The Downing Clock is ticking…

[Titans279]

17 minutes ago, Jamalisms said:

 

They had a good success rate on 1st down today, whatever the distribution. 3rd down was the issue today and most of those were short.

 

 

 

 

 

I think is ignores the larger point, which is that the Titans could be a better offense if they passed more given the disparity between their pass and run success rates.

 

Yes, if they passed more on first down their pass success rate would drop, but it probably create enough added production that it balances out, and it would also make the run plays more likely to be successful when they did do them.

 

They're basically giving up free "success" by running on first down since teams know there's almost an 80% chance a Henry run is coming. They could exploit that and pass, which then would make the defenses expect the Henry run less, which would make Henry runs even more successful when they happen.

[Titans_Win_Again]

I dont have a problem with the wildcat call as it's been solid in the past but they should be running zone read as the default on 3rd and shorts. It was basically unstoppable up to the Bengals game. Tanny is very good at reading it.

 

The conservative offense was understandable last year because of the horrendous pass blocking, but today the protection was great. They failed to play with urgency on offense for 3/4 of the game and it cost them.

[IrishTitansFan]

5 hours ago, SirLanceALot said:

The 3rd and 1 toward the end where he called the jet sweep to Chig was the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen. 

You could see Vrabel at the bottom of the screen turn to Downing and shake his head

[OILERMAN]

The issues with the offense are not on Downing. The ridiculous 1st down run rate is squarely on Vrabel, he's done it through multiple OCs. This is a fatal flaw. 

 

1st down is the best down to pass, period. Giving the ball to Henry on 18 of the first 23 1st and 10s is ridiculous. In the NFL to be a successful offense you have to get  explosive chunk plays, you will not consistently score on long drives. You're also running into stacked boxes with single coverage, the optimal time to get chunk plays from the passing game. 

 

Then on 3rd and short they clearly have no faith in the short yardage run game. The wildcat and the sweep to Chig  are telling. Whether it's the OL and/or Henry they did not believe they could line up and run it traditionally. Oh and you're the highest paid RB in the league, catch the direct snap. 

 

This was against a mediocre Giants team, against the better teams the Titans are easily beaten with this philosophy. The Bills will roll them if they don't open it up. 

 

Also if Henry has slipped to below top form this strategy will really fail. No explosive runs and a mediocre yards per carry will doom this offensive philosophy 

[OILERMAN]

7 hours ago, Titans279 said:

 

Yes, if they passed more on first down their pass success rate would drop

 

They're basically giving up free "success" by running on first down since teams know there's almost an 80% chance a Henry run is coming. 

 

The pass rate success would go up with a more balanced 1st down pass rate. You're throwing against a defense geared to stop the run, they are playing man coverage and not rushing the passer. 

 

 

[oldschool]

29 minutes ago, OILERMAN said:

 

The pass rate success would go up with a more balanced 1st down pass rate. You're throwing against a defense geared to stop the run, they are playing man coverage and not rushing the passer. 

 

 

 

I didn't have it in me yesterday to counter @Jamalisms laughable point about 1st down success rate. You can't run on 18/23 1st and 10s and get in passing rhythm. It not only hurts the QB it hurts the receivers. They are literally leaving chunk plays on the field. 

[prine06]

9 hours ago, TitansPDO said:

Firing Downing won’t change the offense all that much. This is the exact offense Vrabel wants run 

 I dont think the philosphy is the problem. Its the play calling that makes no sense?

[AvgJoe]

Overall, the philosophy is a problem. But the biggest issue is that Downing displays no understanding of game situations in key moments time after time. It ended our season last year and it will continue to do so until he either loses play calling duties or corrects it

[OILERMAN]

Here is a pretty scary thought.....

 

James Foster of A to Z breaks down film. He posted a screen shot during the game and talked about how the Giants weren't playing cover 3(they weren't stacking to stop Henry on 1st down). 

 

If the Giants played some type of cover 2 shell on 1st down that would totally explain why the team ran the ball 75% of the time on 1st down. It would also indicate they didn't fear Henry and the running game. It also makes the 1st down run success much less OK if it was against a light box. 

 

It's also exactly how teams should defense the Titans. The Athletic specifically mentioned the Colts last year in both games played light boxes and played cover 2 vs the Titans. 

[Guts]

Doesn't feel like theirs any rhythm to our offense at all.  At least with Smith and  Lafleur they ran plays to set up other plays, I don't feel that at all with Downing.  

[VaTitan]

25 minutes ago, OILERMAN said:

Here is a pretty scary thought.....

 

James Foster of A to Z breaks down film. He posted a screen shot during the game and talked about how the Giants weren't playing cover 3(they weren't stacking to stop Henry on 1st down). 

 

If the Giants played some type of cover 2 shell on 1st down that would totally explain why the team ran the ball 75% of the time on 1st down. It would also indicate they didn't fear Henry and the running game. It also makes the 1st down run success much less OK if it was against a light box. 

 

It's also exactly how teams should defense the Titans. The Athletic specifically mentioned the Colts last year in both games played light boxes and played cover 2 vs the Titans. 

 

I thought it was personnel groupings that dictated the defenses and Henry had nothing to do with it?  

[heyitsmeallen]

This is what clueless looks like. calling the TE sweep on 3rd and 1.
 

 

[nine]

42 minutes ago, OILERMAN said:

Here is a pretty scary thought.....

 

James Foster of A to Z breaks down film. He posted a screen shot during the game and talked about how the Giants weren't playing cover 3(they weren't stacking to stop Henry on 1st down). 

 

If the Giants played some type of cover 2 shell on 1st down that would totally explain why the team ran the ball 75% of the time on 1st down. It would also indicate they didn't fear Henry and the running game. It also makes the 1st down run success much less OK if it was against a light box. 

 

It's also exactly how teams should defense the Titans. The Athletic specifically mentioned the Colts last year in both games played light boxes and played cover 2 vs the Titans. 

In the current NFL, it makes a lot of sense to defend  the passing game first and foremost and allow opponents to run the ball….because in a pass-happy league, only a handful of teams have the talent, mindset, and dedication to consistently win games on the ground. 
 

I suspect this might be part of what happened yesterday.   The Titans D played pass first and unleashed the wolves on Jones, completely smothering them in the first half.  
 

But Barkley’s first big run forced them to back off and play more balanced.  And then when Fulton gave up the 65+ yard TD, it gave the Giants new life and allowed them to keep hammering Barkley….who is obviously the type of RB who can (and did) make plays that flip the field and win games.  
 

Brian Daboll basically gave Vrabel a taste of his own medicine:  play it safe, keep it close, and force the other team to drive the field with play mistake-free football.    And of course, the Titans kept making one mistake after another.  And  as usually happens, at  the end of the day the team with the fewest mistakes won. 

[oldschool]

I'm not ready to just take this James Foster dude's word on fronts. Never heard of him until just now. Need to see what the data shows on personnel groupings show.

[heyitsmeallen]

17 minutes ago, oldschool said:

I'm not ready to just take this James Foster dude's word on fronts. Never heard of him until just now. Need to see what the data shows on personnel groupings show.

He was posting a ton last year as “No Flags Film” he has a very high football IQ and did great breakdowns on YouTube. A to Z hired him so I think all of his quality content will be there now.