starter. Never has been a question. In my mind Woodside is the likely back up - and the more likely cut to be stashed on practice squad.  I said it when we drafted him - Willis represents hope that RT will be held accountable this season.  Clearly, we need RT to return to 2019 form AND to discover a NEW PLAYOFF FORM.  

 

Right now my real concerns remain:

 

1. Offensive line play

2. Depth at ILB (Gibbens play today was a start towards a positive resolution)

3. Depth at Safety (Theo Jackson may be an answer here as well)

 

I'd love to see all three be fully addressed this preseason.

 

 

[AussieTitanFan08]

10 minutes ago, code said:

 

#1. The offensive line remains a concern. Brewer and Radunz and NPF did nothing to make me feel confident that they will keep RT upright or open holes for DH.  Game one. Ravens D2 likely as good as any other teams D2.  

 

 

lol Brewer and Radunz played 7 snaps each, its fine to have concerns about the OL but come on there was nothing those guys were going to do in such limited play time that any meaningful conclusion could of been drawn.

[Supdawg]

Was listening to Locked on Titans this morning. Said NPF played much better on at RT vs LT, which makes sense based on his college production. 

Guys that flashed to me:

• Willis
• T. Jackson
• Anini (sp)
• McMath
• Weaver
• Chestnut - fumbling was bad, but he looked decent
• Kern

[2ToneTerror]

Anini must be stashed on PS.

dude has promise.

[Alcibiades]

Weird you focused on Gibbens when Chance Campbell played so many snaps. 

 

Campbell looks exactly like his scouting report. He reads plays VERY well. He'll put himself in position, too...goes right to where the ball is. And then lacks the elite speed and length to make the play. He got his hand up onto a ball, and the WR still caught it. He blew back into the backfield and was just a foot away from blowing up the play, but that missing foot (half foot??) allowed the RB to bounce outside. Campbell is the kind of backup that will get the defense in position. Smart, heady, instinctive guy. But he's missing that little bit of extra that would make him a starter. 

[oldschool]

Preseason games dont mean jack shit. Training camp and duel practice reports are way more revealing.

[Justafan]

The biggest takeaways to me are the snap counts which tells me which guys have a climb to make the roster.  

 

Still it's fun to debate the ups and downs of backups against backups without gameplans when we haven't had any real football in months.  

[Bongo59]

I guess I saw a different game.  I thought the OL was fine last night.  NPF already gave us more than Wilson did as a 3rd rounder.  Brewer even played C and no blow ups.  

 

I thought 2nd team DL played well.  I think my only concern was how Fulton looked.  Theo Jackson bailed him out in beginning of game.  

 

Willis > Woodside by a lot.  

[abenjami]

They should be letting Willis take every single snap RT isn't taking this entire preseason.  Let the rookie get as much game experience as possible so that he can grow as fast as possible, be more properly evaluated, and be better prepared to help the team if something were to happen to RT.

 

There's no point in having Woodside take any snaps.  He sucks and obviously isn't part of any long term plan.

[Titans279]

They only really benched Willis because sending the message that he needs to execute the offense was more important than him getting reps where he just tucks the ball and runs instead of reading the defensive and throwing the ball on time. 
 

They would have obviously liked him to have more. He needs to learn that he needs to learn to break his bad habits. 

[Lars]

Willis obviously has plus athletic talent and a strong arm. Everyone knew that before the draft. If the game ever slows down for him we may have something but he has so many awful habits that it would be a pretty big  upset imo. 

[Guest]

Enjoyable post. 

 

I hate a lot of takes about the preseason. Yes, preseason games and training camp and practice aren't concrete evidence that we should take as if it came from a burning bush and our psyche is precondition to take ideology from plants. Preseason games often are very misleading, as the Wariota (Mett) acolytes proved. 

 

That said, you can still learn from it, talk about it, and analyze it for what it might mean without getting carried away or being one of those stuck in the mud people who can't even think about the preseason. 

 

My random thoughts: 

 

• I love that Mailk is getting snaps early and is getting meaningful time. This is honestly the first preseason game I've been excited to watch in a long time. He played exactly like I thought he would, eye-popping and head scratching at once, flashing incredible skill and demonstrating he's got a long way to go. I am prepared to be super annoyed at posters calling for him to start the second RT struggles. 
• If Tannehill gets hurt we are royally fucked. Logan Woodside is simply not it, and this has been the case for a long time. I know a lot of teams don't invest in backup quarterbacks and we are no exception. But still. 
• Offensive line and secondary. I really want to see what comes out of these units, but it's going to be hard to get a sense until the season starts. 
• McMath--I really hope this guy turns out as a surprise contributor. Just because the NFL needs a dope breakout player named McMath. 
• Julius Chestnut--FUCK I am going to want to call this guy Joey Chestnut every time I see him. 

[dcblanton]

Ah, the preseason.  When we think we know things and we know no things.  The NFL has only 17 games in the season and only one game per week.  We tend to over react to the most recent games.  There is more recency bias in the NFL than in any other sport.  If a baseball team or a basketball team loses two or three games in a row, it is barely a blip, but it would be huge for an NFL team.

 

Of course, 2 games is 12% of the season.

 

We are wired to over react anyway.  Then, add in a full offseason of moves and expectations and a genuine excitement and anxiousness about what our team will look like and we are prone to be swung one way or the other to a rather unreasonable level.

 

And, let's be completely honest, with the advent of sports media's coverage exploding, we are nearly just as invested in the offseason as we are the season.  Everyone things of Super Bowl Sunday being the best day in football.  That is just for the fans of two teams.  The best day for football fans is draft day.  That is when we all have hope and excitement.

 

Much of football fandom is working to predict what will happen rather than actually just watching it unfold.

 

This is our first opportunity to see the team in a game.  A single data point in a string of at least 20 data points.  But, we have only this one for at least a week.  So, we will pontificate on what it means and put more meaning on it than reasonable.

 

I can't wait for the Chiefs to play tomorrow because I want to overreact as well.

[wiscotitansfan]

1 hour ago, abenjami said:

They should be letting Willis take every single snap RT isn't taking this entire preseason.  Let the rookie get as much game experience as possible so that he can grow as fast as possible, be more properly evaluated, and be better prepared to help the team if something were to happen to RT.

 

There's no point in having Woodside take any snaps.  He sucks and obviously isn't part of any long term plan.

I didn't watch any of it but wouldn't it make more sense to check out the rest of the offense and be able to make more meaningful decisions on a dozen other players than try to force some preseason experience for a guy who likely would not mean anything to our season if RT goes down anyway?

 

If Woodside is so bad that he can't throw to anyone at all anyway then sure, I agree with you.

[IsntLifeFunny]

8 hours ago, 2ToneTerror said:

Anini must be stashed on PS.

dude has promise.

I wouldn't play him another snap in the PS in hopes he isn't snapped up.